Culture
Mama Buzz Café and Gallery is located on Telegraph Avenue in the heart of Oakland’s young art scene. In addition to showcasing new artists’ work each month, Mama Buzz invites musicians several times a week to play free concerts in the intimate setting of the café.
Like one giant neighborhood picnic, “Bites on Broadway” officially launched its weekly food extravaganza last Friday. People laid down blankets on the grassy lawn of Oakland Tech High School in Temescal and sampled food from a handful of a different food trucks and tents, including El Taco Bike, Fist of Flour Pizza Company, Sue’s Sassy Pies, Go Streatery and Tina Tamale.
North Oakland Senior Center had some young visitors on Friday as a group of third graders from Peralta Elementary School came to visit the seniors of an adult day care program in the center. Together with the elderly, the kids prepared salad and lemonade for lunch.
Over the next month, Oakland North is featuring a food series on summer treats in Oakland. This second installment in the series focuses on Middle Eastern treats that can be found along Telegraph Avenue around 30th Street, which includes everything from Syrian rose watered pistachio baklava to Afghani cornmeal-coated fried chicken to clarified butter spiced with both black and white cumin.
Residents representing Oakland arts groups, libraries and redevelopment projects pled with councilmembers at Tuesday’s night City Council meeting to find alternatives to making drastic cuts to help close the city’s $58 million budget deficit.
Oakland Animal Services was able to raise $102,500 with 71 cat and 95 dog adoptions during last weekend’s second annual Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon. The adoptathon lasted two days, involved dozens of animal shelters and rescue organizations in the East Bay and all dog and cat adoptions were free.
Nearly 30 years ago, in 1983, Dan Fontes was under Highway 580 at Harrison Street in North Oakland painting on a massive round concrete highway support beam. With cars speeding by, he diligently worked on his piece of art: a realistic depiction of a 30-foot tall giraffe craning its neck up toward the freeway. As Fontes painted, a police car pulled up…
Miss Twiggy is an overweight Rottweiler with hyperthyroidism and an affectionate personality. She’s 4 years old, fairly slow moving and loves to cuddle. And she lives in Oakland’s animal shelter. If Miss Twiggy is adopted this weekend, not only is her adoption free but she’ll also earn the shelter, Oakland Animal Services, $1,000.
Bring a blanket and sit underneath the palm trees as you listen to Soundwaves, a new outdoor live music series on the waterfront of Jack London Square. It continues tonight with San Francisco Latin band, Lava.