Albany Friends of Opal's Park » Events

Albany Streets Photos

AFOOP Admin — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 05:00:45 +0000

We had a great time at the Albany Streets.

Albany Streets – 10-09-10

AFOOP Admin — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:02:05 +0000

On Saturday, October 9th from 11am to 2pm, Dartmouth Street will be closed to traffic from Stannage to Masonic for ALBANY STREETS. I know what you’re thinking: “Do these people EVER stop?” The answer to that, dear friends, is NO, we just PUMP UP THE VOLUME!

Along with the fun the City of Albany has planned, we will be featuring live rhythm and blues from The Lost Band featuring Felton. If you missed our last block party (and the ones previous), then you can’t pass up this chance to get your groove on to some really fabulous music! Bring your bikes/skateboards/whatever else you have around the house that is wheeled to enjoy a street free of cars, at least for the afternoon, and:

Albany Strollers & Rollers: Fruit smoothies created with bike power, minor bike repair
4-Square East Bay – That’s right, game on!
Hoop dancing class with Marria Grace of Athletic Playground
Tai Chi demonstration and lesson with City of Albany InstructorStarfire
Country Line Dancing Lesson with Ron Points
Street Hockey
Dodge Ball
Neighborhood-wide Water Balloon Toss
Giant Hop Scotch
DIY Sidewalk Art Gallery
Wiffle Ball
Block Party Musical Chairs
Razor Scooter Races

… or just bring a lawn chair, some snacks, and beverages and just hang out with us for awhile…

Tell your family and friends! The more the merrier!

PS: The block between Cornell and Talbot is puting on a huge Plants vs. Zombies show for Halloween. Please help us paper mache our props and costumes.

Dartmouth Tot Lot Meeting – Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 7pm

AFOOP Admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 06:20:18 +0000

The City of Albany has asked for a community meeting to talk about the painting of the Tot Lot. This email includes the official letter along with some added history by me =)

Joanna Manqueros approached me a while back about making the Tot Lot look a bit nicer. She was upset that the front area was filled with sand, the fence looked bleak, garbage was strewn about and much of the park had been tagged with spray paint. I volunteered to help dig and water and she set about gathering plants.

Joanna spoke with the owners/managers of Westbrae Nursery, Trader Joe’s, Berkeley Horticultural Nursery and a number of other local establishments about donating plants and supplies for our guerilla gardening project. We started by planting up the front corner and eventually worked our way to all of the earth patches around the park. The Beck-Simon’s have kindly donated their hose and water.

The response has been so good that we are now planting up the public strips in front of any house who requests it. We have modified over a dozen houses and have plenty more scheduled as new plants come in. To date, Westbrea has donated 90% of the plants we have used.

We are so inspired that we are talking about BUFFing up blocks. Albany will remove concrete in the front strip of a house in order to plant trees. Anyone who is interesting doing this can contact Tony Wolcott or speak with Joanna or me.

As we proceeded to beautify the park (without City permission – sorry), we became increasingly upset with the spray paint. A number of nasty words were scrawled on the mail drop box, the steps and the concrete walls of the park. The fence was particularly glaring. Joanna and I decided to paint over the graffiti on the steps with some left over paint. While we were painting, a few children asked if they could help. It dawned on us that we could enlist the energy of the kids and actually paint the side wall with nice designs. We told the kids that if they wanted to paint they should come back that Saturday for a ‘painting party’. Over a dozen children showed up who were supervised by 5 adults.

While we were painting we talked about how great it would be if the designs were be temporary. Every 6 months or so the children who use the park could be given the chance to paint it in order to give them a sense of ownership. We want it to be ‘their park’. And while we originally wanted to just paint the areas with graffiti, the children quickly went ‘outside the lines’ and started on the steps and the fence.

We intentionally left a bit of sand on the steps to give them traction and the children agreed not to paint anything inside the park. Universally, the children who have been part of this process love what they have done. Many have begun to work on the artwork they want to paint at our next session.

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I think that it is great that the City wants to hold a meeting to discuss the Tot Lot. I am willing to help the City in any way that I can to make the park a place where are children can play safely. I encourage everyone who is interested to come to the meeting on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Below is an electronic copy of the letter that was mailed to the folks who live near the park.

Dear Community Members,

City staff was recently made aware that the Dartmouth Tot Lot has been painted. It brought to our attention that there may not be an understanding in the community about how such activity needs to be part of a City process.

Volunteer work to help improve the appearance of city facilities is a wonderful contribution that residents can provide to their community. However, because they are publicly owned, there are steps involved in making such improvements. When staff or residents want to change or improve a park in any way, the typical steps include placing the matter on an agenda at a public meeting to provide a forum for comment.

In addition to community input about appearance of facilities such as the tot lot, there are other regulations and issues that the City needs to consider when improvements are made. For instance, to protect water quality in the bay and comply with storm water regulations, only certain types of paints should be applied for outdoor painting projects. Also, painting steps without the proper paint can lead to a slippery service when wet.

To provide an opportunity for the community to weigh in about the Dartmouth Tot Lot painting, and to consider any follow up action, the Parks & Recreation Commission will discuss the tot lot painting at its meeting of Thursday, October 14, 2010, which begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Albany Community Center/Library, 1249 Marin Avenue. As part of this agenda item, the Commission will discuss the safety concerns mentioned in this letter, whether or not to remove the paint or repaint, as well as the proper procedures for park improvements.

If you are unable to attend the meeting and wish to make a comment, and/or if you have any information that would help us understand the paint materials or other aspects of the project, please contact me at pleach@albanyca.org.

The Park and Recreation Commission looks forward to meeting with you. Sincerely,

Penelope Leach
City of Albany
Recreation & Community Services Director

Full Belly Farm Hoes Down – Oct 2, 2010

AFOOP Admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:43:02 +0000

The Full Belly Farm’s 23nd Annual Hoes Down Festival is happening Saturday October 2, 2010. This is an extremely kid-friendly event 1.5 hours north of Albany.

A bunch of us are going and some of us are planning to camp Saturday night. Please join us.

Breast Friends Bar Night – 09-15-10

AFOOP Admin — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:26:43 +0000

BREAST FRIENDS BAR NIGHT
Date: September 15 at 7:00pm
Location: Hotsy Totsy Club

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It’s a 3day 3peat!

AFOOP Admin — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:21:23 +0000

It’s a 3day 3peat!

Four years ago I walked 60 miles in San Diego with my friend Jamie for Team HNH Hope. It was an incredible experience and I came away from it feeling that if so many people were so involved in this fight against breast cancer, then there would most certainly be a cure within my lifetime.

Four years later, I am still filled with the same amount of hope. That is why I’m walking 60 miles for the third time, this time with my teammates Deena, Michelle (who both walked with me two years ago), Rosie, Kris, and Tricia for Team BFF- Breast Friends Forever.

I need your help. I am planning on surpassing the $3,000 that you – my friends and family – gave so generously last time around to help end breast cancer. I have done the math and figure that if everyone I reach out to gives $10 or more, I will meet my goal in no time!

If you work for a business that would like to sponsor me, I’d be glad to put the business name and logo on my t-shirt. Please contact me if you know of someone who may be interested.

If you would like more information, the Albany Patch did a great story on us just last month, complete with photos of me hamming it up with the Hookers for Hooters (you’ve gotta see it to believe it)

Please visit my page to learn more and to donate.

If you know of anyone else who may be interested in supporting my third 60 miler, please forward this e-mail!

THANK YOU!

Yours in hope,
Laurie

AFOOP Block Party – Saturday, August 21, 2010

AFOOP Admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:03:09 +0000

AFOOP Block Party 2010

Please join us for the 8th Annual AFOOP Block Party.

We start early. We party late. Lots of fun for adults. Lots of fun for kids. Bring a change of clothes and a towel (or two!) Meet old friends. Meet new friends. Listen to great music. Bring your rig and play with talented musicians.

Bring your wheels and bike, skate, cruise. Face paint. Beach sand. Bocce. Climbing ropes. Slack line. Trapeze. Magic carpet. Stilts. Hula hoops. Jump rope. Dunk tank. Jumpie house.

Bring your love and shine…

—-

Saturday August 21, 2010
Noon – 8 p.m. + After Party
Dartmouth Street, Albany 94706
(between Talbot & Cornell)

Potluck (bring something to share)
Beer & Spirits (2 kegs provided – please bring lubricants =)
International Live Music
Dancing
Jumpy House
Dunk Tank
Water Play
Kids Talent Show
Post-Party Kids Movie Night
Post-Party Adult Fire Pit

Please Provide Your Own Cups, Plates & Utensils

Bring your friends! Feel free to invite more wonderful people. ALL AGES WELCOME!!!!!

You don’t need to reply. You just need to show up! :-)

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. – Jimi Hendrix

Flier created with artwork from artists Abigail, Bailey, Camille, Luna, Madeline and Terra.

Block Party 2009 Photos

AFOOP Admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:00:49 +0000

[View with PicLens]

Full Belly Farm Hoes Down – Oct 3, 2009

Ulan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:24:40 +0000

The Full Belly Farm’s 22nd Annual Hoes Down Festival is happening Saturday October 3, 2009. This is an extremely kid-friendly event 1 hour north of Albany.

A bunch of us are going and some of us are planning to camp Saturday night. Please join us.

AFOOP Block Party – Saturday, September 19, 2009

AFOOP Admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:00:06 +0000

Here is the Official PDF

Hello everyone!

It is that time of year again. Come to the 6th Annual AFOOP Block Party and have your fantasies come true. Mr. Roarke welcomes you on Saturday, September 19, 2009 from noon through 8pm. We are planning a movie night for the kids and a fire pit after party for the adults.

AFOOP 6th Annual Block Party

Saturday September 19, 2009
Noon – 8 p.m + after party
Dartmouth Street, Albany 94706
(between Talbot & Cornell)

Potluck (bring something to share)
Beer & Spirits (2 kegs provided – please bring lubricants =)
BBQ (grills provided)
Jumpy House (noon-6pm)
Dunk Tank (who will be first?!)
Water Play (bring a change of clothes)
Cardboard Castle (help make the maze)
Kids Games (fun for all ages)
Live Music (bands from around the world)
Kids Talent Show (30 minutes of fun)
Dancing (leave your inhibitions at home)

Post-Party Kids Movie Night
Post-Party Adult Fire Pit

Please Provide Your Own Cups, Plates & Utensils

Bring your friends! All ages welcome.