Alameda Hosts Holiday Art Markets and 60-Tree Park Planting Effort

Community arts programming, urban canopy restoration, and public muralism are bringing neighbors together across Alameda and Oakland this November. Alameda's seasonal arts calendar kicked off with five local craft and gallery showcases, anchored by the annual Art Jam Mini Masterpieces Holiday Gifts Show at Rhythmix Cultural Works at 2513 Blanding Ave., which held its opening reception on November 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. and continues with Wednesday evening gallery hours from 6 to 9 p.m. through December 30 plus a second reception on Friday, December 4 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Across the island, the ALAMEDUH Zine Issue 2 Release Party founded by Corinne Avganim Wilk gathered more than 20 independent vendors at Faction Brewing at 2501 Monarch St., while the 13th Annual Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter Jewelry & More Sale offered over 2,000 donated pieces at South Shore Center Suite 2242 with $15 early admission supporting shelter care. Makers aged 16 and older can also enroll in a $30 mid-century 1950s ornament workshop at Alameda Gallery & Collective at 1451 Webster St. on November 15, November 29, and December 5, while the 46th Annual Alameda Holiday Boutique—a tradition since 1979—brings more than 70 artisan vendors to the O'Club at 641 West Redline Ave.

Environmental volunteers are pairing seasonal festivities with urban forestry. Nonprofit 100K Trees for Humanity, the Rotary Club of Alameda, and the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department will host a community planting of 60 trees on Saturday, November 14, 2026 from 9 a.m. to noon at Mainstreet Linear Park along Main Street bordering Alameda Point. Organized with guidance from past Rotary president and Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda member Joyce Mercado, the effort complements work by Alameda Backyard Growers, whose volunteers harvest surplus residential fruit trees for the local food bank.

Across the estuary near the Oakland-Emeryville border, 19-year-old West Oakland visual artist Derick Davies completed his first large-scale public mural at the entrance of Destiny Arts Center. A graduate of the Oakland School for the Arts now in his college sophomore year on a full art scholarship after his limited-edition artist hoodies sold out, Davies combines acrylic, oil paint, textiles, and gilded gold leaf in works such as This Light Enough For You?, Reflect, and Say No to Drugs, drawing inspiration from Minister of Culture Emory Douglas as Oakland commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Black Panther Party.