upcoming Oakland events

Lots going this week in Oakland, and even better, a lot of it is free! There's music, a bike safety class, a bike party, and more. The East Bay Open Studios are going on this weekend, too.

SoundWaves at JLS - Thursday, June 7, 5:30-7:30pm. Live music at the foot of Broadway. (free)

Bike Safety Class With EBBC - Thursday, June 7, 6-9:30pm. Join East Bay Bike Coalition for a free bike safety class. (free)

Gala Dinner at Children's Fairyland - Thursday, June 7, 6:30-9:30pm. The annual fundraising gala at Children's Fairyland. Read more at Oakland Local.

East Bay Bike Party - Friday, June 8, 7:30pm. The monthly East Bay Bike Party rolls again! This month's theme is dancing with the stars, aliens and astronauts. The ride begins at Ashby BART and rolls through Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland to finish at Mosswood Park. (free)

Dancing Under the Stars - Friday, June 8, 8:30-10pm. This week's dance: do The Hustle! (free)

(Cook)Book Club - Saturday, June 9, 1-2:30pm. Make a dish from DIY Delicious and join author Vanessa Barrington and East Bay Dish blogger Christina Mitchell for a DIY potluck. (free)

Urban Farm Tours - Saturday, June 9, 11am-5pm. Join the Institute for Urban Homsteading for a tour of various urban farms in Oakland. ($5/location or $25-$30 for all)

East Bay Open Studios - June 9-10, 11am-6pm. The annual East Bay Open Studios art tour. Check out and support artists all over Oakland and beyond. (free)

Jingletown Open Studios - 9-10, 11am-6pm. Lots of open studios with lots of different artits. Read about last year's holiday walk in Jingletown. (free)

looking further ahead:

Rowing Regatta - Sunday, July 1. The Lake Merritt Rowing Club hosts the Southwest Masters Regional Championships. (free)

Oakland Landmarks art reception - Friday, July 6. Painter Heidi Wyckoff of the Oakland Landmarks book will have a reception at Caffe 817. (free)

Temescal Street Fair - Sunday, July 8. The annual street fair in Temescal features food, music, art and fun for the whole family. (free)

Community Arts Festival - Sunday, July 29. Art show at Mosswood Park. Music, snacks, art and more. Contact HellaCity@rocketmail.com if you'd like to participate.

Pedalfest - Saturday, August 18, 11am-8pm. The second annual Pedfalfest at Jack London Square. Last year's Pedalfest was hella fun, for cyclists and non-cyclists alike.

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)

Learning to Row at Lake Merritt

As noted in The Lake That Isn't, the building that houses Lake Chalet was a pump house for the Oakland Fire Department before the wings were added in 1913 for boats. The building fell into disuse and disrepair, then was renovated and reopened in 2009. Now one wing houses Gondola Servizio, while the other is back to its original purpose—housing boats for the Lake Merritt Rowing Club (LMRC).

Saturday was National Learn to Row Day, so the LMRC and other rowing clubs around the country had open houses to introduce people to the sport. It started with a brief tour and explanation of rowing. The first thing I learned was the difference between sculling and sweep rowing. Sculling refers to using two oars per rower; sweep rowing refers to using one oar per rower. (If you're confused by this usage of sculling, you're not alone. My first thought was the single-oar method of sculling. It's taught for propelling any sort of small boat in an emergency, whether a becalmed sailboat or a rowboat where you've lost an oar.) While the LMRC teaches both, the open house was focused on sweep rowing, demonstrated in boats with 8 rowers plus the coxswain. That allowed a mix of 4 experienced rowers with 4 new rowers, and also teaches the teamwork aspects.

After reviewing the equipment, people moved to the "ergs" (short for ergometers), to learn and practice the basic rowing stroke on dry land. Unlike a basic rowboat where rower and oars stay fixed relative to each other, in a rowing shell, the rower is on a seat which slides back and forth during the stroke. The stroke for rowing is both simple and complicated. It's a 3-part process, arms, body, then legs, but all in a fluid motion, while keeping the oar level, but simultaneously keeping it clear of your legs. Ultimately most of the strength comes from your legs, not your arms, but if you're doing it correctly, rowing provides a full body workout.

Then it was on to one of the trickiest tasks—learning to get into and out of the boat safely, without tipping it over or pitching yourself into the water. With everyone safely aboard plus 4 experienced rowers, a coxswain to give directions, and a chase boat following in case of emergency, it was time to push off from the dock and start rowing.

People quickly learned rowing is a team sport. Not only do you need to use the correct rowing stroke, you need to do it at the same time as your boat mates. The coxswain sets the pace, but everyone needs to follow it. By the time the boat had been up the lake and back, people seemed to be getting the hang of it.

Rowing is a fun sport and a good workout, for ages 12 to 90+. The LMRC offers classes, and has a special summer series for youth rowing. Scholarships are available. If you'd rather just watch, rowers are out early many mornings practicing. The LMRC is hosting a regatta on July 1st, the 2012 Southwest Masters Regional Championships, so you'll have a chance to check out competition, too.

Lots more pictures:

Fun at the JLS Night Market

Friday was another installment of the new Jack's Night Market at Jack London Square. K and I checked it out, availing ourselves of yummy tacos from Cholita Linda and some Linden Street Beer from the Oakland Grown booth. There were lots of other food options, interesting items for sale, live music and a DJ, and an exhibit from the Pacific Pinball Museum. People of all ages looked like they were having fun, especially the hula hoopers, who were getting a good workout to boot.

More pictures from Jack's Night Market:

Projet en Vue

Last night I went to a reception for the truly amazing Projet en Vue. I highly recommend checking it out in person, TODAY only from 1-5pm at 4030 MLK Way. It's great on the web, but even better in person. And you can meet the artists behind it, Saskia and Sati. Last night some of the interviewees were there, too.

The project consists of audio interviews with a wide variety of people in Oakland by Saskia and photos of them by Sati, as well as some drawings of the subjects. A few of the subjects are exclusive to this reception; they're not on the website. Read my earlier write up about Projet en Vue here.



Check out the coverage at Oakland North.

Oakland Indie Awards 2012

Last night was the 6th annual Oakland Indie Awards, and it's the best party full of Oakland love around. There were over 200 deserving nominees, but there could only be a few winners. Congrats to you all, nominees and winners! The winners:

Oakland Soul Award - Ise Lyfe
Ripple Effect Award - Taco Grill Taqueria & Pozoleria
Innovative Newbie Award - Ecologic Brands
Greenie Award - BaDesign and Green Planet 21
Socially-Responsible Rockstar Award Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Revolution Foods
Mike Pherson Pillar Award - Head Designs

There was music from the Oaktown Jazz Workshop and the Oakland Faders, dozens of food vendors giving samples of their food and drink, and dozens of vendors selling their wares. Beer and wine were available for purchase from Linden Street Brewery, Trumer Pils, and Urban Legend Cellars.

And I saw plenty of familiar faces, like Toussaint Stewart of Besto Besto, Annalee Allen, the folks from the Bay Area Curling Club, Tina Tamale, Paula Wirth, Mayor Jean Quan, Rebecca Saltzman, Erin Killmer-Neel, Heidi Wyckoff, Susan Mernit, Sal Bednarz, Robert Raburn, and doubtless some others I've forgotten to list.

Lots of photos:


More coverage:
Oakland Local
East Bay Express
Oakland North