Oakland School for the Arts celebrates its 10th anniversary with a show at the Fox

The downtown Oakland school, founded in 2002 by Governor Jerry Brown who was then Oakland’s mayor, will celebrate its 10th birthday Thursday night with a performance at the Fox Theater. It is the only public charter performing arts school in Oakland, and is actually made up nine different schools, each spanning grades 6-12, that teach dance, instrumental music, vocal music, digital media, literary arts, production design, theatre, visual arts, and circus arts.

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Oakland’s first Youth Poet Laureate finalists announced

Now that the finalists in Oakland’s first Youth Poet Laureate competition have been announced, the poets have until September to hear the final results after the last panel of judges make their decision. While waiting to find out who will be named the first Youth Poet Laureate, the finalists are preparing for the first group performance at the Art & Soul Festival this summer in Oakland.

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Video highlights from Jean Quan’s inauguration ceremony

Jean Quan became Oakland’s 49th mayor on Monday as she was sworn in during a ceremony at the Fox Theatre. In her 12-minute inauguration speech, Quan spoke about her priorities for her term and asked residents to “dream of a better Oakland.” Watch this video of the ceremony and Quan’s historical walk from earlier on Monday.

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Downtown Oakland streets close for election festivities

Members of the Oakland Police Department cordoned off several streets on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for some pre-planned election night parties, as well as other less formal street celebrations, as media gathered in downtown Oakland to cover two of the nation’s most high-profile electoral contests — the California governor’s race and the fate of Proposition 19.

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Fox comparable to phoenix rising from its “depressed” roots

  By Greg Barco Oakland’s Fox Theater first opened in October 1928, one year before the New York Stock Exchange crashed. Enter from stage left: Great Depression (and linger around until World War II shoves you off the stage). Fast forward to 2009: the Fox is once again opening, this time during the worst economic…

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