Welcome to our calendar feature BIG WEEK, wherein our expert Arts & Culture writers recommend the best things to do. This edition, we’re celebrating the Year of the Fire Horse.
GENERAL ARTS
Caitlin Donohue is keeping an eye on the situation.
EVERY WEDNESDAY: MAH JONG MEETUP Four hours in an iconic structure alongside the beautiful Bay, playing mah jong. Sharpen your skills, make some sick new friends, bring your fave board, or they’ll set you up on one of theirs on-site. 3-7pm, free. Ferry Building, SF. More info here.
THU/19 THROUGH OCTOBER: EMORY DOUGLAS: IN OUR LIFETIME, PART TWO This exhibition’s second round (whose opening reception takes place Thu/19, 5-8pm) is not only an aesthetic journey into one of our most powerful creators of U.S. revolutionary imagery, but might also serve as space to reflect and recharge in 2026. “Curators Rosalind McGary and Rio Yañez framed In Our Lifetime around Douglas’s 12-point Political Artist Manifesto, a blueprint for anyone seeking to align creative practice with their revolutionary values,” runs the show’s description. African American Art & Culture Complex, SF. More info here.
THU/19: WOODY LABOUNTY The lovely downtown Clift Royal Sonesta is opening up its dramatic, art deco-inspired Redwood Room bar for a speaker series on “making history fun again”—a piece of cake over a martini, no? Today’s speaker is San Francisco Heritage’s Woody LaBounty, who is taking it back to one of the more whimsical chapters of SF history, the dune-strewn community Carville By The Sea. Clift Royal Sonesta, SF. More info here.
THU/19 TO MARCH 1: THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER Marke Twain’s 1590 tale of small-town injustice and the concept of the moral compass is just the kind of production an outfit like SF Youth Theatre should be putting on in these wacky times. All those 11 and up are welcome to come ponder the fight for what’s right. CounterPulse, SF. More info here.
FRI/20: BERNIE SANDERS: WHO CONTROLS THE FUTURE OF AI? For a moment, let’s not focus on how little our elected leaders are doing to stop Tr*ump—let’s take a second to amplify the precious few who are putting their back into it. The country’s most involved 84-year-old is making a stop on his Fighting Oligarchy tour with special guest Ro Khanna to ask some pointed questions in the heart of techno-feudalism. Won’t we join him? Memorial Auditorium, Stanford. More info here.
FRI/20 TO MARCH 1: SF BEER WEEK The Bay Area Brewers Guild’s very sudsy annual mega-gathering of the hops nerds announces itself thusly: “Beer styles are not fixed targets. They’re conversations—shaped by ingredients, technology, culture, and the people who show up to brew and drink them.” Those looking to get on this alcohol level could pretty much spend the entirety of the fest’s 10-day span raising glasses at an intoxicating number of tastings, author talks, a Battle of the Guilds, malthouse tours, and hoppily educational seminars like “The Story of The 21st Century IPA” at Oakland’s Paulista brewery. Various greater Bay Area venues. More info here.
SAT/21: LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION You say you want to ring in the Year of the Horse with LionDanceME, the local troupe who had “the first female in the world to win the Western Lion King title”? You want to eat delicious food from AAPI vendors, catch a set from Japanese American rapper seiji oda, and maybe even learn some K-pop choreography? This not-quite-free-but-accessible ($10) family celebration has you covered on all counts. Oakland Museum of California. More info here.
SAT/21: KARL MCHUGH AND ERSTON PEARCY Always a lovely evening to spend it at one of the quirkiest little venues San Francisco has to offer. Tonight’s program features Irish-born guitarist McHugh and SF’s own Pearcy, whose sunny pop summons The Smiths and Beatles. The Lost Church, SF. More info here.
SUN/22: 836M FEST Local arts organization 836M Fest may have a history of screening thought-provoking documentaries, but this double-header marks the first time it’s hosted such a show in an actual movie theater. Today’s films explore the rise and fall of New Zealand head of state Jacinda Arden (Prime Minister) and a Ukrainian citizens’ ode to the country’s continued resilience (Porcelain War). Roxie Theater, SF. More info here.
MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.
THU/19: MAN ON THE RUN Directed by Morgan Neville, this film sees Paul McCartney during his “hockey hair” phase, forming a post-Beatles identity. Archival home footage reveals his life with his wife Linda as they navigate the formation of his new band Wings, and how they extensively toured with this unconventional pop-rock supergroup. But that mullet version of one of the greatest songwriters of all time? You get a sense that he’s unloading the vaults, unlocking the gates of creation that the previous band might not have welcomed so much. Neville captures this moment where McCartney—John, Ringo, and George-free—is ready to start a proper rock band built for speed and a gaggle of fun. 4 Star Theater, SF. More info here.
MON/23: BOBBY MCFERRIN AND MOTION: CIRCLESONGS A long time ago in the ’90s, I covered Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra. His experimental vocal jazz work stayed in your chest. With just him barefoot, a couple of other vocalists, and a couple of chairs, and mics on stage—it was mind-bending. Nowadays, the 10-time Grammy winner and Bay Area’s MOTION, featuring Bryan Dyer, David Worm, and Destani Wolf, get the world singing in unison every Monday at The Freight. They lead Circlesongs at noon, and encourage everyone to bring a spirit of adventure, curiosity, trust, and joy. Let it free your voice. Find your place in the circle. And listen to our local Yoda: “You get people together and get them singing, and you instantly knock down all the walls—the creeds, the gender, age, and race differences, everything. You’re all one at that point, lifting your voices.” The Freight, SF. More info here.
FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork. Sign up for the new Good Taste newsletter here.
WHERE’S THE BEEF? It’s all at five-month-old Korean beef specialist Hwa Mi Won, which I finally got a chance to tackle recently. The restaurant gives me joyful LA Koreatown vibes, which we can’t have enough of in San Francisco. Bring at least two people with you and try the beef mul galbi. A tower of raw meat melts into a soy-garlic broth that won’t leave my brain. The menus themselves are exquisite, too. 6314 Geary, SF. More info here.
EAT A KOUIG-NIGIRI Tokyo Cream, a family-owned drink and dessert cafe from Roseville, has just opened on the snack-heavy stretch of Irving Street between 19th and 25th Avenues (where the next Sunset Night Market will take place on February 27), and it’s worth multiple visits. Matcha, hojicha, and soft-serve drinks are all made with luscious Japanese dairy, and there are some well-executed pastries to add to your order. I love the Kouig-Nigiri, a rich French Kouign-Amann pastry that is served in a Japanese onigiri shape. 1838 Irving, SF. More info here.
STAGE
Charles Lewis III checks out theaters and performance spaces every week in the Drama Masks column.
THROUGH MARCH 1: THE NOTEBOOK I’m gonna guess that I—a Black bisexual progressive in his 40s—was not the audience in the minds of the creators of this show. Indeed, the opening night crowd was overwhelmingly full of white women over 30, no doubt longtime fans of (alleged racist and homophobe) Nicholas Sparks’ novel and its 2004 film adaptation. But to this production’s credit, the songs aren’t bad, formulaic though they may be. More importantly, Beau Gravitte and Sharon Catherine Brown’s respective turns as Old Noah and Old Allie work, due to the sheer amount of sincerity the veteran actors bring. Allie sinks deeper into Alzheimer’s as Noah recites the story of their courtship from the titular notebook, and the duo’s performances conjure their profound history. This ‘60s-set musical ignores the realities—nay, dangers—of interracial relationships at the time, but the two older actors successfully convey the heartbreak of watching a loved one slowly vanish. Orpheum Theatre, SF. More info here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
OPENS FRI/20: OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS Leaping 12 decades or so to the present day, one good sampler of the state of cinema is provided annually by these collections. Works that made it to the final five in the Academy’s 98th edition fill the usual three categories—Animated, Documentary and Live Action—with contributions from the U.K., France, Ireland, Canada, Chile, Israel, and the United States, including those from a number of Bay Area filmmakers. The trio of programs features an onscreen presenter in actor-director Taika Waititi. Various Bay Area theaters.
SAT/21: FILMS OF REMEMBRANCE The 15th annual edition of this program gathers together 10 titles (in five programs, starting at 11am) taking different approaches to the forced incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II—a historical chapter that seems to grow more disturbingly relevant by the day. They are primarily shorts, including documentaries, experimental works, animation, and narratives. The final, show is Tadashi Nakamura’s recent nonfiction feature Third Act, chronicling the life of his now-elderly father who was interned at Manzanar with his family as a child, then went on to become “the godfather of Asian-American media” as both a director and organizational founder. AMC Kabuki, SF. More info here.
SAT/21: RIGHT IN THE EYE A “live movie concert” by Alcolea & Cie. Composer Jean-Francois Alcolea and two fellow musicians—playing over two dozen instruments, including aquaphone, glockenspiel, and spoons—accompany 11 original shorts by Georges Melies, the French film pioneer. While most of his contemporaries in the earliest years of cinema remained mired in stage conventions, Melies embraced the new medium’s possibilities in full, utilizing a full array of “trick photography” devices to create fantastical miniatures. A good example is the lavish 1903 Kingdom of the Fairies; other self-explanatory titles on the bill are The Lilliputians and the Giants and An Impossible Balancing Feat. Marina Theater, SF. More info here.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up.
FRI/20: CATHERINE O’HARA DRAG TRIBUTE We lost a comic genius when Catherine O’Hara left us, but the drag performers of SF won’t leave her memory up Schitt’s Creek. Head to The Stud (full disclosure: my bar, but this is too good not to highlight) for a Best in Show cavalcade of O’Hara tributes. I will simply die if someone does her Lola Heatherton character from SCTV, pretty much a drag queen already! 10pm-2am, The Stud, SF. More info here.
FRI/20: OPTIMO (ESPACIO) As a duo, Scottish act Optimo brought heady post-punk energy to the underground rave movement 30 years ago, especially at Glasgow’s Sub Club, rechristened Optimo (Espacio) for their legendary Sunday night residency. After partner JD Twitch tragically passed of brain cancer last year, JG Wilkes has fearlessly carried on, now bringing the Espacio experience to a city deeply copacetic to the boundary-dissolving Optimo aesthetic. RIP JD! 9:30pm-3am, Great Northern, SF. More info here.
SAT/21: JOE CLAUSSELL I had the honor of spending a goodly amount of time with the Body & Soul house legend for a recent DJ Mag profile, and his revelatory spirit transcends the decks into a whole philosophy of life and music. He’ll take you on a sky-high, knob-twisting journey at the High Level party from Fat Souls Records, with DJ’s Said, Cecil, and Cali opening up. 8pm-2am, The Foundry, SF. More info here.
