Oakland’s best arts and culture offerings

We have one answer to offer: It’s an arts-rich community — even as Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is proposing a 20% cut to the city’s cultural funding grant program as part of a large retrenchment. 

Oakland is Oaklash, the Oakland Museum of California and the Oakland Symphony. It’s Oakland Theater Project, the Paramount and Children’s Fairyland. Nothing else can or should replace sports memories, but The Chronicle’s arts and entertainment writers, in this time of mourning, decided instead to celebrate what’s still here — and thriving — in “the Town.” 

Here are our valentines to our top picks in Oakland arts and entertainment for those seeking new pastimes and family traditions. 

— Lily Janiak

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Hella Bay

Oaklash

Oaklash started as a drag festival to put the best talent in the Bay Area on the stage for a weekend of performances and parties. The organization is now a year-round nonprofit working to create spaces and resources for the drag community, a mission that feels more essential than ever with drag under attack nationwide. 

Through Wednesday, May 17, the organization is hosting a series of workshops for the drag community including self-defense and grant-writing classes, while the festival itself returns Friday-Sunday, May 19-21. The lineup features local favorites Snaxx, Nicki Jizz, Kaikai B Michaels, and founders Beatrix LaHaine and Mama Celeste, among others. 

The performances have reflected the diverse style of the Bay Area scene from the avant-garde to the pageant-polished, but Oaklash is known for leaning into the kooky. It’s not just the drag festival the Bay Area has long wanted, it’s the drag festival the Bay Area deserves. 

Workshops run through May 17, with the festival May 19-21. Various Oakland locations. www.oaklash.com

— Tony Bravo 

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The Ruckus and Rumpus Revival

Leave your pearls, your white gloves and your opera glasses at home — unless that’s part of your act. Theater goes punk-rock at this recurring outdoor variety show, formerly known as Tourettes Without Regrets, where if someone isn’t spilling their beer on you, you’re doing something wrong. 

Art made out of bubbles or flying raw meat leads into battles where the weapons are dirty haikus, freestyle raps or backhanded compliments. Circus artists contort and fly. Burlesque artists bare bodies; poets bare souls. And it’s all emceed by founder Jamie DeWolf, a provocateur, a volcano of words and an Oakland institution. 

Check www.ruckusandrumpusrevival.com for future dates.

— Lily Janiak

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Hoodslam

Wrestling isn’t just what’s on World Wrestling Entertainment. At this monthly show, the brainchild of Dark Sheik — a.k.a. Sam Khandaghabadi, when she’s out of the ring — wrestling is as character- and plot-driven as the best theater. Fatal weaknesses get suggested and developed, leading inexorably to an outcome as satisfying as that of a Greek tragedy. Flair and idiosyncrasy triumph: Love cereal? Make a whole character out of that. 

Everyone, including emcees and refs, can have a ritualistic entrance with music. It’s theater as promenade; just stay alert in case the wrestlers are about to promenade over the ropes and onto your head.

Check www.birdswillfall.com for future dates.

— Lily Janiak

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Oakland Theater Project

This theater company takes the “Oakland” part of its name seriously, regularly setting new plays including “Exodus to Eden,”  “Saint Joan (burn/burn/burn)” and “Down Here Below” in its home city. “Binding Ties: The 16th Street Station” even dug into the history of the eponymous station, whose last train passed through in 1994. 

In dialogue with these pieces are stripped-down reimaginings of classics; each show in Oakland Theater Project’s venue, the garage of a Flax Art & Design store, reconfigures the space entirely. 

Up next is “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” — Edward Albee’s 1962 classic in which drunken, late-night party games devolve into lacerating exchanges that topple pillar upon pillar of civilization, especially love and marriage. Co-founder Michael Socrates Moran directs a dream cast of Adrian Roberts, Lisa Ramirez, William Hodgson and Wera von Wulfen.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”: May 26-June 18. $10-$55. Flax Art & Design, 1501 Martlin Luther King Jr. Way. 510-646-1126. https://oaklandtheaterproject.org

— Lily Janiak

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Turn up the volume

Mosswood Meltdown

The annual punk rock show at Mosswood Park is one of the best music weekends the Bay Area offers without feeling like a big corporate festival experience. 

Founded in 2009 as the Burger Boogaloo, the two-day event is regularly emceed by filmmaker John Waters. Past headliners include Iggy Pop, Devo and Bikini Kill. This year’s Mosswood Meltdown, set for July 1-2, is to include feminist electro-pop act Le Tigre at the top of the bill, along with local electro-clash band Gravy Train, indie-pop act the Rondelles, garage rockers Tina & the Total Babes, novelty dance music duo Quintron & Miss Pussycats, as well as the final shows by queer lo-fi punk band Twompsax. 

On top of the great music and a chance to see Waters play host, the festival also offers some of the best punk fashion and people watching.

July 1-2. $89-$159. Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster St. https://mosswoodmeltdown.com

— Tony Bravo

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Tower of Power

For more than five decades, Tower of Power has served as Oakland’s enduring emissary of funk. Emerging amid the swirling sounds of psychedelic rock acts like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, the band inked a deal with promoter Bill Graham’s esteemed San Francisco Records label, unleashing its seminal debut, “East Bay Grease,” in 1970. 

With its horn-infused, era-defining hits such as “Down to the Nightclub” and “What Is Hip?” Tower of Power quickly forged its path in the R&B landscape, commanding stages across the Bay Area. In its heyday, the group’s horn section was one of the most sought-after on the West Coast, sharing the spotlight with music luminaries such as Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and Huey Lewis and the News. In doing so, Tower of Power set a new standard for brass-heavy ensembles like Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire. 

Through triumph and tragedy, the band has persevered, earning an official Tower of Power Day from city officials in 2018. Tower of Power remains a vital force in music, continuing to tour and inspire generations with its electrifying performances and signature sound.

Catch the band during a Bay Area stop at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga next month for the fifth annual “In Concert with Hope,” Hope Services’ largest fundraiser that benefits programs and services for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health needs.

For more tour details, including for their local stop, go to https://towerofpower.com.

— Aidin Vaziri

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Too Short

Too Short, the 57-year-old rapper whose real name is Todd Anthony Shaw, built his reputation on raunchy, sinister rhymes and a string of platinum and gold albums in the 1980s and ’90s, featuring classics such as “Blow the Whistle” and “Don’t Fight the Feeling.” He has also made Oakland an integral part of his work, such as on the 1987 track “Freaky Tales,” in which he name-checked the discontinued bus line that he would ride to Fremont High School on Foothill Boulevard — a stretch that was renamed by the City Council in 2022 to honor his work. 

Too Short has charted Billboard albums in each of the past five decades, most recently with “Ain’t Gone Do It/Terms & Conditions,” a collaboration with longtime friend and fellow Bay Area rapper E-40. And in that time, he has grown and come to terms with his checkered past. 

Too Short still makes several Bay Area appearances throughout the year, including his Stern Grove Festival debut in 2022. Stay tuned for more local performances at https://tooshortstore.com.

— Aidin Vaziri

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The Oakland Symphony

During his 30 years as the orchestra’s music director, the late conductor Michael Morgan offered a glorious demonstration of how to turn a musical organization into a civic landmark. Sure, there were concerts, and they were often excellent. But the importance of the institution extended well beyond the musical offerings on any given evening, because Morgan ensured that the Symphony was a hub around which a whole constellation of cultural organizations rotated. 

Even now, as it searches for a successor, the orchestra’s position remains strong, with programming that is notable for its venturesome spirit. Two seasons’ worth of exciting young conductors are making their way through the Paramount Theatre, each one vying to take Morgan’s legacy in a broad new direction.

For details, visit www.oaklandsymphony.org.

— Joshua Kosman

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West Edge Opera

This innovative and always fascinating company isn’t exactly an Oakland specialty — it evolved out of the former Berkeley Opera and spent many nomadic years presenting its works in a variety of far-flung locations around the East Bay. But now that it has seemingly settled for good into a home at the Scottish Rite Center on Lake Merritt, there’s no reason not to count it among the city’s cultural destinations. 

Under the wise and resourceful leadership of General Director Mark Streshinsky and Music Director Jonathan Khuner, the company has created a long track record of excellence across a wide range of repertoire, including Baroque operas, contemporary work, and off-the-beaten-path selections from the 19th and 20th centuries. 

The offerings come only in the summer, during a brief and intense festival of three operas staged around the beginning of August, but it’s always worth the wait.

For more information, visit www.westedgeopera.org.

— Joshua Kosman

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Raphael Saadiq

Each decade seems to mark a new chapter for Raphael Saadiq, the extraordinarily talented Oakland native known as one third of the soul group Tony! Toni! Toné! 

As a teen, the musician got his start in gospel and in Castlemont High School’s jazz band, before getting his break playing bass for fellow East Bay native Sheila E., on tour with a little band called Prince and the Revolution. Upon returning home, he started Tony! Toni! Toné! , which produced ’90s hits like “Feels Good” and the Grammy-nominated slow-jam “Anniversary.” 

As a solo artist and as a record producer for some of the biggest names in R&B, Saadiq — whom real fans know as “S-A-double-D-I-Q” — has credited his hometown with his longevity. 

“It’s been 34 years since I’ve been playing music, making records, and I attribute that to the Bay Area, to Oakland,” he said during an early 2020 homecoming show at the Fox Theater.

Continuing to lend his Midas touch across mediums, Saadiq recently co-produced the Grammy-winning track “Cuff It” on Beyoncé’s maximalist 2022 album “Renaissance,” and provided music supervision for HBO’s series “Insecure.”

Keep an eye on Saadiq’s Instagram page for details on Tony! Toni! Toné! ‘s upcoming “Just Me and You Tour 2023.”

— Vanessa Labi

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Loyal to the soil

Zendaya

Zendaya, recently seen rooting for the Golden State Warriors during a playoff game at Chase Center, may be one of the biggest stars in the universe, belonging to an elite group of mononymous celebrities including Beyoncé, Adele and Madonna. 

Despite her success, the Oakland-born actress has remained grounded in her hometown. Before becoming the youngest Emmy Award-winning actor for her work on the hit HBO series “Euphoria,” she was known as a shy theater student. Her connection to her roots is evident through her regular trips back to the East Bay, where she recently visited her former school, the Oakland School for the Arts, with her boyfriend and “Spider-Man” co-star, Tom Holland. The couple spent the day speaking with current students. It’s that unassuming demeanor and undeniable charm that helps her light up the big screen whenever she appears on it.

In addition to “Euphoria” and her “Spider-Man” films, check out her talents in “Malcolm & Marie” (streaming on Netflix) and “Dune” (streaming on HBO Max). 

— Aidin Vaziri

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Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal

While these longtime creative partners now live in Los Angeles, they’ve never truly left Oakland behind. Creators of the Starz series “Blindspotting,” a spin-off of their 2018 hit film, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal take any chance they get to showcase their hometown. 

For their second season of the show, which got a star-studded premiere at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre, they doubled down on filming in Oakland and cast a few fellow East Bay stars such as Pittsburg native Dante Basco and theater and screen veteran Margo Hall for extra Bay cred.

New episodes air each Friday through May 19.

— Mariecar Mendoza

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Boots Riley

The boundary-pushing Oakland rapper and filmmaker behind the 2018 sci-fi comedy “Sorry to Bother You” has another eccentric East Bay-set project “I’m A Virgo,” a coming-of-age show about a 13-foot-tall Black man that’s set for release on Prime Video on June 23.

The first four episodes premiered at last month’s San Francisco International Film Festival with Riley and series star Jharrel Jerome (“Moonlight,” “Concrete Cowboy”) in attendance. While using the fantastical storytelling Riley has become known for, the show provides a serious exploration of racism, capitalism and gentrification.

— Mariecar Mendoza

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Ryan Coogler

The young filmmaker solidified Oakland as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he kicked off the “Black Panther” film franchise with the city’s name announced in big bold letters in the opening scenes of the 2018 superhero movie. 

Indeed, Ryan Coogler mines his hometown often for his projects, starting with 2013’s “Fruitvale Station,” a ripped-from-the-local-headlines film about the killing of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Black man, by a BART Police officer. 

If you’re not already familiar with his work, which also includes “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Creed,” start queuing up your streaming services for a full weekend of binge-watching.

— Mariecar Mendoza

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Gertrude Stein

She may have spent most of her life in Paris, but the author will forever be linked to Oakland, the city of her birth. 

Famously, when describing her demolished family home in her 1937 book “Everybody’s Autobiography,” Gertrude Stein wrote that “there is no there there.” The phrase, written in Stein’s modernist style, was not meant as a dig against the city but for a period was interpreted as such. But in 2011, the phrase was positively reclaimed by Oakland with artist Steve Gillman’s sculpture “Herethere.” In nine-foot-tall letters at the city border on Adeline Street, the word “Here” is spelled out on the Berkeley side, “There” as you enter Oakland. 

Although Stein’s work has a reputation for being difficult to decipher because of its experimental nature, 1937’s “Everybody’s Autobiography” and her earlier memoir “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas” (1933) are among her most accessible and enjoyable works. 

— Tony Bravo

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Bring the whole family

Children’s Fairyland

One thing I’ve always loved about the beautiful, low-tech amusement park beside Lake Merritt is the rule posted at the front gate. “No child admitted without an adult,” it reads, and also “No adult admitted without a child.” 

The whole point of the endeavor is to encourage shared enjoyment, and anyone who’s spent time there understands just how unerringly the park hits that goal. It’s stocked with low-tech rides whose goal is not to instill fear or an adrenaline rush, but excitement and wonder. 

There is a small, manageable population of animals for petting and a host of participatory events. There are puppet shows whose theatrical panache can rival that of a professional company. And you don’t even have to take part in any of these offerings to have a good time; on the first of her many visits over the years, my then 3-year-old daughter devoted a good 45 minutes just to chasing soap bubbles on the sun-dappled plaza by the entrance. It’s that kind of place.

699 Bellevue Ave. 510-452-2259. www.fairyland.org

— Joshua Kosman

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Lake Merritt Gondolas

Imagine a piece of “la Serenissima” Venice in a favorite corner of “the Town.” 

Dolce Vita Gondola offers leisurely rides on Lake Merritt available from its jewel box boathouse filled with Italian and Moorish treasures where you can picnic with friends before taking to the water. 

These real Venetian gondolas are available to book for a private cruise, or you can rent the boathouse for private parties. The experience is best at night, when the lights reflect on the water like pixies that wandered over from Children’s Fairyland — and it’s even better if you get one of the singing gondoliers. 

Put on your boater hat and striped shirt, we’re going for a ride, amore mio. 

1520 Lakeside Drive. 510-495-6290 www.dolcevitagondola.com

— Tony Bravo 

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The Grand Lake Theatre

Oakland’s full-time movie palace opened in 1926, and it shows. The theater features gorgeous period decor inside and out, complete with a classic, 2,800-bulb sign so huge it dominates the Grand Lake neighborhood skyline.

And yet owner Allen Michaan, who has operated the theater since 1980, makes sure it is a state-of-the-art facility. Mostly a first-run theater, it has the best 70mm projection in the Bay Area, and also the best 3-D projection as it is one of the few that uses a dual 3-D projection system instead of one.

It also is increasingly becoming a go-to venue for special events, such as the Noir City film festival, the 66th San Francisco International Film Festival — which for the first time this year hosted its opening night outside of San Francisco to screen “Stephen Curry: Underrated” at the East Bay movie house — and, recently, a special screening of the first two episodes of “Blindspotting” with several cast members present.

3200 Grand Ave. 510-452-3556. www.renaissancerialto.com

— G. Allen Johnson

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The Paramount Theatre

Walking into the Paramount Theatre doesn’t just feel like entering another time, it’s entering another world. The Art Deco masterpiece by famed Bay Area architect Timothy Pflueger has a dark glamour that evokes the golden age of Hollywood, from the period-perfect furnishings in the lobby and lounges to the ornate chandeliers and and plush velvet botanical pattern seats. 

In addition to hosting performances, the landmark also still fulfills its original purpose as a movie palace with regular screenings of vintage favorites, including screenings with live music presented by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Getting lost in the dark of the gorgeous auditorium as ghosts of cinema past flicker onscreen feels both decadent and nourishing to the soul for any film lover. 

2025 Broadway. 510-893-2300. www.paramountoakland.org

— Tony Bravo

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The New Parkway

The community-centered cinema and pub located in Oakland’s Uptown district has two screening rooms filled with comfortable couches, love seats and plush chairs to enjoy eclectic art-house fare that includes first-run films as well as classics, such as “Mommie Dearest” (6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 14, part of the Queer Classics series).

Add to that a number of special events, like “Cereal Cinema” (cartoons and all-you-can-eat cereal, most Saturday mornings and Monday nights), Speed Meeting Mondays, trivia nights and, when applicable, Golden State Warriors and 49ers playoff games, plus a great menu sure to please meat eaters and vegans alike, and the New Parkway is a fantastic hang spot.

474 24th St. 510-658-7900. www.thenewparkway.com

— G. Allen Johnson

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A feast for the eyes

Oakland Museum of California

From the famed Brutalist galleries by Kevin Roche overlooking Lake Merritt to the art-packed gardens originally designed by Dan Riley, the Oakland Museum of California is among our favorite destinations — and it’s just blocks away from BART. 

Shows have highlighted hyperlocal scenes and subjects from Bay Area hip-hop to Heath Ceramics, Burning Man and the Black Panther Party. With permanent collections that include work by Ruth Asawa, Richard Diebenkorn, Edward Weston and Hung Liu as well as its stellar Dorothea Lange archive, the legacy of California artists is highlighted like nowhere else. 

If you’re hungry after all the art, the museum’s Town Fare restaurant offers bites by chef Michele McQueen. 

The recent refresh to the campus by architect Mark Cavagnero and landscape architect Walter Hood encourages patrons to linger and not just enjoy, but really utilize the indoor and outdoor spaces.

1000 Oak St. 510-318-8400. https://museumca.org

— Tony Bravo

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Creative Growth

Downtown Oakland’s visual arts scene includes not only the popular First Friday art walk and galleries like Johanson Projects and Mercury 20, but also one of the world’s foremost art centers for developmentally disabled people, which has helped launch their work into the mainstream.

In the former auto body shop turned studios, artists study and create work that they exhibit in the adjacent gallery. The work spans from ceramic, painting and sculpture to clothing and textile art created for the annual “Beyond Trend” fashion show. 

The space shows work internationally with artists like William Scott, Judith Scott and Dan Miller featured in major collections including the Museum of Modern Art and Smithsonian. 

Creative Growth has been a community fixture for five decades and, along with San Francisco’s Creativity Explored and Richmond’s NIAD, has led the conversation advocating for neurodiverse artists.

355 24th St. 510-836-2340 https://creativegrowth.org

— Tony Bravo

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McMullen Boutique

Sherri McMullen has made waves in the fashion world as an advocate not only for the city of Oakland, where she opened her first store in 2007, but also for Black designers and professionals in an industry that has only recently began to address a historic lack of inclusion.

At her flagship boutique on Broadway, McMullen carries well-known Black designers like Christopher John Rodgers, Aisling Camps and LaQuan Smith, as well as a well-curated selection of accessories, home decor and books, all reflecting her exquisite taste and socially engaged values. 

This fall season, McMullen plans to launch her own fashion week in Oakland where nationally known and up-and-coming designers are expected to present. 

2257 Broadway. 510-508-0773. https://shopmcmullen.com

— Tony Bravo 

Reach Tony Bravo, Lily Janiak, G. Allen Johnson, Joshua Kosman, Vanessa Labi, Mariecar Mendoza and Aidin Vaziri: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]