Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Bison brewing with Oakland-grown hops! - celebrate at Hops and Harvest


I'm a big fan of buying local, urban gardens, helping others, and of beer, so Saturday there's an event tailor-made for me.

Bison Brewing has been making tasty beer since 1989. Beginning in 2003, their beers were certified organic, one of the first breweries to make fully organic beers. Bison supports local non-profits, and are working on The Beer Wagon, a big red beer-serving truck, to help raise funds for even more non-profits.

On Saturday, Bison is teaming up with the Peoples Victory Garden for a fundraiser, Hops and Harvest. They're celebrating the release of a new beer, Oakland Hop Harvest Ale, which uses hops grown here in Oakland. (Cascade Hops, for those who wonder about such things.)

The event will include a brewing demonstration, edible garden classes, live music and various activities for adults and children. Food from Fist of Flour Pizza Company (who are working on a new brick-and-mortar location) and Rosamunde Sausage Grill will be available for purchase. Tickets for the event are $10 in advance ($5 for kids) or $15 at the door. Get tickets here.

If you can't make the event on Saturday but want to check out the beer, below is a list of locations that are serving it. Most are in Oakland and Berkeley, though there are a few elsewhere.
locationcity
Ben & NicksOakland
Cato'sOakland
CommonwealthOakland
Hog's ApothecaryOakland
New Parkway TheaterOakland
Olde DepotOakland
PortalOakland
Rosemunde'sOakland
Bobby G'sBerkeley
Beta LoungeBerkeley
FreehouseBerkeley
JupiterBerkeley
SaturnBerkeley
TRexBerkeley
BistroHayward
California Craft BeerFremont
Whole Foods Potrero HillSan Francisco

Check out the great article on Bay Area Bites.

Friday, November 1, 2013

upcoming Oakland events

It's a First Friday, so the usual Art Murmur and First Friday activities. The big event for the weekend is the Day of the Dead festival in Fruitvale.

Thursday

Barbary Coast Comedy - Thursdays, 7-8:30pm, at Legionnaire Saloon on Telegraph. A weekly comedy showcase, featuring cutting-edge comedy from names you know and up-and-coming comedians from around the Bay and beyond! (a Belgian comedian? they can probably make you laugh in 3 languages) ($5 cover)

Friday

Art Murmur and First Friday - Art Murmur Uptown, Downtown, every where in town. Plus First Friday events on Telegraph. (free)

Saturday

Dia De Los Muertos festival - Saturday, November 2. The annual Day of the Dead celebration in Fruitvale. Read about last year's festival. (free)

Sunday

Underground Runway presents X'Pression - Sunday, November 3, 1-3pm. Join Underground Runway (UGRW) for a fall fashion show. UGRW is a platform for unsigned and under recognized talent. ($5-$10)

ongoing events:

looking further ahead:

Biketopia with EBBC - Friday, November 8, 5:30-9:30pm. Join East Bay Bicycle Coalition to celebrate successes and look forward to future challenges to making the East Bay bicycle-friendly. ($15-$50)

Oakland Urban Paths - exploring the Hayward Fault #2 - Saturday, November 9, 10am. OUP explores a different section of the Hayward Fault with historian Dennis Evanosky. (free)

PLACE Festival of the Commons - Saturday, November 9, 10am-5pm. Join neighbors in the Golden Gate District for a festival of the commons. Actual Cafe and Yu Ming School will be planting in front of the school, and there will be numerous demos and activities. (free)

Hops 'N' Harvest - Saturday, November 9, 1-5pm. Peoples Victory Garden and Bison Brewing celebrate the release of Bison's Hop Harvest Ale made with hops grown in Oakland. Fundraiser for the Victory Garden Foundation, with live music, brewing demo, garden classes, and more. ($5-$15)

CityCamp Oakland - Saturday, November 9. The 2nd annual "unconference" brings together citizens, city government, and businesses to innovate, enhance transparency and increase civic engagement. (free)

Novemberfest 2013 - Sunday, November 10, 12-4pm. Enjoy local beer from Linden Street Brewery, Drakes, and more, sausage from Pizzaiolo, live music, and more. Proceeds benefit WOBO. (free)

Blackball Universe: Urban Outskirts - Friday, November 15. Meet the artists behind Urban Outskirts, showing November 2-December 29. (free)

Transgender Day of Rememberance - Wednesday, November 20, 5:15pm at Frank Ogawa Plaza. A day of sharing, silence, support and community to remember those lost to violence.

Underground Runway: Civilized - Thursday, November 21, 6-8pm. Join Underground Runway (UGRW) for a fall fashion show. UGRW is a platform for unsigned and under recognized talent. Hosted by Vessel Gallery.

"Fences" by August Wilson at AAMLO - November 28,29,30. The Lower Bottom Playaz continue through Wilson's The Century Cycle, presending "Fences" at AAMLO. ($15-$30)

JLS lights up for the holidays - Friday, December 6, 5-7:30pm. Lighting of the 55' tree, holiday musical entertainment, live reindeer, tap dancing trees, costumed characters, and more! The tree lighting will take place at 7:15. (free)

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

food+drink: Black Spring Coffee Company


One of the latest places to open on Telegraph is Black Spring Coffee Company on the edge of Pill Hill. In what's been a mostly empty stretch of storefronts between Commonwealth Cafe and Public House and the Bee Healthy Honey Shop, it's a lively addition to the area.

Owner Ryan Stark happily serves customers his favorite coffee, Monsoon Medley, the least acidic coffee out there. It's Indian coffee roasted in Menlo Park, and is very tasty. There's a nice vibe, and although there's no wireless, there were a number of people working and talking with each other when I was there. Definitely a nice place to hang out.



One of the people working there was local (very local, as in he lives nearby) artist Keith Magruder, who has numerous watercolors of food hanging on the walls. He grew up in Washington, DC, helping his mother and grandmother bake, which regardless of the occasion helped bring joy into their lives. In Keith's words, he "paints bread because it is a modern symbol of class, status, culture and race while also being a staple food for many cultures." While I was there, he was working on a painting of another modern symbol, a pair of Air Nikes.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

HellaWeen Fun Run 2013 was hella fun


Saturday in Old Oakland was the 2nd annual HellaWeen Fun Run. Hundreds of people turned out to run, most of them in costume. Most people were just out for fun, but a few took the running a little more seriously. The top finishers for the 5K race were Daveon Sadusky (18:21), Connor Waterloo (20:06) and Ashley Clayborne (20:12).

As with last year, the most popular "water" stop was at Linden Street Brewery. Adam and his crew were serving up water, Old Brick Bitter, and Campovida had glasses of wine, too.

The best costume winner was a group dressed as Pacman and five ghosts, but there were lots of great, creative costumes. The winner of the most popular costume (relying in no small part on the cuteness factor) was a little girl dressed as Bat Kid and her mom dressed as Robin.

Congrats to all the racers, whether you ran, walked, skipped, or were in a stroller! I hope you all had lots of fun, and hope to see you out next spring for the Oakland Running Festival in March, whether you run or just cheer the racers on.



Lots more pictures from Saturday:

Learn to Curl with SF Bay Area Curling Club


This weekend in Oakland was a special learn-to-curl event with the SF Bay Area Curling Club, Road to the Olympics - Olympic Celebration Tour. Sponsored by the World Curling Federation, it featured Olympian Carolyn McRorie as well as other Northern California Olympians (not necessarily in curling). In addition to the learn-to-curl sessions, there was also a mini-bonspiel (tournament) on Sunday, and special learn-to-curl sessions for youth.

I was reminded just how much fun curling is! It's an easy sport to learn, but with enough finesse to it that you could spend a lifetime improving and enjoying it.

Some short video clips from Friday:


More pictures from Friday: