photo of the week: rust

I'm not sure why this picture from today's Oakland Urban Paths walk grabs me the way it does, but, well, it does. Why are things in various states of decay so interesting?

upcoming #Oakland events

Summer may be over, but there's no let up in the fun things to do in Oakland.

Friday - tonight

Bites off Broadway - the season finale of my favorite food truck gathering

Deep East #Oakland Mayoral Summit - ask some of the mayoral candidates about their plans for Oakland

Art Walk Reception at Gray Loft Gallery - 2nd Friday Art Walk in Jingletown

East Bay Bike Party - a fun party on two wheels. This month's theme: zombies!

Saturday

Oakland Urban Paths - Butters Canyon - join Oakland Urban Paths and local historian Dennis Evanosky in exploring Butters Canyon near Joaquin Miller Park

Life is Living Festival - a celebration of urban life

Urban Cycling 101 - a FREE bicycling safety class from Bike East Bay

F*R*E*E - A Documentary - a documentary following 5 of the youth dancers at the Destinary Arts Center in north Oakland. It will be premiering at the Mill Valley Film Festival

Flourish Oakland - art party and auction, the annual fundraiser for the Oakland Art Murmur, at Classic Cars West

Sunday

Rockridge Out and About - the annual fun-filled street festival in Rockridge

Further Ahead

Paws on the Square - fun for four-legged friends and their people in Jack London Square, including some specials from dog-friendly restaurants (Wednesdays in October)

Harvest at the Hacienda - special reception for teachers, principals and administrators to learn about the educational opportunities at historic Peralta Hacienda (October 16)

Third Fridays at Blackball Universe - celebrating emerging artists

Autumn Lights at the Gardens at Lake Merritt - a festival of lights, fire, fun and food in the beautiful Gardens at Lake Merritt (October 17 and 18)

Ghost Investigation at Pardee Home Museum - Just in time for Halloween! (October 18)

Hella-Ween Fun Run - 5K fun run and costume contest in Old Oakland (October 25)

Farley's-to-Farley's Bike Parade and Custom Contest! - bike parade and costume contest starting at Farley's East and ending at Farley's on 65th (October 26)

'Class' fashion show - Fashion show from Underground Runway, at Transmission Gallery (November 1)

Oaktoberfest

Saturday was the annual Oaktoberfest celebration in the Dimond. I don't make it every year, but I made a point of going this year because one of the music performers was the legendary Pete Escovedo. The weather was hot, but tons of people came out to drink beer, eat food, listen to music, and generally have a good time.

A video of the Bavarian dancing:


A video of some young people playing with Pete Escovedo's band:


Lots more pictures from Oaktoberfest:

fall color

We're in the midst of our usual fall heat wave, where offshore winds drive away @KarlTheFog, raise temperatures and fire danger, and make some Bay Area folks think "earthquake weather". Although our fall is nothing like back east, we do get some fall color.

Broads Run Broadway

From the painted ladies featured yesterday, we go to The Pink Ladies. Saturday evening was an Oakland running event, Broads Run Broadway, put on by the same group that does the Oakland Marathon. I was there with Oakland Firefighters Random Acts to help with the inflatable screen, projector and sound system. After the race, there was a costume contest, then we showed the sing-along version of Grease.

More pictures: