Juneteenth, Art, Archie Green memorial

June 25, 2009 – 11:22 am

Last weekend was pretty full. I went to the 6th Annual Juneteenth celebration in Richmond. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. The event in Richmond consists of a parade followed by a festival with booths and lots of entertainment. This is a low key event with a local flavor and it’s always nice to attend and see folks having a good time. The photographs below are from the staging of the parade and the parade.

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Mary Peace Head, one of the original Rosie the Riveters Carribean dancer
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Richmond Police Explorers

Later in the day was an opening for the art of Clayton and Betty Bailey and Kurt Wold at the Richmond Art Center. The opening was loads of fun and included free form jazz by Annelise Zamula and Bill Noertker.

On Sunday I attended a memorial for Archie Green who passed away earlier this year. Archie was a renowned folklorist, scholar, labor historian, activist, and much much more. Archie was a mentor of mine at the University of Illinois in the early 60’s who inculcated in me many of the Progressive beliefs which I hold today.

I will be in a show, “Our Town”, at the Eclectix Gallery in El Cerrito opening July 3, running through Aug 16. I’ll have two pieces, Little Coquette, and Slave, in this show, and I hope you’ll be able to make it to the opening.

Don’t forget my BIG show opening the following week, July 10. I will be showing 40 (yes, 40) new works at the Glenn Custom Framing and Gallery of Art.  The show is entitled “Visualizing Richmond in El Cerrito” and will include images from Richmond only, that were done in the last two years. It will be mostly straight ahead photography, both color and B&W, with a selection of mandalas.


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The World and Carnaval

June 1, 2009 – 11:16 pm

While the world is going to hell in a hand baske the annual Carnaval celebration happens in San Francisco on the weekend before Memorial Day. For the past several years I have taken photographs at the parade which happens on Sunday. Here are a few of those photos. To see more photos from that day, go to my Flickr page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fletcher_oakes/sets/72157618981652593/

(Click on images to see larger views.)
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How Weird Faire – San Francisco

May 15, 2009 – 4:01 pm

I love living in the Bay Area. It’s probably one of the few places in the world that would celebrate weirdness at an annual fair. Last week was the 10th Annual How Weird Street Faire. They say on their website that it is an experiment in creating peace, bringing together a wide range of eclectic styles and communities. I hope that you like the photos here. If you want to see more from that day, check out a whole bunch on my Flickr page.

Dancer Bedouin – Vendor
Dancer Dancer
Dancer Dancer

Holiday Photos and into Spring

March 16, 2009 – 9:17 am

Portraits
Last year, in December, I took these photos at a neighborhood party. The two girls and the woman in the pictures are all neighbor’s who were at the party.

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Sydney Gemma
Geraldine

Spring Photos
There are some very beautiful flowers and foliage in my neighborhood. These are some of the things that have grabbed my eye during walks through the area.

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Century Plant detail
Proteus Detail