Culture

Oakland businesses help CommonWealth pub rebound after fire

After a July 8 fire forced CommonWealth Café and Pub’s owners to close their business for repairs, other Oakland bar and restaurant owners stepped in to help. In the months since the fire CommonWealth’s owners have collaborated with a number of these local businesses on food and beer events that have benefited the pub and kept their employees working.

Father, son paint murals to highlight lives of Oakland’s homeless

Mike and John Manente stand proudly together as they look up at their recent creation: Sheila, a dignified woman with a gentle face blended from yellow ochre, alizarin crimson, and earth tones. The setting sun gives her an amber hue. She’s the subject of the “The Gardener,” the latest in an ongoing series of murals entitled “The People of Oakland” by the father and son team. Last year the two men, both professional artists, created the “People of Oakland” to…

Shuttle fans gather at Chabot for Endeavour’s final flight

“Space is my middle name,” said elementary school student Cameron Weignant on Friday morning at the Chabot Space and Science Center as his mother adjusted the tinted visor on his helmet.  While about a hundred people of all ages had come up to the observatory above Oakland hoping for a glimpse of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on its final flyover of California, only Cameron had arrived in a full astronaut costume. “He’s been interested in space since he was 2,”…

Freedom House musical performance explores social issues in Oakland

Freedom House: Dancing in the Flatlands is a new performance work by Claudine Naganuma. The piece will be shown three times at East Oakland’s EastSide Cultural Center this weekend, starting with an 8 p.m. performance Friday night. Naganuma is the director of Danspace, a dance studio in Rockridge, and the founder of the dance company dNaga, which will be performing the piece.