Oakland Bloom

Oakland Bloom We are a diaspora led group organizing to support food, economic and immigrant justice and opportunity in Oakland.

Our mission is to advance economic equity in Oakland by providing educational training and hands-on support for aspiring chef entrepreneurs from refugee, immigrant, and low-income communities who seek to start their own food businesses.

04/18/2026

What a sweet event at this afternoon ☕️💗. Deep thanks to for hosting, to everyone who attended, and massive kudos to Chef Senait for creating a truly multi sensory experience — of sounds, smells and taste — and for sharing about the Habesha Coffee Ceremony. Don’t miss our next library demos (free to attend and open to walk-ins) - details on our website: oaklandbloom.org

🦋April 15 Lunch Fundraiser 🦋 Thank you to each of you who have donated, organized, and amplified efforts to resist the o...
04/10/2026

🦋April 15 Lunch Fundraiser 🦋 Thank you to each of you who have donated, organized, and amplified efforts to resist the ongoing state violence of ICE and to support community members who have been impacted by these attacks. Two weeks ago, a person in our community was detained by ICE and we’re organizing a fundraiser pop-up to support them and their family to access legal support and meet basic needs.

This Wednesday, April 15, come out and support a special lunch pop-up at from 10A -2P, with alongside . TSIRI will be offering a special menu of handmade sopes - always intentionally sourced and exceptional. All of these food sales will go to support this family.

🗓️Wednesday, April 15
⏰ Lunch: 10AM - 2PM (café opens at 9)

Meet the illustrators - many returning and also some new folks - popping up at this year’s Lantern Festival this Sunday ...
02/26/2026

Meet the illustrators - many returning and also some new folks - popping up at this year’s Lantern Festival this Sunday in Pacific Renaissance Plaza, Oakland Chinatown 3-8PM:
🧧SHAWNA CHAN is a Bay Area independent artist known for her AZN Sauce of Love series, celebrating food as a love language across Asian kitchens. Rooted in her Singaporean Peranakan heritage, she creates playful illustrated goods, limited-run zodiac knits, handbuilt ceramics, and beaded purses — art made to feel like a warm check-in: “Did you eat yet?”
🧧hellomurry is a filipinx illustrator from Muwekma Ohlone land (Oakland) that creates local postcards, greeting cards, magnets, zines, and stickers that are inspired by the Bay Area, mental health themes, AAPI representation, and nostalgic childhood experiences.
🧧lys (she/her) is , a chinese american illustrator based in SF who sells paper goods, stickers and keychains on themes of intimacy and everyday life.
🧧Homie SF .sf a woman owned, AAPI stationary business based in San Francisco. Our art are all hand drawn and feature popular characters and designs from American and Japanese pop culture. We are most known for our trendy stickers of characters such as Smiski, Sonny Angel, and more!

And ICYMI [see our previous shout out posts for more info!] :
🧧dongzhisama (동志ᜐᜋ) by .sketch and
🧧Two Thicc Asians

Come thru! 💌 RSVP on our Eventbrite - 🔗Link in bio.

🏮 March 1, 2026, 3:00-8:00 PM
⛳ Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 9th Street, Oakland Chinatown

Thank you to our village for making this year’s Lantern Festival possible through sponsorship, collaboration, and joinin...
02/26/2026

Thank you to our village for making this year’s Lantern Festival possible through sponsorship, collaboration, and joining the festivities on Sunday March 1, 3-8PM.

🏮Sponsors: Just City Cultural Fund - - alongside and , your funding and sponsorship makes this arts, culture, community, and healing centered event in Oakland Chinatown possible.

🏮Partners: Deep gratitude to and for your collaboration, as well as to and for supporting this year's activities and fun!

As part of the festival, stop by and learn about these orgs:

🏮 East Bay Asian Local Development Center
🏮 Family Bridges Housing and Community Services
🏮 Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities
🏮 Oakland Gleaners
🏮 Oakland Public Library

Join us! 💌 RSVP on our Eventbrite - 🔗Link in bio.

🏮 March 1, 2026, 3:00-8:00 PM
⛳ 388 9th Street, Oakland Chinatown

Here’s a preview of the vendors offering beautifully crafted products - from pillows, to baskets, clothes and more for y...
02/26/2026

Here’s a preview of the vendors offering beautifully crafted products - from pillows, to baskets, clothes and more for y’all to enjoy at this year’s Lantern Festival!

🧶 House of Wen : pillows made from vintage and hand-woven textiles sourced throughout East and South East Asia, Chinese block prints and papercuts
🧶 Moonlight Spirals : Coiled basketry shaped by hand, guided by intuition. Every stitch builds simple fibers into functional and fun baskets. Inspired by moonlight, movement, and the beauty of slow crafts.
🧶 Magic Yarn Garden , my crochet flowers reflect traditions of handcraft, care, and gifting. Each piece carries intention — celebrating resilience, honoring culture, and contributing to a sense of pride and healing within the community.
🧶 Sasha’’s House: Sasha’s House is a clothing store that sells Chinese traditional clothing and trending styles for all ages. Sasha's House offers clothes for all sizes, personalities, and events. It is run by Regina (aka Mom) and Manyi (aka daughter, social media maven)

Stock up on these unique handcrafted gifts!

💌 RSVP on our Eventbrite - 🔗Link in bio.

🏮 March 1, 2026, 3:00-8:00 PM
⛳ 388 9th Street, Oakland Chinatown

Did you know that in addition to celebrating the first full moon of the new year, the Lantern Festival is also a celebra...
02/24/2026

Did you know that in addition to celebrating the first full moon of the new year, the Lantern Festival is also a celebration of love? Treat your loved ones (including yourself!) this Sunday, to yummy handcrafted goodies by these sweeties:

💕Goddess Noir Cakes is a celebration of culture, innovation and drive. As a Black American, baker-owner Brittany grew up baking various desserts from peach cobbler, to sock it to me cake, pineapple coconut cake and sweet potato pie surrounded by soul food and family. These experiences shaped her journey into food and her vision for .
💕Alex and Alicia are the owners of Oakland Fortune . Taking the reins from Alicia’s parents, they have modernized the business while striving to remain true to the Asian American experience. Their mission is to change the perception of both fortune cookies and Asian Americans in a positive way giving thoughtful depth to an icon everyone knows.
💕Rufi’s Cacao: Three generations. One recipe. A love for Oaxacan chocolate. Rufi’s Cacao was created by Lorenza Sanchez and her daughter Connie to keep their family’s chocolate tradition alive—a tradition rooted in memory, migration, and love.
💕 Bessie Carter Co , is an always delicious and primarily vegan and gluten-free bakery by chef-owner Auset, named in honor of her great grandmother. Auset has worked in food - from fine dining to private cheffing – for over 18 years and brings her expertise, skills, passion and creativity to her baking.
💕 Shop artisanal goods by chefs and artists who are a part of Oakland Bloom’s kitchen and community hub Open Test Kitchen . Located just a few blocks away on 8th and Washington Street, we’ll be vending special offerings by our friends Café con Cariño , Sagrada .theshop , Felicia Liang , and more.

Join us! 💌 RSVP on our Eventbrite. (🔗Links in bio). And as with each year, please mask when not eating or drinking.

🏮 March 1, 2026, 3:00-8:00 PM
⛳ Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 9th Street, Oakland Chinatown

Dine with us and enjoy these fortuitous & tasty offerings at Lantern Festival 2026 :🍊 Earth Grown Drinks specializes in...
02/24/2026

Dine with us and enjoy these fortuitous & tasty offerings at Lantern Festival 2026 :

🍊 Earth Grown Drinks specializes in tasty and balanced fresh pressed juices, smoothies and herbal teas that help people heal, detoxify and start the new year right - toward good health and strength for the year ahead.
🍉 ASÚKAR, reflects a mix of both Chef Nikki’s Palestinian culture & heritage, along with the Cuban culture & heritage of her husband and their children. For chef-owner, Nikki, food is her love language - food is political; food is history; food is identity; food is power, and food is a connection to the land, ancestors and to the community.
🍊Ying Kee is the spot for Cantonese homestyle comfort food in Oakland Chinatown, famous for their shrimp wontons and dumplings. These foods represent family gatherings - both in form symbolizing togetherness and unity, and in the cultural practice of families and friends gathering around the table to wrap wontons,reconnect and make a nourishing meal together.
🍊As dumplings represent unity, tacos are a warm hug. Don’t miss TSIRI’s responsibly sourced, handmade tacos at this year’s lantern festival. TSIRI intentionally sources ingredients and cooks to bridge generations, relationships to land and workers, and love for commuity.
🍊A lifelong obsession with noodles - a symbol of longevity - led to the creation of Lil Devil . Its founder, Larry, grew up eating noodles made by his grandmother’s hands, and started making noodles of his own to keep the tradition alive.
🍊 Nature Vegetarian is a great way to honor the Lunar New Year tradition of enjoying a vegetarian meal. Since 2012, Nature Vegetarian has specialized in vegan options of classic Chinese dishes for the community.

Don’t miss the chance to sample these flavors 💌 RSVP on our Eventbrite. Volunteer for a fun BTS experience - we have some more openings for later shifts - sign up today! 🔗Links in bio.

🏮 March 1, 2026, 3:00-8:00 PM
⛳ 388 9th Street, Oakland Chinatown

Over the next few days we’re introducing the powerful community of healers, illustrators, makers, chefs and collectives ...
02/23/2026

Over the next few days we’re introducing the powerful community of healers, illustrators, makers, chefs and collectives that will be offering one-of-a-kind, handcrafted and special goodies for you to enjoy at the Lantern Festival on Sunday, March 1, 3-8PM.

To kick us off, learn about these sweet collectives and collaborative projects :

💕Two Thicc Asians is a brand started by two best friends, Christine Yang (she/they) and Karen Chin (she/they). Together, we explore the Asian American experience, q***rness, body acceptance, mental health struggles, and many more topics that are personal and significant to us. These themes are expressed in our stickers, prints, as well as sewn goods such as accessories, home goods, and stationery items. To us, Two Thicc Asians is a way to connect ourselves to the greater community and evoke conversations that are authentic and affirming. Two Thicc Asians hopes to bring play, joy, and humor through our creations
💕Moments Cooperative .co.op opened in January 2021 in downtown Oakland to share much-needed physical space and resources for artists and organizers — particularly Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+, low-income communities, and our unhoused neighbors. We carry a curated selection of new and used books and zines by BIPOC and radical authors.
💕dongzhisama (동志ᜐᜋ) is a collective of Jenica Garcia (she/he) , Hanul Kwon (they/she) .sketch , and Beck Liao (they/she) , q***r cultural workers and friends in movement. We make art connected to our q***r and trans Asian identity and to share our purpose to the masses in our fight for liberation!
💕Cut Fruit Collective is a SF Bay Area grassroots group creating art for AAPI community care. We create more resilient AAPI communities through art and storytelling.

Join us and shop + support these brands. 💌 RSVP on our Eventbrite. Also, we have a few more volunteer spots open for the later shifts - sign up today! 🔗Links in bio.

🏮 March 1, 2026, 3:00-8:00 PM
⛳ 388 9th Street, Oakland Chinatown

🦋 GRATITUDE POST 🦋Our hearts are full - we are so grateful to each of you who mobilized, volunteered, donated and turned...
02/11/2026

🦋 GRATITUDE POST 🦋

Our hearts are full - we are so grateful to each of you who mobilized, volunteered, donated and turned up for last Friday’s Mutual Aid to Minnesota Pop up Event. This has been a labor of love and partnership :

🌱Music,danza and poetry by , Danza Azteca de Anáhuac, ,
🌱Resources and Vending by .theshop , , , .INC
🌱 Community raffle organized by .gomez_gonzalez , with incredible gifts from , , , , .theshop and .gomez_gonzalez

Together we raised $982 which we distributed to families impacted by ICE in Minnesota as well as to who has been organizing locally . Swipe ➡️ for QR codes to donate directly to these efforts !

Let’s keep on building together ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

📸 Photo credits: .gomez_gonzalez ,

📣SAVE THE DATE AND CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS📣: Sunday March 1, 3-8PM will be our FOURTH Annual Lantern Festival in the heart o...
02/02/2026

📣SAVE THE DATE AND CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS📣: Sunday March 1, 3-8PM will be our FOURTH Annual Lantern Festival in the heart of Oakland Chinatown and you’re invited! RSVP on Eventbrite.

2026 brings the year of the fire horse 🔥🐎 – a powerful year of passion and action. Don’t miss this year’s special line up of delicious new year dishes, powerful performances, crafting, healing spaces and shopping dozens of local merchants, artists and makers in the heart of Oakland Chinatown. All ages welcome! Please mask (masks will be provided at all entrances)!

💫We could not do this without our community of volunteers❤️ Come volunteer for a fun behind the scenes experience of this year’s festival! Sign up via QR code in slide 2. 🔗links to RSVP and to volunteer are in our bio.

Address

528 8th Street
Oakland, CA
94607

Telephone

+15105879336

Website

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