The Mission Arts and Performance Project always manages to strike a near-impossible balance between a sense of community and a high quality of art. The long-running, loosely organized bimonthly art walk encompasses literary readings, musical performances, afternoon kids' projects, and visual arts of many kinds. Many formal galleries participate, but so do people with garages, sidewalk chalkers, and roving troubadours. Rarely is there an actual map at MAPP: Organizers recommend entering the zone bounded by South Van Ness, Potrero, and 20th and 26th streets, and simply keeping an eye out for interesting happenings. As the MAPP Web site has it, "Chaos, yes, lovely chaos!" In our experience, a calm, pleasant, warm perambulation is closer to the reality than chaos, but you'll still want to bring your love of everything random.