If you are curious about what is new in tech including artificial intelligence, Oakland Tech Week will have a workshop or panel for you to check out. The events are happening all across town through Friday, Nov. 21. One other event I’m excited to check out is Oakland Theater’s Project production of “Cabaret.” The preview begins this Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22 with opening night on Sunday, Nov. 23. 

If you would like us to consider an event for this weekly list, please email me at azucena@oaklandside.org. You can also use the self-submission form on our events page to add events to our calendar for free.

Oakland Tech Week
Oakland city workers have a wide range of opinions on the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in government. Credit: Azucena Rasilla / The Oaklandside

The City of Oakland is hosting builders, entrepreneurs, technologists, artists, students, and community members across various venues for a week-long exploration of technology and innovation. The events include networking sessions, workshops, and panel discussions on AI,  modernizing government, making the tech industry more inclusive, and showing how Oakland can be at the forefront of technological advances. 
From Monday, Nov. 17 to Friday, Nov. 21, see website for a complete list of events and locations

Author Karin K. Jensen discusses her book ‘The Strength of Water: An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir’
Karin K. Jensen is a local news writer for the Alameda Post and the debut author of The Strength of Water: An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir, which made the Kirkus Reviews annual list of best indie books published and won awards from The BookFest, International Book Awards, and the San Francisco Book Festival. Credit: courtesy of Sibylline Press

Author and Alameda Post writer Karin K. Jensen will discuss her new book, “The Strength of Water: An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir.” In the book, Jensen writes about her mother’s upbringing in 1920s Detroit, and her mother’s quest for identity after going back to China during the Great Depression.
Thursday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m., $10-$18, Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. 

Oakland Theater Project’s ‘Cabaret’
Joshua Pollock (Herr Schultz / Guitar), Megan Trout (Ernst Ludwig), Sharon Shao (Sally Bowles) and Ije Success (Fraulein Kost) during a rehearsal of “Cabaret.”
Credit: courtesy of Adam Montanaro

Oakland Theater Project is concluding its 2025 season with a new production of Kander and Ebb’s Tony Award–winning musical “Cabaret,” directed and choreographed by Erika Chong Shuch. In an effort to cater to patrons seeking masked events, the theater has designated the second Friday performance of each production run as a masked audience performance.
Opening night, Sunday, Nov. 23, Thursday through Sunday through Dec. 14, see website for times and $10-$60, FLAX art & design, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way

A mural completed in 2002 adorns the outside wall of Hintil Ku’u Ca preschool. Credit: Ashley McBride/The Oaklandside

The film, which features former students and teachers from various tribes, was made by an all-Native team and tells the story of Oakland’s first Native child development center, which began during the Alcatraz occupation in 1969. “Hintil Ku’u Ca,” a Pomo phrase meaning “Indian children’s house,” is still in operation today. 
Friday, Nov. 21, 5:30 p.m., free, snacks and pizza will be provided, NAHC’s Cedar Center, 3124 International Blvd.

Hot Tickets in The Town this week: Tinsley Ellis at Yoshi’s
Blues artist Tinsley Ellis isknown for his blistering electric guitar work. He will perform an acoustic show at Yoshi’s. Credit: courtesy of Kim Reed

The blues musician from Georgia will perform an acoustic set to promote his first solo acoustic album, “Naked Truth,” which debuted at number one on the Billboard Blues chart.
Thursday, Nov. 20, 8 p.m., $33.70 – $71.10, Yoshi’s, 510 EmbarcaderoWest

Coming soon to The Town: Boys 4 Life Tour with B2K and Bow Wow at the Oakland Arena

R&B band B2K is joining forces with rapper Bow Wow for this tour making a stop in Oakland. Other artists part of the tour include Jeremih, Wacka Flocka and Amerie. The pre-sale begins on Thursday, Nov. 20, use code “OAKLAND.”
Friday, March 20, see website for presale tickets, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way

“*” indicates required fields