This Saturday, Aug. 28th, is set to be an eventful day in Oakland, to say the least.

Fundraisers for dance programs, back to school bike rides, backpack giveaways, youth summits and rallies around violence prevention proves that Oakland not being a city that gives back to it's own community is a false assumption.

The City Slickers truck arrived exactly at 11 a.m. laden with a huge pile of fresh steaming compost, a wheel barrow and a pile of tools. The garden at the Oakland Green Youth Arts and Media Center had fallen into neglect and was looking shabby.

School Districts throughout the state are suffering under catastrophic budget cuts and are looking to families more than ever to fill in the gap.

Hella yeah! That's what Oakland Local staff was saying when we saw Tyrone Stevenson, aka Babye Champ, aka The Scraper Bike King, profiled in Discovery's Treehugger blog.

Oakland schools start Monday, Aug. 30 - where will your kids be when the last afternoon bell rings?

Julia Fong Ma, coordinator for after school programs for Oakland Unified School District, confirmed 83 schools have free after school programs this year. Participating schools are listed at the end of this article.

This Sunday, Aug. 22 - from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Oakland Food Connection will be hosting a Food Party at Swan's Marketplace Co-Housing, 535 10th St. in Oakland.

Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement continues to present The Lower Bottom Playaz in  "Mama at Twilight: Death by Love" by playwright Ayodele Nzinga at The Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater.Don't miss this last weekend of a terrific play by an Oakland talent.

The West Oakland Education Brain Trust was established in 2009 to sustain and strengthen the varied assets of West Oakland families, community members and neighborhoods.

 For anyone and everyone with an appreciation for the green hip hop movement, Saturday's Fresh Fest is a don't miss  A packed half day of music and events to be held on August 14th from noon to 6 pm at Oakland's pretty Mosswood Park,

This past weekend, Oakland held its first ever BlackOUT, a LGBTQ Black Pride festival. This historical event was marked by fundraisers, workshops and a well-attended festival at Oakland’s Lake Merritt Park.

Nine homes in West Oakland turned into producers of solar electricity Sunday morning after about 200 volunteers with GRID Alternatives spent Saturday installing solar photovoltaic systems on their rooftops.

 On an odd little corner surrounded by freeway onramps, new condos, and old Victorians  just on the edge of downtown Oakland-668  7th Street-can be found the most wonderful garden adorned with architectural features that were designed and constructed by the co-owners using recycled materials.