Eye on the Hills: Oakland’s new Mayor Lee visits annual Montclair festival
It’s festival season in Oakland, and that’s a good thing. Newly-elected Mayor Barbara Lee said as much, as she stepped on stage at last Saturday’s annual Montclair Beer, Wine & Music Festival.
“We need to do this everywhere in Oakland,” she said, referring to the good-vibes gathering of neighbors, artists and merchants.
The crowd, seemingly the biggest ever for the 11th annual event, packed the Montclair Village plaza and several adjacent blocks along Mountain Boulevard in Oakland’s Montclair district. Vendors sold everything from jewelry to landscaping and B12 shots, and Oakland’s diversity was on full display. In fact, the optics couldn’t have been better for a city struggling with safety issues.
“When people come together like this, our public safety is increased also,” said Lee, who added that one of her visions for Oakland is to integrate art and culture into every single city department.
Earlier in the week, she had joined other city representatives for a community listening session at Montclair’s Italian Colors restaurant. The usual concerns came up: addressing safety, homelessness, blight, housing costs and the city budget.
Montclair closures: After several years of sparse store shelves at Montclair’s Rite Aide store (1991 Mountain Blvd.), it will close its doors July 7.
The pharmacy shutdown’s biggest impact will be on customers, with Rite Aide stores shuttering all across the Bay Area during the company’s Chapter 11 reorganization. In Montclair Village, employees are clearing shelves and consolidating merchandise during the store’s final days — with some products, like liquor, marked down 30%.
Meanwhile, Chase Bank’s high-profile corner spot at 2051 Mountain Blvd. is closing the next day, July 8, in the wake of their recent new branch opening nearby at 2110 Mountain Blvd. With Perle Wine Bar’s closure this spring, that leaves several prime storefronts empty in the heart of Montclair Village.
Around town: The Oakland Center for Spiritual Living is celebrating its 80th anniversary. The Oakland religious-science church was established in 1945, after which congregants met in several locations before opening an Oakland hills campus on Clarewood Drive in fall 1962. Interestingly, the newly erected church’s pastor was Dr. Lillian Hopper, the sister-in-law of Hollywood reporter Hedda Hopper.
The building cost $400,000 to construct, and funding came partly from Oakland’s Seek and Find Thrift Shop that the church operated. The center is known for its music and will host a jazz concert starting at 7 p.m. June 27. Musicians Tammy Hall and Lisa Ferraro will perform, and you can buy tickets online at oaklandcsl.org/events.
Fair days: The Alameda County Fair is underway about 25 to 30 miles away in Pleasanton with old and new attractions. Pig racing is back, along with hot air balloon rides and even camel rides.
In a nod to the county’s agricultural roots, the newly-opened Safeway Barn shows visitors the latest in farm technology and sustainable agriculture. The barn is equipped with solar panels and a rainwater recycling system. The Alameda County Fair is open Wednesdays through Sundays now through July 6 at the county fairgrounds, and you can see a list of events and ticket prices online at alamedacountyfair.com.
Ginny Prior can be reached at ginnyprior@hotmail.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.