23 Fun Things to Do This Week (10.18.21)
Dear San Francisco, Club Fugazi is back! (Courtesy of clubfugazi.com)

23 Fun Things to Do This Week (10.18.21)

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Now that you've finished binging Squid Games and Ted Lasso, do we have your attention? Good. This week is stacked with fall events for every flavor.

Seasonal cocktail and floral wreath-making classes? Yep. Circus acts? That too. San Francisco's largest artist open studios? Check—and, so much more.


See you out there.

Show off for your friends and family this season with a mixology class from the cocktail pros at The Alembic. Go from bar beginner to cocktail connoisseur by learning how to make classy cocktails using fall's tastiest ingredients—leave your PSL at home; Monday, 7pm to 9pm. // The Alembic, 1725 Haight St. (Haight-Ashbury); tickets ($85) on eventbrite.com


The Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan joins KQED's Michael Krasny to discuss how personal and cultural histories inform her writing. Born to Chinese immigrant parents in Oakland, California in 1952, the New York Times bestselling author's upbringing and complex family experiences have been a well of creative inspiration and have made her the subject of a recent Sundance documentary; Monday at 7pm. // KQED Headquarters, 2601 Mariposa St. (Mission); tickets ($10) on eventbrite.com


Escape from Earth, if just for one night at Nocturne Xan illuminated, multi-sensory art and tech experience. You'll be transported to a mysterious alien planet complete with glowing plants, surreal landscapes, crystal caves, groovy music, and more; noon to 8pm. // Tuesdays through Sundays, evening parties begin October 29. // Gray Area, 2265 Mission St. (Mission); tickets ($20-$30) at nocturne-x.com


Pair your orange wine with some candy corn and feel seasonal AF. Unrooted, the SF-based natural wine collective, has curated a spooktacular Orange & Black wines four-pack to get us in the Halloween spirit. Black wines, you ask? Think super-dark, polyphenol-packed malbec, tannat, and saperavi. // Sign up for the monthly or bimonthly wine subscription ($64 for four bottles) by October 24th to receive the Orange & Black pack; unrootedwines.com.

Make your life a little less ruff with Barklet Happy Hour at Tacolicious in the Marina. This once-weekly happy hour features all of your favorite deals like a tequila, Tecate, and taco combo ($13). In addition, there's also a new menu for the four-legged customers, including unseasoned sweet potato and chicken ($6), unseasoned ground beef ($6), and "churro" chews ($2 each); Wednesdays, 3pm to 6pm. // Tacolicious, 2250 Chestnut St. (Marina);, tacolicious.com


Eat and be seen at Flour+Water's freshly opened outpost, Penny Roma. Stuff your face (we won't judge) with beloved rustic Italian dishes that you'll likely add to your dining-out rotation; open for dinner daily. // Penny Roma, 3000 20th St. (Mission), pennyroma.com


Let your soul bloom with a Flower Power Happy Hour at the Ferry Building. The evening includes everything you need to create your own beautiful autumnal wreath: pods, fall foliage, feathers, tools, paired with delicious wine provided by Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant; Wednesday, 5:30pm to 7pm. // Ferry Building, 1 Ferry Building (Embarcadero); tickets ($125) at eventbrite.com

Dear San Francisco, Club Fugazi is back! Housed at the former home of Beach Blanket Babylon, the High-Flying Love Story is a theatrical, circus-fueled love letter to the City by the Bay. Performed by an international cast of world-class acrobats across a variety of disciplines including hoop diving, Chinese pole, Korean plank, hand-balancing, juggling, and more; Wednesdays to Sundays at 7:30pm. // Club Fugazi, 678 Green St. (North Beach); tickets ($39 and up) at clubfugazisf.com.


Feel the groove as six-time Grammy Award–nominated Blue Note Records pianist Gerald Clayton—along with Harish Raghavan on bass and Justin Brown drums—play Jazz@TheEdge Festival; shows Wednesday through Saturday. // Black Cat Jazz Supper Club, 400 Eddy St. (Tenderloin); tickets ($35-$45) are available at blackcatsf.com.

Thank you to our partners at Black Cat.


Find yourself reminiscing on the days of dial-up, "The Rachel," and Tamagotchi with '90s Trivia Night at Oakland's newest beer garden, Hofkuche (brought to you by the folks at Suppenküche). Fuel your brain with prosciutto and brie pretzel bites and a boot of beer; Thursdays at 6:30pm. // Hofkuche, 478 25th St. (Oakland); details on eventbrite.com.


Cozy up and settle in for an intimate jazz concert at Golden Gate Park's romantic Stow Lake Boathouse. Well-behaved dogs and a beverage of your choice welcome; Friday, 7:30pm to 9:30pm // Stow Lake Boathouse, 50 Stow Lake Drive East (Golden Gate Park); tickets ($35) at eventbrite.com


You'll get the best of both worlds at this Miley Cyrus tribute party. Dance and sing along to all the hits spanning Disney's greatest export's career, plus enjoy a special Miley-inspired drag performance; Friday, 9pm to 2am. // Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St. (Hayes Valley); tickets ($18-$20) at eventbrite.com

Experience the streets of Bangkok on a rooftop in SF. In this all-inclusive, alfresco Thai cooking class, you'll master making two classic Thai dishes from scratch then get to enjoy your hard-earned meal while taking in panoramic views of the city; Saturday at 11am and 1pm. // Location disclosed at booking (Mission); details and tickets ($80/person) at biteunite.com


Get down with The Brothers Comatose. The bluegrass meets rock 'n' roll five-piece band regularly sells out local venues like The Fillmore—and for good reason; Friday and Saturday, 8pm. // Starline Social Club, 2236 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (Oakland); advance tickets ($25) on starlinesocialclub.com


Lit-erally one of the most anticipated nights of the year, San Francisco's Lit Crawl takes over the Mission Saturday night. This massive, one-night-only literary pub crawl and epic conclusion to Litquake 2021 is hosted in venues ranging from bars and bookstores to tattoo parlors and barbershops. Join the 7x7 crew at Amble Press' queer author event at the Make-Out Room; Saturday, 5pm to 9pm. // Multiple locations (Mission District); get the full schedule at litquake.org.


Get a head start on your Christmas shopping at Shipyard Open Studios. Open to the public only twice a year, this open studios event allows you to connect with over 100 art makers at the country's largest artist community and purchase work directly; Saturday and Sunday, 11pm to 6pm. // Hunters Point Shipyard, 451 Galvez Ave. (Hunters Point), shipyardartists.com

Discover the next Banksy at Pier 70's Street Art Festival. Watch and be amazed as talented street artists transform the walls of Pier 70. Entrance is free, but for $15 you can sign up for an art class where you can learn to spray and create like the featured artists; Saturday, noon to 4pm. // Pier 70, 588 22nd st. (Mission Bay); details on eventbrite.com


Feel the sand between your toes as you peruse the creations at the 39th Annual Sandcastle Competition. Fifteen teams—including elementary school kids and pro architects, designers, contractors and engineers—will build their most epic beachy sculptures to benefit Leap Arts in Education; 11am to 3:30pm Saturday. // Ocean Beach at Balboa, leapsandcastleclassic.org


Live the high life with Willie Nelson, The Avett Brothers, and more at Outlaw Music Festival. The 88-year-old (!) country legend is back on the road with a pit stop at Shoreline this Saturday at 4:25pm. // Shoreline Amphitheatre, One Amphitheatre Pkwy (Mountain View); tickets at livenation.com


Time to believe in the unbelievable at Berber's Got Talent. This cirque battle show set in Berber's swanky, Moroccan-influenced lounge will be a re-enactment of chilling urban legends and tall tales of horror. This dinner and a show combo is one you won't want to miss; Sunday, 6:30pm to 9pm. // Berber, 1516 Broadway St. (Russian Hill); make reservations on exploretock.com.


Order up pitchers of cocktails (think coconut-washed mai tais) and platters of siders and empanadas at the just reopened and newly renovated Cigar Bar and Grill;. // 850 Montgomery (Jackson Square), cigarbarandgrill.com


Get your last-minute pumpkin fix at the Bay Area's best pumpkin patches. Whether you want to believe it or not, Halloween is next week. And just like that, it will be another 365 days before you can aggressively deck your home with gourds and cinnamon brooms from Trader Joe's. Shop local and make a day of it by checking out our guide to the Bay Area's best patches.


Get your tickets now for the spectacular return of San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker,choreographed, of course, by artistic director Helgi Tomasson. After a seriously rough patch these last couple years, we'll take all the dazzling costumes and sugar plum fairies we can get. // Performances are December 10-30 at War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. (Civic Center); tickets start at $19 at sfballet.org.

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