I’m very excited to announce the date of our next Bay Area SweetsCrawl reader meetup and local food tour! Our last event in San Francisco was a lot of fun and I’ve been looking forward to doing it again. So mark your calendars and save this date: Saturday, March 15.
This time we’re hitting the streets of Oakland, a city that has emerged as one of the most vibrant places to live, work and play in the Bay Area. In 2012, the New York Times ranked Oakland #5 on their list of top places to go — in the world! Oakland’s food scene is particularly exciting, and the food adventures rival anything across the Bay Bridge.
I’m most excited because this time we’ve added a new twist to the event. I noticed that other local food tour companies charge $50 or more for similar walking tours. For this reason, I decided to add a small charitable component to these events and support a worthy food-related organization working to improve the lives of people in the host community. Donations are voluntary, but welcome.
Learn more:
What: Oakland SweetsCrawl is an Ever In Transit reader meetup, walking tour of great Oakland neighborhoods, and a celebration of all things sweet! We’ll visit 5 or 6 shops across the city to sample locally-made cupcakes, chocolate, pastries, ice cream, and more. We’ll end the afternoon at a local pub (optional) to wash down the sweets with a good local beer or a glass of wine.
When: Saturday, March 15. We’ll start at 1:00 PM, end at about 5:00 PM. Please plan to arrive about 10 minutes early (12:50).
Where: We will start and end at the Rockridge BART station, 5660 College Avenue, Oakland, CA – [map]. Parking is available at the station. Meet near the entrance.
Cost: Free, but with a suggested donation of $20. All proceeds from this event will go to the nonprofit City Slicker Farms, which has worked for over a decade in West Oakland to support access to healthy and affordable food for low-income families in the neighborhood. They run a network of cooperative urban farms, sell produce at a weekly farms stand, and helping neighbors start backyard gardens. It’s an important cause in a part of the city that has long lacked easy access to healthy foods. Check out this video to learn more.
Are you in? Great! Please RSVP to [email protected]. Space is limited.
Other things to know:
- The tour is free, but bring money to sample something small at every stop, and a donation if you want to contribute to the fundraiser.
Also consider bringing about $10 for BART/bus fare between some of the stops (I’ll have a better estimate of this when the itinerary is finalized, so stay tuned!)3/12/14: Scratch that, the entire tour is walkable. - Please eat a LIGHT lunch before we meet. I don’t anyone to pass out from all the sugar.
- Can’t make it in person? Take a photo of something sweet that you’ve eaten and share it on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #SweetsCrawl. I’ll retweet/repost any photo you share on our social accounts.
Want to see what SweetsCrawl is like? Check out these wrap-ups from our walk in San Francisco, and this reader-organized event in Atlanta.
Please email me or leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions for the tour. I hope to see you there!
I have a suggestion, if it works for all the attendees. What about bicycles? Ppl could bring their own or rent from the city bike share (actually not sure if these have made it to Oakland yet, I knew they are in SF). Like I said, only if everyone can out wants to. I knew some ppl don’t know how to ride a bike and I remember there was a rather pregnant lady on your last tour. 😉
Hi Jenny, that is a great idea (especially because I’m having a bit of trouble picking a route, the city is more spread out than SF). Unfortunately you’re right — it doesn’t look like Oakland has the Bike Share program yet. But I’m planning future events in San Jose and Palo Alto which both do so we could do that there. Caltrain is bike-friendly for you folks coming down from the city!
#1 Jenny, We have bike share in Oakland. Its called the “Leave your bike unlocked = will be shared in the community”
#2 SO, I am wondering if pups are allowed since they will have food at the event or is it like the dogs are ONLY allowed if outside certain areas?
haha! Nice, Moy 🙂
As far as dogs, I don’t see a reason why you can’t bring your pup if you are bringing someone else who can watch him when you go inside (Mark or another friend?) I’m guessing most places won’t let you inside with the dog, but if you have someone who can wait outside with him, that could work if you don’t mind trading off on going in to order stuff. All of the stops are order at the counter kind of places, though we’ll be ending with an option visit to a pub (Trappist Provisions)–not sure whether or not they have a patio.
See you Saturday!
I wish I could make it, EIT. The last one looked like a lot of fun.
I wish you could come too, Lleri! Your senyoritas missed you last time. We’ll eat some taffy for you 🙂