Entertainment

Soul Singers Come to the Aid of Rosie Gaines with Benefit, Jan. 31

Published

11 years ago

January 26, 2015

Oakland soul singer Brenda Vaughn began planning a fundraiser benefit for her friend, singer and keyboardist Rosie Gaines, who has gone through periods of homelessness and was hospitalized for most of last year.

The benefit, “I Am My Sister’s Keeper,” is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31, 8 p.m. at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, 410 14^th Street in Oakland. It will feature a star-studded lineup of performers, including Lenny Williams, D’Wayne Wiggins of Tony Toni Tone, Wilton Rabb of Graham Central Station, Tuck and Patti, Tony Dwayne and Levi Seacer.

Brenda Vaughn

While in Singapore for an engagement at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Vaughn received reports from back home about the plight of her friend, each one more alarming than the last.

Gaines, who is best known for her duet with Prince on his 1993 hit “Diamonds and Pearls,” had spent much of her time in and out of the hospital after her legs had become swollen and seriously infected since she stopped taking her insulin.

Gaines, according to Vaughn, is now living in a homeless shelter in Richmond, where staff is making sure she takes her medication.

“I knew she was in trouble for over a year,” said Vaughn, while sitting in her office at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle in Oakland.

Gaines – from Pittsburg, CA – had been a popular attraction at such local venues as Earle’s Solano Club, Yoshi’s and the Great American Music Hall prior to joining Prince’s New Power Generation in 1989.

“I was thinking I’d send $300 or something to help out, but it just kept coming back to me. Once I found out she had nowhere to stay, I felt like I was supposed to do something bigger,” said Vaughn.

Vaughn began orchestrating the benefit in November while in Singapore and reached out to several Bay Area entertainers, asking them to part in the event. In December, at the end of her long-term contract with the hotel, Vaughn flew home to recruit more participants and put the final touches on the benefit.

Other performing vocalists include Vaughn, Tiffany Austin, Faye Carol, Melvin Carter, Darlene Coleman, La Toya Gaines, Nikita Germaine, Derick Hughes, Tara Kemp, Lady Bianca, Charlene Moore, Terrie Odabi, Otis Redding III and former En Vogue member Maxine Jones.

Vaughn said Gaines is expected to attend.

“Her legs have been getting better,” said La Toya, 37. “Since she has diabetes, it’s going to take a long time for them to heal. If she stops taking her medicine and her legs get re-infected, they’re going to end up having to amputate them. We’re trying to avoid that at all costs.”

Proceeds from the benefit will go towards housing where Gaines’ only child, La Toya, can help her 54-year-old mother get back on her feet, physically and mentally, and provide other living necessities.

Prince, according to a very reliable source, “is absolutely helping.”

Admission is $30. For tickets, visit www.geoffreysinnercircle.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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January 2, 2026

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.