Nothing wrong with a little exercise and a little support to a great organization. Looking forward…read moreto the next few Relay For Life events happening in the area. Thank you for all the people and companies who supported this event!

Okay, so I was having one of those weeks where it couldn't have been worse. By the time Saturday…read morerolled around, I admit, going to this event was the LAST thing I wanted to do. But with a 'loving' push out of bed by my hubby, I was out the door, backpack and sunscreen in hand ready to go. :) Met up with my team, and during the opening ceremonies, and cried through the whole thing. The stories and opening speeches were so moving, inspiring, and touching you couldn't help but be moved. To see the survivors proudly wearing their purple survivor shirts, walking their opening survivor lap, you couldn't help but clap, cheer, and be so proud and honored to be in their presence. I walked/ran several laps with my other team members and walking around and looking around everybody's tents, banners, etc, I couldn't help but genuinely feel like I was a part of something so much bigger. It is a 24 hour, overnite event (to represent that cancer never sleeps) but I could not do the overnite, due to prior plans. I will for sure, with my team be doing the whole event next year. I am so beyond glad that I did this event, I loved being a part of something so moving and it's such a humbling, inspiring event!

It was very fun to get out and see people no masks required…read more They get five stars because of Covid they didn't have a lot of planning time and they did it. There were lots of vendors food music and even a puppet show for the kids. Not quite as big as the normal art and wine festival but nonetheless it was great!

This is my first year of adding the Novato, Art, Wine and Music Festival in my summer festival…read morerotation. Usually I'm a fan of the San Anselmo Art Festival, which was cancelled for 2017. Overall, this isn't a bad little festival. It's free and there is street parking nearby (2 hour limit) that is also free. You could do worse on a nice sunny, not too hot/not too cold Marin County Saturday. The booths were of similar style and quality as many other festivals in the Bay Area during the summer months. There were a few unique vendors and I ended up purchasing a tank top with a manta ray design (I mean EVERYONE needs one of those) and a small giclee print on canvas of a vintage Yosemite travel poster. I didn't partake in the food or wine, but it seemed like the usual street fare. The crowd was having fun and overall it was a nice little community event. I can't say I'd travel too far to attend but if you're in the area, it could be fun to stop by for a little while and see the sites.

This is a new (hopefully) annual 7K race. Proceeds go towards saving & protecting the endangered…read moremountain gorillas of Central Africa, & preserving the depleted rainforests where they live. But here's the catch: You run it in a gorilla suit that THEY provide you. And you get to keep it. Name me one way in which this is NOT brilliant. I'm already talking with a few friends about who else will be on our team. We'll be signed up by week's end. June 10th can't come soon enough!

This run was loads of gorilla fun! All the donations go straight to the charity because the…read moreparticipants and a few grants paid for all the racing costs. I will also have to mention and thank all memebers of Team SoCAL for kicking butt and raising over $4K with only seven members.

Copy and pasted from their website: "Caltopia 2025 is…read morescheduled for August 24 & 25, 2025. Celebrating its 22nd anniversary, this two-day interactive festival will introduce Cal students to brands of all sizes aligned with the Cal lifestyle." Quality/Quantity - My wife "forced" me to come to this event. She and my daughter love these types of events. My favorite booth was the Safeway (5% off loyalty card) and Frito Lays. Overall I still had a good time. Well I made my own fun, lol. My wife and daughter will probably come next year without me, I/we will plan better. Atmosphere - Decent size location. My daughter said in previous years there has been low attendance. But it was crazy busy today. If you do not like crowds, come later in the day. The event is held at the Recreational Sports Facility (RSF), UC Berkeley. 2301 Bancroft Way; Berkeley, CA 94720. Service - Self service. Overall good. Some vendors take their job way too seriously. ONLY one per person, yelling at the poor freshmens... Someone needs to tell those few serious vendors their objective is to get these freshmen "hooked" on your product for future sales!! So it's okay if they take two. You will NOT run out. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Happy 22nd Anniversary. Thanks for having this annual great event (for my daughter).

Caltopia 2013! Here is the definition and details as what Caltopia is:…read more http://caltopia.berkeley.edu/details.php It is UC Berkeley's method of celebrating the start of Fall 2013 by throwing the Recreational Sports Facility's ("RSF's") doors open to the Cal community and the general public. Fun, food, and lots of free stuff! Free stuff?! Did somebody say, "Free Stuff?!" Whoa--I am so there! I checked out the website as to who would be participating at Caltopia XI. I read there were going to be free haircuts and mini manis from Paris Beauty School. Oh, I will definitely get in on a free haircut! My hair needs it! And it is free! And Yelp! is going to be there?! Oh, I will definitely go to Caltopia to see Yelp! Because of my studies, I have not been able to attend any Yelp!-related events. Other participants were The Melt, IKEA, Extreme Pizza, Bank of America, Ben and Jerry's, Paris Beauty School, Benefit Cosmetics, Aveda, Pentel, and many of Cal's student services and organizations on campus. I was amongst the early birds who got there early and was amongst those waiting in line for Caltopia to begin. I took part at Cal Student Store's plinko game. Scored a gold pen and Cal scarf! I made a new Yelp! friend (Hey Maggie W!) while we were waiting to be let in! Scored a campus police tote and a car air freshner right before the moment we were allowed to go into the RSF. All righty then, let's roll. Played a few games, won some prizes. Signed up for some of the campus services, especially Cal's Office of Emergency Services. Signed the pledge to honor Cal being a a smoke-free campus in 2014. I found Paris Beauty School's room at RSF. Had to wait about 20 minutes and was ushered into Maggie's chair for my haircut. Got four inches cut into layers, got fringy, whispy bangs, got a blue hair extension, and a sample of hair conditioner. Love my new haircut! I hope Maggie has a bright future as a hairstylist! Any salon would be quite fortunate to have her! And I found the Yelp! photo booth! And Ben T. was running the show! It was great to meet Ben T., Yelp's East Bay Intern and my Yelp! friend. Ben told me Shirene, another Yelp! crew member would be joining him later. And Nique would be in on Monday. I will be back on Monday afternoon. When it was my turn for my photo, I got and donned on the Yelp! Red gear for my picture and my degree of YELPY CUM LAUDE. Also scored my Yelp swag of Chapstick, mint, and gloves! Thank you Ben! I got lots of free bags, and as Maggie W. said in her review, they will come in handy as many of the stores are charging for bags now. I got a nice cold bag from Bank of America which will come in handy for refrigerated goods from the store to home. Got a free T-shirt promoting community service after my promising to contribute to the community. Got some pix taken as well. Got my Yelp! ones. Still waiting for Cal Student Store to post mine with Oski and the sweet Aussie bloke on their Facebook page. Will be back for a quick Monday in and out just to see Yelp! A quick update--we shall see! Go Yelp! And Go Bears! Caltopia XI 2013 Review #3 Fresh Yelp! Review #59 for 2013

The 55th Annual Easter Pancake Breakfast was held at Lincoln Square Playground on april 24, 2011,…read more8:30-11:30. the menu consisted of pancakes, sausage, and a drink. cost: $4. raffle ticket and a chance to win the grand prize of $500 savings bond. this annual event is a fundraiser for the wa sung service club. the obligatory speeches, lion dancing, easter egg hunt, pancake eating contest, and hourly rafflle for prizes occurred. community booths were present dispensing info. i remember attending when it was $1 or a little more. of course, long lines every time. kids got refills (if there were leftovers) kudos to donors to the event, volunteers, and to the people who bought the raffle tickets.

Hiked starting at new parking lot 210 Burma Rd, Oakland did the new Judge John Sutter Regional…read moreShoreline then continued into the Bay Bridge Trail. Trail is 2.25 miles one way. Good for Pedestrians & bikes only. We walked to the end which is the Yerba Buena Island Vista Point. They have bathrooms there. One day when construction is over we can hike into Treasure a island, bikes can go to Treasure Island Weekends & Holidays only due to construction. Then we returned the same way back.

Since this bridge opened in 2013, I was eyeing the pedestrian pathway that was located right in…read moreplain view from the car to run it one day! Fast forward 5 years and having had moved to the bay area a year ago, I finally ran this with my sister a couple months ago! Since my sister lives nearby in Oakland, we ran from her place to the bridge trail head. We got confused and ran to the shipyard on Burma Road towards the ocean when we realized we had run back to find the trail head. We finally made our way to the bay bridge trail where there were clear signs and many bicyclists and runners on the path. From the beginning of the trail head to the end of the bridge, it was about 2.5 miles with minimal incline. The views were amazing and it wasn't too windy surprisingly. There were clear marks for which side to stay on for runners and bicyclists and the view from Yerba was amazing! A great surprise at the end of the bridge were these clean bathrooms and a water fountain, so if you don't need to drink too much water or you don't like carrying water, there is a water fountain at the end. Like many have mentioned, you can take a free shuttle from the end of the bridge to a view point in Yerba Island. No it won't take you to the city but it's a cool thing to do if you have time. I didn't go since my sister and I had to run back, but definitely would try it one of these days!

Some kids want to grow up and be a firefighter, an astronaut, a hockey player…read more But who wouldn't want to grow up and be Santa, at least for a day? And because it's San Francisco, we make room for that. Santacon was in full swing when we passed through the Marina & Cow Hollow this afternoon. PS If you have small kids, tune into the NORAD Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve!

This was my very 1st time ever going to this event!!! And I wanna go next time because it was so…read moremuch fun seeing a lot of people dressed up as Santa's!!!

We checked out this annual event over the weekend, happening during Jack London Square's holiday…read moretree lighting celebration, and we had a wonderful time. Viewing is also possible from the Alameda side, as the boats go in a circle, showing off their awesome decorations and lighting to spectators all around, even those on the water riding the ferry. Despite the name, it doesn't consist of only yachts, at least for the 2024 event, there were a variety of vessels, including plenty of sailboats, and at least one rowing team. A carefree family-friendly show that can get crowded at JLS, but we had a good view near Scott's Seafood restaurant, as we came early enough. There was bit of a wait, since the boats started on the Alameda side (around 5:30pm), then slowly made their way toward our location (closer to 6:30pm). It didn't get crowded where we were situated till after 6:30pm, then the crowd thinned out by 7:30pm. It wasn't as lively as some other boat parades I've experienced, but we enjoyed the variety of beautiful light displays regardless, plus it was free to attend, so I think it's deserving of 5 stars.

We went to to see the Lighted Yacht Parade in Oakland's Jack London Square on Saturday, 12/5/09…read more We were going to go to Jack London Square to see it, but before the day came I found out that the Alameda/Oakland Ferry was a way to see it. The Alameda/Oakland Ferry was giving a FREE ride with a toy to be given to the Toy for Tots program. If you didn't have a toy, then adult ticket was $6.25. The boat was leaving at 5:15pm and to be back at 6:45pm. The other highlight was the boat was going to be IN the Parade! Alright! Tons of people were there even though not advertised at all. I guess since it's was their 33rd yr of having it, others must have been doing this for yrs. We got there really late like 4:50pm and we were worried that we couldn't get on, but I think they let everyone in the line go. That was nice. We brought our own sandwiches to eat on the boat. Dress warmly since can be Cold outside. There were many boats decorated w/ lights. Snowman, Santas, stars, snowflakes. It was nice. I recommend the boat ride on the Alameda/Oakland Ferry or standing by the water at Jack London Square for next yr. Website: http://www.lightedyachtparade.com/ http://www.eastbayferry.com/news/yachtparade.php