New at the Art & Wine Faire for this year, the Salsa Stage at Park Street and Webb Avenue presented a third line up of performers over two days this past weekend including Mio Flores, above. Habanas Cuban Cuisine sponsored the stage located adjacent to the restaurant, and then donated a portion of its drink sales to Bay Area Community Resources. The street fair, held for the 33rd year, brought many thousands of visitors to the Island City to enjoy fun, food, drink and shopping along Park Street.
Alameda’s 4th of July Parade is the longest in the nation with a route that spans 3.3 miles. This year, more than 170 entries, 2,500 participants will march across town and more than 60,000 spectator will watch along the route. The hometown celebration includes floats, marching bands, 150 equestrians (and one bull), dance troops, bands and classic cars driving dignitaries. The Coast Guard’s color guard leads the parade (above).
Briana Ortega and Simon Sotelo’s families and friends held a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, May 31, at the scene of the accident that took Ortega and Sotolo’s lives (“Rollover Accident Mars Memorial Day,” June 1).
Ortega was 17 years old and a senior at Decoto School for Independent Study in Union City.
Sotelo, was a passenger in the truck with Ortega. He was also 17; he attended James Logan High School, also in Union City.
Two teens lose their lives; speeding likely played a role
A motor-vehicle accident on Park Street at Lincoln Avenue has taken the lives two teenagers. A truck with seven people aboard collided with a minivan just after 8 a.m. on Memorial Day. According to witnesses, the truck was speeding southbound on Park Street when it clipped the front of the minivan at Lincoln Avenue. One witness recalled the truck going so fast the it went airborne as it crossed the Park Street Bridge.
Alameda’s most prominent street fair that brings original art, rides, live music and creative foods to Park Street, the Art & Wine Faire, took place last weekend. Thousands attended the two-day festival. Locals and visitors to Alameda alike could enjoy fried rutabaga, cauliflower- and potato-based fair foods (above left) that had a distinct vegetarian flair. Eleven local bands performed on two stages over both days. Event organizers with the Downtown Alameda Business Assocation said Saturday afternoon’s crowd was among the largest ever seen at the fair.
Construction to begin on two-block stretch of Park Street
With new construction on both sides of Park Street between Lincoln and Buena Vista avenues completed or planned, pedestrian safety in the corridor has become a priority for the city of Alameda.
Construction work was anticipated to begin this past Tuesday, to improve safety for those crossing Park Street. Recently approved commercial developments are expected to significantly increase the number of pedestrians using these crosswalks.
Neighbors along Alameda Avenue between Park Street and Oak Street were handed a notice recently that their block will shut down Sunday, Dec. 13, for a commerical production. The street will be closed to vehicle traffic from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day.
Parking in front of 2324 Alameda Ave. will be reserved for film crews and equipment the entire weekend from tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 11, to Monday, Dec. 14.
Since at least 2000, with the city’s visioning process, the gateways to Alameda, particularly the one at the intersection of Park Street and Blanding Avenue, have been recognized as very important and deserving of special architectural treatment.
I shudder and shake my head in disbelief every time I drive by Buena Vista Avenue and Park Street and see the empty building on the intersection’s northeast corner. I remember the sudden rush to tear down the abandoned Queen Anne-style cottage that once stood at 2413 Buena Vista Ave. In its place stands a brand-new vacant building.
I remember the city looked the other way (at the beginning of its so-called Preservation Season) and allowed the Hoi Liang Phau Trust to demolish the cottage a little more than three years ago.
