upcoming Oakland events

It's time again for First Friday and the Art Murmur. Events of special note include the grand opening of the sculpture garden in Uptown, the opening of the second part of the Robert Akeley exhibition in Temescal, the annual tulip festival at Mountain View Cemetery, and the Oakland International Film Festival at the New Parkway, Grand Lake and other locations.

Wednesday

What I Hear, I Keep: Stories from Oakland's Griots - Wednesday-Saturday, 2:30-5:30pm. Visual and audio art installation at Peralta Hacienda based on African American stories of modern-day Oakland, with local residents telling about their lives and exploring their identities. (with $5 admission)

Vintage porcelain at the Pardee Home - Wednesdays, 2nd Saturdays, 2nd Sundays. View the historic Pardee Home and the collection of porcelain collected by the globe-trotting Mrs. Pardee. You can take the tour for $5 or have the tour and tea for $25. Read more at World of Mailman. Read about the tea service on the East Bay Express. ($5/$25)

Thursday

Oakland International Film Festival - April 4-7; various Oakland locations including The New Parkway, Grand Lake Theater and others. See Eventbrite listing for more details.

Friday

Mountain View Cemetery Tulip Festival - Friday, April 5 - Sunday, April, 7. Mountain View Cemetery's annual tulip festival. There will be special exhibitions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the outdoor flowers will be on view at any time. Read more in the Oakland Tribune. (free)

Off the Grid at OMCA - Friday, 5-9pm. The Off the Grid food truck pod comes to the Oakland Museum for an evening of food and fun.

bike ride to Uptown Art Park opening - Friday, April 5, 5:30pm. The East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) and Bikes4Life will host a fun, 1.5 mile bike ride to the event. Riders of all ages are invited to gather at 5:30 p.m. at Bikes4Life, 1600 7th Street @ Willow in West Oakland (take BART to the West Oakland station). Free bike lights will be offered to participants courtesy of the City of Oakland (limited supply – arrive by 5:30 p.m.). Bike valet parking will be provided by Richmond Spokes. (free)

Uptown Art Park opening - Friday, April 5, 6:30-8:30pm. Come celebrate the opening of the Uptown Art Park. Nine Sculpture Art Pieces by Local Artists, plus music, tours and food trucks. (free)

Opening of 2nd Exhibition by Robert Akeley - A Retrospective - Saturdays, 11am-5pm. See an exhibition of paintings by long-time resident Robert Akeley at the Rise Above Gallery.

Saturday

Spring Skate and Stroll in Temescal - Saturday, noon-4pm. Faux ice skating rink, skateboarding demos, and more. (free)

Paintings by Robert Akeley - A Retrospective - Saturdays, 11am-5pm. See an exhibition of paintings by long-time resident Robert Akeley at the Rise Above Gallery.

The Big Painting Show - Saturdays, 1-5pm. See paintings by 8 established Bay Area artists at the Gray Loft Gallery in Jingletown. The Big Painting Show: Layers of Abstraction features the work of Rick Arnitz, Mark Ashworth, Suzy Barnard, Jamie Brunson, Betty Jo Costanzo, Carol Lefkowitz, Simone Simon, and June Yokell. (free)

ongoing events:

• Art Murmur (1st Friday)
• Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)
• Mt. View Cemetery Tours (2nd and 4th Saturdays)
• Piedmont Avenue Stroll (3rd Thursdays)
• Off the Grid at OMCA (Fridays)

looking further ahead:

Day of Peace 2013 - Saturday, April 13, 9am-noon. Join Project Peace East Bay for Day of Peace service projects around Oakland and Berkeley. (free)

Oakland Urban Paths - Oakland's Parklets - Saturday, April 13, 10am. Explore some of Oakland’s parklets and urban nature. Start at Farley’s (east). (free)

OHA: Great Estates in April - Saturday, April 20. The Oakland Heritage Alliance house tour features Tudor and Mediterranean revival style homes Claremont Pines and Upper Rockridge, which emerged as suburban garden developments in the first decades of the 1900s. ($30+)

Celebrate Cambodian New Year at Peralta Hacienda - Saturday, Apri l 20, 10am-3pm. Join Peralta Hacienda in celebrating the Cambodian New Year.

25th Annual Heart of the Home Tour - Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27. Tour beautiful homes and support the work of the Children's Support League of the East Bay. Includes the Harrow Mansion in Piedmont, designed by noted Oakland architect Julia Morgan. ($47+)

Waste Not - with St. Vincent de Paul Society - Saturday, April 27, 10am-3pm. Support the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society by bringing your electronic waste to their warehouse for recycling. (free)

Celebrate the Paramount Theatre - Satuday, April 27. Join the Art Deco Society to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the restoration of the Paramount Theatre. ($100+)

A Taste of Spring - May 2, 5:30pm. A fundraiser supporting Oakland park projects and helping underserved kids attend great OPR classes and camps.

Glenview Cottage Industries Show - Saturday, May 11, 10am-5pm. Featuring local artists and craftspeople in Glenview.

Oakland Running Festival photos

Last weekend I volunteered as a course marshal for the Oakland Running Festival. I was stationed near Grand Avenue where the runners came up from alongside Lake Merritt, and my duties were to (1) keep runners on course (2) cheer them on. I think I did pretty well on both counts, though it would have been helpful to have a second person stationed where the course turned away from the lake to come up the hill. In the afternoon I shifted down the hill a bit, since with larger gaps between runners, they didn't have others to follow.

Though my back was sore and my voice a bit hoarse by the time the race was done, I had fun. I hope the runners had as much fun as I did cheering them on! A big thank you to all the folks who came out and cheered the runners on, and a special thank you to the bicyclist in orange who stuck around and helped me direct traffic. The final runner on the course was determined to make it, and a bunch of OPD officers were cheering her on. There was a whole lot of Oakland love out there.

More pictures from the running festival:

exploring Huckleberry park

Tucked away in the Oakland hills between the bigger and better-known Sibley and Redwood Regional Parks is a small green gem, Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve. I've lost track of the number of times I've been there and how many photos I've taken.

But when it came time to create an Oakland Wiki page for it, I could only find a few, including this photo of wintering ladybugs that I shot on film(!) back in 2001. So yesterday I took advantage of the overcast skies to get some photos appropriate for showing it off. The park has a heavy tree canopy, so it's easier to shoot on an overcast day without bright patches of sunlight poking through.

Rather than repeat what I've written, you can read about it the Oakland Wiki page for Huckleberry. A few photos from yesterday are there, and there are lots more below. Some interesting piece about Huckleberry I've neglected? You can edit the Oakland Wiki, too!

Lots more photos from Huckleberry:

photo of the week: heavy metal

Ilove all the competing lines in this shot. In hindsight, I wish I'd had more time and room to shoot this, but it was during the crowded opening for the Manos de Oro Gallery last weekend.

signs: Beauty Salon

Spotted this faded sign when I went to the Manos de Oro Gallery opening last weekend. It's clearly been hanging for a while. My brain keeps merging the various titles, resulting in beautee slop.