upcoming Oakland events

There's a staggering amount of fun and interesting stuff to do in Oakland this week. There's a First Friday Art Murmur, Bites off Broadway, the Black Cowboy Parade, Oaktoberfest in the Dimond, plant swaps and plant sales, Rockridge Out and About, walking tours, concerts, the opening event for the Peralta Junction popup, and more. Even a Gangnam-style Flashmob + Dishcrawl combo! There's so much stuff in the next 2 days, I'm publishing before I'm done and will update later events as soon as possible.

Thursday

Humblebee Grocery Pop-Up Farmstand - Thursday, Octonber 4, 5-8pm. Come for late season early girl and sungold tomatoes, opal basil, sticky-sweet melons, pastured eggs, Bicycle Coffee, gluten-free muffins, and more!

Latinos and the Environment: A Community Forum - Thursday, October 4, 5:30-8:30pm. The forums are open to the public and will announce the results of the CLCV's ground-breaking survey of Latinos’ environmental attitudes and concerns. (free; please RSVP)

SoundWaves at JLS - Thursday, October 4, 5:30-7:30pm. Free concert at Jack London Square. This week's concert features African Showboyz, a West African percussion ensemble. (free)

Friday

Bites off Broadway - Friday, September 5, 5:30-8:30pm. The fun food truck event in Temescal. This will be the second to last (penultimate) event of the year, and you can be part of the pilot of a new KALW 91.7 show called Chew On This. (free)

Temescal Autumn Art Hop - Friday, October 5, 6-9pm Come to the Temescal this First Friday for the Temescal Autumn Art Hop. Prizes, photo booth, 19+ art shows, music, and more! (free)

Artist Reception at the Bookmark Bookstore - Friday, October 5, 5-9pm. The last First Friday of the year for the Bookmark Bookstore, with a reception for a new two-month art ahow by Anthony Holdsworth. On view will be The Oakland Global Warming Triptych, which were censored by the San Francisco Federal Building in 2010, along with a cityscape of downtown Oakland and pieces that depict the new portions of the Bay Bridge going up from the Port of Oakland. Anthony will be in attendance, so you can come and meet and chat with the artist. (free)

Peralta Junction - Popup in West Oakland - kickoff event Friday, October 5, 7pm; weekends through December 15. The empty space at Mandela Parkway and West Grand will be transformed into a creative community space filled with art and commerce. Art, food trucks, creative commons, and more. Read more about the food trucks in the East Bay Express.

KONO CultureFest - Friday, October 5, 5-9pm. If First Friday wasn't big enough, the Koreatown Northgate BID (KONO) is having its 4th annual CultureFest. This is a community that is overflowing with talented artists, musicians, great food and diverse cultures! (free)

Great Wall of Oakland - Friday, Octoner 5, about 8pm. Now a regular part of First Friday, this week's Great Wall of Oakland will be featuring Behind the Pixar Screen, a never before seen collection of the personal works of several artists from Pixar Animation Studios. As a collection, these films give an "insiders look" into the creative talents of some of the artists who create Pixar's blockbuster animated films. (free)

Saturday

Love Your Parks Day - October 6, 8:30am-noon. Oakland Parks Coalition is conducting its 7th annual all-city park survey Saturday, Join them at the Garden Center in Lakeside Park (666 Bellevue) and they will assign you to a team and train you before they send your team out to survey 3-6 Oakland Parks. "We love our parks and we want to know if they are getting the care they need so please help us find out!"

Plant Sale at Merritt College - Saturday October 6, 9am-3pm and Sunday Oct 7, 12-3pm. Join the Merritt College Propogation Club for its annual fall plant sale, featuring perennials and fall edibles. (free)

Decolonize Your Diet - Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day - Saturday, October 6, 10am-4pm. Join Phat Beets Produce, People's Grocery, and others for a Indigenous Peoples Day, a celebration of over 500 years of cultural, culinary, spiritual and political resistance led by the world's indigenous peoples. Read more at Oakland Local. (free)

North Oakland Plant Swap - Saturday, Oct 6, 12-3pm. Join Swap It Oakland for a plant and gardening supply swap. Bring plants, cuttings, seedlings, starts, foraged plants, and seeds of edible & non edible plants to swap. (free with a plant to swap)

Financial Planning Day - Saturday, October 6, 9am-4pm. Free financial planning information. Don't worry, the city is only sponsoring it; the info comes from experts from the Financial Planning Association and highly qualified certified financial planners. (free)

Black Cowboy Parade - Saturday, October 6, 10am-4pm. The Black Cowboy Parade, held in memory of the black cowboys that helped to settle the American West, has been an annual event in Oakland for 37 years. The parade begins at deFremery Park where the festival hosts food vendors, entertainment and children's activities including pony rides. Read about last year's parade. (free)

Downtown walking tours - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am. The walking tours program goes through the summer, rotating through the 8 different tours. They're a great way to get out and see Oakland and learn about its people and history. Coming up: Saturday, October 6 - New Era, New Politics. (free)

Oaktoberfest - Saturday, October 6, 11am-6pm. The annual festival in the Dimond. Although it's centered on the beer tent, there's lots of music, food and family-friendly events, too. Check out coverage of last year's Oaktoberfest. (free admission; beer tickets available for purchase)

Sunday

Rockridge Out and About - Sunday, October 7, 12-6pm. The annual Rockridge street fair, with food, fun and more. See pictures from last year's Out and About. (free)

Sundays in the Redwoods! - Sunday, October 7, 2pm. A concert series featuring a variety of musical groups at the Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park. This Sunday is Jeffrey Osborne. ($10) - sold out

Music for People & Thingamajigs Festival - begins Sunday, October 7. Dates and locations vary. An annual event dedicated to promoting experimental music that incorporates made/found instruments and alternate tuning systems. Read more on Oakland Local. ($10-$15)

Tuesday

The Anza Trail and Laurel District History - Tuesday, October 9, 5:30–7pm at the Laurel Bookstore, 4100 MacArthur. A talk on local history with Dennis Evanosky, author of Oakland’s Laurel District, and Hale Sargent, ranger for the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. Attendees will receive a free copy of the new children’s activity book, Many Worlds: Native Life Along the Anza Trail. (free)

Wednesday

Food Crawl + Gangnam-style Flashmob - Wednesday, October 10, 7pm. Join Dishcrawl for a combination food crawl and Gangnam-style Flashmob! Weave through 3 hot and tasty restaurants and bars as we gangnam style flash mob Uptown Oakland! Read more at the East Bay Express. ($25)

ongoing events:

Bites off Broadway (Fridays)
Piedmont Avenue Art Walk (3rd Thursday)
Art Murmur (1st Friday)
Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)
Mt. View Cemetery Tours (2nd and 4th Saturdays)
OMCA Summer Nights (last Friday of the month)

looking further ahead:

Life is Living - Saturday, October 13, 10am-6pm. A celebration of urban life through hip-hop, inter-generational health, and environmental action in DeFremery Park. (free)

HellaWeen Run - October 27, 5:30pm - 5 mile evening fun run in Old Oakland and West Oakland. Come out and show your creative side with a costume! Put on by the Oakland Running Festival. ($31+)