Last year’s Eat Real Festival was a huge hit, featuring local food, street food, homemade ice cream, local beer and wine, presentations, music, and more.  If you weren’t able to make it last year, be sure to check it out this year!  The event runs from Friday, August 27th to Sunday, August 29th and features local food from around the Bay.  For details, visit their website.

New this year is Saturday’s Eat Real Bike Tour!  From 12-4:30, peddle along Oakland’s waterfront, meet local culinary artists, and sample their creations.  Tastings will be at Linden Street Brewery, Numi Teas, Vice Chocolates, and Urban Legend Cellars.  To purchase a ticket and find out more information, visit http://hesternet.net/events.html

The results are in: OneCalifornia Bank was voted Best of the East Bay for Best Community Bank!  Thank you to all our fans and supporters who voted for us.

Check out all the other Best of the East Bay winners in today’s East Bay Express: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/general/flash/07-14-2010/

And don’t forget to come to the Best of the East Bay party on August 6th at Jack London Square!  This year’s party will be at Jack London Square waterfront from 5-11PM.  The event is free and open for all ages, and features multiple bands, a kid’s zone, and a Blues Pavilion, paying tribute to the blues history of Russeel City in Hayward and 7th Street in Oakland.  For more details and ongoing updates, including updates of the band lineup for the evening, please visit www.EastBayExpress.com/BOEBParty

OneCalifornia Foundation will be running the bar, so make sure to stop by and say hi!  If you’re interested in volunteering with us at the bar, make sure to let us know–details are posted here.

UPDATED: for more information on the Best of the East Bay Party, check out the article in this week’s edition of the East Bay Express.

On Friday, May 14th, Oaklanders celebrated the people and businesses that make the city great at OneCalifornia Foundation’s 4th Annual Oakland Indie Awards.  Hosted in partnership with the East Bay Express, the annual awards program is a celebration of all things Oakland and an opportunity to highlight the positive social and environmental impact of Oakland’s independent businesses and artists. The program was kicked off by keynote speaker Michael Kieschnick, Co-Founder, President and CEO of CREDO Mobile / Working Assets. 

The 2010 Indie Award Winners Are:

Neighborhood Dynamo: Uptown Body and Fender, a woman-owned body shop that focuses on the emotional well-being of its customers and hosts community events and fundraisers free to local non-profits at its stunning body shop in Oakland’s Uptown district.

Newbie: Snap Judgment, the new Oakland-based NPR program and multi-media company that offers a new voice in storytelling, showcasing Oakland’s diversity and telling stories that “drop listeners into another person’s skin”.

Youth Empowerment: Oaklandish, the extremely popular design and screen-printing company that celebrates all-things Oakland through its apparel and supports the city’s youth through innovation award grants.

Pillar: Peerless Coffee, the 86-year-old family-owned specialty coffee company that provides specialty blends to some of the Bay Area’s most esteemed restaurants, offers scholarships to Berkeley students, helps develop the communities that grow their coffee, and was one of the first businesses to be certified green by the Alameda County Green Business program.

Innovator: Natural Home Cleaning Professionals, the eco-friendly co-op that provides healthy worker-owner cleaning employment opportunities for immigrant women in Oakland and the Bay Area.

Ripple Effect: BayVAN and Compound Gallery, the arts organizations that founded the nationally-recognized Plaid Friday, the independent business’ answer to Black Friday that encourages people to do their holiday shopping at local indie businesses.

Greenie: Ryan Duke, an independent industrial designer that creatively re-uses reclaimed materials to build essential products to improve lives including refugees in the U.S. and individuals in developing countries.

Oakland Soul: Joyce Gordon Gallery, the downtown-Oakland based commercial fine art gallery that seeks to open doors and share the perspectives of the Bay Area’s diverse artist population, as well as those of international artists.

Please visit http://www.oaklandindieawards.com/ for more information about the winners and for pictures!

In addition to seeing the winners being announced and awarded, party guests sampled food, wine, chocolate and beer from as many as 30 food producers and restaurants, explored a selection of locally-made items from over 50 artists and retailers, and thanks to the generosity of DJ Mama L, listened to music from Oakland musicians, past and present. 

Thank you to everyone that came out to celebrate with us and we’ll see you at the 5th Annual next year!!

WE NEED BAR VOLUNTEERS FOR BEST OF THE EAST BAY 2010 PARTY!

OneCalifornia Foundation needs volunteers to assist with  providing bar service at the main bar for Best of the East Party!  You don’t need any experience, just be over 21 years old and commit to showing up on time, and staying for the length of your shift.

All tips earned during your shift are yours to keep! Keep reading to learn what the “Best of” 2010 has in store this year. I hope you’re able to join us.

Friday, August 6th

Shift 1: 4:30pm to 8pm
Shift 2: 7:45pm to 11pm

Skills / Experience Needed:
None. We just need RELIABLE people.  Show up early and stay for your entire shift. Slinging drinks is easy and fun.  People over 21 can serve drinks, those under 21 can work behind the bar.

Benefits:

• It’s fun to serve people drinks and make them happy.
• You’ll make money
• You’ll meet seriously cool people.
• You’ll be at the biggest East Bay party of the year.
• Come as a team/couple and you’ll get to hang with your friends!

Sign Up by Friday July 23rd
If you’re game, please email Andrea at awalker@onecalfoundation.org to let us know which shift(s) you are available for by July 23rd.

Spread the Word!

I gotta get enough people there to ensure we don’t have big lines of thirsty people, so tell your reliable friends and colleagues about this opportunity.

Jack London Square is hosting many fun, free events this summer, including:

Dancing Under the Stars

Every Friday evening, from 8:30-10 PM, at the foot of Broadway.  Enjoy a free dance lesson provided by the Linden Street Dance Studio!  Each week will feature a different dance.

Lunchtime Live!

Every Tuesday and Friday, starting in July, from noon-2PM.  Grab lunch at Jack London Square and enjoy free live music by a different group each time.

Waterfront Flicks

Every other Thursday evening, starting July 8th.  Free movie starting at sundown, with Oakland Trivia games hosted by the Oakbook starting at 7:30 PM.

For more details on these and other events, visit the Jack London Square events page.

There are ways to avoid the mall this holiday season, support local stores and artists, and still buy gifts for everyone no your list.  Oakland Unwrapped, in collaboration with Jack London Square, ProArts, adn Oakland Grown, is putting on a “mall-ternative” shopping event, Holiday Buy Night, on Thursday and Friday, December 10th and 11th, from 5 to 10 PM.  From pet lovers to food lovers, fashionistas to athletes, women, men, children, and everyone in between, Holiday Buy Night promises to have something for everyone on your list.

If you need a shopping break, be sure to check out the music and live entertainment going on throughout the evening.  Have the young ones check out the kids section for games, arts and crafts, and a movie.  And if you get hungry or thirsty, be sure to check out the “food court” at the event.  Restaurants from Jack London Square will be selling food, including Kincaids, Cocina Poblana, Ben and Jerry’s, and others.  Awaken Cafe will provide coffee and hot chocolate and Numi and L’Amyx will provide hot tea to keep you warm and alert while shopping.  There will also be a beer and wine bar, featuring the East Bay Express’ holiday lager!  This is one shopping event you won’t want to miss this December!

Save the date!  Add this event to your Outlook Calendar here.

Interested in volunteering?  See below:

Come down to Jack London Square this Friday, December 4th, for the annual waterfront holiday light installation.  Stay for live music, a preview of the characters participating in Oakland’s Holiday Parade the following morning, and, of course, fine dining at the Square!  The festivities start at 5:30PM, so come early to get a good seat!  Also feel free to bring non-perishable food donations to benefit the Alameda County Food Bank or toy donations for the Mayor’s Community Toy Drive.  Event details are on Jack London Square’s website.

October’s Full Moon Buy Night Shopping Bazaar was such a hit that we’re bringing it back–just in time for your holiday shopping!  On the evenings of December 10th and 11th, Oakland Unwrapped, in collaboration with Jack London Square, ProArts, and Oakland Grown, will be hosting a Holiday Buy Night Shopping Event.  Cozily situated inside a festive market hall with entertainment, activities for the kids, hot cocoa, beer, wine and creative gifts from local businesses and artists - it’s the best mall-ternative you could ask for. More details to come, so keep checking back here!

Save the date!  Add this event to your Outlook Calendar here.

Outdoor ice skating in October?  Yes!  And it’s for a good cause!  While the weather is still nice, come enjoy ice skating at Jack London Square seven days a week during the month of October.  The cost is $5 per session, including skate rentals.  Themed skating nights and live music will also be happening throughout the month, so make sure to check the Upcoming Events page on the Jack London Square website.  Each skating session will also generate a donation to Meals on Wheels.

Come shop with the fabulous artisans of Oakland Unwrapped! on a moonlit October night at Jack London’s Waterfront!  Get cool, re-purposed stuff like hats made out of records and belts made from seatbelts.  Also find clothes, toys, jewelry, bikes, tableware, hats, accessories, fun t-shirts, fine art, photography and lots more – all from Oakland shops and artisans! 

Sample and scoop up produce and artisan foods from the twilight Farmers’ Market, sling down some drinks, grab some grub at Jack London Square’s restaurants.

Let loose and have fun with the strolling musicians, fire dancing, ice skating, and other surprise entertainers from the Full Moon Buy Night line up.

Brought to you by OneCalifornia Foundation, Jack London Square, OAKBOOK, and East Bay Express. 

Thursday, October 1, 5:03-9:30pm
Jack London Square.
Free!

Join us for the fun, support the local economy, and maybe event grab a few early holiday gifts!