Oakland Museum of California Announces Its Top Five Special Programs & Events This Summer

(OAKLAND, CA) July 2, 2019—This summer, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will present a dynamic and lively lineup of public programming, including five special summer events and programs.

Before OMCA’s major exhibition Queer California: Untold Stories closes on August 11, the public will have the final opportunity to enjoy programming associated with the exhibition including the last presentation of our popular Drag Family Storytime on Friday, July 5. On Saturday, July 13, visitors can experience an afternoon of song, dance, poetry, and live performances with members from the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit (BAAITS) at Celebrating Stories: Two-Spirits Art and Performance.

On Thursday, July 25, a special LGBTQ+ edition of Showga—combining yoga, live music, visual effects, and aromatherapy—will be held at the Museum. After a class led by trans yoga instructor Sparkle Thornton with accompanying music by Russell E.L. Butler, yogis can stay late for exclusive access to Queer California and enjoy bites from queer-owned Third Culture Bakery, kombucha from GT’s Living Foods, and more.
 

The Museum’s family-friendly 15th Annual Summer Reading Celebration with the Oakland Public Library will be held in the OMCA gardens on Sunday, August 4, with acrobatic performances, games, crafts, and more. A special summer bike tour of Middle Harbor Shoreline inspired by Pushing West: The Photography of Andrew J. Russell will be held on Sunday, July 21 and Sunday, August 18.

For more details and advance tickets (as applicable), visit museumca.org.

CALENDAR EDITOR PLEASE LIST:
FAMILY EVENTS; MUSIC EVENTS; COMMUNITY EVENTS; ART EVENTS; FOOD EVENTS; CHARITY EVENTS; LGBTQ EVENTS

Friday Nights at OMCA | Queer California Drag Family Storytime
Friday, July 5
6 –7 pm
Join us for a reading of a few charming children’s books during a special edition of Family Storytime led by Drag Queen Story Hour’s Persia, one of San Francisco’s most beloved drag queens. Meet inside Queer California: Untold Stories for this fabulous performance and enjoy treats, face painting, and a rainbow flag making workshop. Wrap up the night with a parade through the OMCA Gardens.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for Members. Ticket does not include gallery admission.

Celebrating Stories: Two-Spirits Art and Performance
Saturday, July 13
2 – 4 pm
As part of Queer California: Untold Stories, join us for an afternoon of song, dance, poetry, and live performances with members from the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit (BAAITS), a community-based organization committed to activism and service for the Two-Spirit and ally communities of the Bay Area. Celebrate and learn more about BAAITS’ 20-year commitment to spiritual, cultural, and artistic expression in native and non-native communities.

BAAITS member collaborators include: Roger Kuhn, Amelia Vigil, and Ruth Villaseñor. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for Members. Ticket does not include gallery admission.

Queer Showga
Thursday, July 25
6 – 9 pm
Join us for a special LGBTQ+ edition of Showga, a concert on your yoga mat incorporating live music from Russell E.L. Butler, yoga by Sparkle Thornton, visual effects, lights, and aromatherapy. After class, stay late for exclusive access to OMCA’s Queer California: Untold Stories exhibition and enjoy donated snacks from queer-owned Third Culture Bakery, kombucha from GT’s Living Foods, and more.

Showga is a festive fusion event that partners with local musicians and yoga instructors to host wellness experiences in beautiful bars, venues, and alternative spaces. Founded in an underground Oakland music venue in 2011, Showga pops up at festivals, retreats, conventions, museums, and offices across the west coast. Sessions encourage intention-setting, presence, awe, and openness. Reset and reconnect to the wonder of being alive with this festive exploration of the senses!

Tickets are $45. A limited amount of yoga mats will be available to rent for $2 each. Showga delivery and yoga sequencing is accessible to people from all walks of life.

15th Annual Summer Reading Celebration
Sunday, August 4
11 am – 3 pm
Don’t miss the 15th Annual Summer Reading Celebration with the Oakland Public Library! Meet your friends in the sunny gardens at OMCA and enjoy performances, games, crafts, and more. Bring the whole family for this summer bookstravaganza.

Enjoy thrills with the Circus of Smiles acrobatic performers, face painting, giant chess, and more. Try your hand at art activities, have your caricature drawn, and even get a free book.

Listen to Kamishibai, Japanese street theater and storytelling, by the Oakland Public Library and a fabulous storytime by local performers Drag King Vera and Drag Queen Coco Buttah, and enjoy a good read in the sun.

Presented in partnership with the Oakland Public Library, Our Family Coalition, and the California Historical Society.

Bike Tour | Middle Harbor
Sunday, July 21 and Sunday, August 18
10 am – 1 pm
Explore Oakland’s diverse and rich patchwork of neighborhoods by cycling through them with an experienced OMCA Docent. Inspired by Pushing West: the Photography of Andrew J. Russell, bike tour leaders will explore locations in Oakland with significant connections to early railroad history. Join the group as we explore the history of the Southern Pacific railroad, the rich legacy of the Pullman porter profession, and the controversy surrounding the Western Pacific and Southern Pacific railroad companies.

BONUS EVENT

Friday Nights at OMCA
Every Friday from 5 – 10 pm
July 5, 12, 19, 26
August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Cheers to summer weekends! Chill with us at Friday Nights at OMCA and enjoy late-night gallery access, Off the Grid food truck market, live music and dance, hands-on art activities, and so much more. Explore the Museum’s 110,000 square feet of gallery space until 10 pm, including hands-on exhibitions with interactive activities for the whole family. Bring friends and family for a taste of local music, food, and culture at the Oakland Museum of California every Friday Night!

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHTS AT OMCA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) presents Friday Nights at OMCA, a weekly evening series every Friday from 5 to 10 pm, in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt at OMCA—the first major food truck market in the East Bay. Friday Nights at OMCA features extended Museum hours, in-gallery programming, a beer garden from Blue Oak café, live music, dancing, hands-on family activities, and more. Outdoor performances are free and accessible to all, including OMCA’s Go Local stage, featuring top Bay Area musicians and performers. Gallery admission is free for Members and ages 8 and under. Event parking in the Museum garage is $7. Friday Nights at OMCA is presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt at OMCA. Friday Nights at 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. museumca.org/fridaynights

ABOUT OMCA FAMILY
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to being a welcoming and lively place for multi-generational Bay Area families to visit, learn, and engage through OMCA Family, with art activities, storytelling, and hands-on, drop-in projects throughout the Museum. OMCA’s other family-friendly offerings include free Family Guides to the Galleries available at ticketing desks, free activity Books & Blankets available for check-out anytime the Museum is open, and three large annual festivals: Lunar New Year in February, the Summer Reading Celebration in August with the Oakland Public Library, and the Days of the Dead Celebration in October. OMCA Festivals are made possible in part by generous support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and the Koret Foundation. Supporters of the 2019 Summer Reading Program are: Friends of the Oakland Public Library, Fentons Creamery, Hellman Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, The Bernard Osher Foundation, and the William G. Gilmore Foundation. Free admission for children provided by the Bernard Osher Foundation. The Lunar New Year Community Celebration is made possible in part by generous support from Macy’s and the Oakland Museum Women’s Board. museumca.org/family

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) tells the many stories that comprise California, creating the space and context for greater connection, trust, and understanding between people. Through its inclusive exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and cultural events, OMCA brings Californians together and inspires greater understanding about what our state’s art, history, and natural surroundings teach us about ourselves and each other. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA brings together its multi-disciplinary collections of art, history, and natural science with the first-person accounts and often untold narratives of California, all within its 110,000 square feet of gallery space and seven-acre campus. The Museum will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019 as a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage for visitors from the region, the state, and around the world.

VISITOR INFORMATION
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. Beginning April 3, Museum admission will be adjusted to $16 general; $11 seniors and students with valid ID, $7 youth ages 9 to 17, and free for children 8 and under and Museum Members, and there will be a $5 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions. OMCA offers onsite underground parking, with validation for Museum visitors, 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 new 1000 Oak Street main entrance. Regular hours are 11 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 9 pm Fridays. museumca.org

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