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Oakland Museum of California Announces Events & Programs For Altered State: Marijuana in California

(Oakland, CA) The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will open Altered State: Marijuana in California, the first-ever museum exhibition to focus on the topic, April 16, 2016, in its Great Hall. Set against the backdrop of a likely California ballot measure in 2016 to legalize marijuana’s recreational use, the exhibition features artwork, political documents and posters, scientific displays, and interactive and multimedia exhibits all meant to provoke questions and conversations about the provocative plant. Created to accompany the exhibition, an array of public programs is offered throughout the spring and summer during popular weekly late-night event Friday Nights @ OMCA. Additional details available on the OMCA website, museumca.org.

SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS, ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

$4.20 at OMCA
Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 11 am–5 pm

On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, OMCA admission will be reduced to $4.20 in recognition of the “counterculture holiday” observance of 4/20. While there are many opportunities outside of the Museum to celebrate on April 20, OMCA invites the public on this day and throughout the exhibition to engage in the discussion around marijuana that Altered State presents.

Friday Nights @ OMCA
Every Friday, 5–10 pm

The Oakland Museum of California’s popular weekly night market gets infused with an alternative vibe in spring and summer 2016, in honor of special exhibition Altered State: Marijuana in California. Visitors will get a chance to meet experts from backgrounds ranging from law enforcement to drug policy, and people who work in the industry in everything from hemp beauty products to cannabis health treatments for pets. All this plus Friday Nights @ OMCA’s promise of the best of Bay Area music, food, art, and culture, including half-price admission for adults, free admission for ages 18 and under. Visitors can enjoy California beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages at the Blue Oak beer garden, Off the Grid food trucks, tours and pop-up talks, a local artist pop-up shop, and, new for the summer 2016, extended hours till 10 pm with an expanded food truck market that wraps around the Museum. Special Altered State-related programming during Friday Nights @ OMCA includes:

Ask an Expert
Second Fridays, May–September, 5:30–8 pm

Visitors with burning questions on marijuana are invited to ask experts with backgrounds ranging from cannabis law, health, economics, and politics during “office hours” in special exhibition Altered State: Marijuana in California. Deepen your understanding of cannabis as a plant and as a social phenomenon. Each month, a different knowledgeable individual will take questions from inquisitive visitors and hold a candid conversation on the facts. The lineup includes:

Makers & Tasters
First Fridays, June to September, 6–8 pm

Local vendors, artisans, and DIY-ers from beer brewers to coffee roasters, organic farmers to small business owners host talks, demos, and tastings on the first and last Friday of the month. In addition to local vendors from Whole Foods Market the last Friday of each month, the Makers & Tasters series features a lineup of cannabis-related creators on the first Fridays of the month from June to September, including:

Family-Friendly Drop-in Art Activity
Fridays in June, 5–8 pm

In June, OMCA’s weekly free hands-on art workshop for families, kids and adults alike can make a friendship bracelet out of hemp to take home.

Pop-up Talk: Robert Raich on Medical Cannabis Law
Friday, September 16, 7–7:30 pm

Meet Oakland-based attorney Robert Raich, who took both of the landmark cases on medical cannabis law to the Supreme Court, in the Gallery of California Natural Sciences for an in-depth look at the history of regulation in Oakland.

Altered State: Marijuana in California will be on view in the Oakland Museum of California’s Great Hall April 16 through September 25, 2016.

Altered State: Marijuana in California is made possible in part by generous support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHTS @ OMCA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) presents Friday Nights @ OMCA, a regular evening series every Friday from 5 to 10 pm, April through October, and 5 to 9 pm, November through April. Friday Nights @ OMCA features extended Museum hours, special programs, the largest food truck market from Off the Grid in the East Bay, bars from Blue Oak café, live music, dancing, hands-on family activities, and more. Museum admission is half-off for adults, free for ages 18 and under. Event parking in the Museum garage is $5 after 5 pm. Presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA. Friday Nights @ OMCA is made possible in part by generous support from Bank of America, the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Koret Foundation.  Support for the Latin Salsa Music program is provided by the Zellerbach Family Foundation. Makers & Tasters Series sponsored by Whole Foods Market on final Fridays in 2015.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) brings together collections of art, history, and natural science under one roof to tell the extraordinary stories of California and its people. OMCA’s groundbreaking exhibits tell the many stories that comprise California with many voices, often drawing on first-person accounts by people who have shaped California’s cultural heritage. Visitors are invited to actively participate in the Museum as they learn about the natural, artistic, and social forces that affect the state and investigate their own role in both its history and its future. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage.

VISITOR INFORMATION
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. Regular Museum admission is $15.95 general; $10.95 seniors and students with valid ID, $6.95 youth ages 9 to 17, and free for Members and children 8 and under. OMCA offers onsite underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. The accessibility ramp is located at the 1000 Oak Street main entrance to the Museum. museumca.org

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