Looking for something to do this week? Join a collective Día de Los Muertos altar-making workshop, head out to the park to watch a film at sunset, or immerse yourself in art with free admission to the SFMOMA. There are plenty of opportunities to dress up in costumes, of course!
Thursday, October 19
Comedy night at the Brava Theater
Get ready for some laughter at the women-led comedy lineup “Who’s Your Mami” at the Brava Theater from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. Originally created as a response to misogyny in the comedy industry, the show features mostly women comedians who are deeply funny and culturally diverse. Expect all types of laughs, from political comedy to gallows and zany.
Tickets can be purchased here.
‘Plural Prototypes‘ opening party
On Thursday night, attend the “Plural Prototypes” opening night party and enjoy a special presentation of CripTech Metaverse Prototypes, C/Change projects, decentralized web artworks and live performances at the Gray Area Grand Theater.
Part of the Gray Area Festival 2023, the event will showcase accessible metaverse prototypes in VR, historic artworks and video presentation of cultural communications projects. It will also feature two multimedia performances on gender, routine and intimacy.
The event starts at 7 p.m. and performances will run from 8 to 10 p.m. Note that N95 masks are required for this event. RSVP here.
Celebrating trans joy at art opening
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 that focus on trans joy, community stories and artistic resilience.
Tickets and details for all the events included can be found here.
Friday, October 20
‘Calaveritas de Amor:’ Día de Los Muertos drag show
Beloved drag queen Per Sia returns to SOMArts Cultural Center with other drag artists for a special night of remembrance on Friday from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Featuring performances by Dulce de Leche, Translucent, Jota Mercury, Valeria Sosa and Memory, the event shows how performers embody their experiences of queer resilience, love, and individuality through a night of tender, powerful performance.
General admission is $10 and tickets can be purchased here.
Guitar faculty recital
Join a concert at Little Mission Studio featuring faculty performing classical and electric guitars from a wide range of musical styles, including tunes from celebrated Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo, a memorable theme from Hiyao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” and original works of heavy metal.
The event will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday at Little Mission Studio at 445 Hampshire St. Tickets are by donation and can be found here.
Dance Mission Theater: ‘Dreaming the Diaspora‘
Aswan Dancers and Amorfia Productions presents Georges Lammam in “Dreaming the Diaspora,” a show depicting an Arab immigrant’s musical journey from Beirut to San Francisco, and a multi-media theatrical travelogue that features music, dance and poetry.
The performance will be presented at Dance Mission Theater at 3316 24th St. on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
‘Ghostbusters’ (1984) at McLaren Park
A free outdoor Sundown Cinema screening of the supernatural comedy classic will take place at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater at McLaren Park, the final screening of this year. The film begins after sunset, around 6:30 p.m. Hosted by the San Francisco Parks Alliance and the Alamo Drafthouse, the event is free and open to all ages.
Doors will open at 5 p.m., and moviegoers are encouraged to show up in costume. The winner of the costume contest has a chance to win free flight tickets.
Opera at ODC Theater
ARS MINERVA presents the modern world premiere of “Olimpia Vendicata,” an opera composed by Domenico Freschi in 1682. Performances will take place at ODC Theater at 3153 17th St. on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased here.
An evening with McSweeney’s
Head over to Verdi Club Friday night to celebrate the 25th anniversary of McSweeney with Tim Heidecker, a comedian, writer and musician. Part of Litquake, the San Francisco’s Literary Festival, the night will be filled with riveting readings and discussions. The doors are open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Get tickets here.
Saturday, October 21
Lit Crawl returns
Lit Crawl, the biggest literature event in San Francisco, is coming back to the Mission this weekend, featuring 45 different events across 19 venues in the neighborhood. The event, from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, brings authors, artists and publishers together for a one-night literary bash, with events that include a literary relay race, where writers pen short sections of tale in their own styles and end it mid-sentence to hand off to each other; and poetry and prose readings highlighting the role of literature in times of crisis.
Venues are scattered throughout the Mission, mostly between South Van Ness Avenue and Valencia Street. Attendees have 30 minutes to commute from one spot to another.
To help you plan a night with no regrets, we made this interactive map so you can plan accordingly. Feel free to take a look at the entire list of events to find which ones to attend.
Valencia Street history tour
Revisit the history of Valencia Street with a walking tour with the Berkeley South Asian Radical History Tour this Saturday starting at 5 p.m.
Participants will see through the reality of gentrification on Valencia Street into a different history, from the decades when it was home to dozens of mostly Irish-owned funeral homes and a streetcar line, to the early 20th century, when the anti-British Empire activists from South Asia founded the Ghadar Party, to the overlapping histories of lesbian and punk culture in the 1970s and 1980s.
Email shaping@foundsf.org to RSVP and donations are also welcome.
Monster Drawing Rally
Southern Exposure presents its annual Monster Drawing Rally on Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. at The Lab on 16th and Capp streets. Viewers will witness the creative process of more than 100 local artists, seeing sketches, paintings and collages morph into full-fledged artworks.
The artworks created will be available for purchase right away. Tickets are on sale here.
Hunters Point Shipyard Open Studios
Ever been curious about how artists work? Catch a glimpse at Hunters Point Shipyard and Islais Creek Studios this weekend, as more than 130 artists are opening their studios for visitors from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Visitors will see a wide variety of art from paintings and sculptures to photography and jewelry. They can also purchase pieces directly from the artists.
Admission and parking are free. Reserve a spot here.
Sustainable gardening
For some, Saturdays are always reserved for gardening. Starting this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, learn to grow without the need for pesticidesg and what plants are best adapted to San Francisco’s coastal climate with dry and foggy summer days.
The first in a three-part gardening series, the workshop will focus on native and drought-tolerant ornamental gardens, but also cover broad topics that can also apply to vegetable gardening.
The workshop is happening at Garden for the Environment at 1590 7th Ave. Tickets seem to have been sold out for now, but you can always check back to see if more become available.
Free Community Day at SFMOMA
SFMOMA is hosting a free community day on Saturday to celebrate the opening of the first major retrospective of Pacita Abad’s work. The exhibition features more than 40 works, including the artist’s signature trapunto paintings — stuffed, quilted canvases adorned with textiles Abad collected on her travels.
Tickets will grant free access to the entire museum, with the exception of the special exhibition, “Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Love.”
The day also features hands-on art-making, live performances and conversations, including traditional stringed instruments, Filipino martial arts demonstrations and trapunto workshops where participants can embroider beads, buttons, textiles and shells onto canvases.
On the same day, from noon to 6 p.m., the UNDISCOVERED Block Party will also take place just a ten-minute walk from the museum, featuring emerging artists and merchants celebrating the SOMA Pilipinas — Filipino Cultural Heritage District. The main entrance to the free block party is located at The Parks at 5M, 44 Mary St.
Sunday, October 22
Día de Los Muertos altar-making
With Día de Los Muertos around the corner, you can celebrate and learn how the Bay Area’s Latinx and Filipinx communities commemorate lost loved ones and share your own tokens of remembrance at the live event.
It will be held at KQED in partnership with Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and the Filipino Service Providers Network this Sunday.
Starting at 1 p.m. at 2601 Mariposa St., participants will experience a day of collaborative Día de Los Muertos altar-making and poetry, where they learn about rituals honoring the dead across different cultures.
The event is free and you can register here.
Monday, October 23
Silhouette Artist Karl Johnson in town
On Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., silhouette artist Karl Johnson will make custom cuts at Fiddlesticks, the children’s clothing shop at 540 Hayes St. in Hayes Valley.
Each silhouette session is five minutes, and customers will go home with a hand-cut silhouette portrait of themselves or their loved ones.
Each session will cost $35 and time slots can be booked online.
Check out these events and more on our calendar.