What To Do In Oakland On Saturday Night

My besties will be beasties Saturday night when we hit up Oakland’s Beast Crawl, a free literary festival in it’s 5th year. 150 writers will take over 40 bars, restaurants, cafes galleries and store fronts starting at 5 pm. There are 4 legs of the crawl including the afterparties from 9 pm-2am at Telegraph (all ages) and Legionnaire Saloon (drinks and dancing).

The Beast Crawl website says, “To curate these literary events for Beast Crawl, we invite a diverse collection of local reading series producers and literary rock stars including the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Awards, Tourettes Without Regrets, Nomadic Press, Kundiman West, Quiet Lightning,  Small Press Distribution, Lip Service West and many more.” I’ve always wanted to check out Tourettes Without Regrets but haven’t made it to Oakland Metro on a first Thursday yet.

If I make it to all 4 legs…

Plan 1 (literary stuff I’m interested in checking out):

Leg 1 (5-6 PM) Red Light Lit at The Venue
Leg 2 (6:30-7:30 PM) Liminal at Darling’s Elixirs
Leg 3 (8-9 PM) Tourettes Without Regrets at Starline Social Club
Leg 4 (9 PM-2AM) Afterparty at Legionnaire

Plan 2 (new places I’m interested in checking out):

Leg 1 (5-6 PM) Kundiman at Taiwan Bento
Leg 2 (6:30-7:30 PM)  BustingOut at The Golden Bull
Leg 3 (8-9 PM) Brown People Don’t Read? at AU Club
Leg 4 (9 PM-2AM) Afterparty at Legionnaire

See you there! Somewhere.

What To Do In Albany On A Saturday Night

Ivy Room’s grand reopening is tonight starting at 9. Ivy Room is one of the many wonders of San Pablo Avenue and the oldest Albany neighborhood bars. It’s been a dive bar, a lounge, upscale cocktail bar and now in its latest incarnation a locals bar/club/music venue. San Francisco’s Face the Giant us headlining.

I’ve always loved Ivy Room’s neon sign. It’s beckoned to me since I first moved to the Bay Area and yet I’ve never been inside. I hear there will be cozy booths, a good stage and sound system, and prohibition era fixtures. It’s less than a 10 minute walk away from Plan B-ing it at Albany Bowl with its new and improved glow in the dark light show.

See you there.

What To Do In Oakland On Saturday Night

You’re aware of my love affair with Woods Bar and Brewery. What could possibly make that place more fun? Enter the East Bay Brass Band (EB3). EB3 is special. They are New Orleans-style brass rock mashup band. According to their website their flagship song, “Blister Saints is a mashup of When the Saints Go Marching In; Blister in the Sun and Add it Up (by the Violent Femmes), I Want You Back (by the Jackson 5) and Manamana (by the Muppet Show).” Hella.

You can catch EB3 on third Saturdays including March 19^th. It’s only $5 for all that funkiness. The band’s full trombone and sax sections will be there. Featured artists will include Bruno Mars, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fun., Michael Jackson, Guys & Dolls, 5th Harmony, 007, and more. Show starts at 9 but go early to grab a seat by the fire pit and a pint of caffeinated beer.

What To Do In Oakland On Saturday Night

Andria’s runner’s butt will be there, so should you!

On March 20th, My friend Andria is going to run a half marathon at the Oakland Running Festival with kids from Oakland ranging in age from 6-18. Every Saturday rain or shine, she joins other Running for a Better Oakland (RBO) volunteers to run her butt off and encourage kids to develop a more healthy lifestyle. It’s a cause she can get behind (butt joke, haha).

We can all get behind a wine and beer party to benefit Oakland kids! According to their website, “By building confidence, setting goals, providing training and encouragement, RBO will give students the values for achievement and hard work that they can draw on for all areas of their lives.” All you have to do to support the mission is to come to Bay Grape on Saturday, March 12th and sample four different wines and two different beers spanning six different continents.

Join Andria and I on Saturday from 5 -9 pm at 376 Grand Ave near Lake Merritt in Oakland. A modest donation of $20 gets you in on all the Bay Grape and RBO fun. NO running required.

Event Deetz

Running for a Better Oakland

What happens when you drink and run