Culture

At Taste of Temescal, diversity of food abounds

The diverse atmosphere of Temescal was replicated last night by the restaurants — from Mexican food to Indian food to Bake Sale Betty and ice cream sorbets. As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once said: “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”

Oakland dance troupe channels Haitian rhythms

At the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in downtown Oakland, Portsha Jefferson and the Rara Tou Limen Haitian Folkloric Ensemble use dance and performance to educate the Bay Area about Haitian culture. The ensemble is organizing a fundraiser this Wednesday, October 21, at San Francisco’s Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

Laney student performance calls for better public education

Oral histories of Oakland residents collected by Laney College students are woven together in the original production, “The Miseducation of Oakland.” Director Michael Torres says that the overall message of the show is that, “everyone should get an education and nobody has the right to take away education.”

PlayDate gets Oaklanders out of the club and onto the Twister mat

At least once a month on a Saturday night, the singles scene in Oakland is less about saving up the cash to wine and dine and more about brushing up on your UNO and Connect Four skills. This weekend, people gathered at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Oakland to show their love for doing things like rolling the dice to get past GO and trying to get their left knee on yellow and right hand on green. PlayDate, a monthly…

Young stars audition for roles of a lifetime

For talented 7-12 year olds in Oakland, October 5th was a big day. Fifteen of them were chosen from a group of thirty to become part of a hip-hop, dance and spoken word Junior theater company created through Destiny Arts Center, a North Oakland based non-profit that teaches hip-hop, kung fu and conflict resolution to youth.

Choir competes for gospel gold

Eight choirs. One night. Fifteen thousand fans. Watch the singers of Oakland’s Genesis Worship Center as they take the stage in the “Best Choir in America” competition.