6th Annual Matsuri Festival is a celebration of 6 years of Umami Mart…read morelocale: Old Oakland Parking Lot(back of Umami Mart) time: July 28, 12-4p.m. entry free, cost of foods/eats set by vendors. vendors: offerings Trappist-japanese beers/sakes Umami Mart-Suntory Free(Gluten) beer Shiba Ramen-Hiyashi Chuka J Shack-savory & sweet dessert crepes Stonemill Mart-Kakigori(shaved ice with matcha flavoring) sparkling matchal matcha white chocolate chip cookie. entertainment: Emeryville Daiko, dj set by Jody Stillwater temaki: -local access to Japanese culture/eats without making going far. staying local. -venue area small. -parking slightly difficult. not imparted by nearby Soul festival.

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.

This is an event that I go to every year with my family, and it's always packed, which is great for…read morethe businesses in Chinatown. There's always something to look at, whether it's the stalls or performances. Compared to the street fair for the Autumn Moon Festival, there are more vendors selling flowers, plants, and decorations. I went on Saturday, and I noticed that there were more food vendors (snacks and prepared food) compared to previous years. In addition, I loved the interactive arts and crafts this year! There were panda statues painted by local artists as well as a table where we could write down wishes for the new year and hang them up. Side notes: 1.) There are 2 every year: 1 at the beginning and 1 at the end of Chinese New year. 2.) Walking distance from Chinatown Station *Verdict: Always a fun event to go to, whether you celebrate Chinese New Year or not!

I visit this Chinese New Year Festival in Chinatown almost every year and just love taking photos…read moreof all the colorful and great items the vendors sell and to be exposed to the Chinese culture and customs.

Came here for the 2014 Holi Festival of Colors…read more Parking: Free small lot on campus. They have tons of free parking across the street. http://www.yelp.com/events/norwalk-holi-festival-of-colors-2014 Lists more parking options. Cost: 5 dollars to enter. They have a pre-paid line with a list or you can just pay at the entrance. Colors: Bags of Colors $ 3.00 or 5 for $ 12.00. 5 colors are plenty. We had a group of 5 and brought only two packs. We each had two colors. 3 surgical type face masks for $1.50? They sold bandanas and shirts. Not sure of prices. Clothing: Wear something that you don't mind throwing away. Or, willing to let turn pink or some other color after a wash. They recommend to shake excess color. But, I ended up with a pink shirt. Photo booth: India.com provided complimentary pictures. I would recommend take a picture prior to getting any color thrown at you. Well, if you can avoid it. They also gave away white t-shirts. Not sure if you can avoid it getting color on it. Some people just put it on. They had portable restroom. I did not use. They had some food trucks. Long lines. Glad we ate before coming. They had hourly tossing of colors. So, it was pretty flexible. On, the way out, we got into the yoga line/circle. It was pretty fun. Overall, it was pretty fun. I would recommend.

The International Black Women's Film Festival is amazing. Films screen throughout the year, and…read moreevery December, there's a festival with online Video on Demand as well as a fabulous opening night with FREE screenings in local theaters throughout the week. The San Francisco Bay Area is lucky lucky lucky, and the curator of the Festival, Adrienne Anderson, is tops!!!

The longest running juneteeth festiaval (23d) happened today in berkeley…read more Juneteeth aka freedom day aka emancipation day is an "holiday" in the united states honoring african american heritage by celebrating the announcement of the abolition of salvery in Texas in 1865. (wikileaks). there were many activities for the kids (facepainting, slides, balloons, shaved ice, etc.). for adults (water dunking, target shooting,) , for foodies (bbq, "freedom fries" (5), corn dogs, hamburger, etc), shopping (arts, crafts, etc.) information (clipper, law enforcement, etc). entertaintainment (2 stages), security was very tight less bad actors showed up. private security was visiblle. and berkeley's finest was parked on the perimeter and also watching from the edges.

They hold the SF Film Fest. Got many tickets over two seasons. Saw so many movies and saved the…read moretickets. Good indie films. Saw the cast and crew at times. Indie films with famous actors and actresses.

Wow! I just saw "The Taking of Tiger Mountain", a huge 3-D film from Hong Kong & sponsored by their…read moreEconomic & Trade Office. The effects we saw @ The Sundance Kabuki were 2-D but even without the full technical effects the film was astonishing! The acting was really good, the story took cinema-goers from present day to the past to present day again. In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles, you can follow along - but hold on for a rough and bumpy ride. Truly impressive! Film: 5 stars Effects: 5 stars Acting: 5 stars I loved the tiger...

It's that time again ~ the window to join beginning hula class is about to open, starting April…read more5th, 2012. After May 3rd, 2012, enrollment will close for another two years (unless you've learned hula previously). If you've ever wanted to take hula classes, I highly recommend checking it out. Even though I had to stop going due to my schedule, after three years of being with the halau (hula school), I think fondly of my time there. I miss my ohana. Our Kumu Patrick Makuakane used to say, 'leave your worries at the door' and so most of us did for the duration of the class. Hearing the rhythm of the island beats and dancing with my fellow brothers and sisters was a true joy. As I'd head home from class, I'd feel calm and happy. In addition to the dance, our Kumu taught us about Hawaiian culture and also would get us to laugh often. Here are details for the class: http://www.naleihulu.org/classes/2012.htm

Not as good as previous shows by this halau. Too much time given to the singer/comedian. Not…read moreenough dancing.