Culture
In the 2011 season opener for the Oakland Outlaws, Oakland’s own roller derby team, the Outlaws face off against the Berkeley Resistance, the newest team to be added to the B.ay A.rea D.erby (B.A.D.) Girls Roller Derby league.
On February 11, Oakland-based Pandora, the popular internet radio program, filed for its initial public offering, or IPO, and the influx of money will bolster the company’s position at the forefront of the booming online music industry. In this video we hear from a musician and an industry attorney on what Pandora’s success means for online music.
As Oakland residents stepped out Thursday to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the Oakland City Center and the band Driving with Fergus helped to kick things off in true Irish style.
The Princess Project, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, has been making prom dreams come true for high school girls in the Bay Area for the last decade. This year, the project was able to fill an empty storefront in downtown San Francisco with nearly 6,000 donated dresses. Christina Lopez has the story.
Turfing was born in Oakland in the early ‘90s, but it wasn’t until a 2009 YouTube video called “Dancing in the Rain,” produced by YAK Films, that turf dancing started receiving national attention. To bring turfing back to the local level, and to encourage local dancers of all skill levels to start, the Eastside Arts Alliance’s Oakland Hip Hop Institute is offering a six-session workshop.
St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until March 17, but the festivities start this weekend. Find the best way to unleash your inner Irish on Oakland North’s activities listings.
If winemaking is an art, consider The Punchdown Oakland’s newest gallery. The uptown bar, which opened its doors at 2212 Broadway in December, offers wine connoisseurs and neophytes alike a polished, unpretentious space to sip, nibble and chat. But be warned: there’s no Yellowtail on tap at The Punchdown—the bar only carries natural, sustainably produced wines.
A state bill that would ban the possession and distribution of shark fins in California has led to debate between conservationists and Chinese American leaders, and has its share of critics in Oakland’s Chinatown. The bill would prevent hundreds of restaurants from serving shark-fin soup, a traditional Chinese delicacy that is a mark of prestige at banquets.
It was early, raining and Sunday, but about 300 people still gathered in front of the Oakland Marriot City Center last weekend for the final official training run for the Oakland Running Festival’s marathon and half-marathon races.