Sand Dabbing

SAT 10/2

Not much grows in sand, vegetatively speaking. But once a year the beach near the Cliff House sprouts a surprising number of other things: Buddhas, pyramids, even a fire hydrant. At the Leap Sand Castle Classic, professionals from the building trades collaborate with schoolkids to plan and execute huge, fantastical constructions. The castles slip into the sea eventually, but first one of them is pronounced the winner. Building begins at 10 a.m., the awards ceremony at 2:30 p.m., on Ocean Beach, Great Highway & Fulton, S.F. Admission is free; call 512-1899 or visit www.leap4kids.org.
-- Hiya Swanhuyser

Flower Power
A little taste of Italy downtown

SAT-SUN 10/2-3

Intricately shaped, beautifully colored, reeking with heady scent -- a flower is a work of art all on its own. But when massed together by the hundreds of thousands to form the mural "carpets" known as infiorata, blossoms make the transformation from merely gorgeous to knock-you-on-your-ass dazzling. In Italy infiorata festivals are held yearly in numerous cities, where citizens gather and sort blooms by color for weeks before the start of the party, storing their finds in cool garages and caves. The day before the final works are unveiled, artists draw designs on the pavement, filling in the blueprints with the posies to create stunning streets full of living tapestries. Savor the ancient art at "Infiorata: The Flowering of Italian Culture," 2,000 square feet of floral extravagance. Tours and viewings begin at noon both days at Yerba Buena Gardens, Fourth & Mission streets, S.F. Admission is free; call 543-1718 or visit www.ybgf.org.
-- Joyce Slaton

Across the Universe

SAT 10/2

With Naked Gun's Leslie Nielsen as a square-jawed hero and Robby the Robot as an arm-flailing paranoid, the 1956 sci-fi drama Forbidden Planet has to be one of the cheesiest adaptations of Shakespeare's The Tempest ever made. Yet despite the fact that the story of a band of interstellar travelers who visit a mysteriously evil planet is burdened by leaden dialogue and a sexist attitude toward its sole female character, the movie's then-state-of-the-art special effects, eerie theremin soundtrack, and seriousness about a subject considered suitable only for kiddie serials set it apart from most space-travel dreck of the '50s. See if the movie is that much more affecting under a moonlit sky with a "Film in the Fog" screening at 7 p.m. (live music and picnicking begin at 5) at the Presidio's Main Post Theatre, 99 Moraga (at Graham), S.F. Admission is free; call 561-5500 or visit www.presidio.gov.
-- Joyce Slaton