Tonight: Poetry Reading by Geoff Bouvier @ 7 p.m.

Tonight, poetry lovers need to head over to Mercury 20 Gallery for a reading by award-winning poet Geoff Bouvier.

For the uninitiated, Geoff Bouvier was the Roberta C. Holloway visiting poet at the University of California, Berkeley in the fall of 2009. His first book, Living Room, was selected by Heather McHugh as the winner of the 2005 APR/Honickman Prize. His second book, Glass Harmonica, is due out next year from Quale Press.

In the fall of 2010, Geoff Bouvier will curate a reading series at Mercury 20 Gallery, featuring some of the most prominent poets in the country.

Poetry Reading
May 20, 7 p.m.
Mercury 20 Gallery
475 25^th St. (at Telegraph), Oakland, CA 94612
510-701-4620
www.mercurytwenty.com

04/16: Your Oakland Weekend

Art and more art, music, food, shopping and fire dancers — there’s a lot going down in Oakland this sunny weekend.

Thursday, April 15

Sprung

Join Creative Growth for SPRUNG, an exhibition featuring artwork focused on animal themes, along with one-of-a-kind functional art. You’ll find drawings, paintings, textiles, wood, ceramics, furniture, prints, masks and more.

Music by Sandra Poindexter, beer donated by Trumer Pils Brauerei in Berkeley

Opening: Thursday April 15,  5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Also open Saturday, April 17, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Open late, Friday, May 7, 6:00pm – 9:00pm for Art Murmur

Creative Growth Art Center
355 24th Street, 510.836.2340 x15, creativegrowth.org

Friday, April 16

Shopping and Food at La Borinqueña@ Twilight

Love Oakland? Love shopping? Love tamales? You can show some Oakland love while shopping from fair trade certified providers and survivors of human trafficking by visiting La Borinqueña Friday evening  during its “Twilight” hours when it’ll be serving up its famous food, cerveza, sangria and more..

Friday, April 16, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
La Borinqueña Mex-icatessen, 582 7th Street @ Jefferson
mangosteenoakland.com

Saturday, April 17

Party Like It’s 1969

The shopping fest continues at Urban Indigo. The Lakeshore Avenue store is throwing a retro party on Saturday. They’ll have live music and a contest for the best retro costume. And of course, they’ll be selling vintage items from the 60’s and 70’s while they serve retro foods and drinks.

Saturday, April 17
Urban Indigo, 3339 Lakeshore Avenue
510.889.6858, urbanindigo.com

Oakland ART Weekend

It isn’t the first Friday of the month, but it’s a busy time for art openings, nevertheless. Some excellent galleries are hosting receptions for shows that promise to be thought-provoking, at the very least. The following receptions all take place on Saturday, April 17.

Opening reception for the solo exhibit of paintings by Jason Byers

Oakland-based artist Jason Byers delves head long into an investigation of difference, utilizing an acute vocabulary of color and form. His work explores the interaction of shapes and their lines of demarcation, those minute spaces of mammoth proportion that press upon their surroundings, hold them at bay and delineate the extent of their reach.

7 p.m.- 10 p.m.
Rowan Morrison Gallery, 330 40th St. (near Broadway)
rowanmorrison.com

Opening reception for Protoform: Drawings by Sculptors

This show is based around sculptors and ceramicists’ drawn work as art in and of itself. The gathered roster includes emerging and established artists from a regional and national level who have built their careers on exploring their voice in three dimensions. This show explores their never before seen works at their creative genesis, as drawings. How does the sculptor relate to only two dimensions? Is their a tactile element that is maintained? How much of form is simply illusion.

6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Artists in show: Carrissa Bowman, Brük Dunbar, Crystal Morey, Lucien Shapiro
Curator: Obi Kaufmann
The SWEE(t)ART Drawing Gallery, 1167 65th Street (near San Pablo)
oaklandsweetart.info/gallery.html

Round Rhythm: Alissa Goss + Tallulah Terryll
Round Rhythm features the work of Alissa Goss and Tallulah Terryll, two visual artists who practice in Oakland. Both artists deal with repetition, color and texture to conjure up ideas about nature. Using clay, Goss meticulously crafts intimate sculptures and installations. Handmade stencils, ink and paints are Terryll’s choice for her works on paper.

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
The Compound Gallery, 6604 San Pablo Ave.

2010 Spring Open House at the Crucible

Everyone’s favorite Oakland art organization is having its spring open house, which means you can get in and explore this exciting house of creative energy for free.

There will have live demonstrations happening throughout the studio. You can enjoy performances by fire dancers and fire eaters, watch artists at work in their studios, shop for bikes and just get a sense of what the hype is all about. If you have kids, get there early. At 12:10 p.m., there will be doing a tour of the facility, highlighting the classes for youth this summer. Please sign up before hand, as space is limited.

Saturday, April 17, noon to 4 p.m.
The Crucible, 1260 7th Street, Oakland, (510) 444-0919, www.thecrucible.org

Sunday, April 18

Omar Sosa Afreecanos Ensemble

Five-time Grammy-nominated Cuban composer and pianist Omar Sosa brings his own style of Afro-Cuban jazz to Oakland for a three-night engagement on Friday-Sunday. Omar Sosa continues to explore the African roots of traditional musics throughout the diaspora, using modern jazz harmonies and the latest audio technology. Sosa’s new Afreecanos (rooted in Africa) ensemble features drum-&-bass pioneer Marque Gilmore, Mozambican electric bassist Childo Tomas, and well known Senegalese vocalist and percussionist Mola Sylla. The ensemble fuses the folkloric with the contemporary, the ancestral with the urban – all with a Latin jazz heart.  Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune has said — “Cuban pianists often tower over their peers.  But within this elite class of pianists, few have been more stylistically adventurous than Omar Sosa.  Though deeply schooled in jazz improvisation techniques, Sosa always has pushed beyond jazz orthodoxy.  At his best, his art encompasses a remarkable range of influences:  European symphonic repertoire, religious music of Gnawa, traditional sounds of Senegal and other far-flung idioms have coursed through his work.  All of which piques one’s interest in his newest ensemble, Afreecanos Quartet.”

Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West (Jack London Square), yoshis.com
Friday-Saturday 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $22
Sunday 2 p.m. (Kids Matinee) $5 (ages 15 and under), Adults (with children) $18, Adults $22
Sunday 7 p.m. $22

03/11: Your Oakland Weekend

FRIDAY, March 12

Scofield and Friends Come to Oakland

The John Scofield New Jazz Quartet is in town this weekend. Jazz lovers know that name well. Guitarist John Scofield has been around a long time, and has many stories to tell. Scofield began influencing the jazz scene in the late 70s and continues to do so today. His music falls somewhere between post-bop, funk edged jazz, and R & B. He’ll be accompanied by Mulgrew Miller on piano, Ben Street on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums.

Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero W.
Thu 10 p.m. $14; Fri 8 p.m. $24 & 10 p.m. $18; Sat 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $24; Sun 2 p.m. (Kids Matinee) $5 (ages 15 and under), Adults (with children) $18, Adults $24;
Sun 7 p.m. $24
Yohis.com

Bitter Harvest at the Royal NoneSuch Gallery

Bitter Harvest explores Lauren Adams’ research into Afghani poppy fields and the relationship between American military operations, the Taliban, and civilian farmers in Afghanistan’s ‘Golden Crescent’. For the past few years, the artist has documented images published about issues surrounding these topics in popular media and will re-inscribe the found narratives in a site specific painting on the gallery’s interior walls in Bitter Harvest, resulting in a claustrophobic interior overwhelmed by poppy flowers and human figures. The visual pattern evident in the installation, inspired by contemporary war reporting and traditional wallpaper and ornament design, visually seduces the viewer while simultaneously assaulting them with hallucinatory images of poppy cultivation and its relationship to the international drug trade, the American military incursion in Afghanistan, and the cycle of economic underdevelopment in rural farm areas of the Golden Crescent.

Royal NoneSuch Gallery, 4231 Telegraph Ave.,
Fri, March 12
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Free

Happy Hour for The Crucible

If you love the Crucible or just think it’s cool, head over to Farley’s on Friday for free appetizers and hang with folks from your favorite industrial arts educational group. Farley’s owners have “adopted” The Crucible as their non-profit of the month, and a portion of the evening’s sales will be donated to The Crucible to help support its programs.

Fri  5 p.m.- 8 p.m.
Farley’s East 33 Grand Avenue (at Broadway), thecrucible.org, farleyseast.blogspot.com/

Alternative Theater with an Alternative Cast

If you’d like to support the Oakland School of the Arts, you have a lot of chances to do so this weekend. The OSA Actor’s Guild’s has put together their version of Dale Wasserman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Black Box Theatre, 19th and Telegraph
Fri 7 p.m., Sat 2 p.m. & 7 p.m., Sun 2 pm
Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students. www.oakarts.org/www.tix.com

For more, visit OakArt here.

SATURDAY, March 13

Martin Lawrence at the Paramount

Martin Lawrence, actor and producer, who’s starred in dozens of Hollywood hits (Remember Big Momma’s House?), is returning to stand-up comedy on stage. Catch him at the Paramount on Saturday or Sunday. He’s made enough people laugh all his life to know how to do it well.

The Paramount, 2025 Broadway
Sat, 8 p.m., Sun, 8 p.m.
Doors open 60 minutes before show times.
Tickets: $77.50, $57.75, $42.75

SUNDAY, March 14

Closing Tea Reception at Blankspace

A fantastic Oakland gallery closes and throws a tea party to say goodbye. The last show at Blankspace was Steuart Pittman’s exhibit Nowhere/Anywhere.  It all ends this Sunday.

3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
6608 San Pablo Ave
For more, see Theo Konrad Auer’s art picks for the month.

KID-FRIENDLY: The Princess and the Unicorn

Wondering how to entertain your kids this weekend? Try the puppet show at Children’s Fairyland. This weekend, it’s the Princess and the Unicorn, complete with evil counts and handsome princes that get turned into unicorns, and of course – a princess. Puppets and script by Lewis Mahlmann.

Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue (at Grand Ave.),  fairyland.org
Sat & Sun,11 a.m., 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.

Welcome 2010

We’ll leave the decade in review articles to others. Nor will we make any predictions about the decade to come. This is Oakland after all; the town that’s always shocking and never surprising. We’re living in the moment, and there are plenty of options for ringing in the Blue Moon New Year Thursday night. Here are our selections.

Balloon Drop

If you have small kids, and you’re likely to be asleep before 11 p.m. anyway, consider taking them to the Chabot Space and Science Center for the 10th annual New Year’s Eve Balloon Drop. “Kids will have a blast ringing in 2010 without staying up past their bedtime!”

Thursday, December 31, 10:45 a.m. for kids 6 and under, 12:45 and 3:45 for 6 and up
Chabot Space and Science Center 10000 Skyline Boulevard
$4 plus Chabot Admission

Cedric the Entertainer

This one’s not for kids. Sure, some of his act is predictable “women do this, men do that” standup schtick, but Cedric the Entertainer can still whip off a joke that’s funny as hell. When he warms up and has the audience roaring, he earns his name. He’ll be at the Paramount Thursday night starting at 11 p.m.

Thursday, December 31, 11 p.m.
Paramount Theatre 2025 Broadway
Tickets from $45.75 to $85.75

Dance Extravaganza

If you’re looking for a women-only event, and one that’s smoke-, drug-, booze- ,and perfume-free, try the New Year’s Eve Rejuvenation Ceremony & Dance Extravaganza at the Humanist Hall.
“Under the blue moon, in a magical forest the soul and spirit muses celebrate, the dawn of a new decade with songs, dances, rituals, games and spells that invoke the sensuous, the spiritual and the surreal.
Rejuvenation Ceremony: Experiential extravaganza through interactive rituals, games, dance, music, art and worship of the sensual, the spiritual and the surreal – A Rejuvenation Ceremony on the Night of the Blue Moon. A truly magical journey to a fantastical world of joy & hope.”

Thursday, December 31 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Humanist Hall 390 27th Street

Eclectic Fever 2010

The New Parish, one of Oakland’s newest and finest venues, hosts a New Year’s Eve bash that promises to deliver a jambalaya of sound. The line up includes Aphrodesia, the Kev Choice Ensemble, Boca Do Rio, DJ Santero, DJ Jermiah, The People & Energia Do Samba. This is from Kev Choice’s publicist: “Forget all the same old same old NEW Year’s Eve parties…COME NEW FOR 2010!!!! Come celebrate The New Year, at one of Oakland’s freshest NEW venues, The NEW Parrish, with Oakland’s own Kev Choice as he brings NEW music, a NEW band, and a NEW direction. This event, “Eclectic Fever” feature’s a diverse lineup with an array of musical treats for those who want to bring in the NEW Year with a good vibe, good music, and good times. COME NEW for 2010!”

Thursday December 31 8 p.m.
New Parish 579 18th Street
$40 in advance, $50 at the door

Taoist Meditation

And then there’s the complete opposite of entering the New Year with noise and revelry. The Taoist Meditation Center is hosting meditation with with Dr. Alex Feng Thursday evening. A potluck diinner starts at 8:30 p.m. It’s free and ends at 11 p.m., so you can still go crazy after getting your mindfullness on.

Thursday December 31, 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Taoist Meditation Center 3824 MacArthur Boulevard

Open Mic Party

The Eastside Arts Alliance’s Holla Back Thursday falls on NYE, so they’re turning it into a party. A short open-mic session will be followed by a performance by 7Daize. And a DJ will spin past the midnight hour. The event is a fundraiser for Holla Back.

Thursday December 31 8:30 p.m.
EastSide Arts Allliance 2277 International Boulevard
$15

The Nutcracker

Are Nutcracker tickets on your shopping list? Even if you don’t have kids, do consider going for it this year. The Oakland Ballet Company has gone all out to make sure Oaklanders get to enjoy the annual performance of the Nutcracker this year -just as they’ve done for the past 36 years. And it’s our turn to show them some love and support now.

In case you missed it, here’s the story of this year’s Nutcracker — the story of how the ballet company weathered the economy and kept going.

WHEN:

Thursday, December 24 at 11 a.m.

Saturday, December 26 at 2 p.m. *

Saturday, December 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 27 at 2 p.m.*

*The Saturday and Sunday matinees will be followed by a Sweet Dreams party, which will feature light refreshments and Nutcracker characters posing for pictures and signing autographs. Separate tickets are required and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

TICKETS: $15-$50 with student and senior discounts through www.ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000

WHERE:
Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway 510-465-6400, paramounttheatre.com

Are Nutcracker tickets on your shopping list? Even if you don’t have kids, do consider going for it this year! The Oakland Ballet Company has gone all out to make sure Oaklanders get to enjoy the annual performance of the Nutcracker.. as they’ve done for the past 36 years. And it’s our turn to show them some love and support now. In case you missed it, here’s the story of this year’s Nutcracker — the story of how the ballet company weathered the economy and kept going.

WHEN:

Thursday, December 24 at 11 a.m.

Saturday, December 26 at 2 p.m. *

Saturday, December 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 27 at 2 p.m.*

*The Saturday and Sunday matinees will be followed by a Sweet Dreams party, which will feature light refreshments and Nutcracker characters posing for pictures and signing autographs. Separate tickets are required and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

TICKETS: $15-$50 with student and senior discounts through www.ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000

Tomorrow night: Closing Reception for Ofrendas Para los Muertos

Ofrendas Para los Muertos – from Oakland, with love

Curated by Rachel-Anne Palacios, this exhibit showcases mixed media pieces that aim to pay homage to “our dearly departed.”

Dia de los muertos is a momentous holiday in the Mexican culture. It has taken on new adaptations and transformations of its traditions over the years. We invite you to behold our offerings created in reverence of our ancestors.

The organizers invite you to bring a non-original photo of a departed loved one that you’d like to place on the community altar. You can also create flowers, puppets and masks made of paper to take home or place on the community altar.

November 16 – December 31, 2009
Closing Reception/Artists’ talk: Thursday December 17, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
FREE
Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery
State of California Office Building – Atrium
1515 Clay St., Oakland CA 94607

For more information contact: 510.508.2263 or vivafrida@yahoo.com
http://devikaspalacio.ning.com/profile/rachelannepalacios

Participating artists:

Alejandra Palos
Ana Bravo
Anita de Lucio
Carlos Villez
Carmela Chase
David Tafolla
Dania Elisai Gonzales Gutierrez
Denise Cortes
Evelyn Orantes
Holly Calica
Jaime Crespo
Jesus Barraza
Joaquin Alejandro Newman
Juan Rivera
Lizbeth Ortiz
Lupe Flores
Lupe Posada
Marcus Cordero
Maria Sanchez
Marie Sendejo
Mary Andrade
Mary Jo Mishork and St. Jerome’s 5th grade class
Martha Chavoya Villanueva
Martha Rodriguez
Melanie Cervantes
Nicole Harris
Pamela Enriquez
Rachel Anne Palacios
Rio Yanez
Saide Garcia
Sally Ann Rodriguez
St. Joseph Notre Dame High School
Tara Ray
Viva Paredes

Thursday Block Party

From its earliest days West Oakland has been home to folks representing many races and a wide range of social classes. So, if you are familiar with the real West Oakland, there really isn’t anything that unusual about the three new developments out by the old Central Station. Together, the Pacific Cannery Lofts, Iron Horse and the Zephyr make up 395 units of housing ranging from $400 rental units to $350,000+ town homes. Common landscaping links the developments to each other and to the surrounding Prescott neighborhood.

The developers are inviting the community to a block party celebrating the Central Station developments becoming a part of West Oakland. The party starts Thursday at 5:30 p.m. There’ll be good local food, music, and drinks. Click here for more information.

Thursday, October  29
5.30 p.m. onwards
Central Station, 14th and Frontage Road

TONIGHT: Jazz at Farley’s East

If you haven’t been to Farley’s East as yet, tonight’s a good night to check it out. They have live jazz tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m with Nancy Wright’s Trio.

Oakland resident Nancy Wright performs with Robert Kennedy on organ and Casey Smiley on drums. Hear her music online at
www.myspace.com/nancywrightmusic

10/09: Weekend plans

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8

Oakland International Film Festival

The 8th Annual Oakland International Film Festival kicks off Thursday evening, and runs until Wednesday. Movies shot as close to home as West O and from as far away as Pakistan will be screened the Grand Lake Theater, Maxwell’s Lounge, Jack London Theater, and Merritt College during the event. Click here for showtimes and a list of the films. (Above: Still from River of Renewal, screening at Maxwell’s lounge on Sunday, 9 p.m.)

Thursday, October 8 through Wednesday, October 14

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9

Prairie Home Companion in the DTO

So you didn’t want to brave the throngs in Golden Gate Park last weekend for the free bluegrass festival, but you still have a hankering for some fiddle playing? No worries. Berkeley’s own Laurie Lewis will play with Tom Rozum at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland Friday evening. You’ll have to pay for this gig, but the price is reasonable for big bluegrass names like these: $14 in advance at $18 at the door. The show is part of the ongoing Utunes Coffee House program.

Friday, October 9, 8 p.m. – 10 p.m.
First Unitarian Church
685 14th Street
$5 for kids 6-15

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10

Oaktoberfest

There used to be breweries and beer gardens in what’s now the Dimond District, and the suds will be flowing there again when the neighborhood throws an Oaktoberfest this Saturday. To get that old Munich atmosphere, there’ll be a beer hall featuring brewers from all over the Bay, including the excellent beer from the Town’s own Linden Street Brewery. A homebrewer competition will determine who makes the best DIY beer in Oakland. It’s a family friendly scene with live music, food, and a rootbier garten for the kinder.

Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Corner of Fruitvale and MacArthur

Town Park Opening/Graffiti Battle

On Saturday, the much-awaited town park finally opens. K-Dub, a former teacher-turned-local skating celebrity, has spent the last few years taking this skate park from concept to reality. Celebrate the skate park’s “official” opening this weekend with him, lots of skaters and graffiti artists, who’re going to come out for the Big Battle: the Third Estria Annual Invitational Graffiti Battle.
Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
De Fremery Park, 18th & Adeline street  (West Oakland)
For a list of events associated with the battle, click here.

Sing Like Taylor Swift in Jack London Square

The radio station 95.7 – The Wolf will be in Jack London Square on Saturday from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. to host the Sing Like Taylor Swift contest. If you think you can sing like her, look up the rules over at their website and then head over to be videotaped by the Wolf.

1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Inside Jack London Square

East Bay for East Africa Fundraiser

Just last year a school opened in western Kenya with the goal of teaching young people from the area of Musoli critical trades such a sewing, welding, and other skills that can provide self reliance. The Saint Teresa Technical School was funded by the folks from East Bay for East Africa, a small non-profit that grew out of a conversation between a visiting Kenyan priest and an East Bay resident four years ago.  On Saturday night, East Bay for Africa holds its annual fundraiser at Uptown Body and Fender (the coolest body shop in the East Bay.) Tickets are $50 and $35 for folks under 35. RSVP here.

Saturday, October 10, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
401 26th Street

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

Acclaimed violinist Regina Carter plays at Yoshi’s this weekend. This talented MacArthur fellow has wowed audiences worldwide with her ability to play across genres — classical, pop, jazz, even folk.

Regina Carter – violin
Will Holshouser – accordion
Yacouba Sissoko – kora
Chris Lightcap – bass
Alvester Garnett – drums & percussion

Thursday 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. shows $18
Friday – Saturday 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $22
Sunday 2 p.m. Kids’ matinee: $5 Kids, $18 Adult (with kid), $22 Adult (general)
Sunday 7 p.m. $22

510  Embarcadero W.  For tix, visit http://yoshis.inticketing.com/

Tonight: A Greek Tragedy

Do you enjoy a good story? There are few that can compete with the ancient Greek tragedies.

Tonight, the Round Belly Theatre Company presents Orestia: Before the Furies, adapted from Aeschylus’ classic Greek trilogy. The modernized tale depicts the brutal and tragic ramifications of a blood curse on the House of Atreus. The story of a woman’s murder of her husband, and their children’s desperate revenge explores the complex web of vengeance and personal redemption that plagues a prominent house in an age of war, poverty and a public teetering on the brink of cultural apocalypse.

When: Thursday Oct 8th – Saturday Oct 10th @ 8pm
Where: The Noodle Factory, 1255 26th St @ Union, Oakland
How much: $10 Suggested donation.