Splash Pad Calendar
by Sheila McCormick

September 1, Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm *ZOOM*  Oakland Rotary Club #3 .  Gillian Tett is the chair of the editorial board and editor-at-large, US of the Financial Times. She writes weekly columns covering a range of economic, financial, political, and social issues. Register for Zoom link here. 

September 3, Saturday, 6pm *ZOOM* KQED. Russell City Blues: Stories & Music of a Lost East Bay Community. Celebrate the history and uncover the joy of a lost Bay Area community through on-stage interviews and storytelling with the people who lived there. A live band will be on hand to take us back in time, honoring the musical legacy of the town where the blues thrived until the bulldozers rolled in. Register here.

September 3, Saturday, 7:30-9:30pm *ZOOM* Mt. Tam Astronomy. There Is No Planet B. We have entered the era of New Space, when private interests are making headway into commercialization of the final frontier. It’s already past time for tough questions. Carolyn Porco (NASA) will give her take on the recent developments in space exploration. Zoom link here. 

September 4, Sunday, 10:30am-12pm *In Person* Oakland Pride. Pride Parade. Parade starts at 14th and Broadway, ends at 20th and Broadway. More information here.

September 5. Monday, 11am-1pm *ZOOM* Write Avenue. Labor of Black Community Love: A Black Gold Storytelling Event. An event to honor the labor of Black elders in Oakland, CA. Labor Day is the day set aside to appreciate hard won labor rights, such as the 40-hour work week, safe work conditions, paid time off, and sick leave, to name a few gains. For Black Americans, the fight for economic freedom is compounded by racial injustice. The elders featured in this event have much wisdom to share in this regard, sharing their own experiences of navigating the push for both racial and economic justice in their own work lives. Register here.

September 7, Wednesday, 5-6pm  *ZOOM* San Mateo Library. Meet Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet. Her latest work is It’s Not Too Late! Crisis, Opportunity, and the Power of Hope. Frances is co-founder of Oakland-based Food First and Cambridge-based Small Planet Institute, which she leads with her daughter Anna Lappé. Register here.

September 8, Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm *In Person or via ZOOM and Facebook Live*  Oakland Rotary Club #3. Evan Moss – Let’s Talk About Race.  Read more and register for Zoom link here.

September 9, Friday, 7-8pm *ZOOM* Rotary Nature Center Friends. Lakeside Chat #22: Bioluminescence in Lake Merritt. What’s that mysterious blue-green glow in the Lake? It happens in mid- to late fall. What could be causing it? Biologist Damon Tighe from the California Center for Natural History will share his findings. Register here.

September 10, Saturday, 5:30pm *In Person* Camron-Stanford House. History Fair. The best of the Bay Area history community in our own back yard! Get to know the local museums, organizations, and people preserving and sharing the Bay’s history. Mini Exhibits – Interactive Learning Activities – Live Presentations – Hear/Here Community Billboard Truck – and much more history to explore!  Free admission with an Oakland Library card. Read more and register here.

September 14, Wednesday, 7-8pm *ZOOM * Friends of the Alameda Free Library. Art Docent Seminar about Faith Ringgold: American People at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. This exhibition brings together fifty years of groundbreaking work, and is the most comprehensive exhibition of Ringgold’s art to date. From painting to experimental story quilts, this talk will show how Ringgold’s artistic style evolved to bear witness to the complexity of the American experience. Register here.

September 15, Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm *In Person or via ZOOM and Facebook Live*  Oakland Rotary Club #3 . Kate Schatz. Schatz is co-author of Do the Work!: An Anti-racist Activity Book. Read more here.

September 21, Wednesday, 6pm *ZOOM* USGS. ShakeAlert – Earthquake Early Warning for All. View here.

September 21, Wednesday, 7-8:30pm *ZOOM* Grand Lake Neighbors Crime Prevention Council Meeting.
Login info will be posted on the GLN Facebook page.

September 22, Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm *In Person or via ZOOM and Facebook Live*  Oakland Rotary Club #3 . Wendy Tokuda. Read more here.

September 22, Thursday, 7pm  *ZOOM* Golden Gate Audubon Society. Birds and Ohlones Past, Present, and Future. Gregg Castro and Beverly R. Ortiz will share the significance of birds in the cultural, material, and spiritual lives of Ohlones and describe how Ohlone land management practices increased the numbers and health of the birds. Zoom link here.

September 25, Sunday, 9am-Noon* Splash Pad Grand Crew Fourth Sunday Volunteer Work Day. Gloves and tools provided or bring your own for weeding, pruning, litter pick-up, and planting more than a dozen California Native Plants.

September 27, Tuesday, 2-3pm *ZOOM* ACC Senior Services. Alter Egos Reader’s Theater – Aimee Isabella Crocker with Maryellen Burns. Crocker was born to an exceedingly wealthy Sacramento family in 1863, a time when women were expected to be docile and content to reside quietly in the background of public life. A multimillionaire by the age of ten, she chose to embrace a Bohemian lifestyle. This performance will bring her story to life through her own words and the actors, painters, and literary figures she knew. Register here.

September 29, Thursday, 9am-2pm *In Person*  United Seniors of Oakland and Alameda County and Supervisor Nate Miley. 19th Annual Healthy Living Festival at the Oakland Zoo. Free event for older adults, 55 and above, living in Alameda County. This event promotes health and wellness for Aging Adults, and includes free food, music, fun, and more. Join us in taking collective action to improve the quality of life for seniors throughout Alameda County. Together, we can make a positive change! Friends and family of guests are welcome to attend but must be registered in advance. Read more and register here.

September 29, Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm *In Person or via ZOOM and Facebook Live*  Oakland Rotary Club #3 . Jill Vialet. Vialet is the CEO and founder of Playworks, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to using the power of play to help young people build critical social and emotional skills, find confidence in themselves, and learn positive cultural values, all while being active and having fun. Read more here.

September 2022 Splash Pad News Calendar of the Month

More from the 2005 Psychological Diary which selected images “to remind us of the strange and beautiful world of the unconscious. The etching on the left is by Vincent Van Gogh. It depicts the doctor who was treating him just weeks before Van Gogh committed suicide. The image on the right is by Karl Gustav, a schizophrenic in a German hospital from 1909 to 1934.

Sheila McCormick is an Adjunct Professor Emerita in Cal’s Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Prior to her retirement in January 2016, she had a research lab at the USDA/ARS-UC-Berkeley Plant Gene Expression Center in Albany, studying the molecular biology of plant reproduction. She also helps with editing and is a frequent contributor to the Splash Pad News, beginning with a series of seven neighborhood walks – the first of which was posted in April 2017.