OAKLAND
Halloween Fun in Montclair Village this Sunday brings a bounty of treats for all ages to enjoy, including a costume run/walk, free trick-or-treat bags, live music, crafts, face painting, balloon animals and more.
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Show up early at 9 a.m. for a fun walk/run at Montclair Railroad Trail. Come dressed in your costumes, as there will be a costume contest! The main festivities begin at 10 a.m. with a trick-or-treating tradition at the Montclair Farmers’ Market.
Halloween bags for candy hauls will be available while supplies last courtesy of Montclair’s Flair Travel and Pelago. This year, the Farmers’ Market vendors will compete fiercely in a Halloween spirit contest organized by the Urban Village Farmers Market Association.
For full details online, visit montclairvillage.com/halloween-fun-in-montclair-village. Montclair Village will be bustling all over with treats like live music from youth performers at The Village Plaza and crafting tables and tricks like balloon animals and face painting — hope to see you there!
— Nia Jacobs, Montclair Village Association
BERKELEY
Halloween happenings on tap in city’s North Shattuck district
From 3 to 6 p.m. Halloween day, Oct. 31, on Berkeley’s Shattuck Avenue and Vine Street, the North Shattuck Association and Ecology Center welcomes families to the Farmers’ Market for Halloween fun for all ages! Carve pumpkins, decorate the Farmers’ Market Ofrenda with the Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement (BAHIA), play lawn games and participate in other engaging activities for kids.
Heady Painting will offer face painting for kids, and Saul’s Deli will host a happy hour while DJ Danny Santos spins Halloween classics for an all-ages dance party. Enjoy the seasonal produce and artisan wares as local farmers embrace the theme and help get you in the Halloween spirit.
The Farmers’ Market is the starting point for the afternoon’s festivities, at which kids can pick up free reusable bags and then trick-or-treat at participating merchants across Berkeley’s North Shattuck district. Merchants will hand out candy and other fun treats, along with offering other special items for all ages to enjoy. Learn more at northshattuckassociation.org.
— Nia Jacobs, North Shattuck Association
EAST BAY
November blood drives scheduled for needed donations
As the holiday season begins, November presents unique challenges for the region’s blood supply. Blood donations are especially vital now to ensure a sufficient supply for patients, as busy schedules often lead to a decline in available donors. Emergencies and ongoing medical treatments requiring blood do not take a holiday break.
Donors can give at any community blood drive or one of six Vitalant donation centers in the Bay Area. Vitalant is urging eligible donors to give blood or platelets in the coming weeks to help prevent critically low supplies for hospitals and the patients in need of transfusions.
Select upcoming East Bay blood drives will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Kensington Community Center in Kensington; from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at Stokley Properties in Pleasant Hill; from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 7 at Dozier Libbey Medical High School in Antioch; from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Alhambra High School in Martinez; and from 2:15 to 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Contra Costa Labor Council in Martinez.
Most people are eligible to donate blood. To review eligibility requirements and schedule an appointment, download the Vitalant app, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825).
— Vitalant
Republican club holds its annual ballot briefing brunch
The East Bay Republican Club (EBRC) held its annual ballot briefing brunch on Oct. 12. Speakers were John Dennis, who chairs the San Francisco Republican Party, and Joseph Rubay, a candidate for California State Assembly District 16. Rubay reported that 71% of Californians support Proposition 36, which would slightly weaken Prop. 47, the 2014 measure that turned many shoplifting felonies into misdemeanors.
Dennis stated that “low-cost” housing actually costs the public $1.3 million per unit. He said many ballot measures are crafted by polling for popular keywords and that $10 billion is frequently the sum they request. He put that in context with the fact that California’s annual budget is $300 billion and its total debt is $78 billion.
In November, the EBRC will host Dr. Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies at Trader Vic’s. Visit eastbayrepublicanclub.org online for details.
— EBRC
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