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Oakland students fight sex trafficking with their voices
Dream Youth Clinic occupies a small, gray building in Oakland right off I-980. Colorful murals and a spattering of posters cover its interior, creating a space that welcomes youth affected by sex trafficking.
“We try to make young...
Bay Area cities rethink downtown revitalization strategies
Kimberley Davidson has lived in Oakland her whole life and remembers when she could spend all day and all night downtown. She says you still “can-ish” but that it’s harder, and one has to know exactly where...
Love Local: Welcome to the Best of East Bay 2026
We know what we like. And—hopefully—we know what we stand for. In the East Bay, it’s often hard to separate the two. That’s why, I think, it’s particularly alarming when our favorite spots close. How can that...
Oakland’s entheogenic churches build community through psychedelic healing
On 10th Avenue in Oakland, a gated door stands with nothing marking it but a sign the size of a postcard depicting little mushrooms. Downtown, a nondescript glass storefront with a small camera monitoring its exterior gives...
East Bay arts scene fills fall with music, theater and more
One of the best things about living in the East Bay is the blessed ubiquity of arts year-round. Ah, but autumn and its abundances! This transitional season of harvest and cooling climes downright begs for artful outings....
Oakland Pride’s biggest Latin stage celebrates queer artists and allies
Before Jamie Awad, of Club Papi Productions, introduced the concept of a Latin dance stage to Long Beach and San Francisco Pride in 1998, he’d never heard Latin music played at festivals of this kind. At first,...
Why artists leave San Francisco for Oakland
Dresher Ensemble Studio is in a seemingly endless building, which takes up an entire block on Poplar Street in West Oakland. Within its white, unlabeled exterior and massive multi-panelled windows lies a rehearsal space dedicated to performing...
