Friday, June 28, 2013
Weekender: This Weekend's Top Five Events
Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 10:55 AM
THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND, GUYS. Let's get to it:
2013 Montclair Village Beer & Wine Festival
What better way to support a lovely and historic Oakland neighborhood than by drinking your way through its charming main street? Admission to the Montclair Village Beer & Wine Celebration (Medau Pl. and Mountain Blvd., Oakland) is free for sightseers; for those who want to sip, the price of a commemorative glass permits unlimited tasting of artisanal wines and craft beers at booths representing local brewers, vintners, and retailers. The family-friendly all-day celebration also features live music, art on display, and kids' activities. Proceeds benefit community-enhancement projects through the Montclair Business Improvement District. Sat., June 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. beer/wine tasting is $30 per person, $50 per couple — Anneli Rufus
"Friends, Family, Neighbors"
As distressing as the National Security Administration's recentlyexposed dragnet system is, the proliferation of unmanned drones forsurveillance and military strike is a perhaps more chilling aspect ofwhat today counts for normal. In a small exhibition at Royal NonesuchGallery, David Gregory Wallace presents several works that reflect onprevailing drone narratives, each wedding a sense of childhoodinnocence (or vulnerability) to one of looming dread. In a windowpiece that clicks on nightly, a projector casts a series ofphotographic portraits of the artist's friends, colleagues, and lovedones upon the gallery window, while a rotating mobile positioned inbetween casts moving shadows of birds and one large predator drone upon theimages. The main piece in the show is a short film that follows ayoung boy as he guides a toy drone around the East Bay. The interspersed footage of actual drone strikes — which the Department of Defense posts as propaganda material on its website — is jarring, but it is the child's eerie contentedness that leaves the strongest impression.Friends, Family, Neighbors runs through June 30 at Royal NonesuchGallery. 415-652-1623 or RoyalNonesuchGallery.com — Alex Bigman
Sometimes it's so hot out that all you can crave are the crisp, clean flavors of the lightest of ales. Learn to brew your own on Sunday, when Walrus (470G 49th St., Oakland) hosts a summer-beer-making class for everyone from total noobs to more experienced brewers. Instructors Hillary Huffard and Luke Janson — who have brewed more than 120 original recipes on their East Oakland urban farm — will teach the ins and outs of brewing chemistry, explain what specifically makes a good summer beer, and lead you in the hands-on process of brewing your own. On top of getting a lunch provided by Doña Tomas, you'll take home your own fermentor filled with your personally concocted summery brew. Cheers to that. Sun., June 30, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $90. — Azeen Ghorayshi
Juhu Beach Club
With its bright-pink paint job, funky wallpaper, and hipster clientele, former Top Chef contestant Preeti Mistry’s Indian street-food spot joins a small handful of standard bearers for the Oakland food renaissance — hip, casual restaurants that serve food that's steeped in tradition but feels thoroughly modern. The centerpiece of the menu is the street-food sandwich known as the pav — India’s answer to the slider — and Mistry’s serves several stellar versions, filled, variously, with tender beef short rib, perfectly grilled green-chile chicken, or fried potato puffs. But man cannot subsist on street snacks alone, and the menu at Juhu Beach Club has plenty of other delights: a hearty entrée-size curry featuring whole, slow-cooked chicken leg; a slightly salty, grown-up take on a mango lassi; and Straus soft-serve ice cream served with a variety of interesting, South-Asian-inspired toppings. Open Tue.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5:30-9:30 pm. — Luke Tsai
Alameda County Fair
It's nigh impossible not to love the county fair, with its tractor pulls, amusment-park rides, pig races, goat auctions, "diaper derby" (fastest baby wins), and myriad cooking contests for dishes as diverse as gumbo and cake pops. It's a weird cultural mainstay, particularly in urban Alameda County — a remnant of a time when so many entertainment options weren't available at our fingertips — but that's also what makes it great. At the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Fridays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m; continues through July 7. $4-$10, children under 6 free. — Azeen Ghorayshi
Plus...
Get your cheapskate on:
This is how much we love you guys: Here are our searchable listings of every single free event happening in the East Bay this weekend.
Feed Us: Got any East Bay news, events, video, or miscellany we should know about? Holler at us at Azeen.Ghorayshi@EastBayExpress.com.
