July 1-7 is National Independents Week!

Celebrate the local, independent businesses that make America great. Buy Local Berkeley invites you to take the Independents Week Challenge: meet all your needs from July 1 - 7 exclusively at locally owned, independent Berkeley businesses.

Supporting independents makes a real difference. Indies spend 58% more in their local communities at other local businesses and charities than nationally owned chains do. So, when we buy from cool, indie businesses we are helping our friends and neighbors keep their jobs and nurturing our local economy.

Take the challenge today!

WIN A FREE MEMBERSHIP IN 2009! Enter to win by emailing your suggestions for new dance and fitness classes that the YWCA should consider in '09!

Start the new year out right by learning Afro-Brazilian, Salsa, Flamenco, Bollywood, Jazz Funk, Waltz, Tango, Bellydance, Hip-Hop, Chinese Ribbon Dance, Capoeira, Ballet, Yoga, Pilates, Self-Hypnosis, Self-Defense, and Improv Acting.

Enjoy learning dance, movement, and body conditioning at our beautiful, spacious facility across from the UC Berkeley campus. Great stress relief and fun!

Affordable Classes! Additional $8 OFF for all classes if you are a member! EVERYONE WELCOME!

Please visit our website: www.ywca-berkeley.org
To enter to win, email suggestions to: info@ywca-berkeley.org. One lucky winner will win a FREE year membership!

Saturday, July 11, 8pm
Friday, July 17, 8pm
Wednesday, July 15, 7:30pm
Sunday, July 19, 2pm
Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley

Berkeley Opera presents The Ballad of Baby Doe — the 1880s love story of silver magnate Horace Tabor and Elizabeth "Baby" Doe — steps out of Colorado mining lore and onto the stage in Pulitzer Prize-winner Douglas Moore's lush musical score.

To purchase tickets, visit www.willowstickets.org.

Pick from a selection of Italian wines & local favorites.

Indulge and relax, many of our locations have outdoor seating.

*half-off bottle of wine with purchase of entrée

Support your local businesses
www.PastaPomodoro.com

Help us pull off the biggest performing arts party the East Bay has ever seen! Sign up to volunteer at the August 7th party and choose where you would like to pitch in. Love cars? Help out in the Gear Head Garage. Have kids? Bring them with you to the Chabot Space and Science Center's Kids Zone. Whatever your interest, we've got a spot for you.

To volunteer, email elerts@eastbayexpress.com.

Click here for more information on the Best of the East Bay Party.

If you're as stoked as we are about the Best of the East Bay Party on August 7, check out our exclusive party blog here.

We're constantly updating the site with new event information, including:

• A complete band line-up
  
• Vendor sign-up information
  
• Volunteer sign-up information
  
• Breaking news about recent party entertainment additions
  
• Calls for art
  
• Best of the East Bay polling information
  
• And more!

www.eastbayexpress.wordpress.com

Friday, August 7, 5pm-midnight
Set Time TBD
All ages; Free admission

Don't miss Superfinos VTO on the main stage at this year's Best of the East Bay Party. The band prides itself on being born of pursuing music as life, changing the world and crafting tunes in the true nature of rock & roll. Fans and critics alike describe the music as original, artistic, passionate and playful - rock & roll as raw and kinky as it is heartfelt and complex. Although more than happy to rock a house party, Superfinos VTO is ready to take the world head on.

Band Members:
Kamal Hasan Hood (Guitars / Vocals)
Paul Dean Price III (Bass / Vocals)
Hasan Lengel (Drums)

More info:
www.superfinosvto.com or band@superfinosvto.com

The 8th Oakland International Film Festival
October 8-14, 2009
The Grand Lake Theater,
and other venues

Entry Deadline postmarked:
July 2, 2009
Entry forms and guidelines are available online at www.oiff.org

Presented by the Oakland Film Society, The 8th Oakland International Film Festival is now accepting narratives, documentaries, animation, music, videos and experimental works from local, national, and international filmmakers.

The Oakland International Film Festival will feature premieres, award-winning international selections, filmmakers and industry professionals in attendance, informative workshops, networking receptions and Best of Awards.

A complete schedule of films and events will be available online by September 1, 2009

Saturday, July 4, 1 PM -9 PM

It's a fun party for the whole family! Tour the famous aircraft carrier and enjoy a day of food, games, entertainment & live music on the flight deck! The USS Hornet also offers spectacular panoramic views of fireworks around the bay! So spend the 4th of July on a national treasure - the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet in Alameda — for your chance to step into history and explore this extraordinary ship from captain's bridge to engine room!

For more details, go to the The USS Hornet Calendar
or call (510) 521-8448 x 282.

For more information on the USS Hornet,
visit USS Hornet Museum website.

Wednesday, July 1 - Thursday, July 9
(Closed Mondays)

Don't miss the fabulous food, family fun, and various contests at this year's Fair!

From eating competitions, to the best BBQ ribs, to putting for $10,000 cash there's a challenge for everyone, with great prizes too!

Enjoy concerts by world-class headliners, free with Fair admission, featuring En Vogue, BJ Thomas, Night Ranger, Bowling For Soup, Charlie Daniels Band, and more!

Check out 15 days of thrilling live horse racing!

For more information and for daily schedules go to:
www.AlamedaCountyFair.com or call (925) 426-7600.

Earthsource Forest Products is calling all artists of sustainable materials!

The Earthsource Second Artisans Showcase is looking for local artists. Are you an artist, furniture maker, designer builder? Is your artwork made of sustainable materials? Earthsource Forest Products would like to show your work in our 2000 square foot showroom.

The showcase begins June 15, 2009 and runs through August 15, 2009.
To submit your art, email Sean at sean@pals4wood.com and include a picture of your work.

www.earthsourcewood.com

Wed - Sat, July 15-18, 2009, 8 PM-11:59 PM
2020 Engineer road, Oakland

The Crucible's 9th Annual Fire Arts Festival moves to a new location this year. The Fire Arts Festival is a blazing nexus of science, engineering and art, with amazing installations and gigantic sculptures by prominent artists, and a variety of performances to awe and amaze; from circus arts and fire performers to hip-hop dance and eclectic music. This year's featured musical performance is the world premiere of The Rootabaga Opera by Emmy award-winning composer Dan Cantrell. If you're first to name who inspired this work, you'll get a pair of tickets to opening night by emailing elerts@eastbayexpress.com . It won't be hard to find the NEW Fire Arts Arena off West Grand Avenue at the base of the Bay Bridge.

Come one, come all, to the Express' call for extraordinary carnival acts. Are you a fire eater, sword swallower, or bar bell beefcake? An artistically pierced, full-body tatted, limber limbed contortionist?

Come join our carnival peep show at the Best of the East Bay Party on August 7th. Ad adults-only, burlesque-meets-the-circus extravaganza, the side show will celebrate all things strange and wonderful.

To be considered as an act, please email us with a description of your special talent and, when appropriate, your photo. Links to videos of your performances are also encouraged. Send all info to elerts@eastbayexpress.com.

Wednesday, July 15 — Saturday, July 18
NEW LOCATION: Off West Grand Avenue at Wake Avenue and Engineer Road, Oakland

This year's festival is three times larger with more art installations, more food and merchandise to enjoy, and more space to roam. See electrifying performers like Poor Man's Whiskey, Axis Dance, Copper Lantern, and many more. Be amazed by incendiary fire art installations by Nate Smith, Dan Das Mann, Omega Recoil, and many more. Dan Cantrell debuts The Rootabaga Opera; inspired by Carl Sandburg's stories, it incorporates dance, theater, puppetry, and (of course) fire.

www.thecrucible.org/events/fire-arts-festival/157

The East Bay Express, Sustainable Business Alliance, Buy Local Berkeley and Shop Oakland Grown are inviting you to join the Indie Revolution. Each month in 2009, we are celebrating different themes and industries that support our local, independent businesses and artists. February's theme is MUSIC! Follow these links to learn more about supporting the local indie music scene in the East Bay.

Buy Local Berkeley
Shop Oakland Grown
Sustainable Business Alliance
East Bay Express

Join the Indie Revolution and get special offers, invitations and information from us, along with a monthly Journal dedicated to the theme of the month. It's fun, free, and can change the world!

Skydivers love freefall because it's the closest possible thing to true human flight. Now everyone can experience the same exhilaration, in a safe environment, in full view of family and friends!

Indoor Skydiving at iFly is safe enough for kids, challenging enough for adults, exciting enough for teens, and realistic enough for professional skydivers.

Great fun for all ages, and no experience is necessary. Learn more about the thrill of a lifetime!

For more information, visit iflysfbay.com.

East Bay Express
Best of the East Bay Party
August 7, 5 p.m.-midnight
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street, Oakland
All ages, free admission

To celebrate the winners of the Best of the East Bay, we are throwing the biggest performing and visual arts party in the East Bay. Join us!

Amoeba Music Main Stage
Featuring Superfinos VTO, The Thrill of it All, Mystic Rage, Swann Danger, Souls of Mischief, C U Next Weekend (Shampu), Dizzy Balloon, Social Unrest, Fracas, and Goapele

DAI Style Lounge
Exhibiting over 30 local, independent designers including fashion shows, make overs and salon services

Chabot Space & Science Center Kids Party Zone
Live music from BandWorks, entertainers, magic shows, art projects, learning and hands-on activities for 10 and under

Eight stages featuring a wide range of live music
Film screenings, dance, theatre, and live art making
Tattoo art exhibition
Classic car and Harley show
Contact sports and professional wrestling ring
Outdoor village of food, drinks, artists, retailers, and nonprofits
Subterranean all-star DJ party
Spectacles galore

All proceeds benefit OneCalifornia Foundation

Bike Valet parking available
One block from Lake Merritt BART station

For more event information, visit www.EastBayExpress.com/eLerts.
For vendor or sponsorship information, call 510-879-3700.

Friday, August 7, 5pm — Midnight
Oakland Museum of California

We're pulling out all the stops for this year's Best of the East Bay Party, and one of the most exciting additions to the event is our Gear Head Garage in the upper level of the Museum's parking garage. In addition to live engine demonstrations by Godspeed, a Harley Davidson exhibit, and a tattoo parlor, we'll be lining the walls with local art to fit the theme of the garage.

Art submissions may include paintings, prints, silk-screens and photos of tattoos, pin-up girls, rock posters, album cover art, and more. Use your imagination!

The deadline for submissions is Friday, July 10. Please submit art samples to: marie.ortega@eastbayexpress.com

For more information on the Best of the East Bay Party, click here.