Rooted & Written, a tuition-free writing conference for writers of color in the Bay Area, will take place at the Writers Grotto at 1663 Mission St. this November. Applications are open, and due on Oct. 21.
Forty-six writers of color will be selected for the fifth cohort of Rooted & Written, a workshop where fellows can pursue any genre of writing including fiction, personal essays,and screenwriting.
The nine-day conference runs from Nov. 4 to Nov. 12.
“It’s allowing people who may not have the privilege to just pick up and go whenever they want to, to have the same opportunities,” said organizer Sabina Khan-Ibarra.
“It was really special to be in a room with just writers of color. There are not many rooms like that,” said Eirinie Carson, a Black British writer who attended the inaugural conference in 2019 and will be teaching this year. “So to be in this space where even the educators are people of color was crucial and really nurturing and safe.”
The application to the Rooted & Written can be found here. The deadline to apply is midnight Oct. 21.
Friday Oct. 13
Red Poppy Art House: Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet
Minneapolis-based composer and bandoneonist Charles Gorczynski presents his brand new Tango Quartet West, featuring an inimitable crew of long-standing tango artists: violinist Basma Edrees, bassist Daniel Fabricant, and pianist Elyse Weakley.
The show is at Red Poppy Art House at 2698 Folsom St. Admission is $20-$35 for online purchase and $30-$35 at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Kinetech Arts: AURUM
Kinetech Arts presents its multimedia project, “Aurum” (Latin for gold), which portrays a modern-day “gold rush” in San Francisco, with the world’s tech capital viewed through the events of 1849.
The project will be presented at ODC Theatre at 3153 17th St. on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online here.
Porchlight Storytelling: Tricks Up My Sleeve
The Bay Area’s long-running Porchlight storytelling series is returning to Litquake for this special edition, featuring tales on the theme of Tricks Up My Sleeve: Invisible Magic, with authors Derrick Brown, Dorothy Lazard, Dominic Lim, Ahmed Naji, Amy Schneider and Dan Stuart.
The event will be co-hosted by Porchlight Storytelling’s co-founders, Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick.
Doors will open at the Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa St., at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 8 p.m. You can get tickets online for $25 and $30 at the door.
Saturday Oct. 14
Paseo Artístico: The ’90s Matter!
Acción Latina presents a bilingual, multimedia presentation with performances at various venues highlighting social and artistic movements in the Mission District during the 1990s.
The presentation includes the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake that birthed the explosion of graffiti, Mike “DREAM,” the UFW and the death of Cesar Chavez, Coro Hispano, the Women’s Building mural, immigrants and youth against Proposition 187 and 209, internet technology, Dotcom gentrification and the housing crisis.
The event will run from noon to 9 p.m. at Calle 24 Latino Cultural District at 3250 24th St., and KQED Commons Theatre at 2601 Mariposa St.
Register here for free tickets.
‘Cuba to Guinea‘
Duniya Dance and Drum Company, Arenas Dance Company and Dance Mission Theater present “Cuba to Guinea” on Saturday, Oct. 14, at Dance Mission Theater at 3316 24th St.
The event will kick off at 11:30 a.m. with a free dance workshop, followed by a free drum workshop at 1:15 p.m. and end with a performance, film screening, panel discussion and work-in-progress showing starting at 4:30 p.m.
Sign up for the free dance and drum workshops here and get tickets for the remainder of the event here.
Mexican sugar skull workshop
If you want to learn how to hand-craft a colorful sugar skull, don’t miss this Saturday’s sugar skull workshop led by artist Diego Marcial Rios at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts at 2868 Mission St.
Tickets are $40 each and include all ingredients needed. You can get tickets here. The event is for those aged 12 and above.
Wednesday, Oct. 18
Chronicle Live at Manny’s: Stories of San Francisco’s Dead
It’s mid-October, and it’s officially spooky season. And for San Francisco, a city without cemeteries, there are dead bodies underground, even underneath city landmarks like the Legion of Honor and United Nations Plaza.
Tag along with San Francisco Chronicle‘s Culture Critic Peter Hartlaub, Mission Local’s own Beth Winegarner — the author of “San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries” — and Bay Area native and historian Jamie Bianchi for a night of hauntings and strange history about the second lives of San Francisco’s dead.
Find out all about it at 6 p.m. next Wednesday at Manny’s at 16th and Valencia. You can reserve tickets for $15-$30 here. Costumes are encouraged!
Thursday, Oct. 19
Artist Marcel Pardo Ariza celebrates the Mission’s queer and trans community at 500 Capp St.
Artist Marcel Pardo Ariza’s upcoming project, “Orquídeas,” at 500 Capp St., is starting Oct. 19 with an opening celebration.
“Orquídeas,” which came out of a summer artist residency, includes an installation, which is open for viewing from Oct. 19 through Feb. 17, 2024, as well as a series of public programs throughout October and November 2023 that focus on trans joy, community stories and artistic resilience.
Tickets and details for all the events included can be found here.
All of these and more are listed on our calendar.