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Friday Nights at OMCA Special Members Lounge

OMCA Garden 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, California, United States

Calling all Members! Join us for a special members’ lounge on the Upper Level Terrace, overlooking our Garden. Mingle with fellow OMCA enthusiasts while enjoying light refreshments, Bingo games, sidewalk chalk, and games for the whole family. Plus, we’ll be raffling off some awesome OMCA merch! Invite your friends and family to share in the fun—OMCA Members can bring at least one adult guest to enjoy the experience together!

Free for Members

Spotlight Sundays: A Conversation on Black Fatherhood

OMCA Lecture Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

This month’s Spotlight Sundays invites you to a powerful exploration of Black fatherhood through the lens of three visionary artists, each offering a unique perspective on its complexity and depth. Through film, conversation, and artistic reflection, we’ll engage with some of the most nuanced and resonant realities of Black fatherhood today.

$1 – $30

Friday Nights at OMCA with Soulovely

OMCA campus

Friday Nights at OMCA has the stage set for you to experience the vibrant energy of Soulovely, the beloved Oakland dance party uplifting queer and trans BIPOC joy through genre-blending sets, live performances, and radical community spirit. Founded by Aïma the Dreamer, DJ Lady Ryan, and Emancipation, this high-vibe experience transforms the OMCA Garden into a space of movement, music, and unapologetic celebration.

Free

Friday Nights at OMCA with The Futurelics

OMCA campus

This Friday Night at OMCA, join us for a special takeover in celebration of Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week 2025. In partnership with the Museum of the African Diaspora and local Black artists and organizers, OMCA’s campus will come alive with music, movement, and conversations rooted in Black creativity, resistance, and cultural legacy—all connected to OMCA’s current special exhibition, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain.

Free

Special Guest Gallery Chat: Inside Black Spaces

Oak Street Plaza 1000 Oak St, Oakland, California, United States

In celebration of Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week 2025, organized by MoAD, OMCA invites you to a special walkthrough and panel discussion during Friday Nights at OMCA. Starting in Oak Street Plaza and continuing into the exhibition Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain, this engaging Gallery Chats experience brings together curator Dania Talley, architect June Grant (blinkLAB architecture), and activist Dominique Walker (Moms 4 Housing) to explore the making of the exhibition and urgent themes of housing justice, displacement, and Black community resilience in the East Bay and beyond.

Admission ticket required

Friday Nights at OMCA with LaRussell

OMCA campus

Friday Nights at OMCA is turning all the way up with an evening packed with culture, connection, and straight-up fire performances. The Garden Stage will light up with an unforgettable live set from LaRussell. That’s right, this Vallejo-born phenomenon known for his sharp lyricism, viral freestyles, community-first ethos, and epic presence will take the stage with The Yee Section & CO-LLAB Choir and light up Oakland’s favorite block party! *This is going to be a major vibe, and space is limited, so be sure to lock in your entry to the Garden early.*

Free

Ongoing events

Evening hours Thursday After Hours

Experience Thursday After Hours at OMCA – your weekly night out at the Museum rich with cocktails, culture, and community. Mingle at Town Fare Cafe by Chef Michele McQueen, where you can enjoy drinks and light bites against a backdrop of music, or explore the galleries  which come alive at night with a mix of pop-up performances, chats, live drawings, and more–  just for adults! 

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Evening hours Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid

Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid, Oakland’s favorite free weekly block party is back, April—October!

Gather with family, friends, and community every Friday 5—9 pm for live music, hands-on activities, Off the Grid (OTG) food trucks, and late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions, with a Museum ticket.

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Gallery Events Gallery Chats at OMCA

Join us for Gallery Chats, an opportunity to chat with and ask questions of our enthusiastic and knowledgeable OMCA Facilitators.

 

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Third Sundays Spotlight Sundays

Every third Sunday, OMCA invites visitors to Spotlight Sundays, a series of conversations, performances, and experiences that showcase California visionaries.

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First Sundays First Sundays

Every first Sunday of the month, General Admission to OMCA’s Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences is free and tickets to Special Exhibitions in our Great Hall are offered at a discounted price of $6.

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Gallery Events Group Tours

Interested in bringing a group to engage more deeply with our gallery content? Sign up for a Group Tour where knowledgeable facilitators share insights and help make meaning with your group in OMCA’s galleries.

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Annual events

Community Event White Elephant Sale

The Oakland Museum Women’s Board started the White Elephant Sale over sixty years ago. The annual event is not-to-be-missed.

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Community Celebration Lunar New Year

OMCA celebrates the Lunar New Year and explores the shared connections between the diverse Asian cultures of the Bay Area. These family-friendly programs will include both virtual and in-person offerings that celebrate and honor Lunar New Year traditions through storytelling, performances, activities, cooking demonstrations, and more. OMCA holds space for our AAPI communities to come together and uplift each other with both in-person and virtual healing circles.

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Community Celebration Día de los Muertos

In collaboration with OMCA’s Día de los Muertos Committee, we honor Day of the Dead every October and November.

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