Full Moon Buy Night and More, Thurs. Oct 1, 2009

On the evening of October 1st, Jack London Square will host Full Moon Buy Night, a night market in the festive tradition of Italian village fairs, the German holiday market, and the Moroccan bazaar.

Location: Jack London Square, Oakland (Broadway at Embarcadero)

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Running from 5:30PM to 9:30PM, the event will celebrate all things Oakland. The market will feature local artisans and merchants selling their wares, accompanied by live music, strolling entertainers, ice skating, and delicious food.

Full Moon Buy Night will take that online experience into the real world for one exciting night.

Throughout the Evening enjoy comedic magician, get Free animal balloons for kids, hear the beautiful music styling of Ron Matthews, hear french accordion music while strolling performed by Odile Lavault, and Play Skate Away Hunger on JLS's Skating Rink

View the FULL MOON through telescopes provided by the Chabot Space & Science Center

Visit the Oakbook's Art Gallery - Improvised Branches, a survey of contemporary Bay Area Art.
And hear and see so much more!

2 Hour History Cruise on San Francisco Bay

At 10:30 AM

Cruise aboard Franklin Roosevelt's Presidential Yacht Potomac. Fully restored, this "Floating White House" provides a narrated History cruise around San Francisco Bay.

Later in the evening after enjoying the Full Moon Buy Night event, check out:

Bach On Board the USS Potomac

At 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

This dockside concert aboard FDR's presidential yacht, the USS Potomac will be a great evening of live music by The Picasso String Quartet. Feel free to jump on board at 6:00 PM and receive a tour of the boat by one of the Potomac's docents. Cocktail tidbits are included in the ticket price.

Wine and beer will be available at bargain prices.

For more information call 510-627-1215.

A "FlashBack" Moment

In the early 1980's, I worked on Treasure Island for a short period, during that time the USS Potomac was seized in San Francisco as a front for drug smugglers - moored at Treasure Island she later , she sank.

GreenPoint Showcase Tour in THE POINT

The Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood is pleased to have two residential developments featured in the GreenPoint Showcase Tour, on Sunday, October 4th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This self-guided tour (partnership of Build It Green and KTVU Channel 2) will allow you to meet some of the Bay Area’s most accomplished green builders and view the many products and practices incorporated in a GreenPoint Rated home.

Both Pacific Cannery Lofts (for sale) and Ironhorse (leasing) are located in the Central Station development.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS NOW

Other project addresses for the tour will be provided after you have purchased your tickets.
For more information regarding these two project please go to their links Pacific Cannery Lofts or Ironhorse.

For more information on this event, “green building” or greenpoint rated, go to the Pacific Cannery Lofts blog, here

Film Festival

The 8th Oakland International Film Festival™

Friday/Saturday Events Within-The-Point

Within-The-Point

Live Music TONIGHT @ Lobot Gallery
Tune-Yards, Quinn, Eleanor Murray & Invisible River

DARK ROMANTIC a sequence of new works

by LoBot's September Artist-in-Residence Erika Pahk

LoBot Gallery 1800 Campbell Street, Oakland Directions
Saturday, September 26th @ 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Fusing principles of art jewelry and up-cycling, Erika culls readymade materials such as plastic zip ties and reclaimed utilitarian articles to meticulously craft desirable, wearable adornment. At the same time, these sculptural works offer symbolic, often humorous narratives about shame and longing in the vein of the Dark Romantics of literature. Worn on the body or hung from a cross-beam, an ominous visual weight tethers these fabulous, featherlike objects.

Health Fair / Tarlesson Family Farms

The Network for a Healthy California-Bay Area is sponsoring a health fair Friday, Sept. 25th, 2009, from Noon to 5 p.m. at the Mandela Foods Cooperative, 1430 Seventh St. Directions

Cooking demonstrations, tips for growing gardens, health screenings, and traditional Liberian dance performed by members of the Tarlesson Family Farms will be featured.

Healthy Recipes

The Tarlesson (50-acre ) Farm owned and operated by the Tarlesson family located in Guinda, CA produces rich, high-value, 100% Authentic African vegetables using the Liberia farming techniques of the Chedepo-Grebo people.

The Tarlesson Family Farms specialize in chemical-free and natural sun-dried tomatoes, okra and eggplants seasoning and spices.

Events in the surrounding areas of The Point

“ON THE WATERFRONT”
A Paramount Movie Classic

Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland
Friday, September 25th @ 8:00 p.m.

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) - Based on the true story of a longshoreman who tried to overthrow a corrupt union On the Waterfront was shot on location in Hoboken, N.J., on and near the docks, with real longshoremen playing themselves.

Marlon Brando's performance as the young ex-prizefighter who struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses.

Movie Trailer

My favorite quote: Terry played by Marlon Brando lay badly beaten by Johnny Friendly who is played by Lee J. Cobb and his goons…

Terry: Get me on my feet.

Father Barry (Karl Malden) and Edie (Eva Marie Saint) help Terry stand up

Father Barry: How're you doing?

Terry: Am I on my feet?

Hammer and Paulina Rubio @ The Fox Theater
Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Avenue
Show Times: 8:00 p.m.

Friday, September 25th

Hammer with guests: Whodini

Hammer remembered for U Can't Touch This and Whodini for Friends

Saturday, September 26th

Paulina Rubio dubbed "La Chica Dorada" (The Golden Girl) is one of the top-selling female Latin pop artists with over 20 million records sold worldwide.

Don’t forget The Den, 1912 Telegraph Ave inside The Fox Theater for a cocktail.

Other options are Luka's Taproom & Lounge, 2221 Broadway, Oakland,

(Check their Calendar for the current events)

And the "Neighborhood Happenings" section of the POPna Blog.

WOCAG Meeting - Sept. 24, 2009

West Oakland Community Advisory Group (WOCAG) is a forum for community members to give input into developing the army base reuse plan, to keep community members informed, to participate in developing advisory recommendations to the City of Oakland, and to provide the public an opportunity to regularly review progress of the planning process.

WOCAG's next regularly-scheduled meeting is Thursday, Sept. 24th, 2009 from 6:00 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. at the West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline Street, Oakland

The agenda items include: Nominations for Vice Chairperson, Updates on Oakland Army Base Development; Status Report on Selection Process for Master Developer (Al Auletta, Army Base Redevelopment Area Manager); Port of Oakland Reports (Laura Arreola, Port of Oakland);

The next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 22nd, 2009

Please note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the November meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 19th, 2009.

For more information contact: Margaret Sullivan, Oakland Redevelopment Agency; 510. 238.7387 or msullivan@oaklandnet.com

Remember Them: Champions for Humanity

Mario Chiodo, Prescott-Oakland Point sculptor, presented the final sculpting of the Maya Angelou and Ruby Bridges section of the “Remember Them: Champions for Humanity monument” honoring 25 inspirational humanitarians to a room full of supporters and contributors.

In attendance to welcome the first stage of completion to this historic monument was Don Perata (MC), Ruby Nell Bridges, Guy Johnson (Maya Angelou's son) and Leon Leyson (the youngest member of Shindler's List).

Historical significance:

On November 14, 1960, Ruby Nell Bridges was the first African-American student to attend a formerly all -white elementary school (William Frantz Public School) in New Orleans. In 1960, desegregation was ordered in New Orleans, after passing a test, Ruby was selected to enter first-grade at William Frantz Public School. Although there were five other African-American students scheduled to enter the public schools in New Orleans, two decided to stay in their own schools, three were assigned to another school while Ruby entered William Frantz alone.

Leon Leyson, one of the youngest surviving members of 1,200 Polish Jews whose lives were saved by Oskar Schindler, when he employed them to work in his factories during World War II.

Leyson was 10 years-old when the war started and 13 when his father brought him into Oscar Schindler’s enamelware factory DEF. After World War 2, Leon Leyson spent three years in a displaced persons camp near Frankfurt Am Main in Germany. He came to the U.S. in 1949.

Leyson's mother and sister were among the 300 Schindler-women, who were routed on a train to Auschwitz by a mistake. Schindler bribed the Nazis and rescued the women who were released from Auschwitz - the only shipment out of the death camp during World War 2.

Maya Angelou (Marguerite Ann Johnson) achievements span over seven decades and showcase a wealth of talents, starting in 1942, when she became San Francisco’s first female cable car conductor.

In Maya Angelou 1969 autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, the first of a six volume series, she chronicled the journey of a young woman who overcame a childhood rape, made a pilgrimage to Africa, served as a civil rights activist and became an example of self-determination.

The caged bird sings with fearful trill,
of the things unknown but longed for still,
and is tune is heard on the distant hill,
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

Other works by recent Mario Chiodo, include Oakland Children Fairyland- Entrance Marquee Topiary Dragon, Genie and Lamp, Storybook; Oakland Zoo-Otter Den Treehouse, Ladybug Climber, Spider Climber, Aldabra Tortoise and Shell Climber, and the Tomato Frog.

ESP: a musical meeting of mind and spirit in motion

West Oakland, particularly the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood has been known to be an incubator for the Arts, Jazz and Blues continues that legacy with Prescott Oakland Point resident percussionist Kele Nitoto.

Tonight, Friday September 18, at 8:00 p.m.

presented by the Jazzschool at 2087 Addison St. in Berkeley

“ESP: a musical meeting of mind and spirit in motion”

Featuring Bassist/ keyboardist Alan Kimara Dixon, drummer Kele Nitoto, and violinist India Cooke they create a sound collage, incorporating African rhythms and cosmic improvisations. Their music of ritual and celebration is steeped in traditions that reach back beyond jazz roots.

For more information call 510.845.5373

To buy tickets, click here

Another jazz venue:

Free-Jazz Fridays Artists as seemingly unconnected as Mahalia Jackson, John Coltrane, and Biggie Smalls all use a similar register of expression, wherein rhythm, pitch, and phrasing take precedence over substantive content - what's actually said always pales in comparison to how it's said. East ... More

First and Third Friday of every month, 8 p.m. 8th Street Performance Space, 1510 8th St., Oakland.

Oakland Running Festival in the Prescott-Oakland Point

Race organizers announced the Inaugural Oakland Running Festival held on March 27th and 28th, 2010 will enter the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood from Mandela Parkway and 7th street up Mandela Parkway to West Grand then veer right up Peralta before turning on 26th Street.

In a Chip Johnson (SF Chronicle) article he summarize this race "For all its shortcomings, from crime to debt to poor leadership, Oakland is a runners' city, and it's evident any day of the week, from the scores of people making the 3.3-mile trek around Lake Merritt to those who seek greater challenges on hillside trails and steep city streets."

"The two-day event scheduled for March is a prime-time opportunity to show off Oakland's hidden gems, shed a positive light on a national stage, and begin a tradition to make the race an annual event for the world's top long-distance runners."

Here's a downloadable Map and Course by Street

West Oakland Project Area Committee Picnic

AC Transit News

Transbay passengers are making the move to TransLink to reduce boarding times during the construction of a new San Francisco Transbay Terminal, AC Transit agreed to discontinue the use of transbay magnetic-strip (paper) tickets on all transbay lines. AC Transit stopped selling transbay magnetic-strip tickets on all transbay lines on June 19, 2009. Buses will stop accepting these tickets on all transbay lines as of September 30, 2009. This means that starting October 1, 2009, passengers will no longer be able to use the 10-Ride and 31-Day transbay tickets for rides across the Bay.

Instead, passengers will use TransLink cards or pay their fares in cash. Former 10-Ride ticket users will be able to load any amount of cash ("e-cash") -- up to $100 at one time -- onto a TransLink card, which then deducts the fare each time it is tagged on the bus. 31-Day ticket customers will be able to load the equivalent of a 31-Day ticket onto their TransLink card.

The elimination of transbay magnetic-strip tickets includes AC Transit lines operating over the Dumbarton and San Mateo bridges. Likewise, passengers on these lines will also pay fares with TransLink, cash, or other accepted fare media from connecting operators. The new fare plan only applies to transbay fares and does not affect either local 10-Ride and 31-Day tickets or UC Berkeley students with ID cards and valid Class Pass stickers. Passengers are encouraged to use up their existing tickets as soon as possible and make their next fare purchase ("e-cash" if you currently use 10-Ride tickets, or a 31-Day pass) on a free TransLink card available at AC Transit's ticket offices in downtown Oakland and at the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco.

The ticket office at the existing Terminal will close permanently at day's end Friday, September 18. There will be details available at the Terminal, as well as on online, about how to load TransLink cards or exchange unused transbay tickets after that date. Since June 22, passengers have had the opportunity to exchange their unused tickets for the equivalent value on a TransLink card. Exchanges can be made currently at the two ticket offices.