The next edition of The Oaklandside’s quarterly Culture Makers live-event series promises to be an inspiring evening of culture and creativity with Oakland-based authors Jenny Odell, Mac Barnett, and Dorothy Lazard, plus a performance by innovative, high-energy string musicians, Evie Ladin Band.
The show takes place on Thursday, Sept. 21, at The New Parkway Theater and will be moderated by our arts and community reporter, Azucena Rasilla. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the program will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are going fast, so get yours here today.
Here’s a bit more about our guests:
Jenny Odell
Odell is an Oakland-based writer whose work often incorporates local places and details. She is the author of The New York Times bestsellers How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, which revolves around the Morcom Rose Garden, and Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, which takes readers on a tour around the Bay Area. Odell is also a visual artist and has been an artist in residence at Recology SF (the dump), the San Francisco Planning Department, and the Internet Archive.
Dorothy Lazard
Lazard was born in St. Louis and grew up in San Francisco and Oakland. A librarian for nearly 40 years, she joined the staff of the Oakland Public Library in 2000. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she was the head librarian of OPL’s Oakland History Center, where she encouraged people of all ages and backgrounds to explore local history. Beloved by her Bay Area community, she has been an indispensable resource for journalists, library patrons, and all the ever-curious who have crossed the threshold of OPL. Lazard and her work have been featured in Oaklandside, KQED, and NBC Bay Area among others. She lives in Oakland.
Mac Barnett
Oakland resident Barnett is a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Mac’s books have received two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Awards, three E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, The Netherlands’ Silver Griffel, and Italy’s Premio Orbil.
Evie Ladin Band
Tenacious, innovative string musicians, the Evie Ladin Band—Evie Ladin, Keith Terry, and Erik Pearson—throw down captivating, truly entertaining live shows. Grounded in Appalachian old-time repertoire, seasoned in African-diaspora roots, writing from life in modern cities, blurring the lines between music and dance, the polyrhythmic heat of Evie’s clawhammer banjo, resonant voice, real stories, and rhythmic dance have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Brazil to Bali. Based in Oakland for decades, their performance experience is a stand-out. Following their fourth release of adventurous originals, Caught On A Wire, and Evie’s first totally trad fiddle/banjo duets, Riding the Rooster—the band released an EP of funky covers, Playing our Hand. “A truly original sound in new old-time Americana,” says fRoots Magazine, while Pop Matters says “Ladin possesses a keen songwriting sense and a stable of strong musicians to back her up.”
The Sept. 21 Culture Makers is being supported with a sponsorship from Tidewater Capital.
