It feels like either spring is reaching full bloom or summer is kicking off early, because this weekend is jam-packed with excellent things to do, much of it outdoors. So here’s my top 10 to-do list, maybe I’ll see you oot and aboot?
THROUGH JUNE 11: THE MAIL ART CLUB “At the beginning of the pandemic when in-person programs were on hiatus, Creativity Explored artists began to exchange handmade postcards via the U.S. mail to stay connected. Over the past two years, CE artists, teaching artists, staff and volunteers created and mailed hundreds of postcard-sized artworks to one another.” Now, see them displayed. Visits by appointment, Creativity Explored, SF. More info here.
THROUGH SUN/1: FEFU AND HER FRIENDS ACT’s gorgeously produced (check the fine porcelain), immersive production of MarÃa Irene Fornés’ 1977 mind-bender will have you tromping all around the Strand Theater as you peer into the lives and interactions of eight women gathered at a fancy country house. It’s a poetically ambitious, incredibly well-acted play: You’ll be tempted to treat the evening as a puzzle box, but Fefu is much more Mulholland Drive than Memento. Its audacity is in erasing all boundaries as it gives women freedom to be themselves—weird, wild, boring, romantic, magical, terrible, didactic, unnerving, playful—on stage. Various times, Strand Theater, SF. More info here.
FRI/29: LIMINAL SPACE OPENING San Francisco’s first trans-centering art gallery is about to throw open its doors after a successful crowdfunding campaign. The opening party features DJs and performers Bored Lord, La Frida, Del, Weliveinparadi$e, Fiera, and Rose Cherami. 6pm-11pm, Liminal Space, SF. More info here.
FRI/29-SUN/1 BERKELEY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL More than a dozen artists plucking, strumming, fiddling, diddling, leaning, and keening, including workshops, jams, and activities at this sixth annual romp. Various times, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley. More info here.
FRI/29-MAY 8: PS FOREVER SMUIN The incredible local dance group come back with a second series featuring four diverse ballets from established dancemakers and rising choreographic voices, including a piece with music by avant-garde hero Nico Muhly. Various times, YBCA, SF. More info here.
FRI/29 and SAT/30: KILLING MY LOBSTER: GOOD GRIEF Classic local comedy troupe Killing My Lobster are back at it—pinching your funny bone while making poignant points about the way we live now. 8pm, Piano Fight, SF. More info here.
SAT/30 INDIE BOOKSTORE DAY Fun fact, I spent my 20s raving, reading, writing, and working at Green Apple and my own bookstore, 9th Avenue Books. Thus, my fierce attachment to our fabulous indie scene, from legends like City Lights through new spots like Fabulosa in the Castro and Medicine for Nightmares (formerly Alley Cat). One day I will open my own bookmobile with my matriarchal family names emblazoned on it : Huyghebaert & Josefowicz. Until then, I’m going to dive into our independent treasures. (Green Apple and Books Inc. have some neat things planned.) Find an indie near you here.
SAT/30: SF NOODLEFEST It’s been a decade since this popular event flooded the streets of Chinatown and North Beach with noods fans. Italian, Asian, you name it are all on offer, plus music and family fun. 2pm-4pm, streets around 606 Broadway, SF. More info here.
SAT/30: UBE FEST 2022 That sweetly versatile, very violet ingredient drawn from purple yams, ube, has been everywhere lately, leaping from traditional Filipino food to cocktails, pastries, and more. Taste it many different ways at outdoor food park District Six. Noon-5pm, District Six, SF. More info here.
SAT/30: HELLO WORLD Artist and 48 Hills art critic Genevieve Quick debuts her “radical sci-fi fantasy of Otherness and communication,” told through a live performance and video game. 6pm, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, SF. More info here.
SAT/30 and SUN/1 HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD ARTISTS OPEN STUDIOS More than 100 participating artists (with 40 artists’ stores open online) show their wares at the lauded artists community. Get out there and support! 11am-6pm, Hunters Point Shipyard, SF. More info here.
MON/2 WELCOME TO NIGHTVALE This amazingly written story podcast, featuring the eery happenings in the fictional town of Nightvale, got me through most of the 2010s. The live productions are astonishing in that old-time radio show way. I can’t wait to catch up with all the characters. 8pm, Palace of Fine Arts, SF. More info here.
