Every Mon., Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat. - Eric Kipp may be brilliant. Without a doubt, the spirit of San Francisco itself pulses quickly in his veins, because he is the creator of Hiking Yoga. It's exactly what it sounds like; you follow the charge up one of our butt-bustin' hills, and once you're up there, the organizer/sherpas hand...
8:30 p.m. every Fri., Sat. - The Audium was started in 1965 by composer Stan Shaff and equipment designer Doug McEachern. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays, and you have to be there on time — they lock the door. The room fits 50 people or so. There are chairs arranged in a semicircle. There are something like 180 spe...
1:00 p.m. second Sat. of every month - In the beginning it was, of course, Ohlone Indian. Then it was Spanish-Ohlone. Were there Russians? It was Italian. Then it was Irish and German. As far as we can tell, the Mission District was never Chinese, but this is San Francisco, so why shouldn't it have been? It was Mexican, and then it was S...
7:30 p.m. fourth Wed. of every month - Finding your voice as a writer is hard. Finding your voice as an erotic writer is all but impossible. In one direction is "awkward and clinical." In another is "Anne Rice." And there's literally hundreds of others that result in the rough equivalent of "I have a headache." Further complicating matte...
7:00 p.m. June 19 -
If you've ever solved a Rubik's Cube, met Stan Lee, or been in the Guinness Book of World Records, you might be a perfect candidate for Dating for Nerds. Those are just a few of the "geek feats" that Nerds at Heart uses as icebreakers during their singles mixers. Dating for Nerds t...
10:30 p.m. June 19 - The
Geto Boys sure have had a weird trajectory. The Houston sons rose in the late 1980s, digging their lyrical fingernails deep into grim, grisly matter and becoming a pivotal name in early gangsta rap. These guys were wild enough to take a snapsh...
7:30 p.m. June 20 -
With the local Write Club chapter thriving after 20 of its monthly third Tuesday shows at the Make-Out Room, hosts Casey Childers and Steven Westdahl have partnered with the Booksmith to create a "competitive erotic fanfiction contest" called Shipwreck. Here's the idea: "Six writers tear ...
12:00 p.m. June 22 -
Enjoy the best things about the city on a Saturday afternoon: sustainability, music, and free admission. The San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival features an outdoor concert and bike parade, including a performance by Grammy-winning bluegrass outfit Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands — ...
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. June 23 -
For a great American bookstore, 60 seems young. Like: Oh, is that all? We've sorta started thinking City Lights, that shining beacon of the Broadway-Columbus crossroads, first turned on by poet-publisher-wizard Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953, actually had been here forever. It may yet be. It shou...
7:00 p.m. June 25 -
Hitting its stride with the monthly Epicenter series, which has been bringing two authors together for readings and conversation, Litquake this month presents the awesome Karen Joy Fowler and Dorothy Allison combo: a healthy blend of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction with a b...
7:00 p.m. June 25 -
What's the most celebrated holiday between Father's Day and the Fourth of July? For fans of Comedy Central's absurd sitcom Workaholics, it's a special summertime yuletide miracle: Half Christmas. Take the day off work, maybe, and pick up a keg of eggnog (a keg-nog), and in the even...
6:00 p.m. June 26 -
From suits in the Financial District to sketchy corners in the Tenderloin and all the way up past the Castro into Twin Peaks, no other street says San Francisco like Market Street. It's been here since before our little fog island was even called San Francisco, and like the city itself, it's alw...
Every Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. - Every San Franciscan has a list of local activities they haven't done that the average visitor to this city probably has. For us, that was Beach Blanket Babylon, the North Beach musical revue famous for its huge hats and culture-skewering whimsy. The show comes recommended by seemingly...
9:45 a.m. every Fri., Sun. - To our recurring surprise, many locals never get the idea to visit Alcatraz, because traveling by boat to an island to walk around cellblocks is just something they don't like do. How come? Because tourists get that idea, every day, by the shorts-wearing boatloads. Here's your solution: The Garde...
7:00 p.m. June 28 - Sure, standing around in the stairwell of 49 Geary drinking champagne during its First Thursday gallery openings can be fun. But it's not a great way to see the best artwork this city can offer (unless you view getting trampled as a form of crowd-sourced, contemporary performance art). Switch your b...
5:00 p.m. daily until July 7 -
Remember that episode of Freaks and Geeks where they go to the Pink Floyd laser light show that's essentially just a bunch of squiggly lights on the ceiling and a crappy sound system? We've still always dug the idea, and thanks to the latest projection-mapping technology, we get our own, ...
8:00 p.m. daily from June 20 until June 22 -
Transgender choreographer Sean Dorsey, feted earlier this year for the return of his award-winning program Secret History of Love, and whose leaping figure now adorns Market Street bus shelters, shares the love with other out-and-proud ensembles and solo artists in the 12th annual Fres...
3:30 p.m. daily from June 21 until June 23 -
Part "moving seance" and part love letter, He Moved Swiftly But Gently Down the Not Too Crowded Street: Ed Mock and Other True Tales in a City That Once Was... is a fitting tribute to the late choreographer and dancer. Mock's ability to mix tap, jazz, modern, and African dance styl...
7:30 p.m. daily from June 26 until June 29 -
Get ready for jazzy music, sexy dancing, and spectacular corsets and costumes, because Dita Von Teese is coming to town with her burlesque revue, Strip Strip Hooray! The modern-day Queen of Burlesque is known for her dancing prowess, her glamorous 1940s style, and her tiny waist. A...
8:00 p.m. daily from June 26 until June 28 -
California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, was assassinated inside City Hall with then-Mayor George Moscone on Nov. 27, 1978. That night, a candlelight vigil for the men was attended by over 25,000 mourners. Among them was the recently formed San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, who...
Daily from June 20 until June 30 -
In the prologue of the documentary Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton, a voice approximating that of the eponymous ecstatic trickster recounts his boyhood visitation from an angel, imparting intuition, articulation, and merriment, by which the poetics of life-celebration are made....
6:30 p.m. every Wed. - Not everyone is comfortable talking about sex. In fact, just hearing the word in public is enough to make some people uneasy, even here in liberal San Francisco. For those of you looking to explore your sexuality in the new year (or are just curious what the fuss is all about), head on over to Good ...
Every Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. until September 8 - Just as he was finding his voice, and as The Beat Generation was swelling up around him, Allen Ginsberg began to take photographs of his friends — portraits that attempted to contain the integrity of each subject as well as an intimate moment between them. He did this for nearly a decade, and ...
9:00 p.m. every Tue. - Comedy shows in bars can be an odd mix, especially when a birthday or bachelorette party means lots of stiff drinks and dildos strapped to the heads of the women tearing it up in their final hours before marriage. These giggling “dickheads” can be a comedian’s worst nightmare, as the ...
11:00 p.m. every Tue. - We like our gay bars like we like our women — rough around the edges and with as little cover as possible. With its bordello-esque atmosphere and cheap drinks, it's no surprise that The Stud, one of the city's oldest gay bars, still reigns supreme. Sure, it can be a little cramped, and there a...
