upcoming Oakland events

Not surprisingly there are a lot of Halloween and Day of the Dead events coming up. Many neighborhoods and churches are putting on kid-friendly Halloween parades and events. But the end of October also brings about the conclusion of the city walking tours for 2011. As always, be aware of current conditions, but doubly so for events around city hall.

'Thriller' record attempt - Saturday, October 29, 7pm. An attempt to set a new world record of people dancing to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. The local event is at Studio One Art Center, 365 45th Street.

Dia de los Muertos - Sunday, October 30, 10am-5pm. A community celebration of the Day of the Dead in the Fruitvale. Lots of live music, rides and games for kids, Aztec dancers, and more.

OMCA Family Tour | Days of the Dead - Sunday, October 30, 12-3pm. Take a special docent-led Family Tour of the exhibition Love & Loss: Los Días de los Muertos 2011 at 1 pm. Drop into a family art-making activity from 12 to 3.

Halloween events
Piedmont Avenue Halloween Parade - Saturday, October 29, 11:45am. Head to Piedmont Ave. for the Halloween Parade, followed by Treat or Treating, music on the plazas and an annual pet contest at Paws on Piedmont.

Annual Pumpkin Festival - Saturday, October 29, 12-3pm. The 6th annual Pumpkin Festival at Mountain View Cemetery, with pumpkins, bounce houses, face-painting, and more.

Boo at the Zoo - Saturday October 29, 10am-3pm. Visit the Oakland Zoo for their annual Halloween event, Boo at the Zoo! Stroll the Zoo in costume and collect yummy treats. Ride the spooky boo train, then be part of the costume parade. Plus, you'll get to see how the animals at the Oakland Zoo celebrate Halloween.

Jack O' Lantern Jamboree! - Saturday October 29 & October 30. A "More Delightful than Frightful" event at Children's Fairyland. Little kids' and bigger kids' bouncer, face painting, balloon twisting, creatively crafted environments, special entertainment, costume parades, unlimited rides, free give-aways and the spooktacular Old West Junction Ghost Town!

Children's Halloween Parade - Sunday, October 30, 11:45am. A chance for children to trick or treat and show off their costumes on College Avenue. Meet at College Avenue Presbyterian at 5951 College in Rockridge.

Lions Club Halloween Parade - Monday, October 31, 3-5pm. The annual Halloween parade in Montclair Village for kids (and pets) gives them an opportunity to show off their finest Halloween outfits.

Temescal Trick or Treat - Monday, October 31, 4-6pm. Kids can stroll Telegraph Avenue and collect treats from local vendors.

Trunk or Treat - Monday, October 31, 5:30pm-9:30pm. Trick or Treating, Pumpkin Carving, Art and Crafts, Bounce House, Carnival Games, Taco Truck and Bake Sale at Regeneration Church.

Candy Giveaway - Monday, October 31, 12-4pm. Oakland Parks and Rec will be giving away candy to kids at 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza. Call 238-3791 or 238-7275 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:
Food Justice: Honoring our Roots - Conference begins with short courses and Food Justice Tours throughout the Bay Area, and will look back to the roots of the food movement, discuss the Food & Farm Bill, and examine where the movement is heading.
Urban Paths - November 12. Secret Stairs, Fire and BART - Check out stairs, Vicente Creek and a special BART stairway along the Oakland/Berkeley borderlands.

Red Cross 5k Fun Run

On a beautiful Saturday morning, the Red Cross held its first ever Out for Blood 5k Fun Run. It was a fundraiser towards a new blood drive truck for use here in the East Bay. I'm not a runner, but K does some so she gamely signed up for it.

There was a good turnout for a first-time event (and only a little confusion with the Step Out: Diabetes Walk that was happening nearby at the same time.) While some people were clearly there to run it as fast as they could, a lot were there for fun, and were accompanied by children in running strollers or four-legged running/walking companions. K finished faster than her target time so she was pleased but tired.

More pictures:

progress on new Kaiser building

new Kaiser building

It's been a work in progress for the last couple of years, but today before my dentist appointment I got a different look at the new Kaiser building on MacArthur between Broadway and Piedmont Ave. An existing Kaiser building is on the left, and I-580 runs across the foreground, all beneath a lovely autumn sky.

Pedalfest: fun, food, beer and bikes

penny-farthing at Pedalfest

Saturday was Pedalfest, a celebration of bikes, cycling, food, family and fun. There was perfect weather for the large crowd that turned out.

There were handmade bikes of all shapes and sizes, a vintage bike museum, a BMX riding demo, the Whiskey Drome, a kids' area and bike parade, food, live music, beer (thank you, New Belgium Brewing!), and of course valet bike parking.

I checked things out in the morning, then volunteered in the beer garden with other East Bay Bike Coalition and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland members. It looked like everyone was having a good time (and only a few having a little too good a time), from kids in the bike parade to people watching the crazy cyclists in the Whiskey Drome, to people just marveling at the beautiful and creative bikes like the giant double high wheel bike.











Lots more pictures:

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.