It's a big week for major events.
Gear up for annual doozies such as Bay to Breakers and Maker Faire, as well as graduation art and fashion shows for SFAI and CCA. Plus, eat your hearts out at Presidio Twilight and various special dinners, and learn some moves from the cast of Hamilton.
Have a good one!
Monday, May 13th
Gus's comes to SoMa.
7am to 10pm
Gus's, 1101 4th St. (Mission Bay), gussmarket.com
Fans of the family-owned Gus's Community Market now have a fourth location, opening today in the Mission Bay, for shopping locally sourced groceries and goodies.
Eat dinner—and maybe go to Paris.
Dinners in May
The Saratoga, 1000 Larkin St. (TenderNob), thesaratogasf.com
Book a table at the Saratoga, order the housemade Cracker Jack, and look for the golden ticket: This month, the restaurant is offering up prizes including cocktail coins, bottles of specialty booze, dinner for four, and one grand prize—roundtrip airfare for deux to Paris. Feeling lucky?
Dance Like Hamilton
7:30pm to 9pm
Alonzo King Lines Ballet, 26 Seventh St. (SoMa), linesballet.org
For the bargain price of $25, you can learn some serious moves a la the Broadway hit Hamilton at this repertory master class with actual cast members from the SHN show. // Tickets are available at linesballet.org.
CCA's Fashion Experience
7:30pm to 10pm
Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St. (Dogpatch)
Grab a seat for a presentation of original looks created by California College of the Arts' graduating fashion designers. // Event is free to attend; register on eventbrite.com.
Tuesday, May 14th
Image courtesy of Kathleen Sheffer Photography
Veuve Clicquot's Yelloweek
Through May 17
Various venues in SF, veuveclicquot.tumblr.com/seasons
Lovers of the popular French Champagne brand are queuing up for a week of sparkling events, including today's bubbly seafood lunch at Waterbar (11:30am to 5:30pm, 399 The Embarcadero) and happy hour at Hotel Vitale (4-7pm, 8 Mission St.). Later this week, dip into caviar at the new DecantSF, swing by a dance party at Harlot, and catch live music at the Tonga Room. See the complete schedule of events online.
KQED's Check, Please! Taste & Sip
SF Design Center Galleria, 101 Henry Adams (Potrero)
TV personality Leslie Sbrocco hosts tonight's gala tasting of more than 50 Bay Area culinary makers from the likes of Lers Ros, Bar Crudo, and Plaj, alongside wines from Charles Krug, Berryessa, Long Meadow Ranch, and several more. The Nomad Band will be playing live jazz, and VIP ticket holders are invited to arrive early for caviar. // Tickets ($85-$135) are available at eventbrite.com.
The Music of Prince
8pm
The Masonic, 1111 California St. (Nob Hill)
Relive the late artist's most moving and memorable hits in symphonic form tonight. // Tickets ($50-$160) are available at concerts1.livenation.com.
Wednesday, May 15th
A Mindful Supper
5:30pm
Scoma's Restaurant, 1965 Al Scoma Way (Embarcadero), scomas.com
Spend the evening at this classic SF restaurant where they're offering a special, five-course dinner spotlighting ingredients from Bay Area farmers and artisans—think Mariquita Farm, Recchiuti Chocolates, Rossotti Ranch, The Sea Forager, Sonoma Poultry, and Wine Forest Mushrooms. Bonus points for the live band. // Tickets ($150) are available on scomas.com.
Book Club Dinner
6pm
Flora Restaurant & Bar, 1900 Telegraph Avenue, (Oakland), floraoakland.com
Bring your copy of The Portable Dorothy Parker (a witty read if ever there was one) to Oakland's Flora a boozy book club that starts with cocktails and includes a four-course meal themed around the book—dishes will include popovers with celery and ham; gem salad; sirloin steak, and a chocolate-y dessert. The exec chef will lead the evening's chatter; look out for more book club dinners planned through September. // Tickets ($55) can be purchased by calling (510) 286-0100 or in person; for more details, go to floraoakland.com.
Thursday, May 16th
Let there be pastries.
One65, 165 O'Farrell St. (Union Square), one65sf.com
You may have heard a little something about the epic culinary project coming to downtown called One65. The six-story foodie destination, led by a James Beard–award winning chef, will eventually include an upscale restaurant, lounge, and a bar. Until then, One65 Patisserie is now open on the first floor; stop in for French pastries and coffee for an ooh-la-la start to the day.
Free Ice Cream!
5pm until sold out
Humphry Slocombe, 2948 College Ave. (Berkeley), humphryslocombe.com
There's just one thing we love more than ice cream, and that's free ice cream. Stop by Humphry Slocombe's Berkeley location today for complimentary scoops of their Brown Butter with organic OCHO peanut butter candy bars, plus get a free OCHO mini candy. Sweet and salty never tasted so good.
Presidio Twilight returns (with a glow).
5pm to 9pm, Thursdays through June 27
Main Parade Ground, Sheridan Ave (Presidio), presidio.gov
Longer days mean more time for eating. Hit up Presidio Picnic's evening sister event, Presidio Twilight, where the usual food trucks are teamed with live DJ beats, cozy fire pits, a full bar, and new glowing lawn domes. Your weekday date nights just got a little more fun. // Free to attend; check out the food lineup on offthegrid.com.
***UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, Presidio Twilight has been postponed until Thursday, May 23.***
Max 2019: A Space Festival
Through May 18th
Various venues in SF
Dive deep into the mysteries of outer space at this three-day event across various local museums and performance venues. Special programming with events will include augmented reality storytelling, an extraterrestrial drag show, a celestial fashion presentation, a robot pas de deux, and more. // Festival-wide passes ($99) can be purchased at mediaartexploration.org.
Friday, May 17th
Maker Faire Bay Area
1pm to 5pm, Friday; 10am to 7pm, Saturday; 10am to 6pm, Sunday
San Mateo County Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Drive (San Mateo)
Head south for the annual three-day Maker Faire, a festival for creative types and tinkerers who dig things like robotics, cosplay, kinetic art, tools, and crafts. Check out the list of drop-in workshops. // Tickets ($25 and up) can be found on Eventbrite; get more event details at makerfaire.com/bay-area.
Rare Wines Dinner
7pm to 10pm
Ram's Gate Winery, 28700 Arnold Dr. (Sonoma), ramsgatewinery.com
Kick off the weekend at Sonoma's Ram's Gate where 30 top wineries will be pouring new and very limited-production wines teamed with a masterful dinner prepared with locally sourced ingredients by Taylr Behnam, the property's executive chef. // Tickets ($250/person) are available at tickets.sonomavalleywine.com; for more info, go to sonomavalleywine.com.
SFAI's MFA Exhibition Opening
7pm to 9pm
SFAI Fort Mason Campus, 2 Marina Boulevard, Pier 2 (Marina), sfai.edu
See what the talented students at SFAI have been up to this year as more than 50 MFA graduates show their work in this annual exhibition of contemporary installations, paintings, sound works, videos, sculptures, photography galleries, and performances. // Free to attend, RSVP via Eventbrite.
Visions Festival
5:30pm Friday until 3pm Sunday
Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Avenue (Tenderloin), abdproductions.org
This three-day festival offers a glimpse at Tenderloin life. Tonight's opening reception kicks off a series of performances, art exhibits, talks, a parade, and a free community dinner hosted by Imperfect Produce with support from Glide's Daily Free Meals program. All programming is put together by the Skywatchers Ensemble, a group of artists who are also residents of the Tenderloin. // Free to attend performances, register via Eventbrite.
Saturday, May 18th
Blue Bottle Dripper Brew Class
12pm
Blue Bottle Coffee, 115 Sansome St. (FiDi), bluebottlecoffee.com
Love yourself a good cuppa joe? Cruise over to Blue Bottle's downtown location for a special hands-on session with one of their baristas who will teach you the fine art of making a good pour over. Your class and ticket comes with a bag of coffee beans to practice what you've learned. // Tickets ($20) can be found on Eventbrite.
Afternoon Winemaker Series
2pm to 5pm
Verjus, 528 Washington St. (North Beach), verjuscave.com
Pop by the wine bar from the Quince and Cotogna team for afternoon pours from Dani Rozman of La Onda. The three to four glass flight tasting takes place in the cave, so you know it'll be fun. // Wine flights are $15; keep up with event info on verjuscave.com/events.
Day Dance on Treasure Island
1pm to 9pm
The Lawn on Treasure Island, 699 Ave of the Palms (Treasure Island)
Get down at Hacienda, a new daytime dance party on Treasure Island featuring music by Hot Since 82, Doc Martin, and Thugfucker. There will also be a silent disco with six DJs bringing the jams. Bars, food, art, and a chill lounge will also be part of the day. // Tickets ($35 and up) are available at Eventbrite.
Sunday, May 19th
Bay to Breakers
8am
From FiDi to Golden Gate Park, baytobreakers.com
B2B is back so consider yourself warned. Don your running shoes or your costumes for drunken shenanigans, or just hunker down indoors till mid-afternoon when the revelry dies out. // $75/race; free to party; register for the run at endurancecui.active.com.
The Buck Outdoor Market
11am to 4pm
Jack London Square (Oakland), visitoakland.com
Shop wares such as handmade clothing, jewelry, fresh produce, food, and more from local artists and vendors at this market running alongside the Jack London Square Farmers Market. // Free to attend, RSVP via Facebook.
Immigrant Yarn Project
10am to 5pm
Fort Point National Historic Site (Presidio)
Today's the last day to check out the Immigrant Yarn Project at the historic Fort Point at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. More than 600 artists from multiple generations of immigrants have come together to knit and crochet sculptures that represents their unique stories and journeys. // Free to attend; find more info on parksconservancy.org.
