#HappyNewYear from the Berkeley District 2 Office 🎉 Cheers to the memories we have made and the moments we have yet to create - wishing you a year filled with new hopes, new joys, and new beginnings!

Chag sameach and Happy Hanukkah! May your menorah illuminate the darkness and spread light, positivity, hope, and renewed strength 🕎

#MerryChristmas 🎄 May your heart be light, your celebrations be joyful, and your time with loved ones be filled with warmth and laughter!

Join the Berkeley Rhinos Rugby Club at their Welcome Clinic 🦏 Whether you’re a seasoned player or just curious to try rugby for the first time, this is your chance to dust off your boots, meet the team, and get back on the field!

Saturday, December 14 | 10 am - 12 pm
Saturday, December 21 | 10 am - 12 pm
Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex
400-408 Gilman Street

Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd485JPDG5asWrncThqgHuflMaCcvE2-jN8NT1J6zvgisPnpw/viewform

Berkeleyans of lower incomes interested in recreation programs for their kids or even a High Sierras camp for their whole family can apply to get half or all of the fees waived! Apply online or register to attend workshops in December and January.

More Info: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/news/scholarships-available-kids-families-recreation-programs

Join the Berkeley Herbal Center at its Winter Wellness and Craft Fair, featuring herbal medicine and body care, tea blends, elixirs, ferments, crafts, gifts, complimentary soup, shrubs, and more! 🍄 🌰 🍒 🌿 🍵

Saturday, December 14 | 11 am - 4 pm
Strawberry Creek Park | 1260 Allston Way

Register: https://www.berkeleyherbalcenter.org/product/winter-wellness-craft-fair/

City staff has started gathering ideas for potential renovations to Dreamland Playground and the adjacent picnic areas, fields, restroom, and parking lot, and they are seeking further community input to help define and design potential capital improvements to accommodate user needs.

Join the City of Berkeley at its Aquatic Park Dreamland Community Meeting to learn more about a new bio-swale/bio-retention project!

Thursday, December 12 | 6 - 7 pm
More Info / Zoom Link: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/events/aquatic-park-dreamland-community-meeting-2

Questions: echan@berkeleyca.gov

When I set out for public office in 2020, I knew it would be a Herculean undertaking. I begin my second term with immense gratitude and humility. I could not be more proud to enter this new era of governance in Berkeley alongside my city council colleagues. Thank you District 2 for your faith, confidence, and trust.

Watch Swearing-In Ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/live/nnKhP3tUonE?si=YGJp-SB7rppWw-NU&t=1280

Join White Magnolia Acupuncture and Tai Chi and Teance Fine Teas at their Day of Giving Back, featuring acupuncture, tea, a kids choir, live jazz, gift and food vendors, and more! If you are able to, please bring a nonperishable item to donate to the Berkeley Food Bank.

Saturday, December 7 | 1 - 5 pm
Teance | 1036 Grayson Street

Register / More Info: https://www.teance.com/day-of-giving-back-event.html

Join Girls Garage at its Holiday Market for a celebration of community, creativity, and all things festive! They are hosting an exciting mix of local artisans and makers and a garage sale featuring some of their ‘retired’ tools, art materials, and more.

Saturday, December 7 | 11 am - 2 pm
Girls Garage | 2080 Second Street

"These forums are open to all community residents, leaders, advocates, organizations, and especially individuals and families who have been impacted by gun violence. We invite you to come, learn, and share your voice as we work together to create a safer and more connected community." - LIVE FREE

LIVE FREE is hosting two forums for the community to become more informed and connected to the implementation of community violence services in the City of Berkeley.

Friday, December 6 | 5 - 7:30 pm
McGee Avenue Baptist Church
1640 Stuart Street

Saturday, December 14
12 - 1:30 pm (Virtual)

Register (For Either): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfITtqo7BZ6NBkLAcEbACHMadGDBrFoLff1IKP7o933hwLjCg/viewform

Did you know that the District 2 Office has a monthly newsletter? Our December 2024 newsletter went out today! You can view the newsletter on our website below and sign up to receive future newsletters through email.

More Info: https://www.terrytaplin.com/newsletter/

Are you an artist in Alameda County in need of emergency housing relief? Apply by December 16 for Vital Arts’ Artist Displacement Prevention Grant!

Apply / More Info: https://www.vitalarts.org/adpg

I hope everyone had a wonderful day yesterday filled with warmth, laughter, and great food. I know we did thanks to a catered meal by Berkeley District 2’s Heads and Tails Barbecue, featuring beef tri tip, a kale apple cranberry salad, garlic mashed potatoes, herby stuffing, garlic dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie! 🥩 🥗 🥔 🍞 🥧 🥃 #HappyThanksgiving

#HappyThanksgiving! As we celebrate on the territory of xučyun, the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, the ancestors and descendants of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County, we must recognize tribal sovereignty and the indigenous community’s right to govern themselves, preserve their culture, and control their own economy.

Wishing everyone a harvest of blessings and good health and may this day be a beautiful reminder of the wonderful things in life 🧡

Join Kala Art Institute at its 50th Anniversary Reunion and Annex Opening Celebration! 🎉

Saturday, December 7 | 2 - 5 pm
Gallery | 2990 San Pablo Avenue

More Info: https://www.kala.org/event/50th-anniversary-reunion-annex-opening-celebration/

Check out the City of Berkeley's Tot Camps and December events, including a Tots Winter Carnival, a Winter Youth Festival and Bike and Boat Parade with Waterside Workshops, and a Pancake Breakfast with Santa! ⛄️ 🎄 🚲 🛶 🎅🏾 🥞

More Info: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/news/december-events-camps-berkeley-tots-and-families