Sweeeeet Oakland

Jack London Night Market - Free, Awesome.... GO!

2012-05-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Oakland Night Market will be showcasing some favorite Oakland artisans, restaurants, and breweries this summer on First Fridays. Listen to music while you drink and munch you way around the beautiful waterfront (with a hot date perhaps!). If you take the free shuttle, it's sure to be the perfect compliment to a night at Art Murmur. I recommend parking at Jack London (since anything close to Art Murmur is impossible), eating dinner and then shuttling it up to The Murmur and Uptown for a fun night on the town!

Date: Friday: June 1, July 6
Time: 6 PM – 10 PM
Location: Palm Plaza in Jack London Square

Make sure to check out the Greek Fest this weekend!

2012-05-19T08:18:00.001-07:00

At the Ascension Greek Orthodox Cathedral ;) yummmmmm!

The 6th Annual Oakland Indie Awards

2012-05-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 31 are the 6th annual Oakland Indie awards..... in other words - tons of locally made free food and drinks in exchange for 10 bucks... what's not to love?!?!?!? This year they are hosting it at the Kaiser Rooftop Garden, which will surely be epic! Get your ticket now before the price goes up!

6:30 - 10:30 pm h

Rooftop Garden at the Kaiser Center
300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland
Tickets are on sale now for $10 each

I like this....

2012-04-12T01:11:00.001-07:00

Oakland Celebrity Bubb Rubb

Cool Idea:

Local photographer and oral historian set the goal of creating an in-depth portrait of Oakland's unique communities. To do so, they've been taking 35mm photographs and audio recordings of people that they meet while walking around the city. The mission of their project is to bring people with different perspectives and life experiences together, and to create a narrative of the community and mixed up modern world.

They showcase their photographs and audio on their website, projetenvue.org and additionally are planning a series of gallery shows featuring portraits as well as interactive audio installations. Check it out!!

Drooling....

2012-04-11T00:34:00.001-07:00

This looks especially delicious, but make sure to check out all the Oakland videos!

2012-04-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Make a resolution to be Veg for a week! One week outta the year? That ain't too hard.... And it gives you a great excuse to get out and try come delicious new Oakland Restaurants like No No Burger who will be serving up their delicious treats at Vitus on April 18th.

Other Veg/Vegan recommendations (from a sometimes-meat-eater) to help you survive the week:

Souly Vegan - Duh! Don't forget to order it to go and eat next door with a beer!

Lanesplitter - Vegan cheese upon request...

Champa Garden - Yummmmm. Almost everything can be made Veg and much Vegan as well

MLK Cafe - Delicious Eritrea and Veg Gluton-free pizza. Eritrea was colonized by Italy after WW2 which explaines the random seeming, but extremely delicious pizza!

Nominate Your Favorite Buisiness For The Oakland Indie Awands!

2012-04-06T02:58:00.002-07:00

Nominate your favorite local business or artist for the 6th Annual Oakland Indie Awards. Winners will be publicized and presented with their awards at the Indie Awards ceremony on Thursday, May 31st.

P.S. Just went through a really heavy breakup and am now traveling abroad. Sorry I havent been better about posting lately. When I return on the 20th of April it will be back to at least once a week! Thanks for understanding....

Art Murmur March 2nd: Free Beer, Wine, and Beats + Cool Peeps

2012-02-29T13:04:00.001-08:00

Check out Oaklandish this Friday. They are throwing a Record Release Party for local DJ Dion Decibels with free wine and beer. Should be sweet, or should I say Sweeeeet :)

Mix CD debut and sets by DJ Dion Decibels
Opening act by Antique
Live performances by 1-O.a.k. and Do Dat
Art by Jeff Meadows
Free (and freestyle) haikus by Mario
Food from FiveTen Burger
Drinks from Linden St. Brewery and Urban Legend Cellars

And for a great review of some other openings happening this Art-Walk check HERE

Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir

2012-02-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

This is near the top of my Oakland-Must-Dos-But-Haven't-Done-Yet list. Heard great things... Oakland Local is having a meetup before at Pican, down the street, if A-Little-Bit-Tipsy happens to be your faith of choice ;)

Occupy Oakland

2012-02-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read the East Bay Express article on the recent turns of events in the OO world - you got to. I fully second their conclusions.

Super Bowl Watching Idea

2012-02-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

A bit north of Oakland, but really fun, check out the Craneway Pavilion BoilerHouse 2/5 Super Bowl Viewing Party starting at 3pm.

Giant Video Wall 16x10 feet
FREE Admission & Parking
Food and Drink Deals

If you have any tips about cool more local places to catch the game, please leave deets in the comments box below!

Oakland Restaurant Week!

2012-01-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

Just around the corner is Oakland Restaurant Week! Great time to try out all those spots that you keep reading about, but never have time or money to indulge in.

My favorite picks, all of which involve drink specials (coincidence?):

Disco Volante - RW Deal: $30 for a three course dinner, including a carafe of house wine.
Grand Tavern - RW Deal: $20 for a two course dinner or $30 for a four course dinner, with all drinks at happy hour prices.
Seison - RW Deal: $20 for a three course dinner, $30 for a three course dinner plus a bottle of house wine.
Spice Monkey Cafe and Restaurant - RW Deal: $30 for a three course dinner, including a bottomless glass of house red or white wine.

Redevelopment Funds

2012-01-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

At its best, SweeeeetOakland delivers local political news in addition to info about super-amazing-rad-beyond-belief events (if I do say so :). We have therefore been doing our best to research and keep abreast of the Redevelopment Funds Court Decision that is causing tidal-style waves through the city's government at this very moment. As usual, others have done a more fantastic job of covering it than we have the ability to, so following is a quick summary and some good links:

It goes something like this - Redevelopment funds are a form of Tax Increment Financing. Basically that means that you are borrowing money with the idea of using it to make improvements which will result in increased revenue in the future - equal or more than the original loan. So I borrow money, build a park in an abandoned lot, housing values in the area rise, I collect more in property tax, which pays for the loan, and everyone wins (in an ideal world at least).

Oakland relies a lot on this financing, in past years, using redevelopment funds to pay for almost half of the salaries of it's city employees. This year because of fiscal projections we (Oakland) budgeted close to 200 (rather than the historic 1000+) positions out of these funds, including half the mayors salary.

It gets complicated because the Tax Increment Financing process mostly doesn't take place directly through the city. Instead there are Redevelopment Agencies which envision these projects, access the funding, and then funnel some of the money back to municipality after of course taking a cut for their own purposes.

Last week the California Supreme Court ruled that these agencies in their current iteration, need to be shut down. That means the delivery of funds to local government is now severely in question. Many or all of the employees whose salary is paid from these funds, or whose job is involved in it, will be getting lay-off slips soon.

What will take the place of the disbanded agencies is still up in the air, so continue following this story, educate yourself about it, and when it comes time to build something like them again, lend your voice to the discussion!

Links:

Overview and History

Sad that this is happening

Good that it is happening

Shopping, Shmopping.... Mimosas, I'll Toast Yas!

2012-01-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

That kinda rhymes, right? Fine, at least I tried... Last year the mimosas were bottomless and free, so rumor has it...

Celebrate Friday the 13th with Girrrrrrrl Power and Metal

2012-01-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

Friday the 13th can occur up to three times in a year, but usually only happens once. So it's a sort of holiday - something to celebrate!

Tomorrow on this special day I recommend you attend one or even both of these events:

Numero Uno - Metal show at the Oakland Metro. I went to their space on New Years and was blown away by how cool it is. If you haven't been there since they got the new venue, or opened the new spaces, you owe yourself a trip. And bonus points cause it fits the theme of the day.

Numero Dos - Girl artists, DJs, cooks, musicians, etc. take over half a block. Boys are invited :) Need I say more? No. Ok, one more thing... Actually, no.... :)

Have a great one!!!

Get This Oakland Project Kickstarted With Just A Vote

2012-01-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

Is it over?

While I always had high hopes for Occupy Oakland, I also had reservations. There were great aspects, like the few weeks when they were operating a 24/7 free-kitchen, and effectively solved the homeless problem because you could tell anyone who asked for money that there was food and shelter to be found just down the way. There were negatives too though, like the several local businesses who reported that sales were hurting because of the aura around the area. Lately, unless you know someone who is a hard core follower of the movement, you probably didn't even know that they were still around. Is Occupy over?

Not so fast I say. They have money in the bank, and a lot of great idealistic hard-working people still supporting them. Something could still come of this. In order to at least give them the chance, please take a few moments and vote below to funnel them some cash to hire a financial and idea consultant. It might sounds odd to do that since they have money, but unless it is gifted to them, it would be hard to get a vote to use the current funds in this manner.

Check it out here-

http://financial.maker.good.is/projects/occupy

Brought To You By Bay Area Localize: How To Spend Your MLK Jr. Day

2012-01-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

Garden, Relax, and Enjoy the ‘Jewel of Oakland’
Victory Garden Foundation, Bay Localize, and local community gardeners have exciting plans for a new People’s Victory Garden at Oakland’s Lakeside Park at Lake Merritt. We want you to help make it a reality!

Transform an open space of about 300 square feet into a thriving lush edible demonstration garden.

WHEN: Monday, January 16th from 9 am - 1 pm
WHERE: Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt, Oakland

RSVP by Thursday to melody@baylocalize.org.

Rock New Years Eve 2011-2012 in Oakland

2011-12-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks Don Hoekwater!

It's that special time again, when we all unload way too much money to try to have a better story to tell than our friends - New Years!! I long ago realized that the best narratives usually come from the people with no money who end up drinking too much 4-loco (RIP - tear tear) and smoking crack for the first time in a whorehouse in West Oakland. I mean, try telling your story of the $200 party with n-sa, n-sa, n-sa music and "open bar" where you got three drinks all night cause the lines were so long to someone with the prior one - you're not gonna win.

I was going to put together a list of recommendations, somewhere in between smoking crack and watching fireworks on TV, but so many fine people and publications have already rocked that job, that this time I am just going to link you to them. Each source provides a variety of ideas which should meet the dual tasks of providing you with a splendid NYE story, while meanwhile not breaking the proverbial the mint (bank? piggy bank?). For New Years Day I curated a few of my own picks.

Night Of

The Bar Crawl Route on Public Transportation from Living In the O

Some of the Bigger Events by Oakland Local

Some Randoms from Clubzone

The Expensive from Inside Bay Area

The Outlyers brought to you by the infamous East Bay Express

Mac and Cheese+ with the East Bay Loop

Morning After

Dollar day at the Horse Races

Monarch Butterfly Walk in Ardenwood Park (do advanced search to find deets)

Bottomless Mimosas at Hobnob (all the Oakland bottomless places I called will be closed :(

Opulent Temple After Party - Totally worth going to the city for

And FYI - Bart will be continuing its NYE tradition of running till 3am.

One Week Haitus :(

2011-12-21T16:50:00.000-08:00

There will be no events listed this week because of the Holidays. Please check back next week though for more awesome Sweet Oakland happenings! Happy Holidays and mad love to you all! Oh, and if anything awesome does come up, we will be listing it on Twitter, so follow follow us there!!

In SF + Open Bar = Posted Here

2011-12-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

Click HERE

This is a good one all around... win win win win win win win.......

Oakland Events: Dec 16th - Dec 20th

2011-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

Little lite on the events this week. Maybe cause its almost X-mas? Speaking of which, happy holidays to all readers! Working to get some guest posters in the New Year. Already have a couple peeps lined up... if you are interested in contributing please let me know at grahamhollandpatterson@gmail.com. Thanks!

Friday Dec 16th:
Pinback at The New Parish

Always wanted one of those cool cylindrical Trumer glasses? Me too... Get one and meet the brewers at Actual Cafe

Saturday Dec 17th:
San Francisco Boys Chorus Christmas Concert at Cathedral of Christ the Light

Oakland Art Murmur Saturday Stroll Third Sat of every month

Kerstbier Fest at the Trappist Sounds cool, but only four six-ounce samples for $25? You get a glass too, I suppose, which can sit next to the Trumer you scored last night...

Sunday Dec 18th:
Raiders! I am sad to admit I have never seen them, but this Sunday is my/our chance! Check out THIS SITE for discount tics

Monday Dec 19th:
Los Rakas Meet and Greet if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this awesome Oakland bands music HERE

Tuesday Dec 20th:
Trivia Night at the Fox Theatre's Den win free tickets to upcoming shows

Oakland Events - December 7th - December 13th

2011-12-06T16:38:00.001-08:00

This week is packed full of AWESOME Oakland offerings. So without further ado....

Wednesday Dec 7th - Which Holiday party are you going to attend? Tough choice.....
Oaklandish Holiday Party at the New Parish

Oakland Local Holiday Party at TechLiminal

Thursday Dec 8th -
Whole Foods Holiday Soiree - Over 15 vendors sampling and live Nutcracker music. RSVP HERE, no worries though if you don't

A Holiday Fluxtastic Celebration with your favorite local Big Art Instigators - Space Cowboys DJs, cheapish and definitely delicious cocktails, cool art, cool space.... I'm sold.

Oakland 1946 General Strike Documentary - In 1946, Oakland had a citywide General Strike, initiated by the mostly-women retail clerks. Learn more

Friday Dec 9th -
Awesome Underground Oakland Hip Hop Show

Saturday Dec 10th -
Rosenblum Cellars Holiday Party - $10 includes extensive tasting and delicious snacks!

Mercury 20 Gallery Artist Reception - 4-7pm, artist talk at 5pm

American Steel 2-Day Diamonds in the Rough Exhibition and Party - sounds really cool!

Sunday Dec 11th -
See Sat for continuing American Steel Event

Christmas Jazz Festival and Reception @ Cathedral of Christ the Light - I'm not religious, but you don't gotta be to enjoy the beautiful music bouncing off the walls of this crazy space. Check out their other Christmasie events, such as boys and girls choirs HERE.

Monday Dec 12th -
West Coast Port Shutdown. Follow your favorite Occupy Twitterer for more info

Legacies of People Power - An event to help celebrate the Ella Baker Center's 15 year Anniversary. $5-15 sliding scale.

Wednesday Dec 15th -
Alameda Food Bank Drive with Congresswoman Barbra Lee. Can't promise she'll be there, but she is sponsoring it along with Assemblymember Sandré Swanson, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Peralta Trustee Abel Guillen, and EBMUD Director Andy Katz.

Have a great week and don't forget to follow me here and on Twitter!

Whole Foods Sample Craziness and Ballet?

2011-12-06T09:49:00.001-08:00

Oakland Local Holiday Party

2011-11-30T16:10:00.001-08:00

Come through at their headquarters at co-working space Tech Liminal from 6-9 PM on Wednesday, December 7th, and enjoy some great food, great drinks, music, prizes, gifts and talk.

Hang out with the Oakland Local team--and see their brand new redesign. Their planning some special give-aways, music, a yummy wine and chocolate tasting, and an advance look at our new redesign.

Please RSVP here and buy a ticket at Eventbrite ($5) http://partydec2011.eventbrite.com/ &n...; to help fund the yummy treats and drinks-all locally sourced. Cool.....

November 30 - December 6th :: Guide to Oakland Happenings

2011-11-29T17:47:00.001-08:00

Sweeeeet Oakland Returns!! Sorry for missing the last couple week's updates. I was away on a 12 day silent Buddhist retreat. If you are interested in torturing/enlightening yourself check out the North Fork Vipassana retreat schedule HERE. The whole thing is free though (you can leave a donation if you want when you complete the course, no pressure from them though), in a beautiful location about an hour from Yosemite, and a really interesting mind expanding trip.

Enough of that....

Buy it Now: Half off Oakland Zoo - They are all X-mas decked out for the next few weeks with tinsel streaming and lights ablaze. Great time to spend an afternoon there, especially if you've never been.

Wed 30th: Dubstep Party with local DJs

Thur 1st: Tourettes Without Regrets

Fri 2nd: Jack London Tree Lighting

Art Murmur - Obviously it's cool, but what galleries should you make sure to check this month? My recommendations:

Creative Growth
New Commodity - 474 24th St.
Bettiono
Slate
Warehouse 416
Shadravan"s

Sat 3rd: Hoodstoccupy - Awesome music fest, where among others the amazing RNB Millionaires will be playing

Go Outside by RnB Millionaires

Issues on Piedmont - holiday party (aka, free wine and snacks :)

Mon 5th: Two Miles Winery - Prohibition Repeal Party

This year, we're planning on having John Brothers Piano Band playing some music while pouring wine to pay tribute to the historic day which ended 13 years of prohibition. No admission fee, but we will be charging a wee-bit for the booze.

Kindly let us know if you think you'll make it by emailing us here: more@twomilewines.com.

6-9pm

477 25th Street
Oakland, CA 94611

Tue, Wed 6-7: As tradition mandates, even though THIS IS in SF, it is an Open Bar, so it will be happily featured here.