⚓ Things to do in Alameda, August 20th - 26th
Family Demo days, Comedy Nights, Mahjong Meet Ups & More!
The Alameda Pulse⚓ Things to do in Alameda, August 20th - 26th
Family Demo days, Comedy Nights, Mahjong Meet Ups & More!
Sean
August 20, 2026
Happy Thursday!
This week is packed around the Island, with Mahjong meetups, demo days, motorcycles, comedy nights, and more.
There is something for everyone, along with some news and updates from around the Island. We’ve got a lot to cover this week, so let’s jump right in.
In this week's email:
Featured Events: Warhammer on the USS Hornet & Demo Days at Alameda Point
Alameda News: The water shuttle returns, the Roots stadium hits the Planning Board & the school board fills a seat
Restaurant of the Week: Dandelion Kaffe, the new corner cafe on Park Street
Community Spotlight: Altarena Playhouse, 88 years in and still in the round
This Week's Events: A five-act Food Bank benefit, mahjong, trivia & a Wonderland market
Houses on the Market: New Alameda Listings
Read time: 8 mins
FEATURED EVENTS
Tabletop Battles in an Aircraft Carrier Hangar
Saturday & Sunday, August 22-23 | 9 AM | $40 admission | 📍 The USS Hornet.
Warhammer is taking over the hangar bay of a real WWII aircraft carrier this weekend. It runs both days.
From the outside it's the ship you tour once and cross off the list. This weekend the hangar deck underneath is a two-day tabletop battlefield.
You'll find painted armies mid-game, tables you can watch without playing, other hobbyists to talk to, and a cosplay gathering up on the flight deck.
Museum admission gets you the whole ship, not just the gaming floor. Two ways in:
$40 adult museum admission, if you're coming to watch
$60 tournament fee on top of admission, if you're playing
Test Drives and Freestyle Motocross at Alameda Point
Saturday & Sunday, August 22-23 | 10 AM to 5 PM | $24.99, kids 5 and under free | 📍 Alameda Point.
Demo Days turns Alameda Point into what its organizers bill as over a million square feet of test drives, both days this weekend.
It works like a festival, not a dealership. New cars and trucks on outdoor courses, e-bikes and e-scooters on their own tracks, golf carts and micro cars with no license needed, and autonomous vehicles you can sit in. No appointment, and nobody trying to close you.
Overhead, freestyle motocross pros launch off full-size ramps while you walk between zones. No extra ticket.
It's a family day too: kids get their own zone, the golf cart course is made for first-timers, and it runs rain or shine. Parking is $20 extra.
$24.99 general admission, every demo course included
Family 4-packs available, and kids 5 and under are free
Get Connected in Alameda
Most people live here for years without seeing how the island actually runs. Leadership Alameda takes you behind the scenes, one class a month for ten months.
Each session opens a different door: civic and government, island history, public safety, housing, transportation, economic development at Alameda Point and Harbor Bay, nonprofits and social services, and sustainability.
You will meet the Mayor, tour Semifreddi's, go aboard the USS Hornet, try on the gear at the fire station, and close the year with a private tour of the State Capitol.
Ten days total. You leave knowing this island from the inside, and knowing the people who run it.
Tuition is $1,495 for Chamber members and $1,995 for nonmembers, plus a $100 application fee. Applications close September 1; the first session is September 10.
ALAMEDA NEWS
The water shuttle returns Friday after two dead engines
The Oakland-Alameda Water Shuttle is set to return Friday, August 21. The boat Woodstock has been out of service since early August after problems with both engines. New engines have been sent to the Bay Area and will be installed and tested before service returns.
Need to cross the estuary before Friday? You can use the Alameda Short Hop or AC Transit’s Line 96. Lines 19, 30, and 51A can also get you across. This is the second engine problem for Woodstock this month, so keep that in mind if you use the shuttle for your daily commute.Read more →
An 8,000-seat soccer stadium goes before the Planning Board Monday
The Planning Board meets in special session Monday, August 24 at 7 PM to take up Oakland Roots and Soul's proposal for an 8,000-seat modular stadium at their Harbor Bay Parkway training facility. The city scheduled the meeting specifically for this item. Roots is the men's club and Soul is the women's side, and both would play home matches on Bay Farm.
The plan is built to be temporary. Modular stands and temporary facilities for up to five years, roughly 24 matches a season at up to 8,000 attendance, plus some smaller sporting events. For Bay Farm neighbors the questions are the familiar ones, traffic and parking on match nights, and Monday is where they get asked in public. Read more →
The school board decides Tuesday how to fill an empty seat
Board Clerk Jennifer Williams resigned on August 12, and on Tuesday, August 25, the Board of Education will vote on how to replace her. Williams announced her resignation on July 31, saying she was stepping back to focus on family. Under AUSD rules, the board can either appoint someone or call a special election. Adding the seat to the November 3 ballot is not an option, and whoever takes the seat will serve through November 2028. Read more
Quick hits
Amy Wooldridge is leaving the city for the East Bay Regional Park District, starting as deputy general manager August 31. As Recreation and Parks director she added 65 acres of parkland, a 40% jump in ten years. She has been Assistant City Manager most recently.
Income-eligible AUSD students in grades 6 to 12 can ride the bus free. Alameda is a means-based district in the county's Student Transit Pass Program, so families have to meet state income guidelines, unlike Oakland or San Leandro where every student qualifies. It's free AC Transit plus half-off BART. Apply at alamedactc.org, and allow four to six weeks.
RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK
Restaurant of the Week: Dandelion Kaffe
Dandelion Kaffe took the corner at 1629 Park Street this summer, and it's built for sitting down rather than grabbing and going. Corner spots on Park are the good ones, all windows, and this one finally has a tenant that uses it.
The coffee list is longer than it needs to be, which is the fun part. There are more than a dozen drinks, including a dirty ube and an iced coconut Americano, plus a lattes board that runs tiramisu, Biscoff, honeycomb, caramel and horchata. If you order one thing, make it the dirty ube.
The food is actual food, not just a pastry case. Toast comes as the "egg-vocado" or a ricotta and hummus prosciutto, and there are six sandwiches and two bowls, the Spicy Seoul and the PB Summer. Hours are Monday through Friday 9 AM to 4 PM, and 8:30 to 5 on weekends, so it's a daytime place. See the menu
Community Spotlight: Altarena Playhouse
Altarena Playhouse has been putting on plays in Alameda since 1938. It started as the Alameda Little Theatre and is now one of the Bay Area’s oldest community theaters. The theater moved to 1409 High Street in 1957, but the building was too small for a normal stage, so the audience sits on all four sides with the actors in the middle. That setup gave the theater its name, and it is still used today.
This week, Altarena opens its new show, Fallen Angels, on Friday, August 21. The comedy by Noël Coward is set in London in 1925 and follows two friends whose past comes back when a man they both once dated returns to town. Shows run Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through September 20.Altarena Playhouse
This Week's Events
Shows & Entertainment
Next Stop Comedy | Friday, August 21 | 7 to 9 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Touring comics, new lineup every time. More info
Comedy Night | Wednesday, August 26 | 7 to 9 PM | 📍 Cinema Grill. Local comics, second and fourth Wednesdays. More info
Markets & Pop-Ups
Rope Droppers Market: Mad for Market Days | Sunday, August 23 | 2 to 6 PM | 📍 Faction Brewing. Alice in Wonderland theme, small makers, beer. More info
Alameda Farmers' Market | Saturday & Tuesday | 9 AM to 1 PM | 📍 Haight Ave at Webster St. The reliable one, twice a week, year round. More info
Workshops & Crafts
Free Craft Night | Thursday, August 20 | 6 to 9 PM | Free | 📍 Faction Brewing. Bring a project, they bring the table. More info
Live Music
Alameda Food Bank Live Music Fundraiser | Friday, August 21 | 8 PM | $15 presale, $20 door | 21+ | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. Five local acts, and the ticket is the donation. Get tickets
The Mio Flores SalSazz Trio | Thursday, August 20 | 7:30 to 10:30 PM | 1 drink minimum or $5 | 📍 Cinema Grill. Salsa every Thursday, and people actually dance. More info
Larrie Noble's Phree Thinkers | Friday & Saturday, August 21-22 | 7:30 to 10:15 PM | 1 drink minimum or $5 | 📍 Cinema Grill. Five decades of pop, soul, R&B and rock. More info
Singer/Songwriter Open Mic | Wednesday, August 26 | 7:30 PM | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. Sign up and play three songs. More info
Games, Drinks, & Vibes
Mahjong Social 2 | Saturday, August 22 | 5 to 10 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. The first one overflowed, so it's back. More info
Trivia Night | Tuesday, August 25 | 7 to 9 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. More info
Trivia Night | Tuesday, August 25 | 7:30 PM | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. More info
Trivia Night | Wednesday, August 26 | 6:30 PM | 📍 McGee's Bar & Grill. Run by Sunset Trivia. More info
49ers Preseason: 49ers vs Chargers | Thursday, August 20 | 7 to 10 PM | Free | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Every preseason game on the big screens. More info
Free Malthouse Tour | Sunday, August 23 | Free | 📍 Admiral Maltings. How malt gets made, every Sunday. More info
Family & Kids
Wee Play: Drop-In Playtime | Monday & Wednesday | 10 AM to 1 PM | $6 per child | 📍 Alameda Veterans Memorial Building. Ages 6 months to 3 years, with a grownup. More info
Get Active & Give Back
Weekly Classes at Rhythmix | Most days | 📍 Rhythmix Cultural Works. Fourteen weekly classes including Bhangra Fundamentals Mondays 6:30 PM, plus salsa, zumba, bomba, karate, yoga and barre. See the schedule
Kindred Running Club | Thursday 6:30 PM run, Saturday 8 AM long run, Wednesday 9 AM walk | Free | 📍 Kindred Running Co. All paces, nobody gets dropped. More info
West End Summer Potluck | Saturday, August 22 | 12:30 PM | Free | 📍 Crown Memorial State Beach. Bring a dish, meet your neighbors. More info
Civic & Community
Mayor & City Council Candidate Forum | Saturday, August 22 | 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM | Free | 📍 Webster Park. Meet everyone on the November 3 ballot. More info
School Board Candidate Forum (Zoom) | Wednesday, August 26 | 7 to 8 PM | Free | 📍 Online. Five candidates, two Board of Education seats. More info
Later This Month
Crab Cove Fish Festival | Saturday, August 29 | 10 AM to 3 PM | Free | 📍 Crab Cove Visitor Center. Mobile fish exhibit, fish prints, food trucks. More info
Sips on the Ship | Saturday, August 29 | 5 to 8 PM | $70, $90 VIP | 📍 USS Hornet Museum. Livermore Valley wineries on the flight deck. Get tickets
Cape and Cowl Con 4 | Sunday, August 30 | 11 AM to 6 PM | Free | 📍 Faction Brewing. 150+ artists and vendors, all ages, fourth year. More info
HOUSES ON THE MARKET
Over $1,000,000
Under $1,000,000
Want your business in front of thousands of Alamedans? Email us at alamedapulse@gmail.com
Got an event we missed? Submit an Event and we'll take a look for next week.
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