Community
On Saturday, animals at the Oakland Zoo will suspend their diet plans and indulge in what could easily be this year’s largest animal party, feasting on servings of produce donated by Oakland residents, many of whom will come and watch the animals eat their hearts out between 8 am and 6 pm.
The sound of jazz—a melody, harmony, rhythm, or timbre—hadn’t filled the lobby of the California Hotel, just off San Pablo Avenue, for more than a decade. And as over a hundred people filled into the hotel on Wednesday—Billy Strayhorn numbers setting the mood—for a groundbreaking marking the city’s decision to revitalize the historic hotel, passersby, many of them with iPods, didn’t know the hotel was a venue for the most preeminent figures on their playlists: James Brown, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin and Big Mama Thornton.
Every Wednesday between 10 a.m and 2 p.m., an organic farmer’s market appears, tucked between the Cathedral of Christ the Light and the Kaiser Permanente offices near Lake Merritt. Operating since May, the Ordway Organic Farmer’s Market, a petite selection of just over a half dozen booths selling fruits, veggies, plants and other fare, is the new kid on the block on an array of farmer’s markets that dot Oakland. However, it is unique because it is among the few that take place midweek, mid-day and and are all-organic.
Every week, Oakland North will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Kelly Patrick Dugan.
This Saturday, dozens of volunteering opportunities will be available during the second annual “Throw Down for the Town,” a service festival that gives Oakland residents several options to transform their neighborhoods.
Oakland North is continuing with our feature. Every week, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s a cat named April.
It’s about dedication, focus, bravery, heart and a willingness to leave it all on the stage for the audience to absorb and learn from—that is what the young poets who participated in the 15th Annual Brave New Voices Grand Slam Finals said about the competition that took place on Saturday night at the Fox Theater in Oakland.
A motley crew of 130 software developers, designers, community activists and concerned citizens converged at the Kaiser center on Saturday to compete for their share of more than $5,000 worth of prize money at the second annual Code for Oakland event. The competition challenges teams to develop a prototype application that uses public data, and gives them only a day to do it.
California was once home to over 300 Native American dialects and as many as 90 languages. Today, only about half of those languages are still with us and many are working to revive them.