Posts from — May 2012

Memorial Day weekend is considered the official beginning of summer, California’s finest season, and downtown Oakland’s mix of urbane and natural is the perfect place to ring in the season. Fairyland will be open for a rare Monday, for family fun. A picnic by the Lake could be made up of Korean snacks and bottled teas from EM Market (332 14th St), or champagne and cheese from Ratto’s (821 Washington St). With many restaurants, particularly in Old Oakland and Uptown, offering outdoor seating, downtown is a great place to enjoy your holiday weekend!

Weekend events include:

• Tomorrow is the deadline for artists to submit work for Bay Area Currents, ProArts’ juried exhibition of contemporary works from Bay Area artists. The show will open July 3 at the gallery (15th St at Frank Ogawa Plaza).
• Sunday night at Era (19 Grand Ave), Kev Choice’s soul band performs with DJ Soul Profess, a unique mix of live music and spinning – perfect for dancing!
• Monday afternoon, Linden Street Brewery hosts a Jamaican jerk cook-off benefitting My Yute Soccer camp.
• Monday evening, the Afrorican weekly party will show Ice T’s new documentary The Art of Rap, featuring interviews with many hip-hop legends. The event also features food and happy hour drink specials, starting at 5pm at Liege Lounge (491 9th St).

Next Thursday is the Oakland Indie Awards at the Kaiser Center (300 Lakeside Dr), a celebration of the independent businesses which give Oakland, downtown and the neighborhoods so much vibrancy.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, DTO!

It’s a beautiful day for a walk around Chinatown or a picnic by the Lake. Even while basking the sun, downtown never sits still for long: here is a roundup of recent news about retail and services in the DTO.

• This weekend bring an Alice in Wonderland-theme book sale at the Bookmark Bookstore (721 Washington St)
• BART announces a late-night bus plan serving many of the system’s stations, although the only planned downtown stop will be Lake Merritt.
• Tully’s on Frank Ogawa Plaza closed; there’s no word that the space has been leased.
• Ferry service between Jack London Square and Oyster Point (South San Francisco) begins next month.
• An upscale donut-meets-cupcake shop is opening on Broadway below 20th St.
• Rumor has it that a well-known Berkeley bar/restaurant will be moving to the DTO this summer.
• The Pop Up Hood is officially over; Manifesto Bicycles’ custom bike shop has closed, and the remaining shops have full leases. With District opening and a restaurant in negotiations for the former Jesso’s space, Old Oakland looks to be surging toward an Uptown-like revitalization.

See you in the sun!