By Any Dreams Necessary

When school budgets get cut, many times one of the first things to go are the arts. Yet numerous studies have shown that children learn a variety of subjects better when exposed to the arts. As artsusa.org says:

...for certain populations—including young children, students from economically disadvantaged circumstances, and students needing remedial instruction—learning in the arts may be uniquely able to advance learning and success in other areas.

It's this need for arts education that By Any Dreams Necessary founder and executive director Garrett Naiman saw and is helping to fill. The organization is a mostly volunteer effort by a collective of artists and educators dedicated to nurturing the creative spirit and educational aspirations of youth. They're new—they've only been at it about a year and half, and are still working on getting 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

By Any Dreams Necessary team

So far they've awarded half a dozen scholarships, two in 2010 and four in 2011. All the recipients were required to submit an application with both an essay/personal statement component, as well as an original art component. Some submitted poems, others mini documentaries or paintings. You may remember back in July when I linked to a poem called "One Oakland" by 2011 scholarship winner Kenya Hall. If you haven't already (or even if you have), go check out Kenya's poem. This year they'll be giving away another 4 scholarships, and are hoping to increase both the quantity and amount of the awards soon.

The other part of their work is the Artist in Residence program. It places an experienced arts-educator in a public middle school. The goal of the program is to provide art education to students who attend low-resource schools that are unable to consistently provide art in their school day curriculum. By Any Dreams Necessary provides funding for the program, including all art supplies and materials. Currently they have an arts-educator at the Urban Promise Academy off Fruitvale. The Artist in Residence works with the school in several ways:

• basic arts instruction
• arts integration across academic subjects
• teach the faculty about how to use art in their classrooms

If you're interested in learning more or helping out, contact By Any Dreams Necessary.

Got a big idea? Start a company

Mayor Quan talking with entrepreneurs

Have you ever had a great idea for something new? Or seen a niche and thought, "I could make something better to fill that"? That's what the five panelists in Wednesday night's panel have in common. And they started five of the most dynamic companies in Oakland.

You've probably heard of Pandora, the internet radio company that's based here in Oakland (I'm listening to Pandora as I write this.) But you may not be familiar with the others: Ecologic, Livescribe, Revolution Foods, and BrightSource Energy. The venture capital firm DBL Investors, which invested in all 5, hosted the Startup Oakland! forum Wednesday night at the Den at the Fox.

The panel included:

• Julie Corbett, CEO, Ecologic
• Joe Kennedy, CEO, Pandora
• Jim Marggraff, Chairman & CEO, Livescribe
• Kristin Groos Richmond, CEO, Revolution Foods
• John Woolard, President & CEO, BrightSource Energy

and was moderated by Nancy Pfund, managing partner of DBL Investors. Despite some technical difficulties (like not enough light on the stage area), there was standing room only crowd house to hear what they had to say.

Starting a company isn't for everyone, and it's definitely not easy. But the potential upside is big, and it's a great way to create new jobs. (According to this informative and entertaining infographic, between 1977 and 2005, startup firms in the U.S. added an average of 3 million jobs per year while existing firms lost 1 million jobs per year. I'm guessing those numbers are even more skewed in the years 2006-2011.)

It takes a good idea, a lot of hard work, and a fair amount of luck to successfully start a new company. But beyond that basic knowledge, the 5 CEOs had some more specific advice if you're considering starting a new company. First, besides having a great idea, you need to be passionate about it. The people you find to work with you have to share that same passion. But it's also important to get people who are different from you (but still share the passion and mission), because a diversity of backgrounds is important for success -- that's one thing that Oakland excels at.

Some other points noted:
- you need to have a proof of concept of your idea
- if you need to raise investments, be patient. Even when the economy is good, it can a long time to cultivate a relationship with potential investors
- surround yourself with the best possible people -- people who can do their various jobs better than you could, and have them do the same. Your goal as CEO is to make yourself irrelevant in the day-to-day so you can concentrate on the bigger picture
- make needed personnel changes sooner rather than later, especially when the company is small
- realize that sometimes you need to trust your gut, and make a decision before you've got all the info
- get in conversation with (potential) customers early and often (note: I think this goes even for established companies)

If you're interested in starting a company in Oakland, come to the final Innovatate Oakland mixer of 2011 on Thursday, October 27 at the Kaiser Convention Center.

More coverage on Oakland Local and Thoughts from the Hill, the Valley and the Fields.

the BTTR mushroom guys

upcoming Oakland events

The big events this weekend are remembrances, the 20th anniversary of the Oakland Firestorm and the Day of the Dead at OMCA. But for lots of fun, pedal over to PedalFest at Jack London Square or the final Bites off Broadway for 2011.

Bites off Broadway - Friday, October 21. This is the last Bites off Broadway for 2011, so if you've been meaning to go but haven't yet, this is your last chance for a while.

Red Cross 5k Fun Run - Saturday, October 22, 9am. A fundraising race around Lake Merritt to purchase a new mobile blood drive truck which will be used here in the East Bay.

Firestorm 20th anniversary - Saturday, October 22, 9am. A variety of activities to reflect on and remember the Oakland-Berkeley Firestorm of 1991. (free)

PedalFest - Saturday, October 22, 10am-5pm. Bikes, beer, food, and fun at Jack London Square, PedalFest will have a variety of bike-themed activities including stuff for kids. I'll be parking bikes with EBBC/WOBO or working in the beer garden, and hope to see you there. (free)

Days of the Dead - Sunday, October 23. The Oakland Museum comes alive with the tradition of Days of the Dead! Craft activities, food, music, dance, and ceremonies bring the community together for reflection and honoring the dead. There will also be free bike parking from EBBC. (with admission) [Insider's tip: OMCA opens at 11 am; arrive early to participate in the Opening Ceremony at Noon.]

National Food Day - Monday, October 24. The Bay Area will feature numerous events held by local foodies and activists, including free veggie food give-aways in Oakland and a "Fair Food: From Seed to Table" series of events with Berkeley Ecology Center. See the Food Day website and the Berkeley Ecology Center calendar for more info.

Plus the usual events:
Piedmont Avenue Art Walk (3rd Thursday)
Art Murmur (1st Friday)
Downtown walking tours (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)

Looking further ahead:
Dia de los Muertos - October 30, 10am-5pm. A community celebration of the Day of the Dead in the Fruitvale.
Urban Paths - November 12. Secret Stairs, Fire and BART - Check out stairs, Vicente Creek and a special BART stairway along the Oakland/Berkeley borderlands.

Oakland Firestorm anniversary

firestorm memorial

Thursday will be the 20th anniversary of the Oakland-Berkeley hills firestorm. At the time it happened, I was house- and pet-sitting for some friends in Alameda. Like a lot of people, I learned about it first from TV -- I was watching the 49ers game, and John Madden circled a cloud of smoke with electronic chalk and said something like: "You see this? This is smoke. Apparently there's a big fire in the Oakland hills." I switched to another channel for news coverage, then ran outside to see for myself when I found out how big it already was.

photo by Richard Misrach at OMCA

It was a hot, dry, windy day and the fire spread quickly and burned for days. The firestorm changed Oakland in a lot of ways. Short-term of course, it literally changed the landscape, making the north hills look more like a moonscape. Thousands of people lost their homes and possessions, and dozens lost their lives. But longer term, it changed fire fighting in the Bay Area, building codes and how people think about living in the urban / wild interface.

There are a variety of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary, starting Saturday at 9am at Rockridge BART. See the city website for more info.

There's an exhibit at the Oakland Museum of photographs by Richard Misrach taken in the aftermath of the fire. There's also a special exhibit at the Oakland History Room. Read Annalee Allen's article for more.

Given the huge impact of the fire, there's a lot of press coverage leading up to the anniversary:

MacArthur Metro:
Oakland Remembers the 1991 Firestorm

Oakland Local:
call for photos and stories

Oakland North:
Local firefighters reenact the Hills Fire response
After fire, residents build off-the-wall homes
McClouds, Pulaskis, and brush hooks?

Oakland Tribune:
Events, exhibits commemorate 20th anniversary
Oakland hills fire: 20 years later
Voices from Oakland Hills Fire
She never thought the fire would jump the freeway
Wind, overgrown trees and brush still a hazard in the hills
By the numbers
After the inferno
Just the first wave of pain for survivors

CBS 5:
Families Still Struggling With Loss

strange days indeed

Some days just don't go as planned. I had lots of Oakland-y goodness planned for today, starting with a ride down the hill to church at College Avenue Presbyterian, a short ride down to the East Bay Mini Maker Faire to volunteer with the East Bay Bike Coalition and check out the fair, then over to Peralta Hacienda for a walk and lecture made possible by Oakland Urban Paths and the National Park Service. All sounds like good stuff, no?

I hopped on the e-bike and headed to Lake Temescal, as the bike path around it is one of the quicker, more pleasant routes over to Rockridge for me. I was surprised to find an OPD motorcycle cop on the path who signaled me to stop. He said I couldn't go on the path, couldn't go through the park either, and couldn't say why it was closed, just that it was "for another agency." Another agency? The Girl Scouts, the fire department or Homeland Security? There's a lot of different possible reasons there. In any event, I rode back to Broadway Terrace, and down to Rockridge that way. The fact I saw two police cars on my way (which is two more police cars than I normally see on a Sunday) did nothing to assuage my concerns.

I arrived at church a bit later than planned, and noticed that Monte's video display was, well, a bit skewed -- the projector was showing the control screen, and his new laptop was showing the presentation. I checked in with him and quickly fixed it, but it was a further discombobulation for the morning. After the service including another great sermon by Monte, I rushed off towards the Maker Faire, again running a little bit later than I'd planned.

I arrived at Opal and 42nd, the designated place for bike parking for the Maker Faire, and saw...no bikes. After peering around for a bit, someone pointed me down the block to the next gate. I arrived to see the available space full of bikes. Apparently last year, they'd had maybe 40 bikes or so, so the Maker Faire gave EBBC that much space. Well, last year it rained, so a lot of people didn't ride (and probably some didn't go at all). This year, it was warm (and a little humid -- what's up with that?) and sunny, and the space was filled to overflowing. To complicate matters, normally EBBC gets an enclosed space to park bikes in, with one entrance to control access. This space was along the driveway used for musicians and makers to bring in their gear, so we had the back access to worry about, a steady stream of non-bike people going through, and we had to keep the driveway clear. Shortly after I arrived we had to start with a one-out, one-in policy, as we didn't have room for any more bikes until some left.

So when the end of my shift was approaching at 2pm, I asked Max if they'd had any volunteers sign up for the 2pm to closing shift. Given the day so far, I was completely unsurprised to hear that they hadn't. Given the extra challenges, I decided to stay and keep helping. During a bathroom break I checked out a few of the makers nearby, but didn't really get to spend much time there. The Crucible had some cool exhibits, including a truck with a fire calliope sort of thing that kids could trigger from a control panel. There was also a place where kids could make and decorate cardboard rockets, then have them launched into the air from a compressor-powered rig. There were a lot of happy kids I saw, so I'd say the event was a big success even if it wasn't the best organized.

All in all, it wasn't a bad day. Just different than I'd planned.