Community

An overflow crowd packed Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light near Lake Merritt early Sunday evening for a concert on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Titled “Requiem of Remembrance,” the concert was part of a series of Requiem performances nationwide to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks with a day of thoughtful remembrance and reflection.

We asked six Oakland residents to remember the events September 11, and reflect on how it’s changed their lives in the decade since. For some the impact was immediate and life-altering. Others experienced the drama from a distance. None of them will ever forget it.

Meet the next watering hole in our new bar series, The Nightcap: Room 389 opened last year on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt, and its laid-back atmosphere and good music has helped its popularity steadily grow. The bar, says owner Benjamin Cukierman, is a place where neighbors “come hang out with their friends without having to yell over the music.”

At a yarn store at the corner of San Pablo and Alcatraz in North Oakland, a new exhibit will transport visitors to a remote corner of India. The shop, called A Verb for Keeping Warm, is kicking off its third art show today, titled “The Rabari People, Their Culture, and Their Textiles.”

A comedic troupe of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus clowns made the rounds through the fifth floor of Oakland Children’s Hospital yesterday, waddling room-to-room, clad in big floppy shoes, and bright red noses and oversized apparel presenting each child with a special bead, and an unorthodox prescription: smile.

Numi Tea imports rare and unique teas with real fruit, flowers and spices that no other companies are—most of their supplies come from China and India—and packages them in brightly colored boxes with artwork designed by cofounder Reem Rahim.

During a day of national remembrance for the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, on Sunday the Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Oakland Civic Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Requiem at the Cathedral of Christ the Light near Lake Merritt.

This September, in an effort to encourage public engagement in the fight against hunger, Alameda County’s Community Food Bank is working with 200 food banks nationwide to promote “Hunger Action Month.”