how to find out what to do in Oakland (and beyond)

On the most recent Oakland Urban Paths walk in Old Oakland and West Oakland, the subject of "how do you find out what's going on in Oakland?" came up while we were walking.

The group had a bunch of responses, because there are a lot of different ways to find out about stuff. Some sources try to list everything going on in Oakland or the East Bay, while others are shorter lists that try to capture an interesting selection. The upcoming Oakland events (which you can get to easily at any time by clicking on the the "events" button at the top of each page) is a list of things that's interesting to me or I've been told about, so it's somewhere in the middle.

Here are the sources I know about, sorted roughly from "all inclusive" to "most selective".

Visit Oakland - The Oakland Visitor's Bureau maintains the most comprehensive list of things to do in Oakland, both ongoing activities and specially schedule ones. It's such a huge list that it can be a little daunting, but fortunately you can narrow your list by date or category.

East Bay Express - The East Bay Express maintains a long list of events all over the East Bay. You can narrow your search by date, category or neighborhood.

Fun¢heapSF - Johnny's Guide to San Francisco for Cheapskates maintains a large list for the whole Bay Area, but it's restricted by one important criteria: cost; the event has to be either free or cheap. And while there's not a category just for Oakland, there is one for East Bay events.

Oakland North - Oakland North is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Their This Weekend in Oakland posts list a variety of upcoming events in Oakland. The 'staff' of the paper changes as students move through the journalism program, so the list has a slightly different feel depending on who compiled it. Unfortunately there's no single link (that I can find) to get the most recent events post.

Oakland Local - Hyper-local news source Oakland Local has a list similar to Oakland North's. I previously cross-posted my upcoming Oakland events to Oakland Local, and now it seems that different people compile the list, so it also has a different feel depending on who compiled it.

Our Oakland - my list of upcoming Oakland events. It's a combination of things that interest me plus events other people let me know about. So it tends to be slanted towards my interests: history, food, beer, bicycling, etc.

Jean Quan's Newsletter - Regardless of how you feel about her politics, someone in the mayor's office puts together a great newsletter of things to do in Oakland. The only downside is that sometimes it comes out too late—some of the events may have already happened or be happening later that day, too late to plan for.

Oakland's Own: Don't Miss of the Week - An Oakland blog with a selection of things to do in Oakland.

EBX Culture Spy Blog - In addition to the lengthy list noted above, the East bay Express also has the Culture Spy Blog with the shortest list around: Weekender: This Weekend's Top Five Events.