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• Semifreddi's Industrial Bakery Tour

  • When
    June 21, 2025
  •  
    10:30 AM
  • Location
    1980 North Loop Rd., Alameda
  • Spaces left
    19

  Register

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button on the left. For other options, contact O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Call phone (+15102078761)

  We will be given a tour of the Semifreddi's industrial bakery in Alameda which runs 24/7, as well as a take home gift of various loaves of freshly baked bread worth $25. 

  It all started on Oct 15, 1984 in a tiny 450 square-foot shop in Kensington/Berkeley CA, and on that day and every day since it’s been about family.  Tom Franier, his sister Barbara Rose and her husband Mike took a chance on a dream and brought Semifreddi’s to the world.
   
  Long story short, it worked.   
  
  Obsessed with quality, obsessed with giving back to the community and obsessed with taking care of their employees like family, Semifreddi’s grew over the next 40 years by sweating the small stuff and making it happen every single day 363 days a year.

  Where:  Semifreddi's bakery
  

  Website Semifreddis.com

  1980 North Loop Rd., Alameda, CA, 94502

  Time:  10:30 AM

  Cost: $25 (all for scholarships)

  PBKNCA rep:  O'Neil Dillon

  Group size:  20

  If on the day of the event you find you can't make it, call O'Neil Dillon at 510-207-8761. Simply not paying or not replying prevents us from allowing someone else to attend. No-shows do NOT receive a refund!
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click HERE, or on "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  If you are on the waitlist and wish to be removed without being registered, please contact  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Show details
• Aftel Archive of Curious Scents - 11 AM Session

  • When
    August 09, 2025
  •  
    11:00 AM
  • Location
    1518-1/2 Walnut St. (Cottage at end of brick driveway), Berkeley, CA, 94709
  • Spaces left
    10

  Register

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button on the left. For other options, contact O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Call phone (+15102078761)

  The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents is not just the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to perfume, but more beguilingly, the first one dedicated to the experience of fragrance. This tiny museum manages to contain the olfactory history of the world: hundreds of natural essences, raw ingredients and antique tinctures (some of which are hundred of years old)  gathered from every corner of the globe.  
             
  Tour the museum (masks required), then go to the garden to sample many different fragrances.  You can choose four fragrances, a sample of which you can take home.

  Please be aware - there are two separate sessions, one at 11 AM, the other at noon. Each is a one hour tour, and each will be limited to 10 people.

  On this page you are signing up for the 11 AM session

  Cost:   $35 ($7 for scholarships)

              $20 ($2 for scholarships) 17 or under.

  PBKNCA rep:  O'Neil Dillon

  Website:  Aftel Archive of Curious Scents

  Here is is an interesting page about Mandy Aftel, who says"I started making natural perfumes almost 30 years ago. I create each of my perfumes from the comprehensive collection of strikingly beautiful natural essences that I have assembled over the years from hidden corners of the world" and "As the founder of Aftelier Perfumes, I have been hailed as one of the fragrance industry’s “most prolific talents” by Vogue and an “angel of alchemy” by Vanity Fair..." And much, much more...
  

  The Gourmet Ghetto is one block away and offers many lunch options.

  If on the day of the event you find you can't make it, call O'Neil Dillon at 510-207-8761. Simply not paying or not replying prevents us from allowing someone else to attend. No-shows do NOT receive a refund!
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click HERE, or on "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  If you are on the waitlist and wish to be removed without being registered, please contact  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Show details
• Aftel Archive of Curious Scents - 12 Noon Session

  • When
    August 09, 2025
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    1518-1/2 Walnut St. (Cottage at end of brick driveway), Berkeley, CA, 94709
  • Spaces left
    10

  Register

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button on the left. For other options, contact O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Call phone (+15102078761)

  The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents is not just the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to perfume, but more beguilingly, the first one dedicated to the experience of fragrance. This tiny museum manages to contain the olfactory history of the world: hundreds of natural essences, raw ingredients and antique tinctures (some of which are hundred of years old)  gathered from every corner of the globe.  
             
  Tour the museum (masks required), then go to the garden to sample many different fragrances.  You can choose four fragrances, a sample of which you can take home.

  Please be aware - there are two separate sessions, one at 11 AM, the other at noon. Each is a one hour tour, and each will be limited to 10 people.

  On this page you are signing up for the 12 noon session

  Cost:   $35 ($7 for scholarships)

              $20 ($2 for scholarships) 17 or under.

  PBKNCA rep:  O'Neil Dillon

  Website:  Aftel Archive of Curious Scents

  Here is is an interesting page about Mandy Aftel, who says"I started making natural perfumes almost 30 years ago. I create each of my perfumes from the comprehensive collection of strikingly beautiful natural essences that I have assembled over the years from hidden corners of the world" and "As the founder of Aftelier Perfumes, I have been hailed as one of the fragrance industry’s “most prolific talents” by Vogue and an “angel of alchemy” by Vanity Fair..." And much, much more...
  

  The Gourmet Ghetto is one block away and offers many lunch options.

  If on the day of the event you find you can't make it, call O'Neil Dillon at 510-207-8761. Simply not paying or not replying prevents us from allowing someone else to attend. No-shows do NOT receive a refund!
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click HERE, or on "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  If you are on the waitlist and wish to be removed without being registered, please contact  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Show details
• San Francisco Presidio and Tunnel Tops

  • Start
    September 01, 2025
  • End
    September 30, 2025
  • Spaces left
    30

  The event will probably be sometime in September. We will have more info soon!

  Call phone (+15102078761)

  We will have a private, docent-led tour of the Presidio and Tunnel Tops.

  Lawmakers transformed the Presidio into a National Park in 1996, and since then it has become one of the greatest (and greenest) places to explore in all of San Francisco. Join us on a walk through San Francisco’s panoramic, luscious park, with wooded areas and scenic views as far as the eye can see including the newly-created Tunnel Tops.
  

  From Spain, to Mexico, to the United States — The Presidio has been home to more militaries than almost any other fortress in America. And for good reason: it’s a sprawling, fortified estate strategically located at the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula. During the Spanish-American War, it was where America’s troops were trained and shipped across the Pacific. A decade later, it would be an oasis for earthquake survivors, housing refugees and coordinating rescue efforts.

  When:  June 21st @ 10AM

  Where:  Meet at the Officer's Club, 50 Moraga Ave., at the Main Post.

  Parking:  Paid parking on the street.

  Cost:  PBKNCA Members $35 ($10 for scholarships); all others $45 ($20 for scholarships)

  Maximum group size: 30 (with two docents)

  PBKNCA representative:  O'Neil Dillon

  Links:

  presidio.gov

  parkconservancy.org/parks/presidio-tunnel-tops

  
  

  If on the day of the event you find you can't make it, call O'Neil Dillon at 510-207-8761. Simply not paying or not replying prevents us from allowing someone else to attend. No-shows do NOT receive a refund!
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click HERE, or on "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  If you are on the waitlist and wish to be removed without being registered, please contact  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Show details
• 39th Asilomar Conference - Feb 13-16, 2026

  • Start
    February 13, 2026
  •  
    4:00 PM
  • End
    February 16, 2026
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    Asilomar, 800 Asilomar Ave, Pacific Grove, CA

  Register

  
  

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button. But you may mail the coupon and a check by snail mail.  After you register you will receive information about reserving room and meals with the PBK group. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $150 (member and guests rate), 180 Non-PBKNCA, which goes in part to scholarships.  (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility - wait for the information from Barry.) 

  A preview of 2026 Speakers will be posted as we progress. For more information, contact Deirdre Frontczak, (707) 546-4238, dfrontczak@scu.edu.

  We are delighted to invite you to share in a weekend of learning, dialogue, and fellowship at the Asilomar Conference Center on the spectacular Monterey Coast.

  But this is more than eight interesting speakers, it is an opportunity to renew old friendships, or make new friends at meals; walk on the beach or the trails. Explore the historic buildings of the Asilomar State Park. Visit the Butterfly Grove Inn to see the beautiful Monarch Butterflies, and much more. 
  

  

  “Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
  

  Some of you may feel ready for new beginnings.  Some may be eager to expand your learning into unexplored ground.  Some of you may just be eager for a chance to hang with friends in a beautiful,  refreshing and historic coastal retreat.  And for some of you, all three apply.  Thankfully, we are looking forward to a new season for the PBKNCA Asilomar Conference in February!  It is again time to reserve your space for a weekend of learning, inspiration, fellowship and a breath of sanity, on the magnificent Monterey coast. Come, bring a friend, and find out for yourself. 
  

  If you have questions on this year’s program, please contact dfrontczak@scu.edu. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $150, which goes mainly to scholarships. Cost will be similar to last year, about $680 per person, double occupancy, and includes all nine meals and parking. All registered participants will receive forms to reserve their Asilomar accommodations, including meals; please check your email. (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility.)

  Please join us once again for the annual Asilomar Conference -- to learn, engage in discussions, and to listen to one another in new ways.
  

  
  

  Show details