Presidential candidate Barack Obama will be in Oakland on Saturday, March 17th – to hold his first free campaign rally in the Bay Area. When Obama held a similar rally last month in Los Angeles, about 2,000 people attended. The Oakland rally will be in Frank Ogawa Plaza (near the 12th Street BART station), and gates will open at 3:00 p.m. While the event is open to the public, those wishing to attend are encouraged to register in advance at the Obama campaign website.

UPDATE: Attendance should be huge, exceeding the 2,000 turnout from his L.A. rally. This weekend, despite the gorgeous weather, over 500 people attended a training in Oakland just to volunteer for the March 17th rally.