Happy Veteran's Day!…read more It's no wonder Blue Star Moms did a Veteran's Day 5k after many successful years of the Stars and Stripes 5K on 4th of July in Concord (http://www.yelp.com/biz/stars-and-stripes-5k-concord?hrid=aVrY-VVM4k_l6DN8c-iQLA). 2014 was the first time my husband and I ran the Stars and Stripes, and we also volunteered to help with the Veteran's Day run a few months later. Linda Grahm coordinated our volunteer shift and made sure we knew where to go and what time to be where. We even received great long-sleeve shirts for volunteering. Casey and I were placed near each other on a 10k portion of the course. Everything was well-organized and the event seemed to go really smoothly, especially from a volunteer perspective. This was my first time volunteering with a 5k event - it was really nice to have snacks and drinks provided to the volunteers and participants. I'd love to run the race next year, but also really enjoyed helping out - it'll be hard to make that decision! Blue Star Moms: http://www.yelp.com/biz/contra-costa-blue-star-moms-concord?hrid=k9SzY8KRrfQrkRomTEhA5A

This 5k/10k started and ended at Hillcrest park. It was a fantastic day to run, the weather…read moreperfect and thankfully I was there to volunteer not run. We arrived at 7:30 in the morning to meet with the other volunteers to find out that where we were going to be stationed at and what we had to do. It was our first time as Volunteers at a 5k/10k and I really have to congratulate the Blue Star Moms who put on the event. Everything was well planned and organized and it made the race fun. We were given snacks before and after the race, and during the race we were informed of how many people were still running and how much longer they thought it was going to take.

This annual holiday celebration consists of three main parts -- a parade, festival, and fireworks…read more I attended the daytime event on July 4th and it was a laid back, family friendly affair, with everyone in good spirits. There were no massive crowds lining the streets for the parade, so it was easy to find a spot for viewing as well as parking nearby. Traffic was minimally disrupted, too. The parade was very casual and low key, no fancy floats or creative displays, mostly modestly decorated vehicles and members of local organizations walking the parade route holding signs and giving out free candy to kids. Groups included community emergency responders, Creative Play, Scouts, senior living homes, and pet adoption agencies like Contra Costa Animal Services (with a few dogs on leashes strolling the parade as well). The party in the park after the parade consisted of food vendors (including Back Forty Texas BBQ), kids activities like inflatable slides and jumphouses, and live music on stage. I enjoyed the sounds of the American Cheese band playing awesome songs for the crowd, the playlist including Santeria, Faith by George Michael, and Should I Stay or Should I Go. The watermelon eating contest was fun to see, both the kids competition (for contestants ages 12 and under) and the adults match. The festivities continued later in the evening with a fireworks show at College Park High School and of course more food vendors and live entertainment. A pretty well-organized community event, stress-free and admission free.

This was a wonderful venue to host our daughter's Sweet 16 Birthday Party! The indoor hall was nice…read moreand air conditioned on a hot August day, and the outdoor Gardens area was perfect for all of the games we set up for our guests to play. We also paid a small additional fee to have two museum tours added onto our party package. The museum tours were a hit with our guests of all ages and was so cool to get private tours of the Galindo house and upstairs museum in the hall. There are also elevators for our guests who struggled with stairs. Gerry Ellen was a wonderful coordinator and helped walk us through all of the details from beginning to end. I highly recommend this venue for your party rental location!

We had a wonderful afternoon visit. The docents shared so much information. It was interesting and…read morefun. I have driven by for years and finally went in. So glad I did. Parking lot behind the house was so convenient too.

Back here after august 2021 ..visited all the tourist spots luckily ..pay for Bart round trip and…read moreit's sunny ..2018 2021 2025 ..nice at lake Merritt sunny ..lake chalet museum and the historic house ..nice

I was invited to a celebration of the Soroptimists International 100th anniversary at CSH today…read more The event was outdoors on the grassy space behind the house. This was right by Lake Merritt's pathway. The food was catered box salads. In the shade as we were it was a pleasant time. What a cool, historic building, just a half a dozen blocks from Lake Merritt BART station. Nice weather out in Oakland. Round tables set up with table top decorations. CSH is a nice event space. Looking forward to visiting again!

Chahrshanbeh Souri @ The Persian Center in Berkeley…read more NARRATIVE A few years ago before sleepover with Houman, Michelle and I pestered him about No Rooz and all the festivities that went along with the celebration of the Persian New Year. As members of a multi-culti friendship tribe we begin the New Years season on December 31st and then continue on through March until New Years has exhausted itself into Springtime. Houman mentioned fire jumping. I was intrigued and since I hadn't been to Burning Man in a few years, I was called to the fires! CONTACT INFORMATION The Persian Center 2029 Durant Avenue Berkeley, CA 94704 http://www.persiancenter.org/ Phone: (510) 848-0264 HOURS Tuesday before Vernal Equinox, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. PRICE RANGE Inexpensive. Traditional Persian cuisine is sold to support the event and the center. SUMMARY This Zorastrian custom dates back to 1300 B.C. It celebrates one of the last evenings of the year and is symbolized by fire so that people can see their way into the new year. Bonfires are lit because they are purifying and can light our way into the new year. In Berkeley Durant is lined with people of all ages talking, laughing, dancing, wishing greetings upon each other, doing the traditional Persian double-cheeked kisses hello and good-bye. Downtown Berkeley is a great venue for the event. Behind Barnes and Noble what is normally a quiet side-street is blocked off and filled with Persian music and flooded with lights. Two sets of bonfires are lit to keep the celebration moving. The DJ and MC are pounding out Persian favourites and new remixes. Parents jump with their young ones who look wary of going near the flames. Sweethearts jump in tandem. Frat boys try to outleap one another in side-by-side races. As the spring crisp air fills your lungs, you look up past the buildings into the deep blue night sky. The moon is lit and the stars begin to speckle the sky. All the while you're bundled in your coat, talking with your friends, and rehearsing the Persian phrase while waiting your turn to jump the bonfires: (Sorkhi-e to az man) Give me your beautiful red colour (Zardi-e man az to) And take back my sickly pallor! Houman wrote it down for us the first year we went. Last year he sent us a reminder and the group of us split between pronouncing it in English and pronouncing it in Persian. Afterwards we all met up at a Chinese restaurant to finish out the evening's festivities. More laughter, more stories. More good times. Don't let the year slip without celebrating another new beginning. Jump the fires on Tuesday night to ring in No Rooz! SERVICE Volunteers are very helpful with guiding newbies to the fire-jumping lines. The atmosphere is FESTIVE! Party down, Persian-stylie! REST ROOMS Port-o-potties by the fire-jumping area or local eateries and bars if you plan ahead. SUGGESTION? Pronunciation guides for the Persian-challenged.

We finally got to check out Chahar Shanbeh Souri to celebrate Persian New Year. I found out about…read moreit on chowhound last year and made sure to put it on my calendar for this year. It was Tues. 3/18/08. We took Bart to Downtown Berkeley and walked down about 3-4 blocks to Durant Ave. The place was crazy busy with DJ Aykut & DJ Dr. T spinning very loud music. There was a flyer saying 4 Shanbeh Soori After Party 9:30p-Close the DJs were going to be at Pasand Lounge, 2280 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley a 5 min. walk from the Persian Center. People line up around the Persian Center to buy food. There were Kabob sandwiches: chicken or beef wrapped like a burrito w/ rice inside & a small half tomato & water or soda for $10. Chicken was dry and boring to eat. You could also get a noodle soup for $5-very minty w/ a sauce another table had & even some sumac you could add or some chopped onions. Soup was ok, hubby liked it more. For dessert Golnazar Persian ice cream sandwiches were $3. It's Saffron ice cream w/ pistachio. Just ok w/ thin crispy wafer like cookie to sandwich the ice cream. Pre-packaged. They also had a 1-pint tub of Faloudeh for $3. It was frozen solid when A. tried to eat it, he had to wait about 15 min to finally try it, he finished it so it must have been ok. The best part was the jumping over the small fires. The line was Crazy long, but it moved fast, near the fires the line finally breaks into 2 lines and you can jump over 3 small flames. Almost anyone can jump over the fire..we did and it was FUN. Then we left, still Recommended at least once.

Took my grandchildren (Boy, age 6, girl age 3) to The Bay Area International Children's Film…read moreFestival today in Alameda and it way surpassed my expectations. Starting at 10:30 were short films. The kids were captivated, as was I. There was nothing we didn't like. Even my 3 year old was on the edge of her seat saying, "Awww'. Beautiful Animations with a special treat at the end with the makers of "La Luna" a captivating animation by Pixar doing a Q & A. At noon there was a break so we went outside where there was more than ample space in the adjacent green for the kids to run off a lot of steam. Food was a little sparce except for, thank god, Boffo Cart. I got a "one-cow burger" cooked exactly as I wanted it, medium rare. I asked what the "one-cow burger" was. Apparently, Mr. Boffo butchers and grinds his own meat from 1 grass fed local steer. The buns are house made from scratch, baked early this morning. Organic lettuce and tomatoes. Downside, he was so popular that he ran out of fries but he's going to be there again tomorrow and said he just didn't expect he's be as busy as he was. Awesome food. 5 Star burgers, oh and organic lemonade from lemons he grows himself! Very reasonably priced for what you get. The feature films at 12:30 after the break were a little tuff for my kids who had probably sat long enough. Paddle to the Sea and Crin-Blank, both older films (Saw Crin-Blank in a film class I took) were really not engaging for the kids, so it was tantrum or split, we split. Hoping to go back tomorrow morning for more shorts. Some of the same animators will be shown. Not to be missed was Saari from Spain. Fun and exceptionally beautiful drawings. All day, Sunday, January 29. Great East Bay event for kids. Enjoy the drummers and dragons in Oakland Chinatown as you drive down Webster to the tunnel! Can't recommend this annual event highly enough. I think it's a school fundraiser from someone I talked to, but don't see that on the program. Short films from 10:30 til (about) noon. (Recommended for little kids. 12:30: Feature Film: Light of the River (Australian Animation, sounds a little like country mouse goes to the city). 2:30 Short Films and final event, Feature \film at 4:30, Circus Dreams. http:www.baicff.com film buffs, kids, go there Sunday, Jan 29!!

A super awesome band! Great group of guys! I'm honored to have them proform for us at our family…read morewinery ( Red Feather Winery)on a few occasions! One was our New Years Party in the Barrel Room! They were great and everyone enjoyed the music so much we all danced all night long! I'm lucky enough to encourage other establishments to hire these great musicians. And we're excited to rock to there music this Friday night ( nob. 1st) at The New Rock House and Pub in Livermore. Free event with great food, beers and local wines!

My father found this wonderful place doing an internet search. As a classic radio enthusiast, he…read morewas looking for a place and people that share his passion. Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by a knowledgeable volunteer named Kim Brickman, who gave us a 1:1 guided tour of the 2 story facility. We started in the late 1800's radios and ended up with 1950s TV. We met other volunteers along the way, and the society's senior dog mascot, Zoey (age 16). A lot of time and care has gone into not only restoring the original building, but preserving the classic technologies that inspired today's modern age of broadcast. This is a 501(c)3 non profit organization, so be sure and leave a tip for the knowledge you take home. If you are are on the island, be sure and swing by and tale a step back in time at the California Historical Radio Society.

My family hosted my dad's retirement party at the museum, and it was one of the best events I've…read moreever helped organize. The staff was incredibly flexible especially when my fiancé and I needed early access for setup and they were truly easy to work with throughout the process. The experience was so positive that our family is already planning to host another event there in the coming months. Highly recommend!