08/21: O-Scene weekend

Friday, August 21

Rear Window@ the Paramount

Sure, Jimmy Stewart’s character is kind of a whiny pill, but Grace Kelly is sublime. Could there be a better venue than the Paramount to see Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 masterpiece Rear Window?

“Return to Hollywood’s Golden Era in America’s finest Art Deco movie palace. Movie Classic presentation includes a newsreel, cartoon, previews and the Paramount’s prize give-away game “Dec-O-Win”. Live organ serenade begins at 7:30 p.m. with Jerry Nagano at the Mighty Wurlitzer!”

$5
The Paramount, 2025 Broadway
Doors open at 7 p.m. Box office opens at 6 p.m.

2009 Butch Voices Conference

Butch Voices is a grassroots organization dedicated to all self identified Butches, Studs, Aggressives, other similar identities, and their Allies. It is hosting the 2009 Butch Voices Conference this year at the Oakland Marriott. The event features keynotes by Jeanne Cordova, S. Bear Bergman and Malkia “MAC” Cyril. The program includes workshops, presentations, networking dinners, artists’ showcase, performances, film screenings and more. Registration and workshops take place at the Marriott, but other venues include Humanist Hall and the Vibe Lounge. Visit butchvoices.com for details.

Thursday, August 20 through Sunday, August 23.
Oakland Marriott, 1001 Broadway, 510-451-4000

Saturday, August 22

40th Street ArtQuest
Closing reception for Resound – Carl Auge’s solo show – at Rowan Morrison Gallery

A group of local merchants along 40^th Street, which connects MacArthur BART and Piedmont Avenue, are having an art party of sorts on Saturday night. Manifesto Bicycles, Rowan Morrison Gallery, Premium Tattoo and Vintage, 1234GO! Records and Issues are all hosting art receptions on the same evening as part of the 40th Street Corridor Art Quest 2.

If the artwork isn’t enough to tempt you to visit each location, they’ll have treasure maps. If you get stamps from all the galleries and stores, you could win gift certificate prizes.

There will, of course, be music, refreshments, and lots of things to buy. Local retailers credit the first ArtQuest, held in February, for boosting the neighborhood’s profile and attracting new small businesses like Subrosa Coffee to the area.

40th Street Corridor ArtQuest
Saturday, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Manifesto Bicycles, 421 40th St.
“The Living City 2” featuring the work of Oakland artists Bruk Dunbar, Jane Elliot, Marcos Lafarga, Marc Landes, Jeff Riley and Alex Rosmarin.

Rowan Morrison Gallery and Artist’s Bookstore, 330 40th St.
Closing reception for the paintings of Oakland artist Carl Auge in an exhibit called “Resound, New Work by Carl Auge.”

Premium Tattoo and Vintage, 4130 Broadway Ave.
An installation of the paintings by Oakland artist David Seiler.

Issues, 20 Glen Ave.
A reception of works by Sacramento artist Bluewater Avery called ‘Schlock and Aww Shucks!’

The following businesses will also be open late:
1234Go! Records, 423 40th St. & Subrosa Coffee, 419 40th St.

Jammin’ In Tha Concrete Jungle

Youth Movement Records and the Hood Games are having another skateboard contest & jam Saturday evening. There’ll be live art-making and music.

The Fox Lot @ 19th St. & San Pablo Ave
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free

Plant a tree and have some fun

The Ella Baker Center’s Soul of the City program and Urban Releaf are planting trees to beautify West Oakland this Saturday. The goal: To bring more than 500 people together to plant 50 trees along West MacArthur Blvd, between West Street and San Pablo Avenue.

And just in case you’ve forgotten why trees are important: Planting trees is one of the best ways to clean the air and make a neighborhood look like.. a neighborhood. They’ll also be cleaning up the streets, planting flowers, and talking with community members about the importance of clean air and caring for the neighborhood. If you feel like doing some work in your community, mark this one on your calendar. You’ll feel good, meet some cool people, and yes- get free food and music.

9.45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
West MacArthur Blvd. at West Street (meet in the Big O Tires parking lot)

Sunday, August 23

Artist Talk: Ted Pontiflet at the Joyce Gordon Gallery

Sculptor and painter Ted Pontiflet will talk about the inspiration behind his current show – the novelist James Baldwin. There will also be a poetry reading with the Black Dot Artists, Marcel Diallo, Duane Detterville and others.

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St. (12th St. Bart Exit)
www.joycegordongallery.com, 510-465-8928

Oaklandish Regatta '08

Radio Regatta

This summertime party will go down at the Lake Merritt Sailboat House with DJs, food and beer, and free gondola rides. You can also go out for a spin on the Lake on other half-priced boat rentals. Bring your radio, because the event also features an FM micro-broadcast – and you can hear it with your radio even if you’re out on the water. This event is free for all ages.

Free
1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Lake Merritt Boathouse, 568 Bellevue Ave.

Uniquely Yours: Green Windows’ creative writing workshop

The workshop is for young people 16-25 and their friends – youth
workers, teachers, parents. Faculty, students and staff of the Peralta Community Colleges especially welcome.  Just email Peggy (gww@greenwindowswriters.org) if you’re wondering about whether you fit in or not. Drop-ins are welcome, but long term commitment is encouraged. Class will be held every fourth Sunday

Suggested class fee: $1-$25, sliding scale; additional donations welcome
7 p.m. to 9.15 p.m.,
Rock Paper Scissors, 278 Telegraph Ave.
greenwindowswriters.org

08/07: The O-Scene Weekend

FEATURED EVENT: The Annual Laurel Street Fair

Last week, we wrote that Lakefest was the essential Oakland street fair. We meant it was the essential Oakland street fair that weekend. On Saturday, the Laurel District Association holds its 10th annual street party. That’s three blocks of MacArthur Boulevard jam-packed with great food, cool stuff to buy, and a massive kid’s zone. The Laurel street fair has always distinguished itself with excellent music. This year the event features Las Bomberas de la Bahia (an all-female Puerto Rican dance band,) the Funkanauts, and more.

Saturday August 8, 1  p.m. – 6 p.m.
MacArthur Boulevard between 35th and 38th Avenues

Friday, August 7

Movie night at the Paramount

Watch an old classic on the big screen in downtown Oakland’s charming art deco theater.

The Women (1939) with Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell.
$5
8 p.m., Box office opens at 6 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m. Movie starts at 8 p.m.
The Paramount, 2025 Broadway

The Enamelist Society Conference/Ornament

If you notice more than the usual number of artsy types walking around City Center this weekend, it’s because several hundred members of the Enamelist Society of America are in town for their bi-annual convention. One doesn’t have to be a practitioner of the ancient art to visit the downtown Marriot and view the convention’s “instant gallery” or to participate in the silent auction.

Friday through Sunday – The Enamelist Society Conference
Monday and Tuesday – Post-Conference Workshops
Marriott, 1001 Broadway

For pricing and other information, click here

If you don’t want to lose yourself in the conference, but do want to get a glimpse of what the fuss is all about, visit the Christensen Heller gallery to see Cloisonne Enamel from Georgia: Ornament: Visiting from Tbilisi, Georgia – work by masters of this ancient art

Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Avenue; 510-655-5952

August 5 to August 14
Gallery hours:
Wednesday –Saturday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: noon to 5

First Friday Art Walk/Art Murmur

Come out for the art walk Friday evening. Our art writer called his favorites here, but consider walking around and coming up with your own list.

If you’re a James Baldwin fan, stop by Joyce Gordon gallery between 5.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. to see the James Baldwin Series – Photographs and Paintings by Ted Pontiflet. If you like it, return for the artist talk at 3.30 p.m. on August 23.

Free
406 Fourteenth Street, joycegordongallery.com/

Saturday, August 7

Embroidery Club (AKA Little Old Lady Club)

If you want to spice up some of your stuff, and think you could do it with some embroidery, visit the Club at Rock Paper Scissors on Saturday afternoon. They request you take a hoop if you have one. Tea provided. Gentlemen are welcome as well.

2 p.m.to 4 p.m.
Rock Paper Scissors Collective, 2278 Telegraph, 510-238-9171

Fourth Annual Urban Wine Experience

There are more than a dozen wineries spread across Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Alameda. Come to Jack London Square Saturday afternoon to taste and sample more than 50 wines at the Urban Wine Experience. Put together by the East Bay Vintners Alliance, the event features 14 wineries, each of whom has partnered with a restaurant or food purveyor for pairings.

2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Jack London Square
Advanced purchase tickets are $45 online (You can buy them here.)
Admission at the gate on the day of the event will cost $60

Sunday, August 9

Family Explorations at the Oakland Museum

Join the museum and the Oakland Public Library in celebrating the end of the Library’s Summer Reading Program. Check out mystifying magic with Timothy James; art activities; cartooning with author Oliver Chin; dancing on our outdoor stage; scavenger hunt with prizes; interactive story times; and free frozen treats from Dreyer’s at the end of the day (as long as supplies last). And there’s more! At the end of the day, a ceremony honors all the children who completed the Summer Reading Program. Free Second Sundays.

12:30–4:30 p.m.
Included with museum admission ($8 for adults, $5 for seniors).
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak@10th Street
www.museumca.org/

7/31 Back Up! film explores sexual harrassment and lame pickup lines

Hey Baby…Hey Sexy..Wit’ yo fine self…Come ‘er girl…Damn, can I get summa that?

Um, just for the record, “Damn, can I get summa that?” is never a good introduction.

Unfortunately, fimmakers Nijlan Mu’min and Monique Hazeur, along with, well, just about every other woman on the planet, knows about this kind of on the street harassment pretty damn well.

Whether it’s lame and overbearing pick up lines or wandering hands that may border on physical assault, the average women walking down the street minding her own damned business has to deal with an extraordinaire amount of bull caca. Mum’in and Hazeur’s new documentary, Back Up! concrete diaries, screening tonight at the Eastside Arts Alliance, explores the different ways that women are speaking out and redefining their own personal and public spaces.

07/24 O-Scene Weekend

This weekend’s got Shakespeare,  movies with drinks, a craft bazaar, celebrations in the park and a lot of things that are only happening here in the O-Town.

Friday, July 24

Fourth Friday Movie Night

It’s time for another move night at the Dunsmuir Hellman estate. Tonight, they’re showing the Secret Garden, a family-friendly movie about a special place where magic, love, and hope grow.

Take your picnic baskets and a blanket. There’ll be live jazz accompanying the sunset. The mansion will also be open for self-guided free tours.

$5
Grounds open at 6 p.m., movie begins soon after sunset
Dunsmuir Hellman historic estate 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, CA 94605

Come Drink with Me

If you’re a fan of the drunken style in martial arts, then you’ll want to stagger over to Soja tonight for a screening of the Hong Kong classic, “Come Drink with Me.” Filmed in 1966, the movie stars Cheng Pei Pei as Golden Swallow, a government agent charged with rescuing a kidnapped official from a gang of thugs.

$5
9 p.m.
Soja Martial Arts 2406 Webster Street

Saturday, July 25

Craft Bazaar @ Pretty Penny

The Parlour Gallery and Pretty Penny, a Rockridge destination for vintage wear, are hosting a craft bazaar this weekend.  The bazaar will feature an intimate group of local fashion and craft designers. Show them some local love at Pretty Penny Saturday. And meet Sarah Dunbar, the owner of Pretty Penny — and a big believer in the community and all things local.

11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Pretty Penny, 5488 College Avenue
www.prettypennyclothing.com

Walk Chinatown

Learn the history of Chinatown while scoping out hidden eateries and markets in the city’s multi-ethnic, Pan-Asian district. The Oakland Heritage Alliance is sponsoring a free walking tour of Chinatown Saturday July 25. Meet at 10 a.m. at the fountain in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza on Ninth Street between Webster and Franklin.

Free
10 a.m.
The fountain in the Pacific Renaissance Center, Ninth Street between Franklin and Webster

OPR’s 100

Celebrate the city’s Office of Parks and Recreation while we still have one. OPR has been providing green space, tennis courts, swimming pools, and the like for 100 years. OPR is marking its centenary with an old-fashioned celebration at DeFremery Park. You’ll have pool access; there will be food vendors, crafts, music performances from the likes of Bay Area Blues Society and the Ray McCoy Band and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Free
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
DeFremery Park
For more information, call 510-238-3791

For Kids: String Things

The Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) is hosting” String Things” on Saturday for the whole family. They’re inviting participants to use cords and thread to make loopy paintings and lacy sculptures

$7
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Museum of Childrens Art, 538 Ninth Street.
www.mocha.org

For Kids: Family Sundown Safari

You might have had to cancel your wild safari plans because of the recession. But you don’t have to worry about disappointing your kids just yet. The Oakland Zoo’s having its own safari adventure. Camp overnight in the zoo’s meadow, take your kids for a twilight tour of the place, and give the animals handmade treats in the morning.

$85 for non-members, $75 for members
5 p.m. to 10 a.m.
Advance reservations required. Call 510-632-9525 x 220 to see if any last-minute spots are available.

Hawaiian World Festival

Three of Hawaii’s biggest musical acts will be at Yoshi’s this weekend: HAPA, Led Kaapana and John Cruz.

HAPA: The overriding quality of their music is one of beauty and serenity, found in the majestic tones of the oli (chant), mele (song), the elegant movements of the sacred dance known as hula, and the exhilarating innovative sounds of virtuoso slack key guitar.

Led Kaapana’s mastery of stringed instruments, particularly slack key guitar, and his extraordinary baritone and  leo ki`eki`e (falsetto) voices, have made him a musical legend.
John Cruz: Hawaii Magazine named him the Best Singer Songwriter in 2008. After a classic hit first album, this well-earned reputation became even more solidified when he released his long-awaited second album, One of These Days in 2007. Critics described it as “brilliant” and “one of the year’s finest albums, local or otherwise.”

Saturday 10 p.m. $35, Sunday 7 p.m., 9.30 p.m. $35
Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West (at Jack London Square)
http://yoshis.com/oakland

Sunday, July 26

Taming of the Shrew

Woman’s Will, the Bay’s all-female Shakespeare company, is bring “Taming of the Shrew” to Mosswood Park on Saturday and Dimond Park on Sunday. The performances are free. “Don’t miss founding Artistic Director Erin Merritt’s final production with the company, the triumphant return of El Beh (who played the title role in 2008′s Good Person), and the Woman’s Will debut of Kate Jopson as Kate, in a production that is sexy and sassy enough for adults but lively and lovely enough for the wee ones.” The play is two hours and fifteen minutes long. Both shows start at 1 p.m.

Free
1 p.m.
Mosswood park (Saturday), Macarthur @ Broadway
Dimond Park (Sunday), 3860 Hanly Road

Eric Benet, Mint Condition, Ledisi

It’s going to be a smooth R & B evening at the Fox Theater on Sunday. Eric Benet, Mint Condition and Oakland’s own Ledisi will be performing in the hottest venue in Uptown.

$42.75, $82.75
7 p.m.
Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph
http://thefoxoakland.com/

12/3 King of the Fonts

You can’t escape it if you try-it’s on your computer, the subway, U.S. mailboxes, IRS tax forms, and on countless corporate logos from Target to Fendi. Helvetica is the king of fonts. Filmmaker Gary Hustwit explores the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication and encourages us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. Following the film, Senior Curator of Art René de Guzman moderates a panel with Lonny Israel from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Minette Mangahas, co-creator of the CalliGRAFFitti project; and font fan Christopher Richard, curator of aquatic biology at the museum. The screening is a part of The ITVS Community Cinema Series.

10/23–10/27 I Love Beijing: The Films of Ning Ying

Stills: For Fun, October 23, I Love Beijing, October 25 and Perpetual Motion, October 26

The films of Ning Ying run the gamut from Sex and the City style urban comedies to heartfelt documentaries, all examining China’s changing society and attitudes. She’s been called China’s most important director woman director (how ’bout just Director. Period?), earned comparisons to Martin Scorsese, and is currently an artist in residence over at Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive.
In conjunction with her residency PFA is presenting 4 nights of Ying’s films, including both her masterful Beijing Trilogy series and Perpetual Motion, her newest film. Ying will be in attendance for each screening and the series caps off Monday, Oct. 27 with a master film making class.-kwan

THURSDAY OCTOBER 23
7:30 For Fun
Ning Ying (China/Hong Kong, 1992, 98 mins)
In the Beijing Trilogy’s first installment, a meddlesome retiree finds an outlet in an amateur Peking Opera troupe. “Beautifully observed and splendidly acted.”-Tony Rayns

9/15 Monday Night Kink

For most of us Monday nights aren’t particularly eventful-borderline kinda suck-and we crave something that’ll snap us out of the first day back to work blues.  Well, if your nights have become a couchfest of fast food, presidential coverage and early bedtimes then my friends, this Monday will be different. And for most of us nothing says different quite like mingling, munching popcorn and watching a cast of hotties sexin’ it up on a 50 foot high screen.  Take a break from the ordinary and Step Behind the Red Door.

Step Behind the Red Door is a night of erotic films screening at the Parkway this Monday.  The event’s producer Nenna, an Oakland based artist, filmmaker and sex education activist says she hopes to open up a dialogue not just about sex, but specifically the sexual imagery surrounding people of color.  The latest in a series of events, the films-the full length “Aphrodite Superstar” and a teaser for “Kink” a documentary on people of color in the world of BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadomasochism)-show a side of the kink community Nenna says often gets distorted beyond the point of reality.  Porn, not realistic?  Who knew?

8/26 The Shape of Things to Come

Urban development and gentrification are hot issues on the national and local fronts at the moment. Tonight NoneSuch Space hosts a special screening of Holding Ground, the 1996 documentary on community revitalization that The Boston Globe called “an inspirational image of what the neighborhood was and what, with toil and pride, it is becoming.” Filmmakers Mark Lipman and Leah Mahan will host a question and answer session following the screening.

“Holding Ground is at once a cautionary tale of urban policies gone wrong and a message of hope for all American cities. In 1985, African-American, Latino, Cape Verdean, and European-American residents in Roxbury, MA united to revitalize their community. The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative went on to gain national recognition as residents fought to close down illegal dumps, gain unprecedented control of land from City Hall and create a comprehensive plan to rebuild the fabric of their community. Through the voices of committed residents, activists and city officials, this moving documentary shows how a Boston neighborhood was able to create and carry out its own agenda for change.”

10/30-Alternative Requirements: Student Experimental Films

Through the expansive genre of experimental film, Bay Area college students render the interior visible and imbue the exterior world with psychological meaning. In Les Stuck’s bars + tone, calibration color bars slowly transform into an unexpected landscape. In Laura Rodriguez’s flower fall, images of flowers capture the spirituality that looms within intimate objects. In cornfed, Martha XIV explores her relationship with her midwestern hometown through songs, photographs, animation, and monologue. Vanessa Woods’s 5 Cents a Peek combines poetry with black-and-white stock footage of a circus to visually render the voyeuristic, exploitative treatment of women in society. In M((o))rning, Won Tae Seo explores the relationship between the public and private spheres through the use of depth of field and stop-motion. A diverse assortment of other works undertake the task of capturing the inexpressible through the experimental film medium.