East Bay Life

Nice Day for the Tour de Beer

Start the new year right with this tour de beer, a coming-of-age story of new and happening beer halls, hip beer gardens, on-the-horizon brewski purveyors, as well as a few favorite standbys. The beer is enticing, of course, but this emerging iteration of suds sellers puts a hefty premium on outstanding food, ambience, and attitude, with a few spots attracting go-getter restaurateurs—James Syhabout and Chris Pastena—to help in their endeavors.

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Clown School

For 29 years, fourth- and fifth-graders at Oakland’s Prescott Elementary have learned to juggle, walk on stilts, and balance on a giant Earth ball after school. These kids—who put on more than 50 shows a year—hone their skills as part of the nonprofit Prescott Circus Theatre, a dynamic circus arts and youth development program that teaches circus, theater, and life skills to underserved kids.

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Faces of the East Bay

In the Philanthropic Swim

In the Philanthropic Swim

Rockridge residents John Bliss and Kim Thompson may live far removed the gritty flats of East and West Oakland. But this philanthropic couple see themselves as one with the citizens of Oakland, particularly those who are struggling financially, and they’re leading a campaign to get their “financially blessed” peers to invest in the community like they have by funding city programs to teach kids how to swim.