Our Neighbors: Festival promotes overlooked gem of Point Pinole Regional Shoreline

By Chris Treadway
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 09/19/2009 02:41:27 PM PDT

Updated: 09/19/2009 05:05:42 PM PDT

Conservation and celebration will converge at the fourth annual North Richmond Shoreline Festival, an event that has grown from a small gathering of like-minded activists into a community event.

The festival will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, 5551 Giant Highway in Richmond. Point Pinole is one of four regional parks in Richmond and possibly one of the most overlooked.

"We really wanted the community to come out, and we wanted them to know Point Pinole was there," said Doria Robinson, one of the organizers of this year's festival. "It's one of the most beautiful shorelines on the Bay, and it's right in our backyard."

The festival is sponsored by of the North Richmond Shoreline Open Space Alliance and will include live music and dance on main and children's stages, a children's activity area, an area where bicyclists can decorate their ride and a free barbecue.

The park's natural aspects will be a focus of the day. Along with an "eco area" there will be hiking and birding, a scavenger hunt and a marsh walk.

"This year's going to be amazing," Robinson said. "It's really a whole different ballgame this year."

A 24-member committee — about equal to attendance at the first shoreline festival — has been planning the event since January. The first celebration was a gathering of shoreline, open space and environmental justice advocates, while organizing this year has been expanded to include a broad part of the community.

Last year's celebration brought about 200 people to Point Pinole, and this year organizers are hoping for 500 or more.

The goal is to let the public know a major and underused recreational asset is available nearby.

"We realized if we don't enjoy what we have, we can lose it," Robinson said.

This year's celebration is dedicated to the late Ethel Dotson, a longtime Richmond activist and advocate on behalf of those living near the industrial sites traditionally found on the Richmond shoreline. Dotson, who was 65 when she died in 2007, attended that first small festival, but did not live to see how it has grown, Robinson said.

A bench in Dotson's memory will be dedicated at Point Pinole on Saturday, and speakers will offer highlights on her years of activism. Point Pinole, where dynamite was once manufactured, is an example of a shoreline site returned to a more natural state and made available to the public.

For details, call 510-778-5886 or go to www.northrichmondshoreline.org for a full schedule of events.

WEST COUNTY NOTES: Members of the Eagles Club in San Pablo will hold a sock hop and fried-chicken dinner Saturday to benefit the San Pablo Emergency Food Pantry. The evening starts with no-host cocktails at 5 p.m. and "Jon's famous fried chicken dinner" at 6 p.m., followed by dancing to oldies spun by Mike and Sandy de Alba.

There will be a raffle, best outfit and hula hoop contests and more, along with $3 margaritas. Dinner only is $10, dinner and dance is $15 at the Eagles Aerie, 2100 Rivers St. in San Pablo.

Reach Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or ctreadway@bayareanewsgroup.com. Updates online at twitter.com/christreadway.

Dear Friends,

This coming Saturday, September 26, 2009, you have the opportunity to join in a great celebration of one of Richmond's greatest treasures -- our incredible north shoreline.  Thank you to all those involved with organizing this year's festival.  See announcement below in English and Spanish.   I'll see you there!     Sincerely,  Mayor McLaughlin

Celebrate and Discover the North Richmond Shoreline!

Join us for the 4th Annual North Richmond Shoreline Festival

Saturday, September 26, 2009
11:00 am - 5:00pm
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline Park
5551 Giant Highway, Richmond, CA

Bring the whole family and make a day of it!

Free Event & BBQ – 75th Anniversary Celebration of East Bay Regional Parks District - Tribute to Ethel Dotson - Live Music – Scavenger Hunt – Games - Children’s Activity Area – Hiking - Birding - Marsh Walks - Ethnic Dance - Speakers - Youth Stage – DJs - Spoken Word - Dance Contest Bike trip to and from the Festival -– Great Prizes!

Free shuttle service to and from festival from locations throughout Richmond and San Pablo. Please see festival website for maps and shuttle schedule www.northrichmondshoreline.org/festival.htm

The North Richmond Shoreline Festival is sponsored by of the North Richmond Shoreline Open Space Alliance (NRSOSA).
Special thanks to our contributing partners for their direct and in-kind donations: East Bay Regional Parks District, the City of Richmond, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Golden Gate Audubon Society, Kaiser Foundation, East Bay Regional Parks Foundation, Eats Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Tree Wolfe, the Sierra Club, Citizens for East Shore Park, San Francisco Estuary Partnership, Richmond SPOKES, Urban Music Group, West County Toxics Coalition, and the Watershed Project.

For more festival information or to get involved contact: Doria Robinson, richmondshorelinefestival@gmail.com , 510-778-5886, or go to