As an invading army of 99 percenters assembled in New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and other major cities, Oakland responded by undermining the cultural status quo - and spreading the love by getting grassroots, multicultural and life-affirming with it.

A week of build-up came to beautiful fruition with Saturday’s Life is Living festival, which attracted thousands to DeFremery Park, rechristened Bobby Hutton Park in honor of the Black Panther icon. You might say an undercurrent of cultural militancy was in evidence at the festival: slogan-laden blue posters in honor of the Panthers advertised the festivities in the weeks and days leading up to the event, lending an air of consciousness and dignity to marketing efforts.

There was so much going on at Life is Living ... it was almost overwhelming - with Hood Games, promoting skateboarding for kids, Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle (more on this later), a petting zoo and the large art installations by local artists – including a brilliant tribute to Hutton by Brett Cook, Youth Speaks poetry slam; beatbox/freestyle ciphers, food justice and permaculture demonstrations, a “stem-posium” and the off-the-chain live performances by Pete Escovedo, Raw G, Ryan Nicole Peters and Kev Omoaghe Akhidenor, Los Rakas and Sarai Knowledge.

The excitement, which culminated at Life is Living started to mount much earlier in the week. On Wednesday, the Estria Foundation presented a packed exhibition at SMSHBX gallery hosted by Anyka Barber and Scott LaRockwell, adding a splash of vibrant color to the Uptown district. Two days later, First Friday saw a Pecha Kucha event at Oaksterdam University with the theme “Women in Public Art,” which featured such luminaries as Favianna Rodriguez, Erin Yoshi, Susan Cervantes, Meme, Nancy Pili, Dr. Susie Lundy and Malia Connor breaking down the science behind public murals and (sometimes) illegal street art.

That all set the stage for Saturday’s festival. In the Estria battle, 20 contestants from across the country completed murals around the theme “Proud,” with 2010 winner Vyal earning the trophy for the second consecutive year. All of the works, though, were pretty darn cool canvases, especially considering they were blank when the day began. The afternoon concluded with and amazing deejay set by Questlove of the Roots – highlighted by an impromptu SambaFunk line dance led by Theo Williams of CaribelinQ.

Most of all, though, Life is Living was all about the people who attended. The true beauty of Oakland is its remarkable diversity and community-oriented spirit. Seeing so much of it in one place at one time gave credence to one of the festival slogans: “Oakland is Proud.”