Category Archives: north oakland

Holiday Happenings…

old holiday card I designed but never used

Holy crap!  I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas… and already Hanukkah.  It seems like it was just yesterday that I was working on my elf costume for Santacon.  2009!  Yikes.

You’ve probably noticed I’ve been a bit absent these last few weeks…  work’s been crazy; I ran out of hard drive space; the cat ate my blog post; you get the idea.  And then once you stop, it’s sooooo hard to get started again…

But I got a little kick in the pants yesterday when the UPS guy dropped my new harddrive on my doorstep  (couldn’t he have just gently placed it on the porch?) and then later last night, when I heard the Oakland Interfaith Choir performing on the radio.  They’re truly awesome, and it made me feel a wee bit guilty I haven’t been better about promoting all of the holiday hoo-ha about town.

So here is a a quick stab at a few things going on this weekend (by no means complete, so do send in comments if you know of other excellent happenings):

Friday, December 3rd

  • Art Murmur (5pm onward)

    Buy art for your friends and family!  Many galleries typically host small (and very affordable) works at this time of year for just this reason. Your loved ones will appreciate it more than another pair of socks, and you’ll be supporting local artisans as well!
    http://oaklandartmurmur.com/

  • Temescal Winter Art Hop (6pm – 9pm)

    View art at over fifteen Temescal locations! Pick up a Temescal Art Passport, collect stamps from at least ten venues, and turn it in for a chance to win a work of art. Also enjoy live local music during your stops along the Art Hop!  http://www.temescaldistrict.org/events.html

  • Jingletown Holiday ArtWalk Opening Reception (6pm – 9pm)

    The annual holiday open studios in this thriving arts district will highlight the work of artists who live and/or work in the area known as Jingletown, which is situated between the Park and Fruitvale Street bridges adjacent to the Oakland Estuary. Studios will be open to the public all weekend, with an opening reception Friday 12/3 at 420 Gallery, 420 Peterson St., Oakland. http://jingletown.org/

  • Jack London Square Lights Up for the Holidays! (5:30pm – 7:30pm)

    Oakland’s favorite waterfront destination will light up the skies with over 5,000 sparkling lights on a 55-foot tree.  Enjoy music, song, dancing trees, Santa’s reindeer, PBS characters, the Jack London Square Rising Star Talent Competition and snow…yes, snow!!!  (Broadway at Embarcadero)
    http://jacklondonsquare.com/

Saturday, December 4th

  • Jingletown Holiday ArtWalk (11am – 6pm)

    The annual holiday open studios in this thriving arts district will highlight the work of artists who live and/or work in the area known as Jingletown, which is situated between the Park and Fruitvale Street bridges adjacent to the Oakland Estuary.  Among other notable artistic enterprises, it is the location of the Institute of Mosaic Art and Float Gallery, as well as studios of many other renowned artists who are living and working in one of the most established artist warehouse districts in Oakland. http://jingletown.org/

  • Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir at the Paramount Theatre (7:30pm)

    The award-winning Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is a multiracial, interfaith group that regularly performs throughout the Bay Area. Its vocalists, led by Artistic Director Terrance Kelly, perform traditional and contemporary black gospel music and spirituals. This season’s 25th Anniversary Holiday Concert includes an alumni choir!  You can go to the Paramount’s box office direct (510.465.6400), or feed the beast here.

  • 2nd Annual Piedmont Avenue Tree Lighting & Holiday Stroll (5pm sharp)

    The Oakland Lyric Opera, Pacific Boychoir Academy, Accordionist Salane Schultz, and the Piedmont Avenue Elementary School Band will entertain followed by a ceremonial Tree Lighting and a visit by Santa Claus. Enjoy complimentary coffee on the plaza from Peet’s Coffee & Tea, then stroll along Piedmont Avenue and visit participating businesses, who will be staying open until 8pm. (Key Route Plaza, 41st & Piedmont)  http://www.piedmontavenue.org/

Sunday, December 5th

  • Jingletown Holiday ArtWalk (11am – 6pm)

    The annual holiday open studios in this thriving arts district will highlight the work of artists who live and/or work in the area known as Jingletown, which is situated between the Park and Fruitvale Street bridges adjacent to the Oakland Estuary. Among other notable artistic enterprises, it is the location of the Institute of Mosaic Art and Float Gallery, as well as studios of many other renowned artists who are living and working in one of the most established artist warehouse districts in Oakland. http://jingletown.org/

You can also check my holiday posts from last  year for more fun ideas…  Just click on the archives for December 2009.  Now get busy ya’ll!

One way to spruce up those boring garage doors…

art on garage doors, slice of california, multicultural art

My girlfriend recently had to replace her garage door with essentially a large piece of plywood… a short term solution. She asked if I had any ideas for how she could “spruce it up a bit,” so I’ve been on the lookout during my travels about Oaktown to see what creative folks have done with theirs. I shared one a few weeks ago, with DREAMS.

Here’s another… and all I can say is, “wow!” It’s quite a production.

And it’s so quintessentially California I almost have to laugh. We see people of all colors and backgrounds happily integrated… even the Muslim woman and the Jewish man sit together under the tree (though not k – i – s – s – i – n – g). She’s reading Frog and Toad Together, while he reads Horton Hears a Who.

And all are living in peaceful harmony with their woodland creature friends…

painted garage, creative garage doors, funky garage doors

oakland public murals, garage door art

KALX ~ “the greatest radio station in the world”

Ok, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s the tongue-in-cheek claim of one of their on-air pre-recorded DJ messages, and it always makes me smile.  Yes, this institution is based in Berkeley.  But their airwaves stream across Oakland and the greater Bay Area, and it’s one of the things I love most about living here.

The station was started nearly 50 years ago in 1962, broadcasting through a cigar-box mixing board (literally made out of a cigar box) hard-wired to the UC Berkeley dormitories. They played classical music for 4 hours a day .  Just classical music.

They’ve come a long way since then, broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with an incredibly diverse set of programming, not to mention their amazing roster of DJ’s. You can read The Full and Unabridged History of KALX if you want all the gorey details, including how  President Ronald Reagan inspired the station’s complete embrace of punk rock in the 80’s.  F&*k yeah!

There’s a great quote from 1986 by then General Manager Bill Davis: “What KALX stands for, more than anything else, is freedom. KALX doesn’t have a true format. KALX has no predetermined playlists. In general, KALX’s policies are designed to give programmers, reporters, producers, and sports announcers maximum flexibility, responsibility, and freedom. And that gives the listener the opportunity to hear things on the radio at 90.7 that he or she would never hear anywhere else on the dial. If that freedom is important, call 642-5259 to keep KALX independent.”

It’s still true today.  They play everything.  Ambient, disco, funk, hip-hop, punk rock, indie pop, country, bluegrass, classical, the list goes on… I can’t tell you how much amazing music I’ve discovered listening to KALX over the years.  I always keep pen & paper handy so I can jot down who I’ve heard when the DJ comes on air and announces their playlist.  Or even better, now you can go straight to the website and see the entire playlist for the last 24 hours.  Thank you KALX!

So please, support your local independent radio station.  You love freedom, don’t you? KALX is holding it’s annual Fall Fundraiser right now!  It’s one week only and we’re already mid-way there… drive ends this Sunday, October 31st.

They’ve got all kinds of schwag for your hard-earned cash:  bumper stickers, t-shirts, sticky notes, etc.  But they’ve got great packages too where they’re giving away limited edition cd packages, concert tickets, and more.  And one of my favorite donation options is to buy an hour of guest DJ time.  I did this two years ago… for 100 bucks (I was feeling flush then!) I purchased the right to join Alisa, Queen of the Cowbell, in KALX’s underground lair for an hour of spinning tracks of my own choosing, and even speaking on air.  It was awesome!

So please… take the next few days to tune into KALX… 90.7 on your FM dial.  Or you can find them on the internet (info here), and through iTunes (go to Radio->College/University->KALX). And call them up with your donations…

Support Freedom on the airwaves!

note: image above found on Facebook, no info on artist.  sorry.

Get your Craft on at the Creative Reuse Depot!

Ok kids… only six days to Halloween!!

How are the festivities coming along?  Are  you putting the finishing touches on your costume?  Or just scrambling to figure out what the heck you’re going to be?  Whichever, you may want to take a little trip down to the East Bay Depot for Creative Use for some inspiration…

east bay creative reuse, cheap art supplies oakland, cheap art supplies temescal

Now located in Temescal (previously in Berkeley), the mission of this wonderful organization, started more than 30 years ago by two Oakland teachers, is three-fold:

  1. divert waste from the waste stream through creative recycling and reuse
  2. provide low cost materials and supplies for local art, education, and social services
  3. increase awareness of the green benefits of reusing materials

How can you not love that? I’ve been a frequent visitor of this venue for years, at both their current and previous locations.  I donated boxes of old CDs and CD cases and bags and bags of old National Geographic and Photo District News magazines. I was thrilled to take these items somewhere where I knew they’d be put to good use… perhaps even transformed into masterful works of art.  Who knows?

recycled goods at East Bay Depot, turning waste into art

recycled materials, diverting waste from waste stream

On the other side, I’ve purchased everything from goods for my Burningman art project, to rolls of industrial margarine foil to use as goofy wrapping paper. It’s kind of what’s so cool about this place… you never know what you are going to find. And there is definitely some weird stuff to be found.

Where else can you find bins of old doll heads? Or boxes of scientific beakers? Of course there’s the more mainstream stuff too… teachers’ educational materials, fabrics and sewing supplies, arts and craft materials, and much much more, all at prices that can’t be beat.

knitting supplies, sewing supplies, fabric supplies

teacher resource center, teacher resource zone, green educators

They also keep busy doing good works in the community. In addition to diverting approximately 400 tons of waste from our landfills each year, they also provide community aid locally, nationally, and even internationally.  For example, right now they are sponsoring a collection drive called “Parkas for Pakistan” to support the 20 million flood victims in Pakistan who are now homeless.

Items most urgently need are winter coats, blankets & comforters, sleeping bags, tents, tarps, etc.  I know I’ve got a few old coats I can get rid of.  How about you? Drive runs through Friday, November 19th. Check link above for drop-off directions.

Whether you’re looking for creative supplies for your kids, your students, or yourself, or just wondering what to do with that pile of junk that’s been sitting in your garage for 3 years or more, the East Bay Depot for Creative Use is a great place to go.

East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. daily, 4695 Telegraph Ave., (510) 547-6470

stopwaste.org, stop waste, reduce waste stream