Came here over the weekend on what turned out to be a beautiful day with perfect weather and no…read morewind. I had never attended a dragon boat race before, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. What I was envisioning originally was several teams lined up together at a start line, and competing for a good length of the entire lake. What we got instead was about 6 teams lined up at a time, who would race down a very short stretch of the lake and finish in about a min, before they turned around and docked to make room for the next group of 6. While the minute of racing was pretty exciting, it was too short lived for the 10mins of prep time it takes for the next team to get into place. In addition to the race itself, there are live performances here from a variety of local talent, as well as a small handful of vendors. While it is always fun to browse the vendors, there weren't very many in attendance so the selection was easily browsed through from 5mins of walking. The lake itself is beautiful and worth walking around after checking out the festivities. Porta-potties are also available aplenty and school buses are available every 5mins to shuttle people from the corner of Webster and 21st to the festival grounds and back, which makes commuting from BART a breeze. Not a bad way to spend an hr of your day, but I wouldn't recommend commuting from far away to attend otherwise.

i've haven't attended a dragon boat festival @lake merritt yet. i did attend one in Foster City a…read moredecade or so ago. it wasn't that crowded. the large size of viewing area may have altered my view of the actual crowd size. i discovered a long time friend who was on one of the dragon crews. he was amongst a few who were "hired" to be a roller. he's also involved in hoisting the golden dragon during the Chinese New Years Parade. he said both are fun, provides a good workout. the $ was good too. my family loved watching the dragon boat races though they never asked to go again.

So this really isn't a dance club but can be considered an alternative to one. Its a night of old…read moreschool games, DJs and adult beverages. Monopoly, UNO, Spades, Scrabble, Jenga, Connect Four etc. Whats really cool is that they had a monster sized Jenga, which becomes very entertaining when people have imbibed a bit too much. There were about 300-400 there and the entry fee is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Sometimes they throw them in Oakland and sometimes in San Francisco. The concept is brilliant. I think the execution can be improved, however. One holding it in the Oakland Marriott was a downside. The event was in a huge well lit, ballroom and the open space took away from the nightclub feel. In the beginning, when people were dancing and playing games it seemed like a very nice event. Then the board games stopped and the group games, like Twister, Musical Chairs and Simon Says began. Here is where the evening took a turn for the worst IMO. First it was impossible for the group to participate in these activities. Therefore, they shouldn't have stopped the music and the boardgames. Then, some of the games became R rated....so much so that some people just didnt' want to put themselves out there like that. It eventually became evident that this wasn't the best place for a more mature crowd to spend an entire evening. The skinny? Great concept but depends on execution. My recommendation is to try it out do determine if it is your scene. If it is you will have a fantastic time.

I absolutely love playdate! I am not much of a club person. I usually only go out when I am out of…read moretown. Playdate is not an average club, in fact it's much better. The crowd is morenupscale thanthe average club especially considering the concept is playing games in a club atmosphere. I love the idea of reliving my childhood with alcohol!

Mis-categorized as an event hall, the Castro Valley Women's Club is actually a quieter social group…read morefor grown women to gather and give back to the community. No wild parties here. It's physical location is a gorgeous old building along Redwood Rd, and the members have weekly game nights and trips to places around the Bay Area. They also raise money for various causes, and they are looking for newer (younger) members to keep the club going. If you're in the immediately surrounding areas and looking to become involved with a low-pressure social organization, this might be for you.

Took grandsons to first rodeo - what an amazing experience and memory. I'm sure we'll be taking…read morethem back in the future.

This is the third rodeo I've attended. I still think the Livermore Rodeo's the best (of those that…read moretake place in the bay area), but we enjoyed our time at Rowell Ranch this past weekend, watching and cheering on the competitors (both humans and animals) as they engaged in team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf tie-down roping, cowgirl barrel racing, and of course, the bull riding (which happens during the final half hour). There was also a bit of entertainment in between events, like a lip sync contest and a pee wee stampede for the kids. The sound system wasn't the greatest, it cut out a couple times, but it wasn't terrible. And views were great from anywhere in the arena. The bleacher seats were nasty though, dirtiest on the shady side, not just dusty, but sticky and slimy, dead insects, just ewww. Concessions, mainly offered by Hayward Rotary, were limited compared to similar events elsewhere. They sold the typical hot dogs, nachos, kettle corn, and cotton candy, along with snow cones and ice cream. Besides soda, few beverage options were available, just one kind of beer, red/white wine, and whiskey lemonade which came in two choices of flavors. We chose peach over apple, and it was tasty and refreshing with very little alcohol content. There were also several merchandise vendors, including plenty of hat tents, though I didn't find a cowgirl hat I liked. We enjoyed our time at this multiday event, and though we just came for the pro rodeo main show, they also offered a cowboy style tri tip dinner & live music for guests on Saturday evening. But that cost extra, almost twice as much as the rodeo admission price. Also the parking lot was full/closed early, and people just parked anywhere they could fit their cars, along the road, on the curbs, in the dirt, etc.

Bad ass event...ran into it while venturing through haywards farmers market. There is a car show…read morewith plenty of arts and crafts for everyone. The food is great and there is plenty of good shopping. I picked up a few pieces of skeleton art including an infinity scarf, and a skeleton wrist cuff. All the vendors are really cool and have really cool stuff I don't see at the malls or shops around here. I could have spent alot more money out here if I allowed the excitement of the great finds and very cool items to overwhelm me here :) a little at a time. Cheers to the weekend in Hayward!!!!

This was the 2nd Annual Vintage Car Show along the whole street B Street! This event was a one day…read moreevent on September 12th 2015 from 10AM-5PM! How amazing is that? Tons of food and many different cars! I was able to see old school Chevys and Buicks (which are my FAV!) All the cars going down the row were SEXYY!! OMG! The pictures speak a 1000 words! This event was definitely worth the one day! There was a live band: Prieto and Jink Jones. Although I wasn't there to experience the whole band they definitely did a good job while I was listening! I enjoyed seeing the beautiful Pin up Models in there outfits! OMG! There was a live DJ! Whoot whoot and raffles games that you could play and win amazing prizes! Now moving on to the food vendors! I was happy to see many of the companies that I see because I had never tried the food before so it was nice to be able to experience at the car show. They had beautiful art vendors! Oh how I wish I could have brough money on me! I wanted to buy a lot of the art that I had seen! It was THAT beautiful! I was able to try: Cupcake Shoppe- The love of cupcakes can never be that real! Just looking at the cupcakes had me excited. They decorations on the cupcakes is just plain ol' SEXY!! ~Puerto Rican Food Vendor: Selling Yucca Fries, Empanadas and Platano Maduro everything was delicious at this vender. ~Nachos were also served with everything on it for only $8! Pricey but hey what do you expect! This was definitely a nice car show and I'm happy to see that they had one in my city! I hope to see many more as I LOVE car shows! Until next year!

Great spot for a classic rodeo experience with lots of history. The atmosphere is fun and family…read morefriendly with exciting events and skilled riders. It can get crowded during big events but overall it is a lively and memorable place to visit.

Hmmm what to say about this? Both the other reviews are dead on. Here's my take. If you don't…read morehave small children, or a relative participating in the parade, stay away, far away. You'll be bored to tears. If on the other hand, you have a small child who likes horses, you won't find another parade where you can get closer to them than this one. You will probably still be bored to tears, but your kid will be thrilled. I can't decide if I'm going to tell my kids about it this year or not.... I give it 2 stars, only cause of the kids.

I work as a college advisor and as such sometimes encounter students struggling to come to terms…read morewith their sexuality, wherever along the spectrum it lies. To help support those students in accepting who they are and finding appropriate support resources, we received a very informative presentation from the staff of TransGender San Francisco (TGSF) about the different types of transgender issues. Some are people who want to physically be the other gender; some are homosexual but many are heterosexual; for some, transvestism (cross-dressing) is sexual and for others it's not. There is a LOT of ignorance, confusion, and misconception about transgender issues, and almost none of it is positive. It's human nature to fear what we do not understand, and it's normal to not understand things (and people) that we rarely see. Even those of us in counseling and advising roles are unconsciously guilty of that ignorance and misconception sometimes. The staff who presented to my office, Allison and Bonnie, were very open and honest about transgender issues. They were also excellent about making the presentation clear, comfortable, and humorous. They answered all of our questions without prejudice, including some that blatantly showed our ignorance. The staff served as a very positive, accessible face for the transgender community. Given the quality and professionalism of the education and outreach staff, I have little doubt that their social and advocacy programs are similarly excellent. TRIVIA: 70% of female-to-male transsexuals and 43% of male-to-female transsexuals retain close contact with their families. Yet sadly, 5% of female-to-male transsexuals and 21% of male to female transsexuals have made a suicide attempt. [From data in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, December 1988.] The rainbow flag representing the LGBT community originated here in San Francisco in 1978. In 1986, William Hurt became the first actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a gay character in the film Kiss Of The Spider Woman.

i approve of transgender people. kthx.read more

This was a very good museum to find in Downtown San Leandro!!…read more I came in here while I was at the San Leandro Cherry Festival, and it was free to enter. This museum tells the history of San Leandro, with murals, exhibits, and photographs!! There's also an exhibit about redlining and housing discrimination in the city and the effects it has had on people! A small, but very informative museum!!!

I love still finding hidden gems in my hometown 18 years later and the community theater at the…read moreMuseum/Auditorium right next door to the Casa Peralta is my latest find. Two years ago, I wrote a blog post comparing movie theater to live theater - http://aroundthebayandaway.blogspot.com/2016/05/live-theater-vs-movie-theater.html discovering that live theater especially community theaters can be a much better value than going to the movies. With my introduction to the SL Player's performance of Agatha Christie's Mousetrap, I cannot wait to return to see what mystery they have in store for us next season. Since this is a community theater with a limited budget, chairs are just stackable chairs put out for the performance but once you are immersed in the storyline unfolding before you, you won't even care.