Category Archives: west oakland

Earth Day Fun in Oaktown!

Hey everybody… it’s the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, though truth be told, she’s actually more like 4 billion, but you know how it is… after a certain age, we just stop counting!


Here’s a list of fun ways to get involved…

  • Arroyo Viejo Creek Keeper Work Day

    Sat., April 17, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
    510-632-9525
    Creek habitat restoration for Earth Day. Bring your gardening gloves and meet at the Oakland Zoo’s entrance to the Arroyo Viejo Creek at 10:00am. Creek Clean Up participants will receive a complimentary ticket to the Earth Day festivities.
    Oakland Zoo 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland (map)

  • Earth Day Celebration at Oakland Zoo

    Sat., April 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
    510-632-9525
    With more than fifty earth stations, displays, and demonstrations. Includes a giant Earth Ball and recycling info. Free w/ regular admission to Zoo.
    Oakland Zoo 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland (map)

  • Oakland Earth Day 2010
  • Sat., April 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
    510-535-5635
    With community planting, organic cooking demos, tiny tot basketball, Youth in Motion dance workshops, adult softball, an open computer lab, and a summer camp kickoff. free
    Allendale Recreation Center 3711 Suter St., Oakland (map)

  • Habitat for Humanity East Bay Earth Day Build-A-Thon
  • April 17-20, 7am – 5pm daily
    The Earth Day Build-A-Thon is Habitat for Humanity East Bay’s annual celebration of green building. Participants will frame 10 homes in 4 days at the Tassafaronga development in Oakland. free, but you must register and you must fund-raise. Details here. Gene from Our Oakland is participating.  Here’s his donation page, and a link to a nice write-up about the recent Oakland Earth Expo.
    Tassafaronga Recreation Center 1025 81st Ave., Oakland (map)

  • Hands On Bay Area Workday, Lakeside Park Gardens
  • April 17, 10am – 1pm
    Volunteers from HOBA will be coming to the Gardens to celebrate Earth Day. We’ll be working from 10am to 1pm in the Sensory Garden and the Torii Gate Garden.  free. To register, please click here.
    666 Bellevue, Oakland (map)

  • Earth Day at Morcom Rose Garden
  • Sat April 17, 9am – 1pm
    Come join us for a garden clean up, and preparing the garden for the first flush of the season! free
    700 Jean Street, Oakland (map)

  • Click EarthDay2010 in Oakland for detailed document listing over 75 volunteer opportunities throughout Oakland…
  • to clean, paint, plant and more at local schools, parks, and community centers. Participants are encouraged to bring their own tools, gloves, hat, and sunscreen.
    FEATURED LOCATIONS:

Running Festival Recap

So did you check it out?!?

Hopefully you did because it was a lot of fun, and I have to say I’m feeling pretty blissed out on Oakland right now.

A ton of beautiful people were out… it was a picture perfect day with our typically warmer-and-sunnier-than-San-Fran-weather… and spirits were high!  It’s hard to really recap the experience in words, so I’ll just share a few pictures and videos from the weekend…

Saturday was the Twilight 5k at Lake Merritt kickoff event. Here are a few pics… (more on Flickr).

ella baker center, oakland running festival, twilight 5k ella baker, twilight 5k

twilight 5k, lake merritt, oakland running festival, mother & son running together

oakland running festival, st. david school, st. david school twilight 5k, twilight 5k

running for the community, promoting health, oakland running festival

oakland marathon, oakland running festival, twilight 5k

I also put together a short video with folks talking about why they decided to participate…

Here are a few photos from the Marathon and Half-Marathon finishes on Sunday morning… (more on Flickr).

Oakland Marathon, Tony Torres, Winner of Marathon

Oakland Marathon, oakland marathon 2010, community spirit oakland

frank ogawa plaza, city hall, oakland marathon, oakland running festival

post marathon celebration, oakland marathon 2010, frank ogawa plaza

broadway and telegraph, downtown oakland, oakland marathon, oakland runnning festival

And one more video interview with a half-marathon participant…

Oakland Running Festival!

Did you know there’s a marathon in Oakland this weekend?!? It seems like big news, as this is the first marathon being held in our city in over 25 years, but I’m surprised by how many people have no idea this is happening.

So here’s a little plug for what is surely to be an amazing event…

Oakland Running Festival

There was a great article in the East Bay Express about this history of this event (and other marathons) called Can Oakland Go the Distance? by Dan Schoenholz.

Some highlights…

Long time Oakland runners and race organizers… see the Oakland Running Festival as an opportunity to promote both Oakland and running, and as a way to unify a community that is often divided by racial, economic, and geographic differences.  Marathons are big events in many cities – New York and Boston, famously, but also Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, and countless others – and serve as a source of civic pride and unity.  Why not Oakland?”

The festival is based on a more modern, all-inclusive model, not just for hardcore athletes, but one in which a variety of races are provided so that folks can participate at any level they choose.  It’s designed to be runner-friendly, walker-friendly, family-friendly, and most definitely, celebratory. There’s the marathon (26 miles!), half-marathon, a 5k, a kids fun run (two age categories & distances), and a four-person relay.

Strikingly different from the marathon course run in 1981 which was fast, flat, and through heavy industrial areas, this year’s course is designed to be scenic and show people what “Oakland has to offer.” The course starts at City Hall… the first high-rise government building in the U.S. and the tallest building West of the Mississippi at the time it was built.  Runners then progress through the newly redeveloped Uptown section through to Temescal, and Rockridge.  Then the route parallels the BART tracks heading up Keith & Broadway to Lake Temescal Park, and continues through the lovely hills of Montclair before entering the Dimond  District to head back down towards the flats.  Runners will then head down Fruitvale Avenue into the melting-pot district of Fruitvale, and continue along International Boulevard through the Arts district of Jingletown, and on to Jack London Square.  Tired yet? There’s still much more.  After Jack London, runners will pass the West Oakland BART station and through West Oakland, rich with African-American history.  Then they’ll make their way up the lovely redeveloped greenway of the Mandela Parkway, just up to the border of Emeryville, where they’ll hang a right and head through my neighborhood of Ghosttown.  This is so cool! They’re almost in the home stretch.  Then on to 27th Street to hit Lake Merritt and make their way almost the full circumference around, branching off at 19th street to head back to City Hall… the finish line!

Here’s a link to the marathon map, and another link for the half-marathon map.

Here’s the schedule of various events:

  • Saturday 6:00pm – Kick Off Party at Lake Merritt
  • Saturday 6:30pm – Twilight 5K at Lake Merritt (starts at Lakeview Branch Library)
  • Saturday 8:00pm – Twilight 5K Awards Ceremony
  • Saturday 6 – 9pm – Celebration Village at Frank Ogawa Plaza (live music, merchandise, food & drinks, etc.)
  • Sunday 7:15am – Opening Remarks and National Anthem at City Hall
  • Sunday 7:30am – Marathon and Team Relay Races Start (14th & Broadway)
  • Sunday 8:30am – Kids Fun Run Starts (Frank Ogawa Plaza)
  • Sunday 9:00am – Half Marathon Start (14th & Broadway)
  • Sunday 12:00pm – Awards Ceremonies (Frank Ogawa Plaza)
  • Sunday 9 – 3pm – Celebration Village at Frank Ogawa Plaza (live music, merchandise, food & drinks, etc.)

I know I’ll be out both days.  While picking up my Press Pass this morning I nearly bumped into the Mayor, the downtown unbelievably abuzz with activity.  This weekend is a great moment to show the world what a beautiful and vibrant city Oakland truly is.

Please come out to support the runners and support our city!

city hall, us first skyscraper, oakland marathon finish line, oakland marathon starting point

City Hall - the starting point & finish line for the marathon & half-marathon

More reading…

Oakland Marathon a step in the right direction by Chip Johnson

Oakland marathon builds steam with charity donations by Sean Maher