Music and dancing - you really can't have one without the other.

So the merchants and residents of Oakland's Laurel District are doubling up and celebrating both art forms with a pair of free events on June 25.

If you're thinking about a new career, changing the way you eat, getting into yoga, doing something good for the world, or you just need beautiful gifts with a story, plan to drop by Heather Haxo Phillip's and Bashir Anasta's eclectic house party and gift sale: Part Fair Trade Palestinian products and part raw food cooking.

In Oakland’s Laurel District are paintings and mixed media pieces that represent the joy, hope and love that is expressed through strong familial bonds, music and hospitality. 

"IMAGES: Another Side of Me" is Valerie Brown-Troutt’s art exhibit at Conscious Collective, 4148 MacArthur Blvd., between 39th Avenue and Maybelle. The show, which opened July 30, runs through Sept. 9.

“It’s sort of a folk art feel to it,” explained curator Dvora Gordon. “There’s a lot of strength of emotion in her pieces and when you look at them you react. It’s very evocative.”

Thousands of people visited the 11th annual Laurel Street Fair on Sunday, thronging the streets to snack on treats, visit local merchants, and listen to an exciting line-up of professional musicians perform, all of whom live in the Laurel.