WHEN:
Saturday, March 1, 2008 10 AM-5 PM
WHERE:
Jack London Square, Oakland (at the foot of Broadway on Oakland’s waterfront)
WHAT:
2nD Annual Crab Crawl
-Live Crabs from Half Moon Bay for Sale
-Cooked Crab by the Plate
-Crab Cooking Demonstrations
-Crab and other Fishing Boats
-Crab Specials at Area Restaurants
-Food Vendors
-Day-Long Music and Entertainment
-Free Games and Jump Houses for Kids
WHO:
-Bands:
-Caesars Empire
-Michael Robinson Band
-Final Four
-Magician Caligari the Great
-Cougar Cadets Drum Corp.
Oakland, CA – It’s been a long time coming, but crab season is back in the Bay Area. After a month-long delay at the beginning of the season, crab has returned to local tables. Jack London Square will celebrate this Bay Area specialty with the Second Annual Crab Crawl Festival this Saturday. Last year’s event drew thousands to Oakland’s waterfront and this year promises to be no different.
The event will include a sumptuous array of offerings for crab-lovers. Crabbing vessels from Half Moon Bay will bring their fresh catch all the way north to Jack London Square and sell live crab right off the boat. Buyers won’t need to look far for recipes. The Crab Crawl will feature a series of crab cooking demonstrations by local chefs that will appear to amateurs and professionals alike. The educational offerings don’t stop with cooking. Crab Cove and the Halfmoon Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association will offer programs on sustainable fishing and the state of Northern California’s fishing industry.
Local restaurants including Cocina Poblana, Kincaid’s Bayhouse, Scott’s Seafood, and Il Pescatore, will create original crab-themed specials available in-house throughout the day. If there wasn’t already enough to eat in the Square, open-air stalls will offer barbecue, crab, oysters, and much more.
The food certainly won’t be the only attraction, with live musical performances from 11AM to 5 PM. Bay Area bands Caesar’s Empire, The Michael Robinson Band, and Final Four will take the main stage, delighting audiences with an eclectic mixture of new and classic sounds. Cougar Cadets Drum Corp. will steal the spotlight at 1 PM with a high energy percussion performance.
Children and families will find plenty to do in Jack London Square Saturday. Magician Caligari the great will be on hand performing illusions and offering a menagerie of balloon animals. Parents will have a chance to browse the 30 booths from the Oakland Artisan’s Marketplace while the young ones burn off some energy in one of the free “jump houses” on hand.
The Crab Crawl is yet another sign of Jack London Square’s rebirth as the East Bay’s center for culture, cuisine, and commerce. Last year, ground was broken on the new Jack London Market, a 180,000 square foot project soon to be the West Coast’s largest public market. The new building will be part of a $300 million, 1 million square foot renovation being undertaken by local developer Ellis Partners LLC.