What to Do This Weekend: 5/6-5/8

photo from Art Murmur website

I know all of this requires some driving/BARTing out of the ‘burbs, but cut me some slack this week and I promise to highlight a few things on our side of the tunnel next week.

Oakland Battle of the Taco Trucks: This Saturday, Oakland will be hosting its first taco throw down, and with a title like “Worship My Tacos or Die” I don’t think the trucks are going to be bringing anything less than their A game. While I prefer to eat my tacos in dark corners where no one notices the food that doesn’t make it into my mouth, the event’s website promises a “dazzling dance experience with state of the art sound technology and lighting,” which I can only hope does not result in any strobe-induced taco seizures. 7pm-12am.

Kentucky Derby in the City: Growing up with a dad from Kentucky, you quickly learn that one of the few good things about the state is the Derby. Make that whiskey and the Derby. Celebrate both by donning a piece of abstract headwear and heading over to Golden Gate Fields for a Kentucky Derby celebration, complete with mint juleps in souvenir cups and a fancy hats contest.  Saturday May 8^th, starting at 11:45am. 

• Cant make it? Enjoy some slightly more masculine mint juleps with Esquire’s guide to this summer libation: How to Make a Real Kentucky Derby Julep. 

Jane’s Walk/Jane’s Crawl: The folks over at Living in the O and some friends are putting together the first ever “Jane’s Crawl,” which appears to be a bar crawl through Telegraph with some intelligent discussion about the work of Jane Jacobs, an urban activist and proponent of pedestrian planning. Yes I googled that, but I’ve found drinking always helps me form strong opinions on things I know nothing about. Saturday, May 7^th, starting at Bar Dogwood at 5pm. Facebook Event Page

Spritzers for Spring: Just in time to ease your derby/activist crawl hangovers, Homespun Bikes is offering a workshop on how to make fermented beverages. Homemade ginger makes everything better. Sunday, May 8, 6-8:30 pm. 

Oakland Art Murmur: The first Friday of the month, 23rd street between Telegraph and Valley closes to traffic and opens for hipsters to drink wine, eat from food trucks, and oh yeah! look at art. Galleries are open to the public from 6-9pm tonight.

Oakland Art Ride: In response to the (alleged) changing face and mission of Art Murmur, one of the original founders, Rock Paper Scissors Collective, has broken off and started Oakland Art Ride. The biking tour of local galleries, art spaces, pop-ups, finger painting circles (I may have made one of those up) means participants can hit a wider range of spaces, and anyone who does art things can be considered for future events: Noon to dark, Saturday May 7^th. Tour begins at Rock Paper Scissors Collective. 

Ethiopian pop-up SELAM: Guerilla Café in Berkeley is letting Afro Urbanites take over their space every first Saturday of the month for SELAM: modern Ethiopian food with a California twist, with complimentary Ethiopian coffee roasted on site. Cash only, 6-10pm.