Lake Merritt-Uptown Oakland

Get ready for the return of Oakland Restaurant Week, January 20-30, 2022! It’s 10 days to showcase your restaurant and welcome back thousands of diners hungry for the diversity, culture and cuisine as only Oakland can do. Visit: oaklandrestaurantweek.org now to participate. Restaurant registration ends Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

Happy FriYeah! Looking for something to do this weekend? Look no further and head over to @E14 Gallery in Old Oakland with other vendors in the area who are hosting the final Holiday Market of the year. Shop, mingle, enjoy good food, and music! @thecookandthefarmer, @OaklandStyleLab, @UnderStoryOakland, @deptofmakebelievestore, @chapter501.

It's Autumn Lights 10th anniversary! For information and tickets visit: www.gardensatlakemerritt.org.

Happening tomorrow come and enjoy the festivities.

Residents, friends, and family of the Oakland community there's a Block Party hosted by Rush Bowls happening this weekend in downtown Oakland on 17th Street between Webster and Franklin from 2pm - 5pm. Safely come out and enjoy the afternoon. Fitness classes, live music, wellness vendors, food, kids zone, giveaways, cash raffle, and more.

Here is a throwback group for Throwback Thursday!! Oaktown's 3.5.7. https://bit.ly/3f2DnZk.

We would like to introduce you to Ashara Ekundayo, the curator for the Black Joy Parade StoryWindows project. She is the founder of @Artist As First Responder which excavates, documents, and archives the stories of present-day and next-generation cultural workers whose art practices heal communities and save lives. In addition, Ashara has created a project called BLATANT a multi-disciplinary, monthly forum presented in collaboration with the Museum of the African Diaspora as well as a published maga(zine).

StoryWindows is a must-see in downtown Oakland between 14th and 17th on Broadway.

Have you experienced SPACES by @Kamiera Productions at Oakland's City Hall? Check out this write-up by KQED who gives a good recap of the project. The show ends with @Bandaloop performing on the walls of City Hall. https://www.kqed.org//whose-stories-at-city-hall-spaces-oa

The 5th Story NFT Mural Experience is happening now until July 15 at the Tribune Tower. The experience features some of the Bay Areas' top street artists. The piece has a cool cutting-edge digital combing images, 3-D scans, video, and more. Vogue TDK, Joshua Mays, Jet Martinez, Wolfe Pack, Bud Snow, and Ruff Draft. Produced by @Endeavors and @Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith. For more information click here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/endeavorsoakland/547321

Are you wondering about the artists who are showcasing their work on the @Black Joy Parade StoryWindows? Over the next few weeks through the end of July, we will feature an artist or two every other day. Today, we are starting with @Patanisha Williams the founder of @Pata Ali Love Club. Patanisha's mission is to provide access to professional art and production services for individuals and small businesses while building a strong workforce. She worked with Tamerin Busia o...f Compose Fashion to created Alice in Oakland. Art piece credits: Alice in Oakland is a production of Compose Fashion, Tamerin Busia. Creative Director, Sir Michael Wayne. Videography, Sal Fullmore. Photography, Patanisha Williams. Sponsored by Pata Ali Love Club. Also, check out her new series Urban Fairies where she shares her magical world of Creative Beings and the synchronicity that ties them all together. https://bit.ly/3vzBEzS. Featured in the video are @Piwai Official, @Fantastic Negrito, and @Marisha Ashanti.

Dropping in to The Town from Outer Space. Hey Lake Merritt, what’s happening? #oakland

Save the Date! On June 19, 2021, we will unveil Black Joy StoryWindows, a curated, multimedia art walk in downtown Oakland, in partnership with Black Joy Parade, Artists As First Responders, curator, Ashara Ekundayo, and numerous supporters, venue partners, and businesses. We haven't been able to keep things entirely under wraps, so you may have already seen a few familiar faces illuminating the windows of our ground-floor businesses, but be sure to join us for the official l...aunch! The excitement around this initiative is contagious and we are so honored to have worked on this project that celebrates the passion and craft of many of the incredible artists, photographers, and videographers in our community. See you there!

Let's give a GREAT BIG Happy Birthday to Oakland!! Comment below with your favorite thing you love about Oakland - The Town? #oaklandcentral, #downoakland, #happybirthdayoakland, #oakland.

This is exciting news! WiFi in downtown Oakland and West Oakland in the very near future!!!

Happening Live right Now!!!

Tune this 6pm evening for AMP Oakland x Oakland Cocktail Week Livestream benefit concert series featuring Lady Biana with Host DJ Champagne Hughes. We're fundraising for the Keep It Spirited COVID Relief fund in partnership with Oakland Cocktail Week and the Oakland Indie Alliance. This fund supports bars that have not been able to reopen safely during COVID. Help us keep these bars in Oakland. Keep it Spirited, Keep it Oakland! DONATE TO THE KEEP IT SPIRITED COVID RELIEF FUND: https://www.oaklandcocktailweek.com/donate

Tune in this morning around 11:45am on ABC to find out about a plan in place help to increase vibrancy in downtown Oakland with 'Flex Streets' initiative. The initiative is a way to better utilize the streets and sidewalks while continuing to maintain social distancing and safe space for people to gather in downtown Oakland. https://abc7news.com/watch/?ex_cid=vuemix_HP_live

Guess who has a new look and feel? The www.oaklandcentral.com website, that’s who! Stop by to check out the fresh vibe and content and, while you’re there, take a look at the revamped business directory and events page. Show your OAKLAND LOVE and shop local! Our passion at Oakland Central is to promote and support our independent businesses, especially during these difficult times, but we know they will need even more Town love as we emerge from the disruption created by the ...pandemic. OC will continue to evolve its approach to meet the needs of our beloved businesses, so keep coming back to see the latest news and happenings in downtown Oakland by signing up on the email list! Be sure to follow Oakland Central at @oakcental both on Facebook and Instagram. #oakcental, #oaklandcentral, #downtownoakland, #oakland, #oaklandsmallbusiness, #supportoaklandlocal

Day 2 of the Oakland Small Business Week, #SBWOak, is happening right now. Register and join LIVE now! https://oaklandfwd.splashthat.com/

myCovidMD is providing FREE COVID-19 Testing in Oakland TODAY in downtown Oakland on 13th Street at 1300 Broadway from 1pm-5pm. There will be a DJ on-site and other community-centered surprises! For more information about COVIDmd visit: https://covidmd.org/

It was incredible to see the hundreds of volunteers who came out today to help clean-up #Oakland look good. Thank you Charles Taylor and Charlese Banksnks of The Town Experience!!!

Elisse Douglass, one of our board members, organized a GoFundMe to help support the Black-owned businesses affected during the demonstrations and what an incredible response that was received in raising over $45K! Due to the amount of support that was received, businesses will be able to start applying for funds this evening!!! The funds will start with up to $500 grants per business and will allocate more funds as more money is raised. See link in the comments to apply. . The GoFundMe project is still accepting donations: click here for more information: https://www.gofundme.com/f/oakland-black-business-damage-fu

We want to thank all of the volunteers who have come out to help clean our downtown Oakland! Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you Jana Pastena for keeping the volunteers hydrated and a great big thank you to Charlese Banks of @The Town Experience and Charles Taylor for keeping everything going smoothly. If you are interested in signing up to volunteer please visit https://downtownoakland.org/ and complete the form for further detailed information.

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation has partnered with the City of Oakland to launch a relief fund with $625,000 for artists and culture workers living in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Approximately $300,000 of the funds will be made available for Oakland residents. https://krfoundation.org/east-bay-oakland-relief-fund-for-/.

Be sure to enter win a $50 gift card to Bar Shiru. They are offering cocktail kits, a Whiskey of the Week special, Japanese whiskeys, spirits, beer, wine, and sake available for Saturday delivery. Orders must be received by Friday at 2pm with deliveries happening on Saturday between 2pm-6pm, Delivery service limited to Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and San Francisco. Must 21 or over to purchase alcohol. #supportsmallbusiness, #supportoaklandlocal, #oaklandbars, #oakland, #downtownoakland.

These times are causing everyone to rethink marketing and messaging for business. Start Small Think Big is offering FREE webinars to help small businesses with tips in navigating the waters at this time. Click the link for more information. https://www.startsmallthinkbig.org/workshops-classes

Have you been tested? Alameda is offering FREE COVID-19 testing for anyone who lives or works in Alameda County

We would like to share a success story of a small business in downtown was approved for their small business loan m- congrats Lilly Renee Ayers of Queen HippieGypsy!! Also, thank you Rani of Uptima Business Bootcamp for being a support and providing guidance. If anyone else has a success story, please share it to encourage others!

Join CBRE Restaurant practice leaders and leading restaurant operators for a discussion about the opportunities and challenges facing restaurateurs as they prepare to reopen and rethink operations to accommodate COVID-19 considerations. DISCUSSION TOPICS: Restaurant Economics: Applying PPP Funds to Rent and More Reopening Hurdles: Supply Chain, Sanitation, Labor, New Expenses ... The New Normal: Reconfiguration and Shifts in Service Models Learning from Experience: What We Are Seeing in China and Europe Register here: https://cbre.zoom.us/web/register/WN_O5BbSodBTomxW9M_tzkCxQ