Culture
“What you’ll need for a day of suffering” read the top of the invitation for this year’s Rad Massaker alleycat bicycle race, which instructed bikers to bring water, spare tubes, energy gel and helmets. Sunday afternoon, hordes of cyclists showed up at Mosswood Park prepared to brave the pain.
On randomly-selected afternoons a couple hundred people gather in a big brick building on Martin Luther King Jr. Way to shop, browse and taste ready-made food from top chefs from all over the Bay Area. It’s not a farmers market, food fair or co-op—it’s the Pop-Up General Store, a place where people can buy pre-made food that can’t normally be found outside of an expensive restaurant.
What do you get when you mix an outdoor market, workshops on healthy eating and food justice? A Phat Beets farmers’ market. This new North Oakland weekly farmers’ market, which debuted on Saturday, is more than just buying food locally—it’s about education, health and the community.
One or two days a week, a little before noon, a crowd of people begins to line up in downtown Oakland, right off Broadway near City Hall. It’s unclear what they’re waiting for though, because there’s nothing there. Shortly, a big white truck painted with colorful polka dots rounds the corner. Stenciled on the side of the truck, it says “Cupkates—a mobile cupcakery.”
Bay Area Girls Rock Camp kicked off last week in downtown Oakland. Eighty girls, from ages 8 to 18, learned to play guitar, drums, synthesizer and sing. This is the third summer of Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, where attendees get to do more than just learn about music—they also go to screen printing classes where they design band logos and print them on t-shirts, take self-defense classes, participate in image and identity workshops, and learn about song writing and music her-story.
It’s hard to catch Steve Sparkes these days between World Cup games, building a tasting room at Linden Street Brewery in West Oakland, and organizing a week-long free soccer camp for over sixty kids. Now in its third year, the “My Yute” soccer camp offers skills training to young players, while exposing them to the cultural diversity of the game and spreading, Sparkes hopes, his passion for the sport.
On Thursday, historic musician Bert Jansch headlined an intimate concert at the New Parish nightclub in downtown Oakland. Jansch’s music blends acoustic folk, traditional Irish and Scottish music with some blues and jazz. He is thought of as one of the world’s most influential folk guitarists and music greats such as Neil Young, Nick Drake and Jimmy Page have covered his songs.
The Oakland lawn bowling club has been rolling on the greens at Lakeside Park for nearly a century. The game dates from 13th century England, and was played by the likes of Sir Francis Drake and Henry VIII.
As popcorn popped and kids ran around kicking a soccer ball, people laid out blankets and set up camping chairs on 49th Street and Telegraph Thursday night. The whole block was coned off and a jazz band played while people waited for the sun to set. By the time it was dark, nearly 200 movie-watchers had gathered for the first night of the outdoor Temescal Street Cinema.