Arts & Entertainment
With Halloween fast approaching, it’s not strange to see people toting chain mail armor and a coat of arms. But the knights and wizards running into battle at Marina Bay Park aren’t there to trick or treat. The Duchy of Wyvern’s Spur, a live action role playing group, brings people together from all realms of life to duel and cast spells in Richmond’s Marina Bay Park every Sunday at noon, providing a supportive space for members to be silly and…
On the third Thursday of each month, Richmond’s poet laureate, Stephen Sharpe, hosts a poetry Open Mic Night at CoBiz Richmond, a coworking space on Macdonald Avenue next to the BART station. At the October event, Sharpe and CoBiz Executive Director Wesley Alexander arrived early to transform the atrium into an intimate auditorium. They set up three rows of eight chairs before the mic stand, and projected the logo of Afterword Press, Sharpe’s publishing business, on the wall behind the…
On a recent Saturday afternoon, the Bay Area Girls Club hosted a pop-up concert with “Wanda Gonzales and Friends” in the backyard, where music from a lineup of hometown performers filled the air. Before an all-ages audience of about 50 people in September, Gonzalez sang effortlessly and soulfully while playing the guitar. On the stage with her were a saxophonist, bassist and drummer — all from the Bay Area. “We have a burgeoning music scene happening here in the city…
Drag queens danced through the crowd as families picnicked and children mingled with chickens, goats and rabbits at El Sobrante’s inaugural Pride celebration in La Moine Park on Sunday. The event also featured music by DJ Page Hodel, vendors from the business committee and information about resources offered through area nonprofits. Hundreds of people watched drag performances from Viva Commotion, Summer Lynn Spears, Angel De Vil and Ash N Tell Starlight, singing crowd favorites such as Kesha’s “We Are Who…
Pulsing beats and whirling bodies fill up a cavernous hall at the Richmond Recreation Complex. It’s not Richmond’s newest nightclub — it’s a Thursday evening Zumba class. Located in Richmond Village, the Richmond Recreation Complex offers Zumba and other activities for adults and children. There are volleyball leagues for middle schoolers and adults and drop-in pickleball, just to name a few. The complex offers 10 programs, according to data from Richmond’s Community Services Recreation Department. The newly released winter…
Saturday’s bleak forecast in Richmond may have meant fewer parkgoers than usual at Point Pinole, but the dreary skies didn’t seem to faze Eileen Hazel and her band of 14 vocalists. Bundled in their winter coats, they carried on with the “Sing with the Season” event. The crew came prepared. Many brought chairs, some brought snacks, and some sat on picnic blankets. When everyone found their place, Hazel began what would be her first time leading a song circle, a…
It’s official: The free outdoor concert series kicks off Friday, bringing budget-friendly, summertime vibes to Point Richmond. Point Richmond Music’s beloved concert series is back for another summer jam-packed with live music, food trucks, local art, face painting, and dancing in streets. At 5:30 p.m., bring your lawn chairs to the corner of Washington Avenue and Park Place in historic downtown Point Richmond for the first of four free concerts on the second Friday of each month. “People should go…
On a cloudy Saturday morning, Carmen Román and her husband, Pierr Padilla, filled the basement of the Golden Gate Library in Oakland with a symphony of sounds, using their feet, hands and traditional Afro-Peruvian instruments. A small group of children shrieked with glee and bumbled around the room, dancing as their parents nodded to the beat being created by Román and Padilla opening and closing the top to their cajitas, a box-shaped Latin percussion instrument, and hitting it with a…
The Richmond Art Center has overcome much in recent years, including the closure forced on all during the pandemic and more recently, a significant loss in donations over the summer. As 2023 looms, Executive Director José Rivera says that despite bouncing back from the major revenue losses of 2020, the RAC is still in need of additional funding to return to its pre-pandemic level of operation. When Rivera was appointed in 2020, the RAC was just over $110,000 in the…