Actual Cafe is excited to announce the launch of a new fundraising event and party, starting this February. Bicycle Bingo is a weekly bingo game, hosted at Actual Cafe, and benefiting several not-for-profit organizations active in Oakland. The event beneficiary – United Roots – will co-host the event. Sponsors of the event include Trumer Brauerei, New Belgium Brewing, Lagunitas Brewing, and Chinook Book. All ages are welcome, and there is no cover charge for the event.
The event will feature the area’s only bicycle-driven bingo ball machine, and will be MC’ed by local entertainer and charmer, Steffy Sue on the Uke (www.steffysue.com). Bingo cards will be dispensed for a suggested donation of $3 each, 2/$5, or 5/$10. Cards can be played all evening long, so starting early means getting more chances to win on each card. Prizes will be donated by Actual Cafe, sponsoring breweries, Chinook Book, other Golden Gate neighborhood businesses, local bike shops, and more. All bingo card proceeds go directly to the benefiting organizations, along with 10% of the cafe’s revenue for the evening. Event sponsors and other cafe vendors will offer additional donations for certain items sold during the event.
Representatives from each benefiting group will be present at each event, to introduce the organizations to attendees and talk about how their work improves the lives of people in Oakland and the Golden Gate Neighborhood.
Beneficiaries were selected for their relevance to the Golden Gate Neighborhood:
- East Bay Bicycle Coalition (first Thursdays, starting 2/2) advocates for bike lanes and roadway maintenance, holds bicycle safety classes for new urban cyclists, and generally promotes bicycle culture in Oakland and the greater East Bay
- Rebuilding Together Oakland (second Thursdays, starting 2/9) Rebuilding Together Oakland provides free home repairs and safety modifications to economically disadvantaged clients, especially the disabled and older adults. They organize neighborhood-wide maintenance days across Oakland, including in the Golden Gate neighborhood in October 2011. Their office is in the Golden Gate District.
- East Bay College Fund (third Thursdays, starting 2/16) provides College Guidance Services in High School, Scholarships, Mentoring, and Career Development for College Students for underrepresented students from Oakland public schools.
- United Roots (fourth Thursdays, starting 2/23) provides exposure to, support of, and training in arts, design and media for Oakland Youth ages 13-24. They offer youth leadership training, career & workforce development and support many important community campaigns.
“We like games and parties, and we like to support organizations who do good work in our own backyard, so this event is a no-brainer,” says Sal Bednarz, owner of Actual Cafe. “We want to help these organizations find a wider audience, and make it easy and fun for folks to give them some support (and maybe win a prize!).”
(get the System Outta your System) Juiced on the spot!
FRIDAY 2/24/12 from 3-6pm at United Roots: Oakland’s Green Youth Arts and Media Center located @ 2781 Telegraph in Oakland CA. This is an all ages free community event.
Live discussion w/ Davey D (KPFA & Davey D’s Hip-Hop Corner), Keith Tucker (Filmmaker of Pursuit of a Green Planet), & Emory Douglas (Minister of Culture for Black Panther Party) about the late pop star Whitney Houston, Hip-Hop, and the Crack Generation.
Also including:
- Native American Chants from the All Nations Singers
- Live Raw Food demonstration from Priestess Heather Salmon
- Green job/internship announcements
- Community alternative medicine resource board
- Performances
- Live art
& this month’s documentary viewing: “Planet Rock: The Story Of Hip Hop And The Crack Generation”
BROKEN BODIES – A Cultural Revolution
Disabled Artists and cultural workers of color release an album on police brutality against people with disabilities
What: Album Release Celebration, Panel & Performances When: Sunday, Feb 19th Time: 1-3:30pm
Where: San Francisco Main Library Koret Auditorium Lower Level – 100 Larkin street, San Francisco.
Check out this video about Police Brutality against people with disabilities:
Krip-Hop Nation, a powerful group of international Hip Hop artists and other musicians with disabilities, 5th Battalion Entertainment of LA led by DJ Quad, a Hip-Hop artist with a disability, Emmitt Thrower, a retired NYPD officer turned media, film maker, playwright with a disability, collaborated to put out a mixtape Hip-Hop CD and film documentary on the issue of police brutality profiling against people with disabilities.
This event will consist of performances from some artists who contribute to the mixtape, a panel discussion with local advocates on this issue, a sneak preview of the upcoming documentary, Where is Hope, by Emmitt Thrower (Wabi Sabi Productions Inc) and a Skype update on the Neli Latson’s (who is a Black young man with autism who was profiled, abused by police in Stanford, Virginia and now is serving time.) by his mother, Lisa Guthrie Alexander.
Police brutality is nothing new, however cases involving people with disabilities has increased in the last ten years. From people with mental health disabilities to the new focus on people with autism, people with disabilities have experienced a shocking rise in police abuse and brutality that ends with injuries and death.
The Bay area has activists who have been on the front line of this issue from Mesha Monge-Irizarry, mother of Idriss Stanelley, who was a Black young man with a mental health disability and was shot by SFPD, Poor Magazine who mixed cultural activism with their media street activism in many cases of police brutality and gave media coverage to campaigns for justice for their family and Mary Kate Connor, Caduceus Psychiatric Services who have spoke about her clients contact with police and is one of the only safe place for people with mental health disabilities, Malaika H Kambon who is a photographer, video maker and has a disability. Malaika uses her artistic lens to capture police brutality on video and many more.
The announcement comes on the heels of The Roots’ 7th Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Surrender” with Betty Wright.
With an audience packed full of musicians and talent from every area of the entertainment industry, The Roots Jam Session is a night where unique mash-ups and groundbreaking music is created. Past performers and attendees include Jay-Z, Norah Jones, Cee-Lo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Slash, Black Eyed Peas, Fall Out Boy, Mos Def, Beyoncè, Queen Latifah, Bill Maher, Snoop Dog, Matisyahu, Anita Baker, Queens of the Stone Age, K’naan, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Mayer, Chelsea Handler, Travis Barker and Prince.
In addition to the performances, The Roots Jam Session is annually interwoven with themes of social awareness, partnering with top organizations dedicated to creating global change. The goal is to entertain but also to utilize the power of its high-profile attendees to make an impact and educate audiences outside of the Jam.
The Roots Jam Session has previously partnered with organizations from Save Darfur to Green Music Group. This year’s cause partner is United Roots, an organization that engages and empowers marginalized youth in a variety of socially innovative ways from arts and media training, career and workforce development, community engagement and wellness services by creating a safe and sustainable environment for youth to heal and grow.
Talent for the Jam will be announced in the upcoming days.
Click Here for a direct link to the CBS LA Announcement
]]>FRIDAY JANUARY 27th, 3-6pm
United Roots – Oakland’s Green Youth Arts & Media Center: 2781 Telegraph, Oakland, CA.
Featuring: Live Skype from Stic.Man from Dead Prez & RBG Fit Club; nutritional education by Gerlina Fortier, music by DJ AshEl SeaSunZ from Earth Amplified. Free freshly juiced fruits and veggies from nearby farms served the entire time.
Every last Friday of the month from 3-6pm Earth Amplified will offer FREE live juice and food, nutritional/health education, and music for the youth and staff @ United Roots: Oakland’s Green Youth Arts & Media Center.
Join us and get a natural high from FREE ORGANIC JUICE – fresh squeezed fruits and veggies — on the spot!
Each Friday will feature:
• Live/ skype interviews with Hip-hop notables who promote healthy lifestyles
• Health/nutrition presentations by esteemed organizations & individuals
• Local music & live painting
(Wheel chair accessible)
Situation:
In the Bay Area and beyond, Diabetes, Obesity, Cancer, Asthma, and other health issues affect African American, Latino and Native American and other disenfranchised communities at staggering rates.
Solution:
We can create healthy lifestyles via education, music, art, and direct service — providing fresh fruits and vegetables to the community.
S.O.S is a partnership between AshEL Seasunz of Earth Amplified & United Roots with allies from RBG Fit Club, Food Not Bombs, ArtiVISTA Consulting & Green For All.
If you would like to make a financial or vegetable/fruit contribution to this effort please contact: allistarr@gmail.com or to volunteer contact: seasunz3@gmail.com
The “Young, Wild and Free” event is an all-ages event, with DJ Sake1 and DJ Twelvz holding down the dance party, and legendary Bay Area rap artist San Quinn performing at the end of the night. Throughout the evening there will be performances by youth and young adult artists from United Roots, including Necie Marie, Ya Boy Lil G, RhythM, Fly50, Knuckles, Write Eye, Pretty Dreek, Tomisha Monae, Krissy & Red. For more information call 510-834-0347 or go to www.lapena.org
When: Friday, February 3rd, 2012 – From 8pm until Midnight
Where: La Pena Cultural Center (3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA)
What: Youth Music Showcase & Dance Party / Fundraiser for La Pena & United Roots
How: All Ages Show ($5 Youth/ $10 Adult)
- Learn green job skills for planting and caring for city trees with Urban Releaf
- Connect with the Urban Peace Movement campaign to Silence the Violence
- Plant an urban grove dedicated to victims of violence in Oakland with Growing a Global Heart
- Earn a weekly stipend – including paid trainings
United Roots is launching the Trees 4 Life project in February 2012 to promote community healing through environmental stewardship, while also giving youth job training and skills in the media arts. The project was developed by Mira Manickam with United Roots as part of the Together Green Audubon Fellowship. The Trees 4 Life project is a collaboration with Urban Releaf, Grind for the Green, Growing a Global Heart and Urban Peace Movement. United Roots youth will be documenting the project through film and there will be a community report back at the end of the Spring. Youth participants will be paid to learn urban forestry skills and do a tree planting project at an Oakland park for Earth Day week (April 2012). At the tree planting event there will be a community gathering to plant the trees in honor of people that died on the streets of Oakland. Check the website for updates about upcoming community events and ways to get involved.
If you know a youth interested in applying to be on this crew have them fill out an application online at: http://bit.ly/rIBU1w
For more info contact Zakiya Harris: zakiya9@gmail.com
When: Friday December 2nd at 5:30pm
Where: Youth Uprising (8711 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94605)
What: Premier of Muse Video Youth TV Show 2nd Episode “Sex Positive”, free food and youth music performances
Who: Youth Uprising, KDOL-TV, the Media Enterprise Alliance, Muse Video and youth artists from United Roots
Check out the first Muse Video youth television episode that came out in April 2011 featuring Untied Roots youth staff member Olondis Walker and showcasing his music video “Just Breathe”:
For More info about Muse Video go to: www.musevideo.net
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