Get ready for a fun-filled weekend along the Capitol Corridor – from the Eat Real Festival in Oakland and Blues music in Martinez, to a giant book sale in San Francisco and models strutting the runway for a good cause in Berkeley!
Eat Real Festival: 9/23 – 9/24, Oakland
Head over to Oakland’s Jack London Square this weekend for the East Bay’s signature foodie event, Eat Real Festival. Combining a state fair, a street-food festival, and a block party, the festival is a fun and family-friendly celebration of good food. Kicking off at 3pm on Friday, September 22, and continuing through Sunday, September 24, participants will learn where food comes from, who grows it, and how to make it. Entrance to the festival is free, and all street food will cost $10 or less, incorporating delicious, regionally-sourced, and sustainably-produced ingredients. The festival will also feature live music, films, workshops, and cooking demonstrations. Eat Real Festival works with street food trucks and carts to serve a wide variety of foods such as tacos, BBQ, falafel, salads, sandwiches, curry, grilled meats, vegetables, noodles, fruit, ice cream, and hot dogs. To get there, take the train to the Oakland Jack London Station, which is just steps from the festival.
Bay Area Blues Festival: 9/23 – 9/24, Martinez
The 7th Annual Bay Area Blues Festival will be happening this weekend in Historic Downtown Martinez. Come spend two unforgettable days in the charming downtown area listening to authentic Blues music on two stages from 10am to 6pm on Saturday September 23, and Sunday, September 24. In addition to music, this free event will include activities for the kids, a farmer’s market, and booths featuring art, crafts, and gourmet food from local restaurants. Enjoy bistro-style seating while sipping fine wines and craft beers. Don’t miss the street painting artists who will create spectacular chalk art, and buy some for the kids so they can make their own creative designs. To get there, take the Capitol Corridor to the Martinez Station, which is just a short stroll from downtown.
Big Book Sale: 9/20- 9/24, San Francisco
Whether you’re a serious book collector or just looking for some good reads to cozy up with by the fire, you don’t want to miss out on the Sixth Annual Spring Big Book Sale going on this weekend at the Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion. From 10am to 6pm, Wednesday, September 20 to Sunday, September 24, the Big Book Sale will celebrate the 53rd year of the Friends of the SF Library featuring over 500,000 books, DVDs, CDs, books on tape, vinyl, and other forms of media in 70 different categories. This year’s Big Book Sale will have twice the number of books in Ancient History, Architecture, Art, California & the West, Graphic Novels, Mathematics, Mythology, Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Science, Science Fiction, and World History. More than half a million transactions at The Big Book Sale—combined with online auctions, two used book stores, and annual events—will raise approximately one million dollars to benefit the public library’s free programs and neighborhood branch upkeep efforts. The Friends of the Library, as one of the nation’s largest used book distributors, is proving that ‘the book’ is not dead. Everything will be sold for $3 or less—$3 for hard cover books; $2 paperback books; and $1 DVDs, CDs, books on tape, and vinyl. On the final day of the sale, everything will be $1. To get there, take the Capitol Corridor’s dedicated connecting bus from the Emeryville Station to one of our downtown San Francisco bus stops, or take the Capitol Corridor to the Richmond Station or Oakland Coliseum Station and connect to BART to downtown San Francisco. From any of these San Francisco bus or BART stops, you can walk or take public transit using Google Maps.
Fourth Street Runway Fashion Show: 9/23, Berkeley
Calling all fashionistas! Come to Berkeley to see the hottest daytime and evening looks at the
Fourth Street Fashion Runway Show. From 5pm to 9pm, Saturday, September 23, models will strut a 75-foot catwalk down the middle of Fourth Street for a FREE fashion show benefitting the Berkeley Food & Housing Project. Each show will be unique, kicking off with fanciful Venetian masks and costumes from Castle in the Air. Hair, makeup, and accessories will be provided by local businesses. After each show, take advantage of discounted shopping during the one-hour pop-up sales and enjoy the food, beer, wine, and a live DJ. To get there, take the train to the Berkeley Station, and connect to downtown Berkeley on AC Transit with a free Transit Transfer from the Capitol Corridor. Or, take the train to the Richmond Station or Oakland Coliseum Station, connect to BART, and get off at the Downtown Berkeley station, which is just over a block from the festivities.
Written by Sylvia Sheehan
Photo courtesy of Eat Real Festival.