Oakland Chinatown StreetFest

Another event for people to finally hear about!!! We came to this street festival mainly for the live bands as I love dancing in front of the bands especially outside!!! It was a two day free event in the month of August. You just have to pay for food and the items you buy.
It was held in Oakland Chinatown which was very rich with Chinese culture as you heard the local people speaking in Chinese most of the time. They have tons of booths; selling anything from plants, jewelry, food, purses, garden windspinners and multiple items Iike at a flea market. I have to admit this event starts very early in the morning like 8 or 9 AM even though they advertise 10 to 530 PM. When we were there Saturday afternoon, a lot booths were gone by 4 PM.
Be aware of this area was not upscale by any means but don’t be narrow minded so much that that would keep you from coming here neither. When we were listening to music on the shady side, the stench smell was pretty strong as well as the smokiness of the BBQ food and people smoking too as well. I just went to the other side and before you know it another lady started smoking! Okay someone wanted me up and dancing! I had wished my husband had brought our lawn chairs as the sun was beaming down on us so it was best to have a hat to protect your face!!! There was a group of people who brought lawn chairs that also covered the top of their heads!!! How convenient was that!
There were two stages too. One stage was located inside the Pacific Renaissance Plaza and the other was at 8^th and Harrison Streets. The event itself covered 6 blocks long. Parking was a pain on Saturday that one had to feed the meter or just park at one of the major spots in area. Another issue was like no porta-​potties this year. What the heck??? That was an issue for me. Sorry but at least I solved that issue by checking into the hotel for two nights.
They did have a few food trucks there besides food tents. It was hard to check that out especially when you were in Oakland Chinatown where produce was so much cheaper than our regular Sactown grocery stores plus dim sum restaurants were within walking distance that we took advantage of that for a couple days. I was in foodie heaven last weekend! The reason for that also was we even took advantage of one of the dessert food trucks as well as EM Deli the Korean food tent & Saigon BBQ!!!
I even met up with Tiffany D on Saturday as well as meeting Eugene L. on Sunday. Shall I make this a UYE one time down the line??? Now that’s a Unilocaltastic thought right???

My wife and I are here in Oakland, California to celebrate the 28^th Annual Oakland Chinatown Street Festival, celebrating the year of the (Ram).This year the festival was held on August 22 through August 23, 2015 from 10am-5:30pm.
We left for Oakland early this morning, thinking we might be able to get a close parking space near the festival, (Wrong) I think everyone else had the same idea. We drove around and around in circles hoping to get (Lucky) in finding a parking space. Luck was not on our side today. We eventually settled parking our car in the Renaissance Plaza.
Streets were blocked off for this event. Vendors lined both sides of the street as far as your eyes can see. Some selling jewelry, arts and crafts, sun glasses, clothing, purses, live nursery plants and fruit trees. This is only a small sample of what awaits you!
My wife and I like coming here because of the live bands. They have some killer bands performing here today and tomorrow ! This will be our first time hearing some of these bands. (Idea Band) is a local Bay Area band specializing in popular rock music. (Jest Jammin) is a «Local Chinatown Band» that has been together performing over 40 years. Their upbeat music gets everyone off their seats!
(Pulse) is another Bay Area favorite! Playing hits from the 80s to today’s current hits.
(LP Band) brings their R&B, Motown, Funk, Old School, style music to the stage. This group gets everyone out to the dance floor with their high energy performance! A must see!
(D’Groove) is known for singing top 40, old school, pop, and soul. Something for everyone!
(Davila) is a legendary Latin rock group! (CHA-​CHA) time!
Some seating is provided in front of the stage. These seats are in constant sunshine which makes it very uncomfortable in the heat! So it is highly recommended that you bring your own lawn chair so you can enjoy the music in the shade.
Food trucks and vendors made my stomach very, very,(HAPPY! HAPPY!)
There was hot dogs, Korean dishes, Asian food, plus all the local Chinese bakeries and restaurants offering delightful treats! Can’t forget the (DESSERT) truck! (Frozenkuhsterd) was here selling their wonderful cupcake desserts. A must try for all you dessert lovers!
We were super thrilled to have met two of our BayArea Unilocalers ! Tiffany. D. yesterday and Eugene L. Today!
We found parking very limited in the surrounding area! Overall we had a great time and are looking forward to coming here again next year!

My parents, older brother, sister-​in-​law, and I attended the Oakland Chinatown StreetFest late yesterday afternoon. I was particularly disappointed this time around, because there were many booths that had already closed up shop early. In fact, some of them had closed up too early. In addition, there were one or two of them that were closing up early and where the folks working the booths were pleasantly rude. Definitely uncharacteristic, especially as one who coincidentally is Chinese. I can understand that some of those people manning the booths are volunteers. Therefore, they are not being paid. But still, I cannot understand them being rude and unkind when there are people visiting the booth and yet you are very quickly packing up for the day.
As Jose pointed out, the two-​day festival ran from 10am to 5:30pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and consisted of music, dancing and food. There are many booths selling different things such as hair care products, cheap CDs/​DVDs, mooncakes, socks, wallets, etc.
The major highlight is the main event that happens at the Pacific Renaissance Center, where there is someone either singing or speaking about Chinatown.
Unfortunately, I was also pleasantly surprised and shocked that the two-​day festival wasn’t nearly as packed as in years past. It could be the fact that there were other events going on around the Bay Area, such as the A’s playing at the Coliseum.
Despite my disappointment, all of us will be back in the future. I just hope that it is better next and subsequent years.

Time: 12:57pm/71°F intermittent clouds
Purpose: A friend doing volunteer work for Oakland Street Fest ask me to come over and hangout. I have no problem going over, but parking. He said, «no problem»! Got a parking permit for me too.
Set-​up: Event has two stages one at Pacific Renaissance and other at 8^th between Harrison/​Webster street. Walking around saw a handful of corporations asking people to sign up. Many of these sellers reminds me of little shops in Chinatown itself. See everything from Lexus showcase, Cricket wireless, WF bank, All State, KTSF 26, Xfinity, Budweiser, Prine of Peace, Dragon Beard Candy, Kaiser Permanente etc. Couple of food trucks thrown in for good measures long with food vendors. Inflatable bounce house area with mid size carnival rides for kids and animal petting area.
Staff: You can see a couple of them look bore sitting next to orange cones at intersections directing traffic. I know, its volunteer work and you didn’t reap any benefits from it. Some OPD staff are seen walking around patrolling event area. Budweiser station had a private security guard to keep guest with alcohol within the perimeter.
Cleanliness: Grade A, they didn’t let it get out of hand. Staff in reflective vest walk around push utilities cart picking up garbage. City of Oakland have disposable square trash bins with trash liner in place.
Main Features: Live performance stages and All-​State insurance (freebies). Rest of place is (yea I know, I see, what ever).
Products/​Services: Communication, wireless communication, law enforcement, Alameda County DA, Graton Casino, newspaper agency, massage chair, medicine, mooncake, astrology, insurance, financail, health, social media, food truck/​food vendor, trinket, leather goods etc, porta potty.
Punch Lines: Easy to get to, accessible by public transportation, lots of breathing room, martial arts demo, live stage show, exhibition, singing, hip-​hop to country music, limited food/​beverage vendor, small beer garden, Chinatown itself, free parking Sunday only (yellow curb are enforce), most boobs cash only.
Tradeoffs: Past corporation sponsors withdrew from event many years ago. Review from Victor G is consistent to my experience. Places like Safeway, Lucky’s, BofA, Direct TV etc. Without those major sponsors, it seems quieter as event comes to earlier pack and leave time.
Final Thoughts: Not as big as the SF one, but definitely no slouch either. Some of these people are guset from nearby hotel and some just move here from suburbs. The kids gets good exposure to asian food, performances and what its like to be asian. I like street fest events without people rubbing against my body trying to get by. In Oakland, its perfect for me because I’m claustrophobic. Yea, I admit it today in public. I don’t like large gathering or too many people confined to one space. In the end, I enjoy myself and contributed $ 58 for the day. Some of the proceeds goes back to the community like Oakland Chamber of Commerce. I’m not no cheapskate here, I spend where I see it necessary thats all. To the guy with Oakley sunglasses on Webster/​8^th around 1:33pm. You left smudges on my driver side window when you wipe your mouth from food. You didn’t ask vendor for napkins? What did you just say? Oh, it was the Audi S5 with 25% tint. I watch you across the street. Don’t do that again or someone will really take it to you. They won’t be as friendly as I was. Lucky bastard, I got windex wipes. 4/​stars as I can see they try hard each year, but the crowd is iffy.

Cool booths, they had tons of games for kids and lots of unique stuff like plants, baby goldfish and turtles, lots of pinwheels. They were selling lots of food and other misc items
I got 2 turtles from this place, took them home and they’re living in a 120 gallon pond as I speak. They’re huge
My friend’s cousin won a goldfish here too

This Oakland China Town has lots! Last time came for Red Egg and Ginger Party, this Chinese Tradition for newborn! She was born July 21 of 2014! We ate at Peony Seafood Café, very authentic food! Uncle saw a business say Cheng Insurance Agency, he just had get a picture of me pointing to te sign! There also Chinese pharmacies here, of course, any person of any ethnic group may need get medicines! There is a place call Sweet Both! Lots pearl fIavor tea, yummy! There even a library, but wait! Before one panics, yes some books in Asian languages, but there also other books in English language! I high to recommend visit this Oakland China Town!

Growing up in the heart of O-​Chinatown has taught me how to be equally rude to the rudest waiters in Chinatown. Don’t try to smack talk me in Chinese, I’ll throw it back and just as fast. Ah-​yah!
It’s been over a decade since I’ve attended the Chinatown Festival and it’s just as I remembered it to be. Every other booth is a health care provider with massive long lines of elder-​lies waiting for their fair share of freebies. That never changes. But what has changed is the the size of the festival, it stretches out into 8^th and 9^th Street with an entire block dedicated to kiddie carnival rides.
There’s 2 stages set-​up in the heart of O-​Chinatown. At the Renaissance Building, there were performers such as sword dancing belly dancers and Kung-​Fu students displaying their «America’s Got Talent», skillful acts. On 8^th and Webster had a stage with live music jammin’ to the beat. We hung out at the live music stage but I couldn’t quite enjoy myself because there was a bit of stench coming from the grocery store or restaurants. And the sun was beaming down onto my skin and it felt like my sandals were going to melt into the black tar floor. It was HOT! Though I was a tad annoyed, I did see many people happily dancing and enjoying the free live music blasting through Chinatown.
The food booths were no competition to the array of dirt cheap restaurants that Chinatown had to offer. I skipped all the BBQ booths and went to my favorite cafes for Banh Mi, Boba drinks, chow mein, fried rice and jumbo sized dim sum. It was cheap! Your money stretches a lot further when you dine in O-​Chinatown.
As for this festival, it’s definitely targeted towards the locals. And since I’ve been out of touch with this part of town for over 15 years, I guess it’ll be another decade before I return to another festival here. In that time, maybe freebies at the health care booths would be more intridging…

Surprisingly very very good with a wondeful lineup of live bands playing top 40 and r and b’s. Very danceable. Totally enjoyed the last day of the festival!
Lots of eats and very interesting booths spanning the whole circle or cycle of life — health, education, etc. It has the usual arts and crafts booth as well.
It was a very festive celebration marked by high quality music!

Oakland Chinatown StreetFest 2013 was launched this past weekend as a means to celebrate the year of the snake. The two-​day festival ran from 10am to 5:30pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and consisted of music, dancing and food. The event was organized by Oakland’s Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who attempts to promote its pan-​Asian community of «Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, Mien, Thai and others» by speaking and acting as a single voice.
Unfortunately, the Chinatown StreetFest along with others (El Dia De Los Muertos and GLBT) have fallen into a cookie cutter template that consists of 90% junk and 10% culture. Allow me to explain, these event consist of vendors and stages. The stands which line the street primarily consist of vendor attempting to recoup the cost of renting space. These vendors typically resort to selling cheap items at a large mark-​up. For example, nothing screams Asian culture like stands of white cotton socks. You certainly can’t celebrate the year of the snake without plastic wind twirlers… Wait, wait, are you hungry? Come over and buy garlic fries… Are you looking for Chinese food? Haha you’re funny, why would Chinese dishes be available at Chinatown’s StreetFest? You can get Gyros, BBQ, Hotdogs, lumpias… and of course garlic fries.
These celebrations have become glorified flea markets, and every year it’s been getting worse. These entities attempt to pass themselves as cultural guides to the community, when in reality they reinforce stereotypes in pursuit of a quick dollar.
The only good thing that can come from these events is the exposure to local talent. If you happen to be lucky you’ll catch glimpse of some traditional dances along with modern performers. While 10% of entertainment is awesome, it doesn’t carry the other 90% if junk. I say pass and plan not to return.

I did not hear about this event until my parents decided to drag me along. I am not usually into Asian Street Festival as the ones I have been to in the past were remotely small and boring. Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun at the Oakland Chinatown Street Festival. Several streets were blocked off and there was major traffic in the surrounding areas. This is when you know this is a pretty big event.
The vendors consist of some food vendors like kettle corn, boba milk tea, and some fish ball balls. The rest consist of cheap VCD/​DVD karaōke music videos and movies, companies trying to promote, Sing Tao newspaper, some plants and orchids, belt and socks, mini trinkets, children windmills, baby turtles and gold fishes, moon cakes, and so on. Come to think of it, its similar to the flee market but a step higher.
Overall, it was a nice day out.

I have never experienced a street fair such as this in Oakland.
This was a great way to gather the community together.
Lots of venues all raning from: food, health, shops, etc.
Great perfermances too from children and adults
Very festive and a great weekend to spend with the family and friends!!!

tip: don’t expect great deals on commodity items here. good to browse through though
Not as many food stalls as other street festivals; park about 2 – 3 blocks away (meter on saturday, not sunday); lots of freebies but nothing useful such as reusable green bags; live dances and performances; jean quan was there…

Clean and pretty area, but not too exciting.

The Oakland Chinatown Street Festival is always on Saturday and Sundays towards
PARKING is a hassel and hella annoying. I would say park near Jack London or Laney College and walk.
TONS OF FREE STUFF from KTSF, Walmart, Safeway etc. if you WAIT IN LINE. Each year is different but Safeway has always been there for the past couple years near the Renaissance Plaza on Franklin & 9^th.
Food vendors & mini arcades are always on 9^th Street and Webster.
Just come here and get a feel of the Chinese community!

Ive always liked this Festival. It reminds me of the Hong Kong Street Markets. Tons of Vendors, Amusement Games and a Whole lot of Street Food Stands
The Budweiser Booth is very Popular especially with the Lovely Beer Mistresses pouring Suds.
The live entertainment is where its at. They have some pretty talented Bands playing at the Festival.
This festival highlights Chinatown and the People who work and live there. Ive always felt Chinatown to be a special place. Rich in History and Very interesting things.
I always attend this Festival especially this year. The Year Of The Rabbit.

This being the year of the rabbit was a must for me to attend the street fest this afternoon. I had to get my year of the rabbit t-​shirt (approaching the big 6 – 0 in November). The weather was quite warm and there were many food vendors and vendors selling an assortment of items (chinese dvd’s, knick knacks, jewelry, sunglasses, etc.) I always enjoy the streetfest with the live entertainment, the free samples from Safeway (Kern’s mango juice and ravioli smothered in Ragu sauce this time around). There was Chinese lion dance troupe performing and seeing all the young children putting the dollars in the lion’s mouth was a delight to see. I was a little disappointed that Golden Wave Creations weren’t there — I wanted a year of the rabbit mug :-(There were representatives from Lincoln Elementary School doing a fund raiser, which I supported since I am an alumni of the school. The best highlight of this event was the group, Foreverland, performing a tribute to Michael Jackson on the Popular Stage. This 14-​piece band with four lead vocalists, four horns and a six-​piece rhythm section sure were jammin’, had the crowd movin’ to the music and I was thoroughly entertained when they did «Thriller» and the guy who did the narrating sounded almost as good as Vincent Price.

i usually go to the oaktown chinatown street festival to look for some cheap eats. usually on the last day at around 4 o’clock, the food vendors discount their unsold food. this sunday was a little different. they discounted but i didn’t see any $ 1 chicken/​pork skewer, so i didn’t buy anything.
the crowd here was more ethnically diverse and an older crowd than the attendees at eat real fest 2010. seems the two events drew 2 different audiences so maybe there wasn’t as much conflict as i thought there would be. safeway didn’t seem to be around as they are every year passing out freebies.
foodnotes:
–saw happy dumplings but didn’t sample. i see they have good reviews. the’re also at off the gird. will do so next time i see them.
–lots of happy shoppers and attendees at the rock stage.

Tons of vendors and catered food! They block off several streets to hold this festival. There’s a ton of free giveaway stuff and it’s very crowded but not overwhelming! I went on a beautiful day so it was nice to just walk around, check out the vendors/​food and enjoy the sunshine! After walking through the festival, I went for some good Chinese food around the area because you can’t pass up Chinese food when you are in the heart of Oakland Chinatown :)

Beautiful day for a street festival. And with the Eat Real festival in Jack London Square happening the same weekend, Oakland was THE place to be!
Definitely a totally different feel from the Eat Real festival… lots of people, but less crowded (e.g. no wading through crowds necessary), has a Asian night-​market feel to it with dirt-​cheap imitation products being sold, bargaining going on, and fun games for kids.
I liked how this festival was organized along 2 major streets, with the booths in the middle of the street, leaving the sidewalks open so that businesses can stay open — that means that not only can buy your cheapo iPhone case, you can also buy some super cheap produce, like 7 tangerines for less than $ 1.
There’s also a block of food stands, with lots of BBQ at very reasonable prices. Some shops sold food outside their doors, like BC Deli was selling cheap waffles outside their door, and other places sold tea eggs and curry fish balls. Mmmm I’m salivating just thinking about it!

Cruzin’ on a Sunday afternoon…
This is an annual happening where friends meet to groove to music and get down dancing with your favorite local bands. Today’s cool bands starred Pulse, Jest Jammin, and Big City Revue. All played popular groove songs from the 70’s through 90’s.
There were plenty of other fun things to do like activities for kids, vendors selling tea, herbs, accessories, plants, costume jewelry, arts and crafts, and plenty of give aways.
I saw some people with handfuls of the same give aways which lead me to believe they were probably doing the ghetto thing like getting in line again and again to get more freebie. There were plenty of food to select from the various vendors.