Hosted by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, the CA International Antiquarian…read moreBook Fair was a joy to attend this past weekend. Parking at Pier 27, on the Embarcadero, was free and easy on Saturday afternoon. There was no line to get in, and the event seemed to be well organized. It was spacious inside with plenty of visitors. But with two floors of vendor booths and displays, it never felt crowded. Exhibitors came from various countries including Argentina, Denmark, and the UK. Speaker sessions on the schedule offered ample seating in a separate space from the vendor booths. There was also a dining area on the first level selling food and drinks, with tables and seating available as well. Sure there were antique book collectors and researchers at this event. However, there were also visitors like me and my bf who probably couldn't afford to purchase anything on site and simply enjoyed exploring this museum of rare works, not just books, but maps, photographs, and various art pieces too. Some of the interesting items we came across were the book of Ancient and Oriental Music, the first american edition (second printing) of the diary of Anne Frank, On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, 18th century Aesop's Fables in rich contemporary hand-color and engravings, old comic books like Weird Tales and Wonder Stories, Yoshitoshi's Dramatic Portraits of 47 Ronin (woodblock prints, Tokyo 1869), uncorrected proofs for the first three books in J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series, an 18th century playing card recycled as a funeral notice, elaborate vintage pop-up books, and one of my faves, 18th and 19th century paper peep shows (3D tunnel books), featuring unique and amazing artworks I found delightful.

Is this a mini San Leandro Hot August/September Night event?…read moreSee my Grand Sierra, Reno NV reviews. Quality/Quantity - About 10 classic cars. SL police tent, cute giveaways for kids. Some art booths. Atmosphere - Free street 3 hour parking. Today's hours: only from 10am to 4pm. Bathrooms in the library. Service - N/A. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1957 to the San Leandro Art Association.

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.

The Oakland Soul are a women's professional soccer team that plays in the USL W League. They have…read morecaptured second place of said league the last three seasons. They play all of their home games at Merritt College. They have not lost a home game for the last three seasons. They have memberships which include tickets to all five home games for the 2026 season. Cost? One hundred bucks. $100. A C-Note. For real. That is ridiculous. Who wouldn't go for this? If I lived in Oakland, I'd be all over this. Twenty bucks a game? There may be some fees with it, I don't know? But, a hundred dollars? For five games? I'd be so into this. I'd be at all the games. I'd know all the players. Their positions. And their jersey numbers. This would definitely pass the time for me. And parking's free too. I read this somewhere. There on the campus. Near the field. It's free. If I was going to ding them for anything, their merch is too high. But same could be said about their fellow men's program, Los Roots. The Oakland Roots. I'm a fan of theirs too. So, I get it. I'm sure everything's expensive there. Another ding is their livestream. Last season, I tried to watch one of the Soul's home games on a livestream, and it felt like I was watching something on Windows 98. I kid, but I could've shot it better on my phone. Also, their online presence, what there is of it, is as if they feel like nobody's watching and nobody cares. They do. Or, at least I do. Update your media constantly. Do it for me, anyways. Get a higher quality livestream (but keep it free) Maybe lower your merch prices so others not in Cali can afford these sharp threads you offer at a current premium. Otherwise, just keep on keeping on, Soul. I'll be watching from far, far away. First 2026 home game is on Mother's Day.

I am a sucker for Christmas lights. This was my first time trying the lights at the Oakland zoo…read morewhich was super unique and fun. The gondola was the highlight! This was a blast and I am glad we did it.

Fun night out with the kids 1) had a blast on the gondola,…read moresouring across the sky with an amazing view of the city and lights. The kids were thrilled! 2) walking through the zoo and experiencing the light show that the kids could walk thorough was an experience like no other. 3) short and quick line to se Santa! The kids got some adorable pictures and the set up was extra cute! The boys were pretty excited about the jelly beans. 4) it was a great experience seeing the zoo at night, totally different than a day experience! The crocodile just barely peaking out through the water at night was horrifying and amazing! 5) kid friendly 6) my kids loved the rides the best, but they are so expensive!!! I get that the zoo is expensive to upkeep but my kids only care about the rides 7) the zoo train of lights was a crowd pleaser! Definitely worth the extra dough

This festival is a fundraiser for the California Artisan Cheese Guild, the 2024 event held inside…read morethe Ferry Building Grand Hall. Unlimited cheese samples, whey spirits, beer, wine, and soda, along with live music... sounds good to me. Some of the cheese vendors/artisans we were familiar with so  we had to have some of our faves while there, like Point Reyes Farmstead which offered brown butter chocolate bars to pair with the cheese, and the breakfast brie from Marin French Cheese Co. which even though it's similar to a hard cheese, is smooth like butter. Speaking of butter, one of the best finds here was the garlic & herbs butter from Fabrique Délices. I couldn't get enough. And it was even better with handmade biddy sticks from a different booth (unique breadsticks from a vendor based out of southern california). Another non-cheese item that stood out to me were the salami and pepperoni from Olli charcuterie. Wow, the quality and taste were just amazing. There was also a buffet-style grazing table, with several types of cheese and bread to fill a small plate for snacking, and several standing tables throughout the event area. On top of that, lots of free goodies for guests besides food and drinks, including insulated bags and stickers with clever sayings like "cheese is grate", so we definitely didn't go home empty-handed. Adding to the pleasant atmosphere, the sounds of the guitar and vocals were lovely to hear while sampling the various offerings throughout the event, and the collection of small bites honestly had us full within an hour, though it was hard not to go back for more... Too bad the vendors weren't allowed to sell any of their products on site, though we got business cards and instructions for where to find some of the items in stores.

Great selection of cheeses and vendors. Wine, preserves, patê, salami, olive oil, olives…read more Began right at 6:00 PM (start time) and were led to upstairs grand room in ferry building ( SF Embarcadero) Started off wonderfully yet as evening progressed, there were a lot of people each hoping to get their moneys worth of cheese ($100 per person charge) Unfortunately it was not organized with any sense of direction and some people were determined to get their moneys worth (justified) yet would not move forward in the line in order to let everyone sample the display at hand. No sense of direction, a lot of pushing and shoving and some people literally standing at table for 20 minutes or longer. Suggest there be arrows or signs next year giving attendees a sense of direction and a notice on simple courtesy ( tasting and moving along) I'm not sure I would spend $100.00 again next year ( might go up) as the evening felt claustrophobic and disorganized.

This was a fun family-friendly show at the Alameda County Fair. Matt Baker did a variety of stunts,…read morea bit of juggling, chinese yoyo, balancing act with a bowling ball, and a trick with a balloon, vase, and blowdart... all combined with stand-up comedy, in corny fashion, one liners that had me laughing out loud. But I may have been the only one :P None of his bits were mind blowing, and he got lots of kids from the audience involved, which kind of dumbed it down a little. But that's what I'd expect at the county fair. And the performance was still enjoyable for our adult-only party. He also guilted my bf into giving a little girl in the crowd five bucks, lol. It's okay, he gifted us one of his books "C is for Conspiracy". The artwork makes it look like a kids' book, but I'm not sure I wanna give this to my niece or nephew so they can learn about the Illuminati, Elvis faking his death, or governments covering up UFOs. Funny book though.

This Greek festival is so well planned and organized, really! Love how the indoor area has hot food…read moreall in one line so you just have to line up once instead of going to many different booths. It's so streamlined wifh three cashiers ready to help you at the end. You can see the food as you pick and put it on your tray or someone will scoop for you and they're so friendly! Welcoming atmosphere , really appreciate the free entrance, no fee, to really encourage anyone to drop in and learn about Greek culture

The Taste of Greece Greek Festival has been around for decades in San Francisco. Delicious Greek…read morefood and pastries. The Greek beer was also a treat. The music dancing , and performances makes this one of the best festivals in San Francisco. Great experience.