Friday Nights at OMCA with Aguacero
Live Music and Dance by Aguacero, Drag Storytime with Per Sia, Pride-Inspired Clay Art-Making, Music Set by DJ Lady Ryan, and Gallery Chats
June 6 from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday Nights at OMCA honors Pride Month with a vibrant celebration of culture, identity, and rhythm! Feel the pulse of Puerto Rico with Aguacero, an intergenerational ensemble bringing Bomba to life through percussion, dance, and song. Blending traditional and original compositions, their performance tells powerful Afro-Caribbean stories and invites all ages to join the rhythm through call and response, movement, and music.
Per Sia returns to host a special Drag Storytime, reading The Rainbow Parade: A Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Identities and Allies by Shane Jordan and Rick Hendrix. This joyful picture book shares a heartwarming story of acceptance, friendship, and pride—a perfect way for families to celebrate love and inclusivity together.
Get hands-on in the garden with colorful, Pride-inspired clay art-making. Then dance the night away with the iconic DJ Lady Ryan, known for curating inclusive spaces and spinning uplifting sets that blend genres and generations with effortless flair.
This week also spotlights Alameda County Community Food Bank’s second annual Night on the Town, celebrating the organization’s 40th anniversary. Engage with their vital work through hands-on opportunities in volunteering, advocacy, and nutrition education—and don’t miss the Eat. Learn. Play. Bus from Stephen and Ayesha Curry, offering free food and books on 10th Street near Off the Grid food trucks. It’s a celebration of four decades of service—and a chance to be part of the movement to end hunger in the Bay Area.
Friday Nights at OMCA also offer a well-rounded gallery experience with Gallery Chats. Unlike traditional museum tours, Gallery Chats invite visitors to engage in meaningful conversations, ask questions, and connect with OMCA facilitators, who combine deep content knowledge with lived experience to encourage fresh interpretations of the museum’s exhibitions.
Program Schedule:
5–8 pm Alameda County Community Food Bank Night on the Town | OMCA Garden
5–9 pm Core Galleries and Special Exhibitions evening hours with Museum ticket
5:15 pm Drag Storytime with Per Sia | OMCA Garden
5:30–7:30 pm Clay Art-Making | OMCA Garden
5:30–7:30 pm Gallery Chats | All Galleries
6:30-7:45 pm Live Music and Dance by Aguacero | Garden Stage
6:45-8:50 pm Music Set by DJ Lady Ryan | Amphitheater
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About Friday Nights:
Join us for Friday Nights at OMCA, where Oakland comes together! Every Friday from April to October, bring your crew for an unforgettable night of free live music and activities for the whole family. Bring a blanket and settle down on the lawn, or take advantage of exclusive late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions (Museum ticket needed for gallery access).
Hungry? Grab a bite from any of the ten Off the Grid food trucks lining 10th Street between Oak and Fallon Streets, offering a delicious mix of rotating flavors. Beer, wine, mixed drinks, and non-alcoholic beverages are also available for purchase. Once you’ve fueled up, head to the OMCA Garden, where picnic tables and blankets await you to enjoy your meal. With lawn games, engaging museum programs, and a vibrant community atmosphere, it’s the perfect setting for making memories at one of Oakland’s most iconic spots.
OMCA also offers a $10 flat-rate parking in the OMCA Garage until 10 pm. Please note that outside alcohol is not permitted, and event details and performances are subject to change.
Accessibility
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to providing programs that are accessible, welcoming, and inclusive of our community. Wheelchairs, sensory inclusive devices, and additional amenities are available for checkout on a first come, first served basis at the Ticketing Desk. To request other accommodations, like American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, Spanish or another language interpreter, please email [email protected] at least three weeks before the event. Learn more about our accessibility options.
Performers
Off the Grid Food Truck Lineup
Performer BIOS
For 40 years, Alameda County Community Food Bank has stood by our unwavering belief that food is a basic human right. We distribute millions of healthy meals every year, and are at the forefront of new approaches to ending hunger and poverty.
Aguacero is an artistic, educational, and cultural project that focuses on the traditions and creative expressions of Puerto Rican Bomba music and dance. Aguacero means downpour, one that arrives suddenly and is usually followed by a refreshing sky clearing and a gust of sunshine. The spirit and practice of Bomba, like an aguacero, is intense, transformative, and promotes cultural healing. Through song, music, and dance, Aguacero embodies the life, energy, and continuity of water in nature as a metaphor for the continuity of the oral histories of our ancestors. Aguacero came together in 2006 as a collective of skilled Bay Area dancers, musicians, poets, and songwriters practicing, studying, and performing Bomba and other Puerto Rican and Caribbean folkloric traditions. Aguacero’s vision is to create and share new original works in Bomba and to affirm perspectives and expressions of the genre rooted in the teachings of our maestros and ancestors. The collective has performed at numerous festivals and Universities throughout California, including the San Jose, Oakland, and Alameda County Puerto Rican Day Festivals, as well as UC Berkeley, Sonoma State University, and Humboldt State University. In 2016, Aguacero was featured at the BomPlenazo in New York City.
Per Sia comes with a pedigree from weekly performances at the late, iconic Esta Noche. Her trajectory has gone on to include art curation, stand-up, television, and maybe a quinceañera or two, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and México. Per Sia is currently a regular performer in the nationally acclaimed “Drag Story Hour” as well as an educator-in-residence at an after-school arts program in the San Francisco Unified School District, profiled on KQED Arts, National Public Radio, and CNN.
Lady Ryan is a Bay Area favorite—inspiring a sense of safety, joy, and belonging as a spiritual conductor and dedicated professional. Her passion for music can be heard throughout the Bay Area and beyond, whether she’s energizing the crowd at Warriors games, hosting one of her celebrated Soulovely or Sweetspot parties, or gracing the airwaves of 91.7 KALW in San Francisco. In 2023, Lady Ryan was voted the best DJ in the Bay Area by the Bay Area Reporter Magazine and was honored by the City of Oakland for her leadership in the LGBTQ music and arts community. This honor was bestowed within the affirmation of the City of Oakland’s commitment to the liberation of queer and trans people and the intersectional approach to liberation, principles of equality, and inclusion for all. Lady Ryan has shared the stage with legendary artists such as Diana Ross, George Clinton, Erykah Badu, Journey, Indigo Girls, and Anderson Paak. With a deep range and knowledge of multiple music genres, coupled with the right touch of nostalgia, her ability to conduct high vibrations makes Lady Ryan a sure shot for any dance floor.
Sponsors
Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid is sponsored by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and Bank of America.
