Events
8th Spirit and Soul Festival brings live music, food and shop to Downtown Richmond residents.
Love and heartache are coming back to center stage in Richmond. The Richmond-based nonprofit RYSE is producing Fairytale, a theater production, this weekend in El Cerrito. Fairytale is the second theatrical production from RYSE, following on the heels of their success from the 2013 production of Te’s Harmony. RYSE’s mission, according to their website, is to “create safe spaces grounded in social justice that build youth power for young people to love, learn, educate, heal and transform the lives and communities.”…
The majority of people in the room seemed to be women, and many wore proud smiles on their faces. They were attending the graduation ceremony of the first all-female Green Energy Training Services (GETS) pre-apprenticeship cohort held by Berkeley non-profit organization Rising Sun Energy Center, and the room at John F. Kennedy University’s Berkeley campus was buzzing with excitement. Dubbed “Women Build,” the program trains women for union jobs in construction and other skill-based industries traditionally employing men. It launched on March 16,…
National Park Service (NPS) agents in the East Bay have been working with administrators from the city of Richmond and other community partners since last year to create a wellness trail for Richmond as part of their “Park Prescription Initiative.” Their hope is that constructing a wellness trail will revitalize a two-and-a-half mile stretch of primarily unkempt city streets into a walkable path, giving Richmond residents more options for healthy and safe outdoor enjoyment. The trail will incorporate bike lanes,…
This year, the Contra Costa Chorale celebrates their 50th anniversary of entertaining audiences in the East Bay. In addition to their usual vast repertoire of music, the choir is highlighting the musical heritage of African and African American cultures in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Selma March.
“Rosie the Riveter” is the iconic symbol of female independence and strength, celebrating the female workers who played a pivotal role in World War II shipbuilding. The museum, operated by the National Park Service, features photographs, films and educational exhibits all about the welders and other skilled trades taken up by women after the men went off to war duty.
Morrison was one of the “Rosies,” and they are still contributing. Now, they tell first-hand accounts of working at the shipyards just a few yards away.
Menbere Aklilu has come a long way. From a struggling single mother, she is now a restaurant owner in Richmond, after moving from her native Ethiopia and a time in Italy.
Aklilu hosts an annual Thanksgiving dinner at her restaurant, Salute E Vita, where she just served a sit-down dinner for more than a thousand Bay Area homeless people. She has also begun holding a four-course Mother’s Day brunch for young single mothers. She helps Richmond and Oakland students pay school tuition.
UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are planning the new Berkeley Global Campus at Richmond Bay. The committee wants the university to sign a legally binding agreement aiding those such as disadvantaged workers, emancipated foster youth, homeless people and individuals with criminal records, and requesting the university pay a fee to the city, to improve affordable housing and displacement issues, among other suggestions.