Culture
From covering Jean Quan’s surprise win in Oakland’s mayoral election to attending graffiti art exhibitions; from covering Oakland Tech football to talking to undocumented teens hoping for the passage of the DREAM Act — if it happened in Oakland, our reporters were there. Click through to see some of our favorite photos from the year.
Where do you want to celebrate the New Year’s Eve this Friday? This year Oaklanders don’t have to travel to the other side of the bay to have fun. Take a look at some of our highlighted events — maybe there’s one for you.
Recent studies show that the amount and frequency of your chuckles are proportionally linked to stress levels and general well-being. Like the science but aren’t one of those who can chuckle on cue? You might want to join the Lifefire Laughter Club of Oakland.
When I think of winter, I think of dark, spongy gingerbread cookies–not too sugary and very spicy. Oakland North reporter Kate McLean shares a recipe and a how-to video.
Behind a 12-foot-high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire on a dead-end street underneath one of Oakland’s major freeways there is a concrete skate park called Bordertown. This West Oakland spot is the site of a long-standing controversy between the City of Oakland, Caltrans and the skateboarders that illegally built this park here six and a half years ago.
Early Sunday morning in the drizzling rain, a small group of people is standing on the shore of Lake Merritt peering out onto the lake through binoculars. They are birdwatchers participating in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count— the group’s annual tally of different species of birds.
Dancers with the Oakland Ballet Company have spent the past month preparing for this year’s production of “The Nutcracker. The shows, which will be presented at the Paramount Theater, are scheduled for Christmas weekend, but you can listen in on a rehearsal in this audio piece.
For Christmas this year, Leo Keegan set out to create a nativity spectacle at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland. The result was the Starlight Festival: seventeen unique displays of the crèche, or nativity scene, each an interpretation of the biblical story of Jesus’ birth
The Crucible, Oakland’s non-profit arts education center began in a small Berkeley warehouse in January 1999. Listen in as reporter Mary Flynn explores The Crucible and the art of motorcycle maintenance.