Tag Archives: east bay SPCA

OakCatVidFest – Support the East Bay SPCA!

Tomorrow is OakCatVidFest at the Great Wall. The festival opens at 3pm, with videos beginning once dark falls. I went last year with my mom and we had a blast! The videos are hilarious – some classics you’re sure to know (how is it I never get tired of Cat Ninja?) and plenty of new material you’re sure to love. We got there late and actually missed all of the adoption possibilities so if you’re interested in actually seeing some kitties and maybe even taking one home, do get there early. I imagine this year will be even more crowded than last. The real challenge was finding and securing a good and comfortable vantage point once the videos start rolling. I can’t make it this year due to a bridal shower (bah!) but I hope you all can enjoy.

All proceeds from the event benefit our local East Bay SPCA. It’s a wonderful organization that I love supporting because it’s given me an immeasurable amount of joy in my life. See below for the story…

oakcatvidfest

It was 2008. I was facing a major milestone birthday at the same time the relationship with my significant other was faltering, hell imploding. I was depressed. Like, seriously depressed. I needed to do something.

I decided my birthday present to myself would be new running shoes. Nothing like a little exercise to kick my blues-fueled-stagnation in the pants. I went to See Jane Run in Rockridge and got “rock star” parking right in front–no small feat on this stretch of College Avenue. For once something felt easy. Maybe my stars were turning…

As I approached the store I couldn’t help but notice the East Bay SPCA sidewalk display next door. There were cages lined and stacked into a thick wall, each containing adorable creature(s). I love animals and decided to take a closer look. I’m sure the staff saw me coming from the moment I got out of my car… Crazy cat lady approaching–an easy close.

As I strolled down the wall of cages, peeking in each, poking fingers between wires, “here kitty, kitty…” I couldn’t help but be reminded of my old cat Kitty who had passed away about a year earlier at the ripe old age of eighteen. I missed having a little critter to greet me when I got home from work, someone to curl on my lap while working at the computer or watching TV. Here were lots of sweet older cats, and napping litters of kittens, and as I greeted each, I wondered if I was ready…

I pushed on to the shoe store, intent to fulfill my original mission, but after completing it and exiting the store with shoebox under arm, there were the sweet homeless cats and kittens, still waiting to find a good home. I decided this was not mere coincidence, but rather the alignment of mysterious workings in the universe, trying tell me “You need to take one of these home.”

I combed the display wall again and settled myself in front of a cage that contained a litter of five small kittens. They were all black and white like dairy cows, except one. The smallest one was gray and white. I decided she was the runt and outcast of the family and that, for this reason, I must take her (always a fan of the underdog, or undercat in this case).

Of course the staff person from the East Bay SPCA was savvy. And I was depressed and searching. And so as I discussed with her the possibility of adopting this little fluff of gray and white, she adeptly steered me towards taking a second kitten too. “They do much better in pairs.” Wily woman.

I scanned the rest of the small tribe and noted that one other looked different from the rest. A small black one, lacking the patchwork of white, sat off to the side by herself. She was my second undercat. And then it was done. A short batch of paperwork, the processing of a credit card, the handing over of a cardboard carrier with two tiny life forms inside, and I was a cat-mom once again. It was one of the smartest decisions I’ve made.

These two have brought so much joy into my life. The running shoes helped too. But these sweet adorable sisters never cease to entertain, soothe, love. Meet Pickle & Pepper. These are their baby pictures. They recently turned six.

kittens kittens2

So this is my pitch to support the East Bay SPCA. They are doing wonderful work to improve the welfare of animals here in the East Bay. They make it so easy to adopt. A very reasonable fee covers everything the animals need in their first year of life (vaccines, microchip, annual exam, spay/neuter, and more). I think I even got a discount for taking two. So if you’ve ever thought of adopting, now’s the time. Go forth. Adopt. And may the kittens prosper!

 

 

 

Best of East Bay Party…

Did anyone go to the party last Friday night hosted at Jack London Square by the East Bay Express?

I did and was pretty blown away. More like a full-fledged festival, this “party” featured three stages of live music, tons of boutique vendors & demonstrations, community organization booths, an outdoor live graffiti showcase, a huge curated art show, and much much more.

I’ll be featuring a few different aspects of the event in my next few posts, including some killer footage of the Dance Battle at the DJ stage, but for now…

cheemah, mother of spirit-fire, eagle sculpture

Jack London Square is primed and almost-ready for what developers, business owners, and local residents hope will be a new era for this waterfront destination in Oakland. Decades after its initial development, and despite a slew of residential lofts added in the 90’s, the intersection of train, ferry, and bus transport, gorgeous views of the bay, and a few success stories (Yoshi’s), the area has never really “clicked” in the way folks had hoped.

But developers don’t give up easy. And though the rest of us are slogging through this sad economy, they still seem to have money to burn…

With the near completion of a $375 million dollar redevelopment project, Jack London Square has been re-envisioned as a dining and cuisine-oriented hot spot centered around the stunning six-story Jack London Market. Similar to San Francisco’s Ferry Building but larger, the ground-floor market will offer an array of fresh, wholesome, and locally sourced produce and food products, while the second floor will feature cafes, restaurants, and culinary shops.

The project began nearly a decade ago and has been slow to materialize, but we are now on the brink… The marketplace was slated to open this spring/summer but unfortunately has been postponed due to the aforementioned crappy economy, causing prospective tenants to have difficulty obtaining credit. The plan is to have 20 to 25 tenants on board before the market opens which is now slated for the end of the year (but may still be a moving target).

In the meantime, there are a number of new restaurants definitely worth checking out:

It was interesting to see how many people could be drawn to the area for a single night of East Bay fun and I have to give props to the East Bay Express.  They threw a swell party. The place was packed… old and young, hip and straight. There was something for everyone and everyone was having a blast.  Gives you an idea of what you could see more consistently…

Here are some photos of the tiled Peace Wall outside what once was the Barnes & Noble (see The Demise of Oakland’s Barnes & Noble)…

tiled peace wall oakland, hand painted tiles

Jack London Square, peace wall, hand painted tiles

This is an international art project that was created in 1983 after the end of the Cold War. The installation at Jack London Square, Oakland is just one piece. Other walls have also been completed in Moscow, Detroit, Atlanta, and Nashville, with more being added all the time.

The walls, entitled “Our Work Place, A Peace Place” and “Our Family and Friends: A Reservoir of Peace” are a collection of tiles that were hand-painted by local employees, their families and friends, and volunteers.

tiles painted by children, hand painted tiles, oakland peace mural

barnes & noble, tile peace wall, peace wall mural of tiles

As I entered the concourse where vendors and community groups were set up, one of the first to catch my eye was the East Bay SPCA. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE kitties (and really all animals… I’ll catch spiders in my house and set them free outside rather than squishing them), and I just couldn’t walk past without getting a couple shots of these cuties.

The East Bay SPCA is a great organization dear to my heart and I adopted my two current kitties from them two summers ago. Best decision, ever.

Please check their site for animals available for adoption or to make a donation to a very worthy cause.

Ok, stepping down from soapbox now…

East Bay SPCA

Then I came upon the live graffiti demonstration called “If These Walls Could Talk…” Here is a shot from early on in the evening… You’ll have to check back tomorrow to see the finished product. And much more on the music, art, and dance that occupied me for hours, such that I never made it to Art Murmur…

If These Walls Could Talk...