Culture
Sitting in front of the stage at Yoshi’s, musician Roger Glenn looked up at the portraits of famous players that lined the walls of the legendary downtown Oakland jazz club and was overcome with disappointment. A tear rolled down his cheek as he spoke. “I felt like my whole life, what I was doing, the history of all the people I’ve known, is meaningless,” said Glenn, as he looked out at 50 musicians, reporters and jazz aficionados assembled before him….
Since the 1930s, Oaklanders have been flocking to Temescal Regional Park for swimming, fishing, picnicking and to simply take in the great outdoors.
To Michael Davidson, aka The Grilled Cheez Guy, the secret’s in the brick. This local purveyor of gooey, honest-to-goodness grilled cheese sandwiches cooks his comfort food under a brick wrapped in foil—the pressure, he says, ensures the sandwich cooks evenly and has his signature, perfectly crisp exterior.
On a Sunday afternoon in a living room in Berkeley, three fully grown adults are running in circles around a fourth man, wildly flapping their arms and making bird noises. A woman sits on the couch, directing the scene—when she says she wants to see birds, the group complies. Welcome to a rehearsal with Stone Soup, North Oakland’s very own improv troupe.
This year’s White Elephant sale topped the charts by earning $1.6 million from its annual event in March. For the 52nd year in a row, the Oakland Museum Women’s Board organized this gigantic rummage sale where people can find anything from picnic baskets to record players to wedding dresses. All proceeds from the sale benefit the Oakland Museum of California.
Musically Minded Academy, a brand new school, community center and concert venue in Rockridge, opened its doors to students of every age this January. Singers, drummers, and classic pianists—and no matter what their experience level—can find a place at this progressive, nonprofit facility.
During a contentious meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Oakland City Council’s Committee on Community and Economic Development debated whether or not to expand the boundaries where food trucks can do business throughout the city, as well as loosen some of the restrictions that govern where food trucks can park.
Some people coming out of the Rockridge BART station stop and observe; some just shake their heads and continue walking. The scene before them is not what one would expect on a sunny Thursday evening—it seems as if a window to the Middle Ages has been opened in the parking lot next to the BART station.
This story takes us under the big top. Traveling troupes of trained animals, acrobats and clowns may have originated in Ancient Rome, but today in West Oakland, a group of twenty-somethings are not just reinventing the old art form—they’re living it.