Two Great Events Coming to West Alameda in October

The warm days and cool evenings of October are upon us, and that means it’s time for two great annual events in West Alameda….

The second and last West Alameda Wine & Dine Night of 2008 will be held Thursday, October 16, giving diners a chance to sample food from some of West Alameda’s best restaurants, then dine at one of them on and near Webster Street’s Restaurant Row.

The event starts with a special reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the upstairs banquet room at Otaez Mexican Restaurant at 1619 Webster St. Ticket holders will get two tastes of Rosenblum Cellars’ fine wines and two appetizers created for the event by the six participating West Alameda restaurants. After the reception, ticket holders are entitled to an entrée at Pier 29, Café Le Vietnamese Bistro, East Ocean Seafood Restaurant, The New Zealander, Otaez Mexican Restaurant or Pasta Pelican.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the night of the event and are available at any of the participating restaurants or at the West Alameda Business Association office at 1509½ Webster St.

***

Pint-sized ghosts, goblins and other assorted small creatures will invade Webster Street in Alameda Friday afternoon Oct. 31, for the annual "Halloween on Webster Street” festivities.

Merchants along the street will have goodies for children up to 12 years old who come trick-or-treating in costume between 1 and 5 p.m. A Halloween carnival from 1 to 5 p.m. in the parking lot at the corner of Webster and Taylor will include games, activities and prizes for kids.

The Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market will be giving free pumpkins to kids at the carnival between 2 and 3 p.m. A costume contest will be held at 3 p.m. with prizes for children in three age categories: 3 and younger, 4 to 8 and 9 to 12.

Children in elementary schools throughout Alameda will be invited to submit drawings for the annual Halloween Art Contest. All submitted art will be displayed in store windows along Webster Street.

The event is being co-sponsored by the West Alameda Business Association and Gallagher and Lindsey Realtors.

***

The West Alameda Business Association re-elected two board members and elected two new ones at its annual meeting last week. Board members Bill DeMar of EdwardJones and Trisha Collins-Levi of The Glass Man will return to the board and Betty Dittmer of Alameda Sparkles and John Mascali of Burger King will serve their first three-year terms.

Outgoing WABA Board President Ed Clark of Webster Pharmacy was lauded by the assembled members for his 20 years of service on the board, the last six of which he served as president. Ed has been a fixture on Webster Street since he began operating the pharmacy in 1973.

***

West Alameda's own Acquacotta restaurant caught the attention of the San Francisco Chronicle, which ran a positive review on Sunday, Oct. 5, saying it "offers the kind of food that distinguishes the Bay Area's quality neighborhood places." You can see the whole review at: Smart Italian dishes at Acquacotta in Alameda