Great Art + Fabulous Music too! Can you think of a better way to spend a Friday or Saturday night?

Hey HarriOak there is an Art Show this weekend in our neighborhood. Walking distance from your house - come on by.

We ordered clear skies, a full moon, compelling and thought-provoking art and amazing musicians to add sound to our art + community experience for the latest Frisbie St. Art Show: Illuminating Shadows.

We can’t promise the clear skies or that you will be able to see the full moon – but the art and music will be here for your enjoyment on Friday and Saturday nights. The show opens at 6pm on Friday and closes at 5pm on Sunday. Here’s the schedule:

Friday, Jan 29
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m
Show Opening
Music by Zoe Boekbinder and Dakota Belle Witt

Saturday, Jan. 30
4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Music by Cara Wick and Kim Lembo

Sunday, Jan. 31
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m
Show Closing

Address: 204 Frisbie St./corner of Fairmount. For more information: www.frisbiest.com. Hope to see you there.

Free Events for the HarriOak Community

This is post for everyone in the HarriOak neighborhood - or anyone who wants to attend one of the free community events listed below.

All events will be held and hosted by the First Christian Church - 111 Fairmount Avenue (up the hill from the Grocery Outlet, at the corner of Fairmount and 29th.)

And if you're not religious, don't worry about proselytizing - the pastor, Sandhya Jha, is not focused on conversion but on creating inclusive community and peaceful, safe neighborhoods.

Plus, the church building is just cool. Built in 1928, it's 82 years old and full of Oakland history. Sandhya gave me a tour and there are fascinating stories and mysterious nooks and crannies.

Thursday, January 21, 7 PM: The Congregation: A Reader's Theater
Come to a dramatic reading of scenes from The Congregation, a new screenplay by Writer/Director Robert T. Fields. Enjoy the story of a typical (or not-so-typical) church wrestling with issues of judgment, compassion, family tension, and figuring out how to make love matter more than "keeping up appearances." Excerpts from the new screenplay will be "test run."

January 28, 7 PM: Community Movie Night!
Bring the family for popcorn, soda and a viewing of "The Garden," a documentary about a community garden in South Central Los Angeles. Afterwards, learn about People's Grocery and other efforts to "Green" our city!


February 4, 8 PM: PEACE TALKS: A spoken word event
Come for spoken word poetry on the theme of violence, peace, and the pursuit of a just and peace-filled city.

February 11, 7 PM: SAVING PARADISE: *How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire* Hear internationally acclaimed author Rita Brock speak on her most recent book. "For a thousand years, Christians did not depict Jesus dead. Why not? And what happened that crucifixion eventually took center stage and became the core of Christian faith?"

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

Peace,
Sandhya Jha
Pastor

Click It and Fix It!

The New York Times has a story today about a local advocacy Web site called SeeClickFix.com that encourages folks to post complaints about issues that occur in their neighborhoods like graffiti or pot holes. The idea is the site will communicate with the appropriate agency on your behalf. I am not sure it is wise to depend on this site, which was started as a volunteer project (it has since raised investment money). But if you log your complaint and call one of the numbers for listed on the Harrioak.com sidebar, you are likely to get some action. (You can invite the city worker to respond to the complaint on the site, as soon as the problem is fixed!)

To start us off, I made a note about the styrofoam peanuts that were blanketing Oakland Avenue this morning. They apparently got dumped during routine garbage pickup. Unfortunately they are not only dirtying the street, they are rapidly being swept toward the storm drains that empty directly into Lake Merritt. I stuffed my pockets full of the foam peanuts this morning on the way to work, but I didn't have time to pick up them all. If other folks chip in, we can all help keep Lake Merritt clean and healthy.

Many mailing/packing facilities will accept and reuse styrofoam peanuts. You can also call Plastic Loose Fill Council at 1-800-828-2214 or visit StopWaste.org.

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