Friday Nights at OMCA with Cuicacalli Ballet Folklórico & La Familia Peña Govea

Friday Nights at OMCA | Live Music with Cuicacalli Ballet Folklórico & Familia Peña Govea, Drag Storytime with Per Sia, Clay Art Making, music set with DJ Chagga Star, and Gallery Chats

Bring the whole family and dive into the vibrant rhythms of Mexico with Cuicacalli Ballet Folklórico and Familia Peña Govea this Friday Nights at OMCA! This amazing mash-up will bring Aztec Dance, Zapateados, Faldeos, and Sombreros to life on the garden stage and transport you through the magical culture of México with a captivating blend of music and dance.

Next, get ready for Drag Storytime with the enchanting Per Sia, who will read Just A Minute!: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales. This lively trickster tale, adorned with vivid illustrations and engaging text, celebrates Mexican cultural traditions while introducing counting in both English and Spanish.

Don’t forget to create a memory with a creative clay art making session and then take a moment to get civically involved! The City of Oakland will be a featured table this Friday Nights to inform the public of the updates to its General Plan. Oaklands General Plan Update is an exciting chance for everyone in Oakland to help plan what we want Oakland to be like in twenty years. Come talk to City planning staff about your ideas to improve parks, neighborhoods, transportation, jobs, and anything else you want your local government leaders to consider for the future.

After showing your Oakland pride hit the dance floor again with the electrifying beats of DJ Chagga Star. DJ Chagga Star’s set features a global blend of Afro-diasporic club sounds, including amapiano, baile funk, kuduro, soukous, dembow, and house, with a special focus on African artists, women, and queer and non-binary performers.

In addition to an outstanding event experience, every Friday Nights at OMCA also offers guests a well-rounded gallery experience with Gallery Chats. Unlike the traditional museum tour, Gallery Chats invites visitors to chat, ask questions, and connect with our OMCA facilitators who combine content knowledge with lived experience to encourage meaningful dialogue and fresh interpretations of our galleries.

Limited $10 flat rate parking for Friday Nights is available in the OMCA Garage until 10 pm. Learn more about getting to the museum.

Program Schedule:

Program Schedule: 

5–9 pm Core Galleries and Special Exhibitions evening hours with Museum ticket

5–8 pm City of Oakland Table | Garden

5:15–5:40 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 | Gallery of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences

6:45–8:00 pm Cuicacalli Ballet Folklórico & Familia Peña Govea | OMCA Garden stage

6:45–8:45 pm DJ Chagga Star  | Amphitheater

About Friday Nights:

Gather with family, friends, and community every Friday at 5 pm for free live music and hands-on activities, Off the Grid food trucks, and late night access to our galleries and special exhibitions, with a Museum ticket.

Bring your own or grab dinner from any one of the 8 Off the Grid food trucks on 10th Street between Oak and Fallon Streets. Beer, wine, mixed and non-alcoholic drinks are available for sale. After grabbing a meal from a wide and weekly changing menu of culinary creations, head to the OMCA Garden where you’ll find picnic tables and blankets to enjoy your local eats. Play lawn and table games, enjoy weekly rotating Museum programming, and create new memories at one of the Town’s most treasured spaces right in the heart of Oakland.

No outside alcohol permitted. Performances are subject to change. Limited $10 flat rate parking for Friday Nights is available in the OMCA Garage until 10 pm.

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.

Sponsors

Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid is sponsored by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and Bank of America.