neighborhood videos

Afun set of videos for downtown and some of the north Oakland neighborhoods. They're done by Red Oak Realty, which had a booth at the Temescal Street Fair the other week. It'd be nice to see videos like this for all the neighborhoods of Oakland.

Downtown Oakland from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Montclair from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Rockridge from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Temescal from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

OBUGS garden and art tour

Lafayette School Garden

Saturday I took a break from work and went on the OBUGS annual garden bike tour. OBUGS is Oakland Based Urban Gardens, and works to build healthier communities by educating kids about nutrition and food, and about gardening in the process. It was the fourth annual tour, but I hadn't been on one before. There was a great turnout. I don't know the exact numbers, but I saw a lot of bikes. Mayor Quan and her husband were there, too.

The tour started at the OBUGS community garden at Lafayette Elementary School, where OBUGS was founded in 1998. This was also the best place to look at one of the gardens, as there were students and volunteers on hand to guide people around and answer questions. After that, people were organized into groups of about 10, with two guides, one to lead and one to be the 'sweeper'.

at Bruce Beasley's studio

The bike tour itself was very pleasant. (Compared with riding in the hills, it was super easy, too. I switched off the electric assist, but still found myself wanting to go faster than the group.) It was about 4 miles total, but with frequent stops to see historic houses, various community gardens, and other sites of interest (like the Cypress Memorial Park) around West Oakland. One of the stops was at City Slicker Farms, which I've blogged about before. It looks like they're doing well, and it was nice to see the chicken coop (which I did a little work on) in use. One of the main art stops was Bruce Beasley's studio.

The tour ended at Lowell Park, and it was time to party! There was yummy food provided by Picante, cold drinks, and a raffle with some cool prizes. People hung out and chatted and then it was time to watch Turf Feinz dance. If you're not familiar with them, check out my Oakland-y goodness post from last year. They are simply amazing to watch.



See more pictures here:

OBUGS garden tour

upcoming Oakland events

Another week, more great weather and more great events in Oakland. I've been busier with work recently, but even without that there are more great things to do in Oakland than I have time for. I list upcoming events that catch my eye, but there's tons more going in Oakland besides this. As I usually mention, check the Visit Oakland events calendar for even more.

Celebrate 16th Street Station - Thursday, July 28, 5:30pm-8pm. A community celebration of the revitalizing of the 16th Street station. Tour the station, dine from local food trucks, drink East Bay wines. Plus live music, activities for kids, and more.

La Borinqueña's 67th Birthday - Saturday, July 30, 12pm-6pm. The famous Mex-icatessen celebrates 67 years! Food specials by the staff of La Borinqueña & Tina Tamale, Beverage Bar with Local Beer, Fresh Fruit Sangria, Farmers' Market Fresa Agua Fresca and more!

rain barrel program - Sunday, July 31. Order a rain barrel online, then pick it up at the Temescal Farmers market on Sunday. We've got some of the 65 gallon barrels featured, and they're great -- especially at $48.50 that the city program sells them at. I reviewed them (and other options) on my home improvement blog last year.

National Night Out - Tuesday, August 2, 7pm-9pm. Part of a nation-wide event, there will be events all over Oakland. The city is sponsoring an event at Lakeside Park. Come out and show your Oakland love, either at Lakeside Park or at a block party in your neighborhood!

Dishcrawl - Friday, August 5, 6pm. A new (to Oakland) food event, this one in Uptown. This is the inaugural event, starting at Uptown Place. ($26, limited tix)

Secret Stairs book signing, Friday, August 5, 7:30pm at Pegasus Books on Solano, in Berkeley. Author Charles Fleming will be in town for a discussion and book signing of Secret Stairs: East Bay that I reviewed recently. There has also been discussion of him leading one of the walks on Saturday.

Urban Wine Xperience - Saturday, August 6. Put on by the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance that sponsored the event featuring Oakland wineries back in April. The Urban Wine Xperience pairs East Bay vintners with local restaurants and food sellers to put their creations together. Instead of traveling to the different wineries, this event is all at the Jack London Pavilion. ($40-$60)

Throw Down for the Town - Saturday, August 13, 10am-6pm. The Ella Baker Center is organizing service projects all over Oakland, followed by a party at Mosswood Park. Come out and help make Oakland a better place!

Plus the usual events that I haven't listed this time. Remember that Bites on Broadway is now Bites off Broadway -- they're a little further down 45th, in front of Studio One.

Bites off Broadway (Fridays)
Dancing under the Stars (Fridays)
Downtown walking tours (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
OHA walking tours (Saturdays and Sundays)
Art Murmur (Friday, August 5)
Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)

For even more, check the Visit Oakland event calendar.

Piedmont Avenue Art Walk

fiftyseven-thirtythree

Thursday evening I headed from Uptown to Piedmont Avenue. I forget where I'd heard about it (I think from cool Oakland clothing designers fiftyseven-thirtythree), but Piedmont Avenue merchants have started their own regular event to draw crowds. The Piedmont Avenue Art Walk is the 3rd Thursday of each month. When I got there at 6:30 or so, regular favorites like Fenton's, Dopo, and Cesar were already hopping, but the rest was relatively quiet. By the time I left, things were busy the length of Piedmont, from The Rare Bird up to Amy Perl Photography.

I couldn't stay as long as I'd like to check out everything (and enjoy all the snacks and drinks provided), but I checked out a lot of the 20+ places taking part, and it seemed like people were having a lot of fun. Much lighter on the art the Art Murmur, but still a lot to see and a fun event. A lot of families with kids were out enjoying it, too.

Lots of pictures here:

Piedmont Ave Art Walk

Update: Things were less fun late Friday night.

signs: Luka's

Luka's Taproom

Thursday I was Uptown to meet with Clay Graham of We Locally. His office is nearby, so afterwards we headed over to Luka's for a pint. I didn't get any food this time, but Luka's has some very tasty food, as well as a nice beer selection. And of course, a cool sign.