Time to get inspired.
Find what brings you joy with the kickoff of San Francisco Art Week, SF Sketchfest, and the Napa Lighted Art Festival this week. Engage in some art of your own at a mosaic-making class or find your next favorite thing at vintage shows this weekend. For a final dose of reflection, don’t miss the send-off tribute to Claude on Sunday.
Jump ahead to this week's top events:
Prepare your laughs for SF Sketchfest.
Experience the immersive theatrical experience Compton's Cafeteria Riot.
Get inspired during San Francisco Art Week.
Relive someone else’s most embarrassing moment at the 20-year anniversary show of Mortified!
Have a good one.
Get your last skate in before the downtown ice rink closes until next winter; 10am to 10pm through Sunday. // Union Square Holiday Ice Rink, 333 Post St. (Union Square); tickets at unionsquareicerink.com
Try your hand at mosaic-making with Bad Art Club’s no-pressure creative class; Monday, 6pm to 9pm. // The Faight, 473A Haight St. (Lower Haight); register at heylo.com
Keep up your resolve for Dry January with Dirty Habit’s inventive menu of spirit-free mockaritas and fizzes; Mondays through Sundays, 4pm to 11pm. // Dirty Habit at Hotel Zelos, 12 4th St. (SoMa); reservations at opentable.com
Explore big ideas and philosophies at a salon with artist and nonprofit founder Inga Bard; Wednesday, 6pm to 9pm. // SF Moto Shop, 275 8th St. (SoMa); register at eventbrite.com
Prepare your laughs for SF Sketchfest. The legendary comedy festival returns with a full lineup of improv, stand-up, live shows, and more with over 500 performers, including Elizabeth Banks, Jenny Slate, and Natasha Leggero; Thursday, January 15 through Sunday, February 1. // Tickets and schedule at sfsketchfest.com
Catch a new body of work from the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project. Five unique shows over four days capture the stories of former incarcerated people at the end of their three-year residency at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Thursday through Sunday. // Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. (Berkeley); tickets at givebutter.com
Drink to San Francisco history at an evening with “Emperor Norton.” The historian, journalist, and performer behind Emperor Norton’s Fantastic San Francisco Time Machine comes to The Clift for a cocktail-fueled speaker series; Thursday, 6pm to 7pm. // The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel, 495 Geary St. (TenderNob); RSVP at eventbrite.com
Have some analog fun with board game night at the Ferry Building. Grab your favorite grub and choose from new and classic games provided for free play; Friday, 5pm to 8pm. // Ferry Building, 1 Embarcadero (Embarcadero); details at ferrybuildingmarketplace.com
Let Ramy Youssef kick off your weekend during his Love Beam 7000 tour stop in San Francisco; Friday at 7pm. // Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St. (Presidio); tickets at ticketmaster.com
Experience Compton's Cafeteria Riot. The immersive theatrical experience from the Tenderloin Museum that details a historic act of queer resistance returns for a run of shows in the new year; Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm. // Compton's Cafeteria Riot Museum, 835 Larkin St. (Tenderloin); tickets at comptonscafeteriariot.com
Try out Yarrow on your next Tahoe weekend. The new restaurant from Bay Area chef Traci Des Jardins serves up modern seasonal fare atop Donner Summit. // Sugar Bowl Resort, 629 Sugar Bowl Rd. (Norden); reservations at sugarbowl.com
Head into 2026 with a vintage glow-up in clothing, home decor, and jewelry, at the The Wardrobe Project Flea market; Saturday, 10am to 5pm. // Rockridge BART, 5660 College Ave. (Oakland); details on Instagram
Get inspired during San Francisco Art Week. The third annual event celebrates the Bay Area’s rich arts landscape across art museums, galleries, and creative spaces; Saturday, January 17 through Sunday, January 25. // Schedule and details at sfartweek.com
Shop small-batch, regeneratively grown products directly from farmers at H2hotel’s Farmpreneurs Provisions pop-up. Join Saturday from 2pm to 4pm to meet the people behind the products; through January 30th. // h2hotel, 219 Healdsburg Ave. (Healdsburg); details at h2hotel.com
Try some Louisiana-style gumbo during chef Stevonna’s January guest residency at the India Basin Waterfront Park; Saturdays and Sundays, 11am to 3pm. // The Food Pavilion, India Basin Waterfront Park, 900 Innes Ave. (Bayview); details at thefoodpavilionsf.org
Relive someone else’s most embarrassing moment at the 20-year anniversary show of Mortified!, a show where adults read their awkward-but-hilarious teenage diaries, poetry, letters, and more; Saturday at 6pm and 9pm. // Swedish American Music Hall, 2174 Market St. (Duboce Triangle); tickets at cafedunord.com
See Napa in lights. The Napa Lighted Art Festival returns with its walk through 15 lighted art installations around downtown; Fridays and Saturdays, 6pm to 10pm and Sundays through Thursdays, 6pm to 9pm through February 15th. // Details at visitnapavalley.com
Witness the powerful performance of Dance Brigade's Match Girrl, an edgy fairy tale dance-drama about class struggle in San Francisco; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 5pm. // Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St. (Mission); tickets at dancemissiontheater.org
Stroll through Sonoma’s Winter Wineland. More than 60 wineries are opening up to celebrate 50 years of theWine Road; Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm. // Details at sonomacounty.com
Stock up on one-of-a-kind finds from more than 70 California exhibitors selling vintage clothing, jewelry, accessories, and textiles, findings, and art at Pickwick Vintage; Sunday, 10am to 4pm. // Ferry Building, 1 Embarcadero (Embarcadero); details at ferrybuildingmarketplace.com
Give Claude a proper sendoff with a day of memories, music, and mementos honoring the life and legacy of SF’s iconic albino alligator; Sunday, 11am to 5pm. // California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr. and the Golden Gate Bandshell (Golden Gate Park); details at calacademy.org
Check out Maz Naba's take on Dungeness crab. Try a tostada with brown butter labne or stuffed squash with dungeness crab fried rice at the Rich Table, Mr. Jiu’s, and Nightbird alum’s Sunday night pop-up Ilna; Sundays, 5pm to 9pm. // Buddy, 3115 22nd St. (Mission); reservations at ilnasf.com
