El Cerrito officials advised arriving early for good reason. If you were a minute late to the city's annual Egg Hunt at Arlington Park Saturday, you would have missed the exciting action. A swarm of eager youngsters dashed across the grass snatching up the eggs and candy in a few heartbeats. "Come early so you won’t miss the start," says the event description on the city Web site. "The hunt is over quickly." The kids were divided by ages. A big white rabbit, sporting a red vest with white polka dots, made a guest appearance. A big thanks to El Cerrito parent Steve Crawford for contributing …
We're glad that Peggy McQuaid, whose several civic roles include being a contributor to Albany Patch, was on hand in El Cerrito Sunday for a gathering of classic or at least collectible cars at the O'Reilly Kragen Auto Parts parking lot on San Pablo Avenue near Moeser Lane.
Turkey's on parade! These guys and gals looked like they were on a mission heading up Ramona Avenue between Curry and Fairmont avenues Monday morning. They'll pause if you call to them, but only for a moment before heading back to their hunt for seed and other delectables found in local gardens. This flock seems to have made El Cerrito their new home and can be seen on most days wandering the neighborhood. Please feel welcome to share your photos of our resident turkeys. You can add them this article or to our Neighborhood Gallery, or send them to elcerrito@patch.com.
We hope you enjoy these photos capturing some highlights from the El Cerrito High Gauchos' 1-0 men's varsity soccer victory over the Spartans of Pinole Valley High on Feb. 2. It was a close game, with Mauricio Garcia's goal in the 24th minute clinching the victory for El Cerrito. You can find a brief write-up in the Contra Costa Times. The team wasn't as fortunate last night, Tuesday, losing 1-6 to the Richmond Oilers in a conference game that brought their conference record to 2-3 with 5 draws.
We hope these photos offer a glimpse of the festivity that animated El Cerrito Community Center Saturday for the city's annual Holiday Pancake Breakfast. If you took photos or video, please feel welcome to add them.
Shoppers nibbled on donuts and cookies while browsing local craft offerings at the St. Jerome Catholic Church Christmas Faire on Sunday.
Here are some scenes of this year's revived Harding Carnival, which attracted more than 1,000 people to Harding Elementary School and took in more than $10,000, according to Harding parent and carnival producer Gunther Rohrer.
The El Cerrito Art Association's annual art show — celebrating its 35th year — attracted an appreciative crowd to its opening reception Friday night at the El Cerrito Community Center, as can be seen in these photos by Dale Mead. The art, available for sale, is also awarded prizes in several categories: Oil, Acrylic and Watercolor Painting; Pastel; Black-and-White and Color Photography; Digital Art; Sculpture; Mixed Media/Collage; Drawing Media; Printmaking; and a special category this year, "Let's Hear What That Sounds Like." The show continues today, Saturday, noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday 10…
Kevin Proctor, an artist and landscape architect in El Cerrito, says the basis of his art is "driven by my love for the style and simplicity of vintage poster art and Japanese block printing." An exhibit of his images is now on display at the second-floor Gallery Space at El Cerrito City Hall. He describes his aesthetic and his technique in an artist's statement on the wall at the exhibit. (See attached photo of his statement.) He describes his work as "mixed media," created with graphite pencils, felt pens, computer graphics and digital printing of scanned images on cotton paper. His show, "…
Workers lifted a sign into place, painted railings, and prepared displays for customers Tuesday as Safeway geared up for Thursday’s 4 p.m. opening of a 65,209-square-foot store on San Pablo Avenue just south of the El Cerrito del Norte BART station. The “Lifestyle” store will include a deli, bakery, pharmacy, meat and fish, produce, Starbucks and a bank, according to company spokeswoman Kara Noe. Not yet complete are a strip of stores attached to the Safeway and facing San Pablo Avenue. Signs on two of those stores say that Pet Food Express and SuperCuts will be “coming soon,” but others bear…
This combination of signs spotted on a home on Norvell Street in El Cerrito raises a few questions: Are we welcome as long as we can get to the edge of the property faster than the dog? Just how fast is this Patch photographer? How badly does she want to know the answer to the previous question? If the dog wins, will the result be a big slobbery kiss? Do the letter carriers who have to reach that mailbox remind their employer that the famous oath about braving rain, hail, snow and gloom of night does not mention German shepherds?
Neighbors connected with neighbors and enjoyed potluck meals at dozens of local gatherings Tuesday night as El Cerrito and Kensington joined in National Night Out. About 50 gatherings were held in a variety of locations like public parks, driveways and even in the middle of the street. Activities and invitations were left up to the organizers of each event but typically included a lot of talking, eating, and kids playing. Police, firefighters, city officials and McGruff the Crime Dog were busy traveling from celebration to celebration. The purpose of the national annual event is to prevent …
The Bay to Barkers should not be confused with the Bay to Breakers. The former may be more modest in distance (one mile), but it wins hands down, er, paws down, in the percentage who complete the course au naturel. The 14th Bay to Barkers, held Sunday at the Albany Bulb and Golden Gate Fields parking lot, was a benefit for the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, featuring not only a one-mile walk on the Bulb but also a Doggy Olympiad, vendor and information booths, and a "casting call" for KOFY TV commercials that need dogs. The goal was $50,000 to help save homeless animals. As of early this …
Mira Vista Golf and Country Club’s golf course is seeing more activity than usual these days as it undergoes a $1.5 million renovation. Work began May 2 and is on schedule to finish by Oct. 1, according to the club’s web site. “We are still open during the construction of our greens and surrounds to USGA specifications, new bunkers, new cart paths and re-leveling of most tee boxes,” according to the web site. Tim Youngberg, golf course superintendent, said the irrigation system had not been updated in about 20 years and the improvements will save water and provide for better drainage. Golfers…
Owls — unlike their distant feathered cousins, turkeys — are noctural creatures seldom seen by human eyes in El Cerrito. But luckily Ian Billings had his camera handy just before midnight Thursday evening when he spotted an owl perched on wires next to his El Cerrito home.
The outfield was the "in" place to be at Cerrito Vista Park for El Cerrito's annual July 4th festival. This elevated panoramic photograph by Dale Mead includes the city's namesake in the center of the photo. (That's Albany Hill, known in Spanish as el cerrito for "the little hill" and the origin of our city's name.) Not shown is Pomona Avenue and the parking lot of the Contra Costa Civic Theater, where many more booths were located. You can see other photos of the event by Mead on Flickr.
Someone with a green thumb lives here. * * *
Summer took a day off today, Tuesday, and rain took advantage of the opportunity to rinse away the dust and water our gardens. Thank you, rain.
It's not uncommon for cats to bring things into the house, but there are several unusual things about this find. First of all, it's an alligator lizard (we think). Also, the cat has either brought the same one in twice or two very similar specimens. Finally, it was fully intact and seemed unharmed. So, maybe, the cat was just having a friend over.
Flowerland in Albany was the place to be Saturday if you like an up-close demonstration of making strawberry jam while surrounded by flowers and sipping cocktails made with juice of fruits harvested from local backyards, like Baerss and Rangpur limes, and Marsh grapefruit. Applying the master’s touch to the large pot and big wooden spoon was Alexandra Eisler of Kensington Marmalade Company, whose roots, yep, are in Kensington. The recipe was there for the asking, so we can reveal the secret ingredients: 1. delicious ripe strawberries, and 2. Eureka lemons. The attached photos by Doug …
