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Events

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Upcoming Events

Semi—Annual Member Shop Sale

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

It’s sale time! Join us onsite and online for the semi-annual Member sale at the OMCA Shop. Starting Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10, OMCA Members enjoy double their regular discount on regularly priced items in our Shop–that’s 20% off!

Member Benefit Alert!

Friday Nights at OMCA with Agua Pura

OMCA campus

This Friday Night, join us for an evening of music, movement, and a celebration of identity and culture! Don’t miss Agua Pura, a Bay Area-based salsa band composed entirely of femme and queer musicians. Their high-energy set blends salsa classics, cumbia, timba, rumba, and son, paired with Agua Pura originals previewing their upcoming debut album. Rooted in tradition and driven by community, Agua Pura sets the stage with joy and inclusive energy for expression and connection.

Free

Member Tours: Students on Strike Curator Walkthrough 

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

Join us for a walkthrough of the Gallery of California History feature Students on Strike with OMCA Curator Ryder Diaz. This exhibition explores the enduring legacy of student activism at San Francisco State University by highlighting the similarities and differences between the historic 1968-1969 student strike that established the nation’s first Black Studies Department and first College of Ethnic Studies and the contemporary campus protests against the war in Gaza.

Free for Members

Friday Nights at OMCA with Amihan

OMCA campus

Friday Night at OMCA brings you an evening of rhythm, resistance, and creative expression! Experience a powerful live set from Frisco Pinay rapper, singer, and musician Amihan, whose unique blend of folk, hip-hop, and revolutionary chants channels stories of migration and solidarity. Performing alongside her band Diwa, a collective of Bay Area artists and organizers, Amihan’s music honors her Filipino roots and the collective fight for justice.

Free

Spotlight Sundays: Rituals of Care Celebration with Artist Chelsea Ryoko Wong, Cut Fruit Collective, and Teaphile

James Moore Theater

This month, Spotlight Sundays welcomes guests to join artist Chelsea Ryoko Wong for a free, all-ages celebration in OMCA’s Oak Street Plaza. Wong’s colorful paintings amplify the diversity of her Asian heritage and the vibrant family histories of the AAPI women depicted in them. Under her playful mural, titled Calling Home, this lively event will explore rituals of community care with Wong and OMCA’s community partners Cut Fruit Collective and Teaphile. 

Free and open to the public

Friday Nights at OMCA with SambaDá

OMCA campus

Friday Nights at OMCA presents an evening of rhythm, roots, and movement! Experience the vibrant energy of SambaDá, ready to transform the OMCA Garden with an infectious, high-energy show blending samba, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, funk, cumbia, and reggae. Calling upon deep roots in Brazil and the African diaspora, SambaDá brings 25 years of joyful, Carnival-inspired performance to the stage—guaranteed to get you and your crew dancing!

Free

Friday Nights at OMCA with NOODLES

OMCA campus

The beat drops at OMCA this Friday with two DJs bringing bold sounds and big energy. Choose your vibe with two live DJ sets that bring intention and serious rhythm to the night. On the Garden Stage, NOODLES delivers a DJ set featuring a genre-bending mix of hip-hop, R&B, electronic, and global sounds. Known for her bold style and creative vision, she’s rocked everything from underground clubs to international festivals.

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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