Oakland North TV
Around 3,000 people turned out in Mosswood Park on Saturday to celebrate Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year.
California was once home to over 300 Native American dialects and as many as 90 languages. Today, only about half of those languages are still with us and many are working to revive them.
Despite not attending art school, Derek McDonald’s art has permeated much of the local visual landscape, from gold leafed yacht names in the Emeryville Marina to local bar placards to the vintage signs at Oakland’s Fairyland park for children. At his West Berkeley studio, Golden West Sign Arts, McDonald stays true to the tradition of sign painting without any digital assistance.
A circus has come to town—a dancer rounds dozens of hula-hoops on her hips, one woman swings from a trapeze, another treads a fine line on the slack rope, and a clown puts up a formidable act for the audience. Meet A circus has come to town—a dancer rounds dozens of hula-hoops on her hips, one woman swings from a trapeze, another treads a fine line on the slack rope and a clown puts up a formidable act for the audience. Meet Circus Bella, a one-ring outdoor circus comprised of 13 troupe members and several live musicians.
On Saturday afternoon nearly 200 protestors showed up for a 1.7 mile march organized by a coalition of community organizers, Occupy Oakland supporters and Lakeview Elementary parents to protest the closure of five Oakland elementary schools by the Oakland Unified School District.
When Kendra Scalia-Carrow discovered the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program’s (BORP) Power Soccer group in 2006, she had no interest in joining the team. The 28-year-old, who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, had never played a sport. But as soon as she kicked the ball, she was hooked.
In 2009, Scalia-Carrow, an Americans with Disabilities Act program analyst for the city of Oakland, decided to try out for the U.S. National Power Soccer team. Despite having only played the sport for three years, Scalia-Carrow was chosen as one of only eight players on the starting roster at the 2011 FIFPA World Cup in Paris.
Since he was kid, Dvondre Woodards has gone by another name, Pooka. Given to him by his grandmother, the name stuck, be it with friends, family, and even teachers. It doesn’t have any meaning as far as 22-year-old Woodards knows. “It’s just unique. So I’m making my own definition of it,” he said.
The Watusi and the Jerk—popular dance moves in the early 1960’s—could be spotted during the launch of Summer Sounds Concerts at City Center Plaza on Wednesday. Over a hundred people, some of them doing the Twist, cheered on The Sun Kings, an Alameda based rock band that covers the Beatles’ music.
The ladles were out at Issues—a magazine store known for its comprehensive international selections—for their 5th year anniversary party that featured a chili cook-off.