Most weeks, there’s a pretty clear events-related trend that suggests what’s on Oakland’s mind (or at least, what was on Oakland’s mind when it was planning them for that week). Usually, there are a lot of garden things, or events around a particular holiday, or everyone’s having an open house or something. This week, though, it’s all over the map: walks and hikes, very cool fundraisers, music and movies and plays and performances, and of course the requisite meetings… but what’s also really interesting is the stuff that’s hard to categorize — the one-of-a-kind events — and there are several of those, too, each more unique than the last. Enjoy!
Friday, May 23
Ceasefire Oakland/LifeLines To Healing Night Walk
6:30 – 9 p.m.
At Thy Word, 8915 International Boulevard
The City of Oakland and local faith-based organizations are continuing neighborhood Night Walks on Fridays as a way community members can get involved in Operation Ceasefire. These walks are organized by residents and faith leaders in areas where Ceasefire is focused. Volunteers are trained in advance and are accompanied by other volunteers for the duration of the walk. The purpose of the Night Walk is to reach out to communities affected by violence. For more information, email fridaycommunitynightwalks@gmail.com.
The Expulsion of Malcolm X Opens at Laney College Theater
7:30 p.m.
900 Fallon Street
Written by Larry Americ Allen, The Expulsion of Malcolm X explores the celebrated relationship between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad, and the bewildering scandal that severed their relationship. Imbued with poetic truth and profound irony, Americ’s beautifully-crafted script examines the strengths and frailties of the human condition through the rise and fall of one of the most charismatic and controversial men in United States history. The stage play features actor DeJuan Conner, who portrays Malcolm X; Michael Lange, who performs in the role of Elijah Muhammad; Kreshenda Jenkins as Betty Shabazz; and Lamont Young as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; along with a host of other talented Bay Area actors. The live production runs through Saturday, May 31. Click here for tickets.
Saturday, May 24
Bike Donation Drive
10 a.m.
Oakland Public Library, Main Branch, 125 14th Street
Donate your old bicycle to Cycles of Change and help support sustainable communities! Cycles of Change fixes up old bikes at The Bikery, a community bike shop in East Oakland, and returns them to the community through its school-based bicycle education, job training, and community earn-a-bike programs. We are gratefully accepting donations of complete, working and almost-working bicycles and usable bike parts. All donations are tax-deductible, and each person who donates will receive a 20% off coupon for the Friends Bookmark Bookstore!
Celebrating Elephants at Oakland Zoo
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
9777 Golf Links Road
Visit Oakland Zoo for their annual Celebrating Elephants event! Family-friendly activities will include exciting elephant stations such as touching gigantic pachyderm bones, holding an eleven-pound tooth, and stepping into an elephant-sized footprint. Grab binoculars and participate in a mock research camp where observers are invited to watch and record behaviors, and they can learn how to tell our four elephants apart. Plus, experience the once-a-year opportunity to tour the elephant barn and see an elephant up close.
African Liberation Day
Noon – 4 p.m.
EastSide Cultural Center, 2277 International Boulevard
This event features invited local, national and international speakers, as well as cultural performers by Akoma Arts, griot Phavia Kujichagulia with Val Serrant and Tyson Amir. Please wear all-white clothing as a show of solidarity. Sponsored by Merritt African American Studies, for more information, visit africanliberationday.net.
Eastlake Music Festival
Noon – 7 p.m.
Lake Merritt Amphitheatre, Lake Merritt Boulevard and 11th Street
This first-annual festival is a free event open to the general public, for all ages. In addition to over 30 local musical acts on seven different stages, the festival offers community artisan crafts, food trucks, a beer garden with local micro-brews, free bike repairs and valet bike parking, and a bouncy house for the kids. The Eastlake Music Festival is a non-profit event that will bring together an amazingly diverse lineup of musicians, performing artists, and dancers to celebrate the incredible mish-mash of genres, techniques and technologies happening in music and art in the Bay Area, and particularly Oakland’s Eastlake Community. Among some of the local artists and performers participating in the festival are Jennifer Johns, Awesome Orchestra, Baby and the Luvies, About The Music (ATM), and Dance-a-Vision. Check out the full schedule on the festival’s website: www.eastlakemusicfestival.org.
Tracie Collins’ The V Monologues: A Black Woman’s Interpretation
7 p.m.
Oakland Kaiser Center, Lakeside Theater, 300 Lakeside Drive
An off-Broadway adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Vagina Monologues written by Eve Ensler, The V Monologues is from a Black Woman’s perspective. It speaks to and stems from childhood issues, cultural perception, societal pressures, body image and how our views in intimate relationships have been shaped when it comes to a Black Woman’s Vagina. Tickets are available here.
57th Street Gallery Presents The Humpday Orchestra
8:30 – 11 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)
5701 Telegraph Avenue
The Humpday Orchestra was spawned from a weekly workshop that takes place every Wednesday afternoon at the “Kickitorium,” Muziki Roberson’s studio. These musicians have gotten together almost every Wednesday for around six years, and they play a wide variety of classic and contemporary jazz. Please join them for their exciting debut at the 57th Street Gallery. You are sure to enjoy this group of musicians and friends. Musicians are Muziki Roberson, vibes; Heather Watkins, piano; Joe Thornton, sax; Karl Young, wooden flute; Allen Perkins, drums; Bruce Loke, trumpet; and Chris Reece, bass. For more information or to make reservations (recommended), visit www.57thStreetGallery.com.
Sunday, May 25
Honoring Art & Spirit with The Cosmic Mass
6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison Street
The Cosmic Mass is a participatory celebration of life that incorporates organic dance, innovative art displays, electrifying beats, soul-moving performance, mind-expanding discussion, and transformative ritual, bringing together a diverse community of beings, to embody the sacredness of life in a cosmic context. This event will honor the relationship between art and spirit and the alchemical role art plays in the evolving human experience, featuring ritual leaders Kokomon and Aeesha Clottey, Evelie Posch, and Richard Kaplan, theologian Matthew Fox, VJ Caroluna, hip hop band Earth Amplified, artists Amana Harris, Pako Voom, Bruce Polone, and Ullrrich Lemus, and a slideshow featuring the work of dozens of local artists! Community members of all ages are welcome. Please join The Cosmic Mass as they dance together to invoke the continually-emerging spirit of life, Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.
Monday, May 26
Guided Nature Hiking Tour of Joaquin Miller Park
10 a.m.
Palos Colorados Trailhead, end of Joaquin Miller Court
Learn about the many trail routes, the history of the park, and about the many improvements underway at Joaquin Miller Park. This is a 4.5-mile hike with 850 feet of elevation change. The pace will be moderate, but some sections of this hike require moderate to advanced hiking skills. Sturdy shoes are required. Please bring your own water bottle. We will take a break at the top, where refreshments and a snack will be provided by La Farine Bakery. Register here.
Jamaican Jerk Cook-Off: A Fundraiser
1 – 5 p.m.
Linden Street Brewery, 95 Linden Street
This is a family-friendly event benefiting My Yute Soccer. It features live music, Linden Brews, Drake’s Brewery, Lagunitas, Jerk Masters, and kids’ zone. Children under 12 are admitted free. For more information, visit www.jamaicanjerkcookoff.com.
Tuesday, May 27
Oakland City Council Committee Meetings
Times listed below
Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
The City Council is the governing body of the City of Oakland, and consists of eight members who are elected directly by the citizens of Oakland: one representative from each of seven districts, and one at-large representative. The Council sets goals and priorities for the City, as well as approving the City budget, adopting ordinances to help the City serve its citizens, and appointing members to various boards and commissions. Most of the Committees of the City Council usually meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month (although it is recommended to confirm the day and time, as this is subject to change). A downloadable agenda is available here. For more information, click here or call (510) 238-7370.
10:30 a.m. – noon: Public Works Committee
noon – 2 p.m.: Finance & Management Committee
2 – 4 p.m.: Community & Economic Development Committee
4 – 5:30 p.m.: Life Enrichment Committee
5:30 p.m.: Public Safety Committee
Meet Children’s Author Yuyi Morales At The Library
6 p.m.
César E. Chávez Branch, 3301 East 12th Street
Yuyi Morales is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books include Niño Wrestles the World, Just in Case, Little Night/Nochecita and Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book. Born and raised in Mexico, she has been a children’s book creator since migrating to the U.S. in 1994. Yuyi will read her work, and talk about her personal history and Mexican children’s folklore. She will be available to answer questions, and to autograph books, which will be for sale at the event. Although the library is closed for Memorial Day on May 27, it will open just for this event. For more information, contact Nina Lindsay, Supervising Librarian.
CORE III Class B: Emergency Response Skills Training
6 – 9 p.m.
Patten University, 2433 Coolidge Avenue
CORE III Class B will feature classroom-style instruction about disaster first aid and triage. CORE (Communities of Oakland Respond to Emergencies) provides free emergency preparedness training for individuals, neighborhood groups and community-based organizations in Oakland. CORE teaches self-reliance skills and helps neighborhoods establish response teams to take care of the neighborhood after ACa disaster until professional help arrives. CORE is a program of the Oakland Fire Department’s Emergency Management Services Division (EMSD). Prerequisite: completion of CORE III Class A. For more information or to register for the CORE classes visit www.oaklandcore.org.
Wednesday, May 28
AC Transit Board of Directors Meetings
Times listed below
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, 1600 Franklin Street, 10th Floor
The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District is the third-largest public bus system in California, serving 13 cities and adjacent unincorporated areas in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. AC Transit has been serving the East Bay since 1960, taking over from the Key System and its predecessors, which carried passengers via buses, horse-drawn rail, electric streetcars, and ferries over the previous 100 years. AC Transit’s mission is to provide safe, convenient, courteous, and reliable transit service.
3 p.m.: Planning Committee
3:30 p.m.: Finance and Audit Committee
6 p.m.: Board of Directors
For more information, visit actransit.org.
Oakland Board of Education General Meeting
5 – 9 p.m.
Paul Robeson Building, 1025 2nd Avenue, Board Room
The Governing Board, commonly called the Board of Education, is the elected policy-making body of the public education system within the City of Oakland. The Governing Board’s primary responsibility is to ensure that every student served by the District is well educated and demonstrates high academic achievement. For more information, visit bex.ousd.k12.ca.us.
10Y NCPC Monthly Potluck and Meeting
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Sacred Heart Church, Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
Come at 6:30 for a casual potluck, or at 7 p.m. for the meeting, or both. This event repeats on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Contact NSC (Neighborhood Services Coordinator) Paul Brekke-Miesner at (510) 238-3102, or PSO (Problem-Solving Officer) Trode for additional information.
Thursday, May 29
Oakland City Council Rules and Legislation Committee
10:45 a.m.
Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Hearing Room 1
The Rules and Legislation Committee usually meets at this time (although it is recommended to confirm the day and time, as this is subject to change). A downloadable agenda is available here. For more information, click here or call (510) 238-7370.
Oakland Originals Documentary Series Premiere
6 – 7 p.m.
Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue
Local filmmakers pair up with the historic Grand Lake Theater to screen pre-feature entertainment with a unique Oakland flare. Inspired by Oakland’s thriving cultural scene, filmmakers Jim McSilver and Erin Palmquist have created a new series of short documentaries called Oakland Originals. The series highlight artists, thinkers, and doers who are pushing boundaries, countering stereotypes, and exploring territories singular to this dynamic city. Four of these Oakland Originals documentaries will premiere at the Grand Lake Theater. The premiere of these first four short documentaries kicks off the theater’s plan to screen the films individually in rotation before features in the main auditorium beginning on May 30. Just as, historically, short newsreels before feature films played an important role in connecting movie audiences with current events, these pre-feature screenings give audiences something extra for the price of their ticket, while providing the opportunity to see their neighbors and communities on the big screen.
Upper Broadway Pedestrian/Bike/Roadway Improvement Project
7 p.m.
Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College Avenue
The City of Oakland’s Public Works Department will present the proposed project, which is envisioned to improve roadway safety, improve pedestrian crossing access and include bike facilities on-street. For more information, contact Victoria Eisen, the City’s Caldecott projects consultant.
To list an event for May 30 – June 5, send the details to meg@oaklandlocal.com by noon on Tuesday, May 27.