Around the bay in June 2011

Head to the Beach
Published: June, 2011 

In its 57th year, the North Beach Festival is considered one of the area’s original outdoor Festivals. The event is situated in the historic North Beach District, known to locals and visitors alike as San Francisco’s Little Italy and the home of the famed beat generation. The Festival site includes numerous quaint streets and the beautiful Washington Square Park in the heart of the district. The 2011 event will feature over 125 arts and crafts booths, 20 gourmet food booths, three stages of live entertainment, Italian street painting, beverage gardens, children’s activities and the blessing of the animals. The free event takes place June 18-19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at North Beach, Columbus Ave, Grant Ave, Washington Square Park and nearby streets. Validated Parking is available for $3.00 from 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. at Golden Gateway Garage, 250 Clay, between Battery & Drumm. A Park & Ride Shuttle bus departs every few minutes. The only validation stamp is located at Calzone’s Restaurant, 430 Columbus. No purchase necessary.

Art and Music in the Gardens brings together Oakland’s vibrant art and gardening communities in a signature free event hosted in the multi-acre Gardens at Lake Merritt and  Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Avenue, June 4-5, 10 a.m. -6 p.m. More than 50 artists will be featured, showing and selling their art in the Garden Center and the Gardens. Event Honorary Chair and noted muralist Dan Fontes will lead a giant butterfly painting event in the Gardens.  Musical ensembles, playing acoustically under the redwood trees, will delight families with classical, jazz, folk, blues, and ancient Japanese flute. A Poetry Festival will include an afternoon series of Oakland poets reading under the old oak tree; an all day Zine exchange booth (bring one—take one home) and a morning ekphrasia (writing about the art) open to all wishing to participate. Also taking place throughout the weekend in the Gardens’ 11 horticultural collections will be gardening talks, exhibits and demonstrations: Alameda County Master Gardener’s in the Edible Garden, pruning demonstrations in the Japanese Gardens, along with Bonsai trimming and landscape design tips for the East Bay. Delicious picnic fare will be available from Chef Robert Dorsey III of Blue Oak at the Oakland Museum of California. 

For 10 years running, the all-volunteer, not-for-profit group Point Richmond Music (PRM) has produced free concerts as a way of building community through the unifying language of music. This year’s concerts will feature foot-stomping music from blues to bluegrass and rock to rockabilly. Concerts are held on the second Friday of each month, June through September, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. In addition to the second Friday format, the 2011 season will include a fifth concert on Friday, September 23rd. Concerts take place at the corner of Park Place and Washington Avenue in historic downtown Point Richmond. Every concert features a no-host bar (proceeds benefit the Malvern Wilson Alumni Association), raffle, face-painting for children and art exhibitions by the Arts of Point Richmond and the Point Richmond Art Collective. Visit www.pointrichmondmusic.com for more information and a complete artist line-up.

Participate in City of Hope’s San Francisco Walk for Hope and help discover new treatments and ultimately a cure for women suffering from breast and gynecological cancers. Walk for Hope, to be held June 4 at Justin Herman Plaza, supports City of Hope’s multidisciplinary Women’s Cancers Program and is part of the nation’s only series of walks that benefit research, treatment and education programs for cancers unique to women. Walk for Hope easily enables participants to register, form a team and raise funds online with fundraising tools and ideas. Virtual walkers and volunteers also are encouraged to join the fight against women’s cancers. The San Francisco Walk for Hope will feature activities for survivors, friends and families, including sponsor giveaways, a survivors’ pavilion, live music and entertainment, team photos and more. Event day registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and the Walk begins at 9 a.m. The 5k Walk/Fun Run will travel along the Embarcadero and around AT&T Park. To register for the Walk or donate, visit www.walk4hope.org.

Summer Sailstice is a global celebration of sailing held annually on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice. This year the event takes place on June 18 and the official site moves from Treasure Island to Alameda’s Encinal Yacht Club (EYC), one of the Bay’s most active sailing clubs and a favorite destination of cruising sailors.  Located on Alameda Island along the Oakland Estuary it is an ideal host for a celebration of sailing. Sailors should plan to sail the Bay, participate in the photo treasure hunt or enjoy a Bay tour before ending your cruise at EYC. Visit www.summersailstice.com for more information and how to participate in the many events offered.

Get ready for plenty of beatin’ and bangin’ when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series comes to the Sonoma Valley for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on its new date, June 24-26. If you thought short-track racing was exciting, then be sure to secure your spot to experience 43 stock cars as they take to Infineon Raceway! Anything can happen, just ask Jimmie Johnson, who posted his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road-course win in Sonoma in 2010. There’s also the Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 NASCAR K & N Pro Series West event on Saturday, June 25. It’s the perfect tune-up for the dropping of the green flag on the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at noon on Sunday, June 26. We’ll also honor NASCAR Hall of Famer, Bobby Allison, as part of our season-long Legends in Sonoma program. Don’t forget the driver Q&A sessions, Infineon Raceway girls, bustling vendor midway and more! For more information, visit www.infineonraceway.com.