Open Bar in the City - Tue Nov 15th

As always, a good open bar, even be it in the City, will always get a mention here. RSVP to check out a great night of DJ's live scoring old crazy films, and of course a bottomless helping of delicious spiced whiskey courtesy of Drambuie.

RSVP HERE

November 9th-13th: Guide to Oakland Happenings

Lots of great events coming up!

Before we get into that though, check out the short video above.  I took it the other day as the Berkeley Occupy movement marched down Telegraph to converge with the Oakland contingent.

Was a great day, nighttime as most of you know by now was somewhat of a different story. I was there when the Mercedes ran a guy over that we all thought was dead, and when the police let the driver go and people started breaking windows I headed out. My roommate stayed, and stumbled back at 3pm sobbing from the tear gas and the emotional weight of what he had just witnessed. Pretty crazy. Stay safe Oakland!

Nov 9th: Lykke Li at the Fox - I personally like her more than a Little Bit, but I can see why some people think she is super annoying too! Oh, and in case you haven't figured this out yet, at the Fox there are always tons of scalpers, which end up scalping themselves within half an hour of a show's start when they begin selling tics for less than face value. Check it-

Nov 9th: Van Jones - one of Oakland's coolest citizenry, will host The Contract to Rebuild the American Dream at the Humanist Hall between Broadway and Telegraph on 27th St. If you are part of the Occupy movement, or have sympathies for it, but wish it was more directed, this should be a worthwhile investment of your time.

11/11/11: Bay Area Localize is hosting a conference/forum - about community resilience, namely about how the more we are self sustaining, but better off we will be in various calamities, from economic depressions to earthquakes. This will give you the opportunity to find out more and help set their agenda. $7-10 donation includes lunch.

Nov 12th: 

Art Murmur Saturday Stroll: Visit many of the same galleries with less hipsters drunkenly stumbling into you (sorry if it was me! :)

Dashe Cellers Paella Fiesta: This is more expensive than I usually like to feature (Lykke Li too for that matter, don't you know we are in a recession??!!) but it promises to be a lot of fun, and if you buy a case you get your and a friend's ticket cost refunded. For those on a budget, still craving wine and Paella on Sat check THIS.

Kinetic Steam Works: Roll Out: If you do one thing on Saturday, do this! Please is awesome, always provides a good time. $10-100 sliding scale.

Nov 13th:

16th Street Station, West Oakland Open House/Party: This station was the final west coast terminal of the transcontinental railroad - CRAZY! Come eat, drink, and check it out. If you end up hosting an event there ($2500 donation to its restoration= event space) please please please invite me!!

Hope that all sounds good! Peace Oakland-

Oakland in Uproar

#Occupyoakland Woman in Wheelchair Engulfed in Tear Gas, Helped By Protesters

Before we get to events-

I would be remiss not to mention the Occupy Oakland movement, the vast majority of whom are working positively and vocally to bring about change. It isn't easy living on the street, or marching around all day and dealing with negativity, bombs, and tear gas. Sweeeeet Oakland is with you~!

We witnessed some of what happened as the encampment was demolished yesterday, and as the intensity of the interaction between protesters and police amplified. There is plenty of ink spilled regarding the overreaction of the police, to I won't be a broken record.

Primarily we encourage you to stay strong, and stay positive. Please follow us on Twitter for updates on all protests we attend, and retweets from ones we are unable to. If you take some great video or photographs, please send them to grahamhollandpatterson@gmail.com for inclusion here.

PLUR isn't just for ravers.... (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect)

Resources:

Number One: Sign Ella Baker message to Mayor Jean Quan, and find out ways you can support the movement

Number Two: Follow #occupyoakland for updates about actions

Number Three: Text Bayaction to 41411 for text updates on the happenings.

Note: Our hearts go out to Scott Olsen, Iraq War Vet who was critically injured by a gas canister that hit his face during the protest last night. More HERE.

October 13th-19th Guide to Oakland Happenings

The blog is back! I'm going to start out a bit slow, posting once a week about upcoming events. If there is anything cool that I find out about last minute I'm much more likely to post it on twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/sweeeeetoakland.

I'll do these weekly posts for a couple months. If people are checking it out - awesome, I'll keep it up. If not I may go back to just tweeting... So if you love this, or alternatively if you think I'm wasting my time, let me know!

Oct 13th: Soul of the City hosted by one of my all time favorite nonprofits, and definitely one of the most active in Oakland, the Ella baker Center. They will be sharing their list of strategies, priorities, and voting recommendations for the coming elections, so swing by Somar after work and grab a drink, meet some cool peeps, and get edumicated.

Oct 15-16: Treasure Island Music Fest. They still need some volunteers Sunday which would get you a free ticket for Saturday. You can email Jerry at oslvolunteers@gmail.com to sign up, but do it quick! There is a good festival guide HERE

Oct 16th: Joaquin Miller Native Plant Sale. Nuff said...

     and

Temescal Farmer Market 

    and

Mini Maker Faire - Awesome crafty, arty sort of event. Been to similar one before and it was sweeeeet!

Additionally the SF Documentary Fest is going on this next week, with events in SF (duh) and also Berkeley. Being in the middle of the two it seemed relevant.

Peace!

Kiva Rocks!

Many of you already know about Kiva, but for those who don't: Kiva is a fantastic organisation which does microfinancing mostly in developing countries, mostly funded by direct investments by people like you and me. They are celebrating their 4 year anniversary this coming Tuesday in Berkeley, and have a fun night planned for anyone who would like join. The cost is $20 and includes local food and wine, not to mention entertainment. You can purchase your tickets HERE. If you have the money, pay the $20, if you're broke as a toad, save five with this code: KFF