Welcome to the Prescott-Oakland Point Neighborhood

What's going on at the Army Base?

2009-07-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 14th, 1:30pm in Hearing Room One at the City of Oakland CEDA Committee Meeting , the Committee members will hear a staff report regarding the Army Base Master Developer selection.

Staff is recommending an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement ("ENA") with AMB Property Corporation / California Capital Group ("AMB/CCG ") regarding a proposed development of a mixed-use project consisting of logistics, industrial, office, project-serving retail and other uses mandated by the Agency on up to 135 acres of the former Oakland Army Base (“OAB”).

Here are the two proposals for redeveloping the Oakland Army base:

CCG/AMB

Major elements: 506,000 square feet of industrial, loading and logistics space, 397,000 square feet of R&D space, 34,000 square feet of retail, 133,000 square feet for the Oakland Film Center, 205,000 square foot produce market, 1.15 million square feet of Class A office space, 16.5 acres of open space.Jobs created: 3,288.Cost: $572 million.

Federal Development/Em Johnson Interest

Major elements: 600,000 square feet of large format and outlet retail, 85,000 square foot entertainment facility, 700,000 square feet of R&D and office, 136,000 for the Oakland Film Center, 215,000-square-foot produce market, 25,000-square-foot art studio and gallery, 12,000-square-foot ferry landing, 30 acres of open space.Jobs created: 4,266.Cost: $687 million.

SOURCE: City of Oakland.

On Thursday, July 16th, 12:00 Noon in the Board Room the Maritime Committee will review a Exclusive Negotiating Agreement ("ENA") with AMB/CCG for the Purpose of Negotiating the Final Forms of an Option Agreement and a Master Lease Agreement for a portion of the former Oakland Army Base (“OAB”) and Other Lands that comprise approximately 168 Acres.

Crucible's 9th Annual Fire Arts Festival

2009-07-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wednesday - Saturday, July 15-18, 2009
8:00PM - 11:59PM

NEW LOCATION THIS YEAR! (see where)

Each July The Crucible’s Fire Arts Festival celebrates creativity through fire and light with a spectacular open-air exhibition of interactive fire art, performance and the largest collection of outdoor fire sculpture on the West Coast.

This year we will be expanding the festival in a new, larger location. Our new Oakland location is three times larger than years past, giving attendees more elbow room and us the ability to bring you more of your favorite artists. We will have more fire and light sculptures, food and merchandise vendors.

In addition to our regular performances, we will feature the world premiere of Dan Cantrell's The Rootabaga Ope ra.

The 10-year-old nonprofit was founded in 1999 by a small group of artists seeking to combine the industrial arts with sculpture and multimedia techniques housed in a single location.

The Crucible is known for promoting the reuse of materials that results in creative expression and innovative design.

Through their rich offerings of hands-on classes, participants young and old can learn skills from blacksmithing and ceramics, to welding, woodworking, fire performance and more.

Thanks to A Better Oakland folks for pointing me to some pics from the event. There are more pics at the Flickr site.

Prescott Oakland Point Healthy Foods Co-op

2009-07-11T02:53:00.000-07:00

West Oak land welcomes co-op's healthy foods

...Mandela Foods Cooperative, which opened June 6 across from the West Oakland BART Station in the Mandela Gateway affordable housing complex.

Mandela is stocked with bins of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains sold in bulk, snacks that eschew high-fructose corn syrup, organic dairy products, hormone-free meats and an array of grocery items. Canvas bags and T-shirts created by a local artist hang on the walls.

The owners earn a living wage and eventually will share in two-thirds of the store's profits. One-third of the profits will be returned to the community as matching funds to people who open accounts at the credit union next door.

Mayor Newsom visit model farm in POPNA area

2009-07-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Newsom's fresh idea: mandates on healthier food

Newsom made the announcement Wednesday (7.8.09) at a junkyard-turned-farm in West Oakland (Prescott - Oakland Point Neighborhood) that could serve as a model for how land could be converted in San Francisco. A stone's throw from BART, it used to be home to old cars and one angry dog, but now is run by the nonprofit City Slicker Farms.

With a handful of staff members and scores of volunteers from the neighborhood, the nonprofit operates six small farms in West Oakland and sells the produce, along with honey and eggs, on a sliding scale to local residents at a Saturday farm stand.

The 2,000-square-foot former junkyard now produces 2,000 pounds of food every year, including lettuce, squash, tomatoes, parsley, sage, collard greens, grapes, cherries and plums.

"This speaks to people's soul," said Barbara Finnin, director of City Slicker Farms. "It's a place people can relax, be outside, and nourish themselves and their families."

Newsom toured the farm, biting off a piece of kale to taste, munching on an apricot and admiring sunflowers taller than him.

Sand by the TON

2009-07-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

GRAND OPENING
Saturday, July 11 4:00p - late;

Free BBQ 'til 7pm

at American Steel, Oakland, CA

BIG ART STUDIOS PRESENTS SAND by the TON Join us at Oakland's newest beach for a grand opening of epic proportions. Swimwear encouraged!

Four electronic music stages

Three live music stages

250,000 square feet of art studios

1000s of your closest friends

200 TONs of sand

One carnival midway

Five swimming pools

Waking you up for a real cup of coffee

2009-07-04T01:39:00.000-07:00

Galatea Cafe

Now located at:

1308 Wood Street, Prescott Oakland Point Neighborhood
510.682.8980

A Christmas Carol Train Tour, June 26-28th "FREE"

2009-06-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

FAMILY FUN!

Friday - Saturday: 9am - 7pm

Sunday: 9am - 4pm

Oakland Middle Harbor Shoreline Park [map]

2777 Middle Harbor Road

Oakland, CA 94607

West Oakland Green Scene

2009-06-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

Music and entertainment by ArtEsteem, the Prescott Circus, and the Bay Area Blues Society's Caravan of All Stars, plus recycled crafts.

Price: free

Time & Date: Sat., June 6, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park located at the intersection of 7th St. and Middle Harbor Rd.

Map to the park

Driving directions are available at the East Bay Regional Park District website, and road signs directing visitors to the park are widespread.

From BART the AC Transit line 13 serves the park. Line 13 Map

Remembering Mother Wright

2009-05-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Mother Wright, who was a early Prescott-Oakland Point resident, stayed a couple of doors down from our house (Campbell Village) at 896 Campbell street in the early 60's.

Bishop Bob Jackson (who was also a Campbell village resident, living right behind us) will be leading the funeral services held May 28, beginning at 10 a.m. at ACTS FULL GOSPEL, COGIC.

Everyone knew everyone back then.

“I Heard That”: Remembering Mother Wright article excerpts:

Born July 11, 1921, raised in Louisiana, grew up poor, lost her mother when she was only 5 years old, raised by her father. In 1950, she fled an abusive husband and took her nine children by train to Oakland where other relatives lived. Mother Wright remarried, family increased to 12 children, worked two jobs to support her clan.

REMINDED of her words expressed when honored at an awards ceremony some years ago, lyrics from a hymn...”I’M A SHIP WITHOUT A SAIL, AND BY GOD’S GRACE, I’VE COME A LONG WAY. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT THE LORD.”

She’d fought a good fight, kept the faith, It was her time to CATCH THE ‘A’ TRAIN!

Mother Wright will truly be missed!

THE QUESTION

2009-03-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

In Dave Newhouse’s Sunday, March 29th, 2009 Good Neighbors article answers THE QUESTION “Oakland's wonderful despite warts”

Excerpts from that article:

THE QUESTION, of course: How can you live in a place like Oakland?

I quickly grew to like Oakland because of this cultural diversity, which has increased over the years. More than any other Bay Area city, Oakland resembles a pocket-size United Nations in its citizenry. Fascinating, indeed.

A fact that's often lost because of Oakland's crime figures, but its residents do get along as a rule. And you can have a good time in Oakland because it's hospitable, not haughty.

People eat well here, too. Oakland has the best soul food and — sorry, San Jose — the best Mexican food. Oakland has the Bay Area's premier ice cream parlor in Fentons, the best pizza at Pizzaiolo, the best bakery at Bake Sale Betty's, and the funkiest watering hole (now that the Kingfish is closed) in Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon.

Yoshi's of Oakland is the best local jazz club, intimate with great acoustics. However, Oakland is a phantasmagoria of international music in its wide-ranging sound. While the Oakland East Bay Symphony isn't as wealthy as the San Francisco Symphony, it isn't as staid either. OEBS director/conductor Michael Morgan is willing to experiment with new composers, and successfully.

And Oakland has restored — count them — two classic vintage theaters in the Paramount and Fox. Name another town where you've seen this happen.

When it comes to sports, Oakland tops San Francisco in world championships with eight (A's four, Raiders three, Warriors one) to five (all 49ers). No major-league city has anyone like Al Davis, who has been a coach, general manager, owner and commissioner, plus he moved his franchise out of town and then, uniquely, moved it back. Only in Oakland.

Oakland has much to offer, including fantastic hiking trails in its hills. And College Avenue, as I've stated before, is the greatest street in America — even before it hits the Berkeley city line — because of its incredible diversity.

Add the quaint European village-like atmosphere of the Montclair district, and that's yet another reason THE QUESTION doesn't bother me quite like it does some outsiders.

16th Street Train Station-KQED SPARKS - Katherine Westerhout

2009-03-28T02:20:00.000-07:00

Preview (Real Media) KQED SPARK Upcoming Broadcasts: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 -- 7:30pm; Thu, Apr 2, 2009 -- 1:30am; Fri, Apr 3, 2009 -- 11:30pm

"... What I am so drawn to is the way the light enters these buildings and the way it carries color, from the outside, depending on the time of day."-- Katherine Westerhout
Instead of glamorous hotspots, famous faces and iconic structures, Oakland-based photographer Katherine Westerhout prefers just the opposite. Rather than the latest and greatest venues du jour and the throngs that flock to them, Westerhout has built a career on creating large-scale images which capture the empty places long since forgotten by the general public -- including abandoned hospitals, churches, and theaters.

"I've been photographing in abandoned buildings for about 12 years now, and what I am so drawn to is the way the light enters these buildings and the way it carries color, from the outside, depending on the time of day," Westerhout explains to Spark during a photo shoot at the train depot at 16th and Wood streets in West Oakland.

Using only available light, Westerhout prefers to work from October to April, when the sun is closest to the horizon. She is attracted to subjects like the deteriorating station, which is a 1912 Beaux Arts gem and historical landmark, for the sense of mystery that accompanies the absence of human sound and movement. At the same time, Westerhout uses her photography to preserve a part of history that would otherwise be erased as new buildings and developments arrive to replace the old.

"The train station itself has a special feeling because of its history, because of its inherent beauty. But I also grew up in Oakland. And so the opportunity to photograph here, it feels like I'm giving a little back to my city and helping to preserve it," she says.

Westerhout earned a B.A. in art from San Francisco State University and has been exhibiting her photographs since the late 1990s. Her work has appeared in shows in the United States and internationally, at such venues as New York's Sepia International Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, the Oakland Museum of California, the San Jose Museum of Contemporary Art, the Berkeley Art Center, the Michael Hoppen Gallery (London, England) and the Biblioteca Nacional (Havana, Cuba).

More about the 16th Street Station:

West Oakland's 16th Street Train Station is an important historic and cultural landmark. Built in 1912 at the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, for decades the station served as a beacon of hope for European immigrants and American migrants seeking a better life in California. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt in the Beaux Arts style, the station boasted an intermodal transportation system ahead of its time -- cross-country travelers could arrive on Southern Pacific trains and transfer to streetcars that would take them to destinations throughout the Bay Area.

The train station was abandoned after damage from 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake rendered it unsafe. Since then it?s fallen victim to vandals, the elements, and general neglect. Originally purchased in 2000 by Holliday Development, plans for restoration and redevelopment of the station (now known as Central Station ) are currently being spearheaded by Oakland developer Phil Tagami. Once plans and funding sources have been finalized, Central Station will operate as a nonprofit community center, alongside parks, shops and new homes in the 29-acre area.

What's in a name????

2009-03-10T02:02:00.000-07:00

Prescott-Oakland Point Neighborhood History (Part 1)

In my earlier readings, I found the following:

Oakland Point began as a commuter suburb in the 1860s. The Central (later the Southern) Pacific Railroad arrived in 1869, transforming what had been a small commuter suburb into the western terminus of the first transcontinental railroad and virtually a railroad "company town."

Many nationalities have been represented in the town over the years--first Yankee and North Europeans, then Italians and Slavs, Asians, and African Americans. The numbers of African Americans grew dramatically during World War II, when young men from the South arrived in large numbers, attracted by good-paying railroad and shipyard jobs.

The rich heritage is documented in these two videos.

"Crossroads: A Story of West Oakland" uses historic views, both still photographs and early motion picture footage, to dramatize the railroad's dominance in the area during the 19th and early 20th century. Interviews with long-time residents show the strength and resilience of all of the groups that have occupied "The Point," still one of Oakland's largest and most intact Victorian neighborhoods.

"Privy To the Past" concentrates on information on the daily lives of ordinary families living in West Oakland from the 1800s through the early 1900s provided by archeological investigations conducted by CALTRANS.

For Location see "Oakland Point 1900" map below.

Here are some Prescott and Oakland Point references- Oakland Museum of CA

Case Study 29. Oakland Point Historic District, San Francisco County, CA (determined eligible for listing in the National Register in 1990)

Here is another reference: The Book of Jack London, by Charmian London 1921, chapter 3, page 29

“With the produce, a greengoods store was opened at seventh and Campbell streets. This junction was known as The Point by Oaklanders of that day.”

"I recall an occasion, in girlhood, when I paddled in the tiny gray-green surf at The Point, and then went indoors for a salt tubbing in water pumped from the bay and heated.”

Prescott Name-The Prescott name appeared around the early 19th century when schools and neighborhoods seem to share the same name.

I had heard there are some relations to the Prescott name and William Hickling Prescott, a historian, which I have not been able to confirm.

The Prescott-Oakland Point neighborhood is well documented as provided below:

Archaeology Outreach: It Takes A Community

Oakland Point reference pg. 177 (5 of 34)

Playing Hard in West Oakland ; Suzanne Howard-Carter, pg. 177 (5 of 34)

Prescott School 1906

The West Oakland Home Maria Gutman

Oakland Enquirer Newspaper

The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes ; The Anthropological Studies Center

Putting the "There" There: Historical Archaeologies of West Oakland

The Federal Reporter: With Key-number Annotations ...‎ - Page 174
This bar was a continuous shoal, extending from Oakland Point to Alameda Point, rendering navigation from the bay of San Francisco into the creek only ...

Report ... of the United States Pacific Railway Commission [and Testimony ...‎ - Page 27
A. Well, I should think we spent a great deal of money at Oakland Point. We spent millions of dollars there. Q. A million ? — A. Millions of dollars there.

San Francisco municipal reports‎ - Page 738
From Oakland Point to Yerba Buena is scant three miles. It might be advisable and practicable to carry ont a structure in the Bay for a mile or a mile and a ...

The Overland Monthly‎ - Page 151 1899
In 1875, Tiernan hauled out, at Oakland Point, for the Southern Pacific Bail- road Company, the side-wheel steamer Chrysopolis, (originally built by Captain ...

Quality: A Critical Introduction‎
by John Beckford - Business & Economics - 1998 - 351 pages
JOHN S. OAKLAND Point 1 Long term commitment; Point 2 Change the culture to 'right first time'; Point 3 Train the people to understand the ...

Past and Present of Alameda County, California‎ - Page 75
by Joseph Eugene Baker - Alameda County (Calif.) - 1914 - 594 pages
The first engine and first three cars used on the line were built at Oakland Point by Mr. Young. The San Francisco and Alameda railroad was being ...

The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes: Explorations in Slumland‎ - Page 25
Street soon connected downtown Oakland to the new ferry terminal, and Seventh Street became the commercial centre of West Oakland . In l869 Oakland Point...

The Railroad System of California: Oakland and vicinity; University, etc (1871)

Report ... of the United States Pacific Railway Commission [and Testimony ...‎ - Page 2392
The Oakland Railroad had, I think, about two or three miles of track running from Oakland Point to San Antonio , as it was…

The Overland Monthly
The stern-wheeler Constine was built in 1874; and the barge Governor Hayes was built at Oakland Point, in 1876, for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and is 225 feet long, 43 feet beam, 6 feet 6 inches deep. In 1880, Captain Tiernan built the barge Garfield at Oakland Point for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company

For more neighborhood history, watch for Prescott-Oakland Point Neighborhood History Part 2.

If there is some neighborhood history you would like to share, please email

Like Loving Backward: Stories, the New Book of Fiction

2009-03-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

The National Launch Of Like Loving Backward:
Stories, the New Book of Fiction
By Cheo Tyehimba, Award-Winning Writer & Author

Saturday, March 7, 2009; 2:30pm - 4pm Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission Street, San Francisco

For more information contact: info@moadsf.org or 415.358.7200

Seating is Limited Please RSVP

Following a Wine & Hors D'oeuvres Reception

Tyehimba will read from his book, a collection of supernatural stories about how black men learn to love, followed by a panel discussion about notions of new black manhood moderated by Davey D.

Book Signing to follow

*Cheo Tyehimba, (Prescott-Oakland Point neighbor) an award-winning journalist and author, is a former staff writer for Time Inc. and reporter for Entertainment Weekly magazine. He holds a master's degree in Creative Writing from the City College of New York and has written for many publications, including People, The Washington Post, O-The Oprah Magazine, Vibe, and Essence.

Soul food, California style

2009-03-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

Tanya Holland, chef and owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, visits with Stefanie Parrott and her 4-month-old son, Clyde, and Rivkah Medow (just out the picture) and her 6-month-old son, Isa.

What today's soul food is missing, says Holland, is a charismatic spokesperson, "someone who can advance and explain and contemporize" the cuisine in the way that Charles Phan of the Slanted Door has done for Vietnamese food or Chicago's Rick Bayless for the Mexican kitchen.

"Part of my MO is to try to evolve it a bit," says Holland, whose year-old West Oakland diner draws a racially mixed crowd for sublime cornmeal waffles with upmarket accompaniments like Blue Bottle coffee and Blue Chair Fruit Co. jam. Her butter, milk, yogurt and eggs are organic; her chicken is free-range. The restaurant's garlicky collards and kale aren't simmered for hours with fatty smoked pork; they're briskly wilted in a saute pan with a blend of canola and olive oils.

Holland was raised in Rochester, N.Y., by food-loving parents who were both from the South. After college, she spent a year at Peter Kump's esteemed New York cooking school and then studied at La Varenne in France.

Her book, "New Soul Cooking" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2003), encourages readers to serve food in European-style courses and embraces ingredients like star anise and goat cheese. Recipes like sweet potato blini with bourbon-cured salmon, and chopped dandelion greens with warm sherry vinegar dressing, show her inclination to use familiar Southern and soul-food ingredients as prompts for creativity.

When she began to plan the restaurant, recalls Holland, "it felt like the most authentic thing for me to do was to take my heritage and bring my training to it." So although her menu includes soul-food standards like fried chicken, po' boys and buttermilk biscuits, it also makes room for a daily quiche - she calls it a vegetable tart - and a composed salad such as a salade nicoise. On her Web site, Holland aptly labels her style - a merging of soul food with French and Bay Area sensibilities - as "mosaic cuisine."

"I don't really fit into a box, and I don't want to be placed in a box," says the chef. "That's why my terms keep switching. I'm still trying to find words that don't pigeonhole me." When some customers taste her quick-cooked greens, they tell her the dish isn't what they expected.

"And I think, 'It's not supposed to be,' " says Holland. For complete article, click here

Cut-N-Paste! It's a Mashed Up World!

2009-02-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

Friday, february 27, doors @ 8PM; $6

Mashup (music), the musical genre encompassing songs, which consist entirely of parts of other songs- Wikipedia, Jan. 2009

WELCOME TO REMIX CULTURE.

Do The Deed Productions launches a new event featuring artists of mashup and remix culture.

From live mashup music to dueling VJs, the first Cut-n-Paste event gets the party started RIGHT:

Britany vs. Led Zepplin, Fat Boys vs. the Muppets, and the Black Eyed Peas vs. Green Eyed Lady are just a small sampling of what these mashup pioneers, The Evolution Control Committee (Illegal Art, Seeland), perform when you, the audience, spin their Wheel Of Mashup -- one wheel lands on the music; the other wheel lands on the vocals.

TradeMark G. mashes it up instantly using the VidiMasher 3000, an insane video mashup screen hacked from Nintendo Wii controllers. 170,000 YouTube viewers can't be wrong (okay, maybe they can... it's YouTube after all).

Moldover (Warper) arrives from Brooklyn and infects the Bay Area with Controllerism -- think "turntablism" with MIDI controllers. He's made plenty, from the Octamasher (Maker Faire, etc.) to his own live mashup instrument (mashed up from other instruments!). Watch in awe as Moldover plays cuts from his upcoming album: "Say It" "Moldover's work defies genre categorizations and while contunially stretching the limits of his own creativity, caries the theme of making music more accessible and interactive."

Bon Dü Rant is a hot digital DJ new to the Bay Area. Bringing his own eclectic blend of booty shaking music, he's an up and coming force in the Bay Area music scene. His dance music and mashup mixes are grooving people on the dance floor twice weekly at Club Vertigo where he also hosts the monthly party, Bangers and Mashups.

Additional audio, video, and new media installations by local artists Adam Hatch, Jsun McCarty, Renetta Sitoy, Jonny Shroeder, Kristen Van Patten exploring the tactics of the cut and paste, will be on display and projected throughout the gallery, highlighting the common ability these artists share to playfully mix and match data from multiple sources into one dynamic entity.

Calling any '06 San Francisco quake survivors

2009-02-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Calling any '06 San Francisco quake survivors read the headlines of the San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday, February 7th, 2009.

It seems Herbert Heimie Hamrol was the last known survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, since he was the only one to show up at the 102nd anniversary luncheon event held to honor survivors of the 1906 earthquake.

Since Heimie death at 106-year-old on Feb. 5th, 2009, two more survivors Bill Del Monte, 103, and Jeannete Scola Trapani, 106 have turned up, saying they had not participated in anniversaries because it was too much trouble for them.

It's a good thing historians were calling Herbert Hamrol "the last known" survivor of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake when he died this week, because two more have popped up from oblivion - and there may be others out there.

At the annual quake commemoration in 2000 held at 5:12 a.m. at Lotta's Fountain to mark the exact moment the quake began, there were 16 survivors.

After reading this article, I shook my head in disbelief that there was no mention of Annie Olivares (currently 105 yrs old) a Prescott-Oakland Point resident since her parents moved from San Francisco to escape the 1906 earthquake.

I met Annie in January 2006, after looking over an application submitted by her daughter Esther Olivares, for some rehab work needed as part of Rebuilding Together Oakland annual April Rebuilding program, also known as Christmas in April. As a volunteer House Captain, it was during this project Annie told me stories about the 1906 earthquake. Although she stated she was 3 years old, she “remembered the fire and devastation occurring around her.”

After some phone calls to organizer Lee Houskeeper Annie will be participating April 18th , the 103rd anniversary luncheon honoring the 1906 earthquake survivors at John's Grill in San Francisco.

If you know someone who is a survivor of the 1906 earthquake, give Lee Houskeeper a call at (415) 777-4700. Transportation and other assistance will be provided to survivors.

Reference: Rebuilding Together Oakland archived story

Pictured: 103 year old homeowner Annie Olivares with her two daughters and House Captain Marcus Johnson.

“Annie Olivares remembers fishing across the street from the house she grew up in and still lives in to this day. "

"She is “forever grateful for all the time and hard work” from her team from Holliday Development and her House Captain Marcus Johnson. Her team replaced rotten flooring, windows, built a wheelchair ramp, painted inside and out, and made her home a safe and clean haven.”

Fox Theater Opening Night Gala

2009-02-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Venue: Fox Theater
Location: Oakland

Date: Thursday, Feb. 5
Time: 6:00PM

Come celebrate the reopening of one of the most stunning venues in the Bay Area. Don't miss this exciting invitation-only event to celebrate the hard work and perseverance that helped bring this architectural gem back to life. Featuring red carpet, searchlights, vintage cars, delicious food and wine, live stage entertainment, and much more - the event will be remembered for years to come!

Presidential Inauguration Community Viewing

2009-01-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 8:00 A.M. at the Oakland ORACLE Arena

"Unity for the Sake of Change"

A special community viewing of Barack Obama?s inauguration and acceptance speech will be held at the Oakland-Alameda County ORACLE Arena. Numerous community-based organizations will be tabling to give attendees an opportunity to get informed and involved. Tickets are $5 per person and are available for purchase at the Coliseum Box office and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Parking will be free. For more information call 510.272.6695

Also tune into ABC at 8:00 ET/PT to watch the main event and hear musical performances by Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Stevie Wonder and Nick Cannon (as DJ).

On January 19th, Disney will broadcast “Kid’s Inaugural” from 8:00 - 9:30pm (ET). The lineup includes: The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Bow Wow, Billy Ray Cyrus, Keke Palmer and Usher

Kinetic Steam Works

2009-01-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

Mayor Dellums' "STATE of the CITY ADDRESS"

2009-01-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Honorable Ronald V. Dellums
Mayor, City of Oakland

Monday, January 26 • 5:30-7:30pm

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS!
LIVE TELECAST FROM OAKLAND CITY HALL ON KTOP TV-Ch. 10

New this year – satellite viewing at locations throughout the city!

Geoffrey’s Inner Circle
410 -14th Street
Between Broadway & Franklin
Oakland City Center/12th Street
BART Station

Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 - 9th Street, Suite 290
(2nd Floor)
Oakland City Center/12th Street
BART Station

Everett & Jones Barbeque
126 Broadway @ 2nd Street
(Near Jack London Square )

Meet Oakland Native Keyshia Cole this Tuesday, December 23rd!

2008-12-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Get your autographed copy of "A Different Me" December 23th @ 3PM, Best Buy, 3700 Mandela Ave; Call 510.420.0323 for more information

Later at 7:00pm, watch Keyshia Cole perform at the Oracle Arena

When she was only 12, Keyshia did some recordings with fellow Bay Area resident MC Hammer.

She also sang on Messy Marv's "Nubian Queen" remix in 2001, and Tony! Toni! Toné! member Dwayne Wiggins.

Her show, in its third season airs on BET.

Miss Pearl's Jam House

2008-12-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Chefs dishing up spicy gumbo & hot music at Miss Pearl's Jam House

This event, which will take place on the second Friday of each month, is free and also includes band members such as Jon Otis; David Margen, former Santana bassist; Ann Kristina on vocals; and keyboardist Dan Daniels.

What: Back Burner Blues Band Gumbo Jam
Where: Miss Pearl's Jam House, 1 Broadway, Jack London Square
When: December 12th, at 9;00pm
For more Information and Events: 510-444-7171

Storytime Festival: Circus and Dance Extravaganza

2008-12-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

When: Thu 12/18 - Sat 12/20 (8PM)

Where: Palace of Fine Arts

Address: 3301 Lyon St. and Bay St. San Francisco

Cost: $30-$50

FESTA DE FIM DE ANO (Brazilian-style party)

2008-12-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

Grupo Samba Rio presents "FESTA DE FIM DE ANO" Holiday Party and Fundraiser!

When: Sunday Dec. 7, 4:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Where: Capoeira Angola Studio 2513 Magnolia Street, Oakland

Cost: $5 admission

Great samba music, special guest performances, and we'll be serving

homemade Feijoada Completa from the kitchens of Samba Rio!

Celebrating NIAD at 25

2008-12-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

November 18, 2008 – January 15, 2009

For more information go to: NIAD at 25