Birthday Party Venues Outdoors

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  • Outdoor venue for 1 year old bday in early November

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    Sep 4, 2022

    Hello,

    My son will be turning 1 in early November and I’m looking for a nice place to have his birthday. I have the club house reserved in our apartment on pled but thinking it will still be nice out. So having something outside could work. I would love the Berkeley/ Emeryville/ Oakland area but open to other spots as well. It will be maybe 6-10 kids and more adults. I am looking to get a little soft playground for the kiddies. Something with a ball pit does anyone know of nice parks that has tables I can reserve and a nice grass area for the kids to play. 
    thanks so much in advance! 

    Sep 4, 2022

    Lake temescal should be nice. I'd stay away from the bay/ocean to try to increase a chance for a warmer weather. For your group size, although not reservable, you should also be able to find a nice sized corner at the Piedmont park or Draceana park. 1 folding table and a few picnic blankets should be enough for the group size. For older guests, you can bring camping chairs or ask some of your close friend/relative guests to bring some camping/folding chairs. Have fun~

    Sep 6, 2022

    Codornices Park in Berkeley has a fenced in tot playground, a big grassy field and a reservable table near the tot playground. But if the table is already reserved, many families will set up a table on the grassy field. (the area around the table is near a very shallow stream if there is any water there these days with rocks at the stream side so the little ones are best playing on the grass or tot lot.)

    Sep 7, 2022

    I held my son's 3rd birthday party at San Pablo Park in south Berkeley, and now all his preschool classmates' parents are doing it, LOL (slight exaggeration). It's a great spot. Big, grassy, sunny, street parking, wonderful play area with soft surface for the littles that has a fence, picnic tables, a separate play area for the biggers as well. You can reserve spots with the City of Berkeley, and I don't think there's a cost. There's no ball pit, but it's a great spot for a jumpy house. Have fun!

    Sep 7, 2022

    My son is also turning 1 in early November! Tilden Park has many little spots that you can reserve but a nice one might be on the grassy area (with tables) out by the entrance to the Tilden Little Farm. I think you can reserve online but otherwise it’s first come first served so just come early or you could have a grandparent/friend do a stake out for a couple hours. Hope this helps! And let me know if you’re ever interested in a play date, since it sounds like we’re right around the exact same age! :)

    Sep 7, 2022

  • Covered or outdoor venue for kid's winter birthday party?

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    Nov 1, 2021

    My daughter turns 7 in January, and I'm looking for a good venue to host a small birthday party. We are covid cautious, so in an ideal world, a covered, well-ventilated space would work great.  Any and all ideas very welcome, as we didn't host a party last year due to covid concerns, and would love to do something this year.

    Nov 1, 2021

    I am eyeing Plank for my own winter bday party. 7 year olds love bowling and by Jan. I hope most of them are vaccinated. Parks with gazebo could be nice. Cragmont Rock Park in Berkeley, Sweeney Open space park in Alameda and Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek all have a gazebo. We're planning a small multi-family get-together in late Nov. at a park with a gazebo. We plan to have hand warmers and thermos with hot beverages. 

    Nov 2, 2021

    EBRPD has covered pavilions at North/South Ensenada at Quarry Lakes (Fremont) reservation info

    Nov 3, 2021

    I am a huge proponent of planning kids' parties at your own home, especially in winter. Even a small backyard works fine. It helps keep parties small, avoids weather drama, and saves money. If your daughter doesn't already have a favorite spot where it's obvious you should have it, why wrack your brain?

    Nov 3, 2021

    We just had our daughter's birthday party at Brushstrokes in Berkeley.  They can hold it outside, which is nice, although we ended up indoors as we were lucky enough to host during the atmosphereic river/bomb cyclone.  Fortunately, all our our guests are in the same classroom and are tested weekly so we were okay with that. The girls finished painting rather quickly so bring a game or some other diversion in case you need to kill time.  We ended up playing multiple rounds of telephone.

    Nov 5, 2021

    My kid also has a January birthday - we're going to celebrate as a family but save the friends party for summer and just celebrate half birthdays instead. Worth considering if you can't find a good venue for winter. 

    Nov 10, 2021

    Fairyland! Not exactly covered but kids love this place. 

    Dec 20, 2021

    You could have a kids birthday party at the Oakland or San Francisco zoo.

    Dec 22, 2021

  • Brewery or other outdoor space for 50th birthday

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    Sep 13, 2021

    Hi - 

    I'd like to host a birthday gathering for my husband on a Saturday evening in early October. Hoping to find a brewery or other outdoor venue with service for drinks/food, where we can either reserve a few table,s block a space (for under $200-300) or just show up and grab some tables. We'll probably be 30-40 people at the most, including a few kids. Lamorinda or Oakland would be best.

    Canyon Brewery would be great but their system for ordering food and drinks right now would make it hard to host this kind of party. 

    Thank you!

    Sep 13, 2021

    Ghost Town or Degrees Plato in the Laurel would work.   Plenty of outdoor space at both.  

    Sep 15, 2021

    Try fieldwork or temescal brewing.  Lots of breweries in the area and a few of them have decent outdoor space.  Might be hard with the way certain places are handling covid but worth a shot.

    Sep 15, 2021

    Drake's Dealership on Broadway near 24th in Oakland is open air. Not necessarily outdoor, but there's no roof.

    Ocean View Brew Works on San Pablo Ave near Portland Rd in Albany has an outdoor space I think you can reserve, but no food; you'd have to bring that in yourself.

    Faction Brewing in Alameda on the Base is all outdoor and has regular food trucks, but I think they don't want large groups gathering. You'd have to ask them specifics.

    Headlands Brewing opened a taproom in Lafayette, I think it's a lot of outdoor space, but I don't know food options; haven't been there.

    I hope this helps!

    Sep 15, 2021

    30-40 people on a Saturday night is a lot at most places without some kind of formal agreement. 
    But, that being said, I’d maybe try somewhere out on the Western-most side of Alameda, just because that’s one of the rare East Bay locations where there is a lot of space to be had. Faction Brewery, Dashe Cellars, Rock Wall Winery…I haven’t been to any of these since pre-COVID so obviously call first to get the deets, including if kids are allowed in the current environment (since they can’t be vaxxed, which may or may not matter to the venue). Good luck! 

    Sep 15, 2021

    Hi,

    For my husband's 45th birthday, we went to Almanac Beer Company in Alameda and it was really fun. I don't recall if we reserved tables or not (this was also pre-pandemic), but they have a large outdoor area with a food and beer truck. There is also a place next door to get wine, I think, in case not everyone likes beer. There are a few lawn games as well to keep the kids entertained. My husband did the brewery tour with a friend to make it a little more special.

    The other place in that area is Faction -- it has amazing views of the bay and SF. But, the last few times we went there were issues with ordering food and a wait to get in. Definitely call them about reservations because that would be the way to go with a group of that size.

    In Oakland, you could check out Novel Brewing Company -- they have tables in the lot next door, but it's not that big an area. Also try Temescal Brewing -- they have a fair number of outside tables. 

    Good luck finding a place. The two in Alameda are much bigger, so you will probably have better luck. Check about COVID restrictions, though. Have fun!

    Sep 15, 2021

    I recently looked into Drake's Dealership in Oakland for a group booking of 20.

    For their outdoor tables, they told me they could do a group booking for 18 people max, they have an outdoor section with bleachers / picnic table which is usually given to large groups. You wanna book a couple of weeks out. Kids and dogs are OK. They have nibbles, pizza, burgers, salad and some vegan food options. Drinks wise it's primarily beer / wine / cider. Your group is a lot bigger, so I'm not sure if they would let you make two outdoor bookings for the same day, or encourage you to grab a group booking for 18 plus show up and try to grab surrounding tables for the rest of your party.

    I believe they only charge for group bookings if you rent their indoor private event space. 

    I didn't end up booking with them so I can't tell you how it went, but I have been there before and enjoyed their outdoor patio.

    Sep 15, 2021

    Here are some ideas: Plank, Lake Chalet, Temescal Brewing, Nido, Drake’s Dealership. 

    Sep 15, 2021

  • Outdoor Birthday Party Venue That Allows Petting Zoo/Pony Rides

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    Feb 9, 2017

    Hi, 

    I'm currently trying to plan out a Moana-themed birthday party for my daughter who is turning 4 this upcoming April. We have booked an indoor venue for the Friday before her birthday and are looking for an alternative outdoor venue in East Bay for the following Saturday. Initially, we were pretty set on Roberts Recreational Park since it's less than 10 minutes away from home and would make it much easier to do multiple trips back and forth to lug around party essentials.

    However, there are a few small details that I think could affect the enjoyability (I checked, it's apparently a word) of the party if we decided on Roberts:

    • The playground is about 50 feet away from the picnic tables, which means it'll be harder to keep the group together and have the parents sit/relax/eat during the party.
    • They don't allow mobile petting zoos or pony rides. While this wasn't originally part of the plan, we found a company that offers a petting zoo, pony rides, AND balloon twisting for an hour at the relatively low price of $250.
    • There is no canopy/covering available.

    Would those of you with far more experience throwing kids birthday parties around the Bay Area have any alternative suggestions? A friend of mine suggested Mosswood, but unfortunately they recently experienced extensive damage due to a fire back in November. 

    Feb 9, 2017

    Could do it at Kennedy Park in Hayward, which has a petting zoo, carousel & train. I really thought it was a cute park for littles (6 & under).

    Feb 10, 2017

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