Culture
Oakland’s Chinatown was transformed Sunday into a vibrant street market, where the aroma of cooking food mingled with the crackle of conversation and the bright colors of balloons and paper lanterns. Beneath a canopy of floating red lanterns, vendors hawked rib and radish soup, boba tea, and pineapple buns. The joyful event was a collective effort by the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to support small businesses and create a sense of safety and belonging in the area. Coinciding…
In celebration of Black History Month, the Black Cultural Zone put a spotlight on love and local businesses, bringing them together in the Sooooo Chocolate Festival on Sunday at Uptown Station. “Promoting local artists is the antidote to gentrification and displacement,” said Carylon Johnson, Black Cultural Zone CEO. “Festivals like these remind people that who we are is made up of our local small businesses. And so we’ve got to embrace them and elevate them.” The rich fragrance of chocolate…
An Oakland mural dedicated to women in the Black Panther Party came to life Friday night, as visitors to the Oakland Museum of California were invited to create their own artwork in a live mural. The project was put on by the West Oakland Mural Project, a mural and mini museum honoring women instrumental to the Black Panther movement. Visitors got to work painting, bringing the colorless canvas to life with vibrant reds, blues, yellows, and blacks. The live mural,…
In the spirit of unity, Alameda County has been hosting a Lunar New Year celebration for 15 years. Monday’s program at Lincoln Hall — the first one in person since the pandemic lockdown in 2020 — included five traditional performances reflecting the Bay Area’s diverse Asian communities. The audience of about 400 mostly was made up of children from eight schools, while students from nine other schools participated online. “We come from different languages and cultures, but we all share…
Mayra Matias Pablo cradles a baby doll in her arm while holding a stuffed breast in her other hand. Dressed in traditional Guatemalan clothing and speaking Mam, a Mayan language from Guatemala, she uses the props to demonstrate a proper latch. Matias Pablo works for the Women, Infant and Children program at Oakland’s Native American Health Center and created this social media video to help Mam-speakers learn how to reduce nipple pain during breastfeeding. The WIC program supports pregnant women,…
About three dozen people gathered at the Lake Merritt amphitheater on a chilly Friday night to remember the five people who were killed last weekend in a mass shooting at a queer nightclub in Colorado Springs. During the three-hour vigil, people, mostly wearing black, listened to music — some hugging, others crying, and many laughing together, as they tried to care for one another in the wake of continued brutality against queer people in the United States. “Being queer and…
A small group of zine artists gathered in front of the Crisis Club Gallery in Oakland on Saturday afternoon and rifled through the dozens of zines splayed across a white foldout table, looking to trade their own creations with other zinesters. The zine swap was a pre-festival event in celebration of the Bay Area Queer Zine Fest, which began Sunday. The weeklong Zine Fest is returning for its fifth festival with a mixture of in-person and remote events until Saturday….
Anjali Rimi is unapologetic about stepping into the light. And as the co-founder of Parivar Bay Area — a transgender-led, transgender-centering South Asian organization — she makes space for others to join her. On Saturday evening, Parivar hosted a joyous and informative Diwali celebration at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Rooted in India but widely celebrated in the diaspora around the world, Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. Diwali’s significance was not lost on the audience of about 80,…
Writing saved Edward Gunawan’s life. And he hopes his story can help others. His comic “Press Play,” on view at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center until Monday, draws from his own struggles with lifelong depression. The title refers to a triangle the main character touches on his wrist “to make all the swirl and whirl come to a standstill,” as well as restart. On Saturday afternoon, Gunawan was in conversation with Bay Area poets Christine No and Michelle Lin for…