Black Pride Festival 2023
The Black Pride Festival 2023 will run from June 28th to July 2nd “Celebrate the Magic of We,” is this years theme and conveys that we are truly our greatest gift. The third annual Black Pride Festival welcomes family, friends and allies to celebrate Oakland’s LGBTQOC communities. It encompasses a joy-filled week of activities and the spirit of the Stonewall Uprising that ignited the modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement, as our guide.
Oakland Black Pride kicks off the Black Pride Festival with Breaking Bread: A Benefit Dinner offering a seven course tasting menu prepared by Chef Preeti Mistry of the late lamented Juhu Beach Club & Navi Kitchen and contestant on Top Chef Season 6. Dinner includes three cocktail pairings. Cocktails will have 0% ABV options. Here's a peak at what's on the menu, Hibiscus Pani Puri, Uttapam Waffle, Wild Mushroom Momos and more delicious offerings.
Breaking Bread aims to make the culinary contributions of queer people of color more visible and to exhibit the many ways that QPOC have been a meaningful part of the restaurant industry. Offering the dining public in the Bay Area, cuisines and perspectives of those in the industry that have largely been muted. Breaking Bread is a nod to QPOC in fine dining who are rarely seen as next in line to be restaurateurs or executive chefs.
*Menu modifications cannot be accommodated as the dishes will be presented as the Chef has intended.
Proceeds will benefit Oakland Black Pride 501(c)(3) a nonprofit dedicated to empowering LGBTQOC communities.
Navigating Grief + Loss Through Joy. Thursday, June 29. 5pm PST via Zoom
How can we use creative community building, mindfulness, music, and food to cope, thrive, and find joy in raggedy times? As Black, queer folks, what joyful memories and traditions sustain, encourage, and anchor us amidst destabilizing transitions?
During this interactive experience offered through partnership with creative wellness agency GetSomeJoy and Oakland Black Pride, participants will use writing to explore love and loss. Through grounding activities, reflection, introspective writing, and group discussion in a safe, affirming environment, we unpack emotions related to grief and mourning and collaborate on tools and strategies for moving through spiritual ashiness.
Attendees receive local + digital wellness resources derived from an Oakland Black Pride Edition of GetSomeJoy’s “griefkit: Crowdsourced tools and considerations for raggedy times.”
Developed by writer and Mental Health First Aid National Trainer Alexander Hardy, Literary Therapy is a dynamic experience offering space to center joy, foster connection, and cultivate tools and strategies to cope and thrive during this raggedy moment in history.
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GetSomeJoy is a creative wellness agency that supports communities with joy-infused trainings, experiences, and resources that prioritize mental health, foster connection, and facilitate opportunities for exploration and delight.
Their community, GetSomeJoy@School, and GetSomeJoy@Work Wellness programs include the Literary Therapy Writing Program, Mental Health First Aid trainings, virtual community cook-alongs, Community Wellness Assessments, wellness campaign consulting, and more. GetSomeJoy is your creative wellness partner for soulful and memorable one-time, ongoing, internal, stakeholder, and client-facing wellness engagement.
Find more info at getsomejoy.com/programs.
A guided tour to some of our favorite queer friendly bars and restaurants. in Uptown Oakland.
The crawl starts at 6p at High 5ive Rooftop Bar inside the Kissel Hotel. This is where we will hand out wristbands and drink tickets. Each bar has prepared speciality cocktails for us, courtesy of Tres Generaciones Tequila and Makers Mark Whiskey. We will spend about 45 minutes at each stop before crawling to our next location. The pub crawl ticket automatically enters you into our raffle. The raffle winner will be announced at the last stop, Amber Lounge. Need not be present to win.
High 5ive - 6p
alaMar - 7p
Town Bar + Lounge - 8p
Amber's Lounge - 9p
"Biscuits & Bellinis" The Black Pride Brunch on the last day of the Black Pride Festival. The brunch is three courses with bottomless bellinis, coffee and juice.