San Francisco Events - San Francisco Entertainment Guide

Recommended Events
Peter Orner and Peter Godwin Jewish Community Center of San Francisco : Mon., February 13, 7:00pm
Zimbabwe is home to the breathtaking Mana Pools, Victoria Falls, Mountains of the Mist, and ancient stone ruins of a sprawling kingdom. After freeing itself from British rule, Zimbabwe had a liberal constitution, an independent judiciary, a fantastic education system, and a growing professional... More >>
Richmond (Inner)	Talks, Literary Events, Cultural Events

The Eternity Ball part of Valentine's Day 2012 Fort Mason, Festival Pavilion : Tue., February 14, 6:30pm
Formalwear is life's cruel joke. Men usually rent tuxedos rather than owning them, and it's almost always for weddings -- where they're under someone else's aesthetic direction and end up looking like a member of a high-school choir circa 1983. Women, meanwhile, spend small fortunes on wedding... More >>
Marina/ Cow Hollow	Valentine's Day, Parties & Receptions, Nightlife, Music, Food & Drink, Fashion & Style, Dance, Comedy, Benefits

Chroma, Beaux, and Number Nine War Memorial Opera House : Tue., February 14, 7:30pm
We San Franciscans are experimental types, so if you’ve never given ballet a try, it’s about time you did. Three lauded names in contemporary choreography exhibit their work tonight. Picking a favorite from the diverse set won’t be easy. Chroma by Wayne McGregor and Number... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Performance Art, Dance, Arts

Helen part of Valentine's Day 2012 Cafe Royale : Tue., February 14, 8:00pm
Euripides, like many ancient Greeks, regarded passionate love as a form of insanity. So he might not seem like the most fitting playwright around whom to center your Valentine’s Day date. But his Helen, which gets a staged reading tonight by SF Theater Pub, is perhaps the only play... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Valentine's Day, Theater, Arts

How We First Met part of Valentine's Day 2012 Marines' Memorial Theatre : Tue., February 14, 8:00pm
We know couples who've been together 10 years but can still recite the high points of their relationship -- she proposed on the Jumbotron at the ballpark, or maybe he rented a white horse (and took riding lessons) to pop the question. We know others who just met but could bend your ear for... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Valentine's Day, Theater, Comedy

AraabMuzik Clift Hotel, Redwood Room : Wed., February 15, 9:00pm
He got his start producing icily aggressive gangsta rap beats for Harlem's Dipset crew, but AraabMuzik — the stage moniker of Rhode Island native Abraham Orellana — is pioneering a new flavor of moody electronica. As numerous online videos prove, Orellana is a virtuoso of the MPC, a... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Nightlife, Music, Free Events

Noise Pop 2012: Academy of Sciences Pre-Party with Class Actress, Painted Palms (DJ set), Epicsauce DJs California Academy of Sciences : Thu., February 16, 6:00pm
Get used to hearing this a lot in the future: "What? It's sold out? Already!?" (followed by a steady stream of invective crude enough to make an Int'l Longshore & Warehouse Union representative blush and back away). The deadly combination of Twitter, the Internet, phones with powerful... More >>
Richmond (Inner)	Nightlife, Music, Festivals

Granito: How to Nail a Dictator Balboa Theater : Thu., February 16, 7:15pm
Pamela Yates traveled to Guatemala in 1982 to document that country’s civil war. It had gone on for 22 years, and it was nowhere near its end. Military insurgents had just taken a foothold in the country’s government, and they continued the systematic extermination of indigenous... More >>
Richmond (Outer)	Film - Art House, Film

Bhi Bhiman, Vandella, Misisipi Mike & Cree Rider Bottom of the Hill : Sat., February 18, 9:00pm
It might surprise anyone who's heard his booming tenor of a voice, but San Francisco singer-songwriter Bhi Bhiman didn't always want to be a musician. His first chosen profession? Comedian. Which goes some way toward explaining the sharp humor in his lyrics. "I tried to do [comedy], but... More >>
Potrero Hill	Nightlife, Music

Howlin Rain, The Soft White Sixties, Zodiac Death Valley, DJ Britt Govea The Independent : Sat., February 18, 9:00pm
In the four years since its last full-length, 2008's Magnificent Fiend, Bay Area blooze-psych quintet Howlin Rain hooked up with famous admirer Rick Rubin, who helped midwife new album The Russian Wilds. While guitar-playing frontman Ethan Miller has the band's controls set for the heart of... More >>
Haight/ Fillmore	Nightlife, Music

Garland Jeffreys, Uncle Frank & the Co-Defendants Slim's : Sat., February 18, 9:00pm
Garland Jeffreys has made it almost to age 70 without having to prove a damn thing. This takes some doing when your music includes influences as diverse as Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. John, and reggae, the latter of which Jeffreys likes to throw in when he's least giving a fuck. The word... More >>
South of Market	Nightlife, Music

Lil Miss Hot Mess’ Roller Skating Birthday Extravaganza CELLspace : Sun., February 19, 3:00pm
Looking for an excuse to suit up in that unitard? (It’s San Francisco, so your excuse could just be “I woke up.”) Having some Xanadu fantasies, or craving an elevated heart rate not provoked by the DMV? Well, Lil Miss Hot Mess’ Roller Skating Birthday Extravaganza is a... More >>
Mission/ Bernal Heights	Games, Drag

“Nick and Nora’s San Francisco” Jewish Community Center of San Francisco : Tue., February 21, 7:30pm
Well-dressed, well-lubricated urbanites Nick and Nora Charles made their first screen appearance in 1934 in The Thin Man, personifying a uniquely upper-crust, down-to-earth breed of New York fauna. Trading caustic-but-loving bon mots while knocking back trays of newly legal martinis -- not that... More >>
Richmond (Inner)	Pop Culture, History

Fat Tuesday in the Fillmore West Bay Conference Center : Tue., February 21, 8:00pm
The Fillmore district has long been the city’s go-to spot for music so slick and greasy it makes you feel like you cheated on a diet. So it’s only natural that a celebration dedicated to gluttony, recklessness, and debauchery -- Fat Tuesday -- finds the district a nice home to... More >>
Haight/ Fillmore	Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Cultural Events, Arts, Festivals, Music, Mardi Gras

Noise Pop 2012: Craig Finn, Sad Baby Wolf, Mount Moriah, Ash Reiter Bottom of the Hill : Tue., February 21, 8:00pm
Dear fans of the Hold Steady and (the now-legendary) Lifter Puller: Stay positive, for the ever-charismatic Craig Finn is once again gracing a San Francisco stage — and this time, he'll be all by his lonesome. So grab your whiskey, grab your ginger, and settle in to hear material from... More >>
Potrero Hill	Nightlife, Music, Festivals

John Nichols City Lights Books : Wed., February 22, 7:00pm
The frothing professional pundit class doesn’t get it: The Occupy movement and related protests of the past year aren’t isolated cases, some fever dream of a disenfranchised fringe and a cabal of leftist academics and Canadian magazine publishers. Instead, these actions are the... More >>
North Beach/ Chinatown	Politics, Literary Events

Hiking Yoga Multiple San Francisco locations : Every week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Eric Kipp may be brilliant. Without a doubt, the spirit of San Francisco itself pulses quickly in his veins, because he is the creator of Hiking Yoga. It's exactly what it sounds like; you follow the charge up one of our butt-bustin' hills, and once you're up there, the organizer/sherpas hand... More >>
Union Square/ Financial District	Outdoors, Mind & Body

Stand-Up Paddleboarding Lessons Boardsports : Daily from Sat., August 30 until Sat., December 24
When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and... More >>
North Beach/ Chinatown	Outdoors, Classes & Seminars

Outdoor Exploratorium Exploratorium : Daily
Did you know that when the Golden Gate Bridge gets hot, it sits low in the saddle? Course you didn’t: You don’t have a Bridge Thermometer, which looks like one of those scenic coin-op binoculars crossed with a first-person shooter. Peer into it (no coin needed!) and it shows the... More >>
Marina/ Cow Hollow	Museum Exhibits & Events, Games, Free Events, Family Events, Children's Events, Arts, Tours

“The Peace Keeper” Fabric8 : Daily from Mon., October 3 until Fri., August 31
We went to Rome once. One thing that blew our minds was the public art. There’s so much of it that some has been reclaimed by the needs of everyday life. You see people taking lunch on what’s left of an ancient fountain or a big sculpture that anywhere else would be surrounded by... More >>
Mission/ Bernal Heights	Parks & Preserves, Free Events, Arts, Art - Galleries

"Imaginarium" Castro Tarts : Daily from Mon., January 2 until Wed., February 29
Don McCunn teaches people how to make clothing. Visit his blog and you'll see links to posts on various sewing techniques and patterns as well as how to create nursing bras, bikinis, and bandeaus. McCunn also makes costumes. According to his blog, he made two for friends who worked a corporate... More >>
Castro/ Noe Valley	Photography, Arts

Life: A Cosmic Story California Academy of Sciences : Daily from Mon., January 2 until Sat., June 30
We once knew an astronomy professor who'd say to his students, “You all were once inside stars.” And he wasn't lying. He explained that the universe started off as mostly hydrogen molecules, which gravity pulled together to make stars. The resulting fiery reactions created the... More >>
Richmond (Inner)	Museum Exhibits & Events, Film, Family Events, Education

The San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival Multiple Bay Area locations : Daily from Fri., February 10 until Sun., February 19
Hailing from the Appalachian region of West Virginia, the burgeoning BrownChicken BrownCow StringBand (tonight at 8 p.m. at Café Du Nord) curled its toes in the topsoil that nurtured bluegrass. After only four years, its acoustic musicianship is exemplary, an effortless weaving of reels,... More >>
Treasure Island	Music

San Francisco City Guides Walking Tours Multiple San Francisco locations : Daily
As a self-described "logical extension of a free public library," our local free walking-tour company is, like most libraries, a fascinating mash of nerdy and white-hot rad. The San Francisco City Guides walking tours happen every day (except major holidays), are free, and follow in the... More >>
Union Square/ Financial District	Tours, History, Free Events, Arts

Downtown San Francisco Kayak Trip City Kayak : Every week Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Kayakers are like surfers. They get started, and the next thing you know, other parts of their lives begin to fall by the wayside. They try to get you to go with them. And no finer kayak evangelist exists than Ted Choi of City Kayak; he has introduced many, many paddlers to the joys of the... More >>
South of Market	Sports - Participatory, Outdoors, Free Events, Children's Events