Muslims in Oakland are in the last third of the month of Ramadan–its most intense part, as observers continue to fast during daylight hours, declining both food and water until the sun sets. Daylight, and with it the Islamic obligation to fast, lingers long in August.
Culture
Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland's Bushrod Neighborhood.
The last days of Ramadan in Oakland
September 2, 2010 – 7:49 am
A tasting tour on two wheels
August 30, 2010 – 3:53 pm
Fine wine, microbrews and delicatessen chocolate never tasted so good with a little bike grease. In conjunction with the Eat Real Festival last Saturday at Jack London Square, 13 two-wheeled foodies pedaled along Oakland’s waterfront to meet the neighborhood’s culinary artisans and sample their creations.
To ride with the scraper bike king, helmet required
August 30, 2010 – 11:00 am
If you want to ride with the scraper bike king, you better wear a helmet. Tyrone “Baybe Champ” Stevenson Jr., known around Oakland as the “king” and creator of the scraper bike movement, announced his new rule of the road Saturday near Oakland City Hall.
A festive mood prevails during StreetFest, Eat Real celebrations
August 29, 2010 – 2:25 pm
Oakland is encouraging gluttony this weekend as the city hosts two festivals, flooding the streets with thousands of locals and out-of-towners eagerly waiting to sample the various treats.
Urban farmers challenge Oaklanders to “Eat Real”
August 29, 2010 – 1:59 pm
The very scrappiest of the sustainability enthusiasts challenged the public to take the movement home. And they didn’t mean starting an herb garden.
In the midst of a national recall, Eat Real festival promotes “good eggs”
August 26, 2010 – 7:56 am
With nearly 550 million eggs being pulled off grocery shelves nationwide during one of the largest egg recalls ever, and with thousands of people infected with salmonella after eating contaminated eggs, the idea of eating eggs can seem a little daunting. Organizers of this weekend’s Eat Real Festival hope to show people that eating local eggs is different.
Oakland celebrates 10 years of Art & Soul
August 23, 2010 – 7:46 am
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the organizers of Art & Soul pulled out all of the stops for this year’s festival and thousands of people came to enjoy.
A night hike through the cosmos
August 17, 2010 – 7:25 am
A simulated walk through the solar system takes hikers through a roughly four-mile loop in the East Bay Regional Parks, starting at the Chabot Space and Science Center and ending in the dark.
Down-home cuisine at Tacos Sinaloa
August 16, 2010 – 2:41 am
Looking up into the small ordering window of Tacos Sinaloa’s bright orange and chrome taco truck, Ernesto Vilchis asks for a serving of marinated tongue, crispy tripe and cow’s cheek tacos. Tacos Sinaloa is one of the most popular taco trucks in East Oakland; and not only does it serve up traditional Mexican tacos like tripe and cow’s cheek, it also has items for the less faint-of-heart, such as barbecue pork and carne asada.
Oakland’s Hodo Soy Beanery cooks up fresh tofu
August 13, 2010 – 8:00 am
Deep in West Oakland, behind a big gray façade, is one of the most lauded soymilk, tofu and yuba factories in the Bay Area—Hodo Soy Beanery. Inside, Minh Tsai, tofu master and co-founder of Hodo, runs around wearing tall white rubber boots and a striped railroad hat while checking on each steaming batch of soy milk.
The last picture show for video stores in Oakland?
August 6, 2010 – 7:25 am
As digital and online movie rentals grow, North Oakland’s in-person movie rental options continue to be shuttered.
Footbag players go toe to toe in the world championship
August 5, 2010 – 11:00 am
This week, footbaggers—better known as hackey sack players—gather in Oakland for the 31st Annual World Footbag Championship.
Oakland murals color the urban jungle
August 2, 2010 – 7:12 am
Hundreds of street murals brighten Oakland’s walls, painted by local artists, graffiti writers and collectives, like the Community Rejuvenation Project. Some are “bombed”, i.e. done without permission, on the fly, usually at night. Others are commissioned by private businesses and public institutions. This audio slideshow is a preview of some of them.
Oakland Museum presents 25 years of Pixar
July 30, 2010 – 10:33 am
After a five-year, 14-stop worldwide tour that kicked off at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005, the exhibition that covers Pixar’s entire lifespan is coming home. The Oakland Museum displays the East Bay studio’s unique visual style and extraordinarily vivid digital animation that brought the world Toy Story, WALL-E, and Finding Nemo.
A garden tour raises funds for healthy food education
July 26, 2010 – 8:01 am
In the shade of large, leafy lettuce and kale and tall stalks of beans, approximately 150 Bay Area residents met Saturday at the Saint Martin de Porres Elementary School garden to show their support for the nonprofit organization that planted it to give Oakland students a chance to learn about nutrition.
Oakland city council approves large-scale production of medical marijuana
July 21, 2010 – 9:24 am
In a lively, standing room only meeting, the Oakland city council voted Tuesday night to approve on first reading a city-wide plan for the cultivation of medical marijuana in four new large-scale factories.