Enjoy a free day at the museum with Wells Fargo Free Second Sundays. The Oakland Museum of California provides unique collections, exhibitions and educational opportunities designed to generate a broader and deeper understanding of and interest in California’s environment, history, art and people. (more…)

The Oakland Museum of California hosts a day of fun for “all” California families—with a special welcome to those with adopted, foster, mixed-race, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members. The event includes  live music from Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus Otto Voci ensemble, Magician Timothy James, a Martial arts demonstration by Destiny Arts, Gold panning and more. (more…)

“One Got Fat” (1963) youngsters pay the price in a bizarre manner for ignoring bicycle safety. Narrated by Edward Everett Horton (15 min).

“Return of the Scorcher” (1992) Ted White’s classic review of international bike culture (28 min).
http://www.tedwhitegreenlight.com/scorcher.htm (more…)

Dr. Nate Lewis’ talk will look at the challenge of capturing solar energy and storing it as an affordable transportation fuel - all on a scale necessary to reduce global warming. Overcoming this challenge will require developing new materials that can use abundant and inexpensive elements rather than costly and rare materials. Please join us to learn more about the promise of new materials in thedevelopment of carbon-free alternatives to fossil fuel.

Centered around the delicate voice and guitar playing of songwriter Andy Cabic, Vetiver is a surreal and psychedelic take on indie folk. This is Vetiver’s first performance in the East Bay and the release date of their newest album, Thing Of The Past

Could Do Was Sing, is due out May 13th, is a sort of folk/indie/acoustic band with shades of the yelping loosey-goosey exuberance of The Arcade Fire. Port O’Brien plays a free set at 5pm at Rasputin Music in Berkeley on telegraph

This Austin-based “post girl-band girl-band” of four gals and two guys specializes in addictive ’60s Motown-style pop. Sporting matching outfits and clever lyrics, the Carrots make the sound of the The Ronettes and the Supremes relevant all over again.

Good Vibrations is proud to present Simone de Corday, as she signs and reads excerpts from her new book, “9 ½ Years Behind the Green Door: A Mitchell Brothers Stripper Remembers her Lover Artie Mitchell, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, and the Killing that Rocked San Francisco”.

In San Francisco in the 1980s, The Mitchell Brothers’ O’Farrell Theater had a mystique of romance and energy, sparked by its iconic patrons and radical owners. Corday divulges her first hand experiences at the place Hunter S. Thompson referred to as “the Carnegie Hall of public sex,” conveying its magnetism and revealing its backroom secrets. Corday captures that moment in time: one of grit and appetite, uninhibited sex and frustrated love, revolution and aspiration. Visit http://www.greendoorbook.com for a sneak peak.

Enjoy the Real Greek Experience - three days of Greece by the Bay. Fabulous Greek food, drink, music and dance and much, much more.

Friday, May 16, 2008: 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. (Free from 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Saturday, May 17, 2008: 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sunday, May 18, 2008: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. (or come earlier to experience our liturgy service at 10 a.m.) (Free from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.) (more…)

Good Vibrations Women Like Me program is proud to present Dr. Carol Queen, PhD, sex educator, activist, and author.  Join us and learn valuable tools to achieve effective sexual communication with your partner.     

The City’s annual San Leandro Heritage Faire will be held at the San Leandro Main Library, located at 300 Estudillo Avenue in downtown San Leandro, on Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to celebrate San Leandro’s diverse community and rich cultural heritage. This free celebration includes entertainment, multicultural exhibits and a variety of ethnic foods. All are invited to attend.

The event features performances by the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano, the Chinese lion dancers from San Leandro’s Shao Lin King Fu Chan School, the percussion group Drummm! and the McBride Irish Dance group. Also appearing will be Asheba, who brings to life the culture of Trinidad through folktales and songs, Swetha Dixit who entertains guests with Indian dancing and storytelling and Chin-Chin, a master of magic.

Vendors will sell textiles, crafts and gift items from many countries, and a kids’ craft area will offer children the chance to make arts and crafts from different cultures, including Mexican pinatas, Portuguese toy sailboats, ndbele bracelets from Zimbabwe and haida painted sticks from Alaska. The Arts Council of San Leandro will also show children how to make beautiful Lunar New Year kites.

For more information, call (510) 577-3971

Woven through actual letters, diary entries and haiku poetry, “From A Silk Cocoon” is an award winning documentary about the true story of a young couple whose shattered dreams and forsaken loyalties lead them to renounce their American citizenship while held in separate prison camps during World War 2. They struggle to prove their innocence and fight deportation during a time of wartime hysteria and racial profiling. Followed by Q&A with filmmaker and psychotherapist Satsuke Ina.

One of the four annual free concerts by the Oakland Civic Orchestra. The program:
Mozart, Symphony no. 31 (Paris)
Respighi, Gli uccelli (The birds)
Tchaikowsky, Concerto for Violin in D Major
Featuring Cory Lee, violin

Figaro: San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley interviews Theatre de la Jeune Lune company members Dominque Serrand and Steven Epp.

Every season, Berkeley Rep hosts Page to Stage, a series of free discussions with eminent theatre artists, designed to give audiences additional insight into the plays and playwrights produced at Berkeley Rep. Past programs have featured theatre luminaries such as David Edgar, Sarah Jones, Tony Kushner, Delroy Lindo, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, Charles Mee, Rita Moreno, Salman Rushdie and the Chicano performance trio Culture Clash. The discussion series is sponsored by Peet’s Coffee and Tea.

Each talk starts at 7PM; doors open at 6:45PM for general-admission seating. No tickets are necessary for these free events, but seating is limited. At every event Peet’s offers a free coffee tasting for the audience before and after each lecture. Donors who have given $250 or more to Berkeley Rep enjoy an exclusive post-talk reception with each guest. For more information, call 510.647.2949.

From 11am to 5pm, enjoy free admission to the UC Berkeley Art Museum galleries, public programs. Aftrwards you can attend a free 5:30p Pacific Film Archive screening, the first Thursday of the month. (more…)

Come to the California Genealogical Society Library for a free Genealogy for Beginners Class every first Saturday of every month at 11:00 a.m. Trace and compile your family history at Northern California’s premier genealogy society library. Volunteer members are available to help you use our extensive library and online databases. Bring information about an ancestor’s family and we will help you find them in the 1920 or 1930 census. (more…)

The free 5th annual Berkeley World Music Festival is a cultural program that offers over two dozen continuous musical performances throughout the Telegraph Avenue district, in cafes, street corners, and in People’s Park, plus a craft bazaar at People’s Park. Bands include Dengue Fever (Cambodian Pop/Psychedelic Rock), Sila and the AfroFunk Experience (Africa’s James Brown),  SambaDá (Brazilian Samba Afro Funk) plus Pakistani, Didjeridu Fusion,Cajun Dance Music, Ukrainian & Eastern European, Rebetika (Old Time Greek Blues) and more.

The Berkeley World Music Festival presents Cambodian-American psychedelic rock band Dengue Fever live at Amoeba Berkeley. Dengue Fever blends the rhythms of 60s Cambodian pop - heavily influenced by American surf, rock and early psychedelic garage bands - with their own eclectic mix of American and international styles.

Over the past year, the youth in the different programs here at the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC) have worked countless hours in various digital arts projects, centered around the theme of “Oakland: Visions of a Healthier Community”, and have produced amazing projects that explore the places they live, the struggles they go through, and the ways they strive to create a healthier, stronger community. Designed to allow for honest expression that is creative as well as critical, the projects range from video documentaries, digital storytelling, photography, graphic arts, installation art, and video game design.

Presenting over 60 minutes of original work by local youth, this is guaranteed to be a show you don’t want to miss. Streetside Productions is a Video Production and Job Training Program for high school age youth in Oakland and provides youth with hands-on training in digital video production and documentary storytelling, empowering them with the skills and resources to create their voice and tell their stories. All programs are based out of the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC). EBAYC is a non-profit community agency dedicated to serving multicultural, multiracial youth and their families of the East Bay since 1976.