San Francisco Events - San Francisco Entertainment Guide

Recommended Events
SF Sketchfest: Sound Effects Summit The Independent : 8:00 p.m. January 28
For lovers of laughter, the next few weeks (Jan. 24-Feb. 10) will be an orgy of hilarity filling every crevice of this city, from prestigious museums to dingy video store basements. Inventive and inspired, the 12th annual Sketchfest offers everything from competitive erotic fan fiction to... More >>
Haight/ Fillmore	Theater, Music, Comedy, Arts

Adam Mansbach Book Passage : 6:00 p.m. January 29
Love it or hate it, graffiti is here to stay. In recent years, graffiti artists such as Shepard Fairey and S.F. locals Barry McGee and Mike Giant have found acceptance in the contemporary art world, shaking off the popular assumption that graffiti is solely the practice of young hoodlums. The... More >>
Embarcadero	Literary Events, Arts

WTF: Women's, Trans/Genderqueer, and Femmes' Night Bike Kitchen : 6:00 p.m. second Fri. of every month; 6:00 p.m. fourth Fri. of every month
In the name of Miriam Bengoetxea, Basque bike engineer (of Orbea Orca fame), we command you to attend WTF: the Women, Transgenderqueer, and Femme bike-fix night! Bengoetxea is one of the only women in the world designing carbon-fiber bicycle frames, partly because she's had the support of the... More >>
Mission/ Bernal Heights	Outdoors, LGBT Events, Free Events, Classes & Seminars, Arts

Stand-Up Paddleboarding Lessons Boardsports : Daily
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, Arts

Explore the Living Roof with Naturalists California Academy of Sciences : 3:00 p.m. every Mon.
Forty-five bird species. Fifty-two plant species. Twenty orders and 39 families of arthropods. All these have been identified at the California Academy of Sciences, but it’s probably not what you think; these life forms aren’t preserved in exhibits indoors. Rather, they inhabit the... More >>
Richmond (Inner)	Museum Exhibits & Events, Lectures, Arts

Secret Improv Society Shelton Theater : 10:00 p.m. every Sat.
This city's theater scene is chock-full of improv. Whether you're new to it or a grizzled veteran, you won't have to hunt too long to find a venue. Each Friday and Saturday night, the Shelton Theatre hosts its own brand of "secret" improv theater. The stage at the Shelton has given such... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Theater - Small, Theater - Ongoing, Theater, Comedy, Arts

"Educate! Amuse! And in Colors! Selections from the George M. Fox Collection of Early Children’s Books." San Francisco Main Library : Daily until March 10
You know what ensures that children’s books stay in good condition? Keeping them away from children. That’s why Mr. George M. Fox’s collection, which contains more than 2,000 early British and American children’s books, looks so pristine. Donated to the S.F. Public... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Literary Events, Cheap Thrills, Arts

Sunday Open Gyms Eureka Valley Recreation Center : Every Sun.
Large American cities during the industrial age had amateur baseball leagues made up of blue-collar workers who created their own little societies unseen by the general populace. Men formed their teams — representing factories, power plants, and other facilities — developed rivalries,... More >>
Castro/ Noe Valley	LGBT Events, Arts, Sports - Participatory

"Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection" Museum of the African Diaspora : Every Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. until January 23
While some people collect Hermès purses, a fifth-generation descendent of the French luxury empire turned to North Africa in search of historic jewelry and photographs. Xavier Guerrand-Hermès spent over 30 years amassing treasures from the late 19th to early 20th century, many of... More >>
Union Square/ Financial District	Arts, Art - Museums

"Speak Your Peace" SOMArts Cultural Center : Every Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat. until January 24
We hate to state the obvious, but the world really doesn't seem like such a peaceful place right now. Shootings in our cities and in our schools, a prison system intent on perpetuating cycles of poverty and crime, never-ending unrest in the Middle East -- It's enough to make any sane person... More >>
South of Market	Cultural Events, Arts, Art - Openings & Events

"Hand Jobs" 24K Gallery : Daily from January 25 until February 17
While the rest of us were sleeping, a generation of entrepreneurial women revolutionized the art of the fingernail. Forget old clichés like a diamond is forever — these ladies are serious about nail art. You could even say they get out of hand with it. But don’t take our word... More >>
Mission/ Bernal Heights	Arts

"Icee Hot: Three-Year Anniversary" Public Works : 10:00 p.m. January 26
Icee Hot has come a long way since it first began as a monthly workout in the cramped basement at 222 Hyde. Yet even though it now regularly hosts huge parties in the city's larger venues, one thing has remained the same: its consistently cutting-edge bookings. This month marks the party's... More >>
Mission/ Bernal Heights	Nightlife, Music

"NEVABAWARLDAPECE" Yerba Buena Center for the Arts : Daily from January 25 until January 27
If anyone is up to the task of presenting critical movements in American history in the form of dance — from the violent actions employed by the abolitionist John Brown to the participatory democracy of the Occupy movement — Robert Moses is. Dance company Robert Moses’ Kin,... More >>
South of Market	Dance, Arts

SFJAZZ Center Opening Week SFJAZZ Center : Daily until January 27
Randall Kline founded SFJAZZ 30 years ago, so he's had lots of time to consider how the perfect space for the organization would look. This week, with SFJAZZ opening the first standalone center for jazz on the West Coast, Kline's vision has become a reality that anyone can see into. Wearing... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Music, Cultural Events

Drop-in Family Ceramics Workshop Randall Museum : 10:15 a.m. every Sat.
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts --... More >>
Castro/ Noe Valley	Classes & Seminars, Children's Events, Arts

“Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic” The Walt Disney Family Museum : 11:00 a.m. every Mon., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. until April 14
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, for all its legendary impact and influence, was an enormous gamble on the part of Walt Disney. His Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoon shorts had been successful, but producing a feature was another venture entirely. The Hollywood press saw Snow White as a... More >>
The Presidio	Museum Exhibits & Events, Arts

SF Ballet's 2013 Season Opener: Program 1 War Memorial Opera House : Daily from January 29 until February 3
Wayne McGregor, commander of the Order of the British Empire and resident choreographer for the Royal Ballet, is known for physically demanding work that draws on surprising and wide-ranging collaborators, from architects to neuroscientists. Thanks to S.F. Ballet, two of his pieces have reached... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Theater, Music, Dance, Arts

Gabrielle Gamboa's "Florida Diary" Cartoon Art Museum : Every Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. until April 13
Comic strips have been around since the early 1800s, and some strips have been in circulation almost that long as well. (“The Katzenjammer Kids” has been running since 1897!). The Bay Area has been at the center of groundbreaking comic art since the 1960s when the underground comix... More >>
South of Market	Arts, Art - Museums

Hillbilly Hootenanny West Side Revue The Riptide : 7:30 p.m. first Sun. of every month
The Outer Sunset is typically known for only a few things: surfing and fog. But recently the neighborhood has experienced a small revitalization in the form of local hotspots like Trouble Coffee, General Store, and Outerlands. This isn't to say that the area's long-established locales are going... More >>
Parkside/ Forest Hill	Music, Arts

Mission Trivia Night Gestalt Haus : Every Mon.
What is the most shoplifted book in the world? The Bible. What item, found at nearly every Chinese restaurant, was invented by a Japanese entrepreneur here in S.F.? The fortune cookie. If you didn't know the answers to these, fret not; We promise it won't go on your report card. These are... More >>
Mission/ Bernal Heights	Games, Arts

Tuesdays Are Jillarious Tommy T's Showroom : 7:30 p.m. every Tue.
Stand-up comedy is an all-or-nothing game, economically speaking. All comics -- including some of the best we know -- basically have to do it for free unless and until they get "discovered," which roughly translates to "move to L.A. or New York in order to make a living." Which brings us to our... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Performing Arts, Comedy, Arts

"High Fantasy" Aunt Charlie's Lounge : 10:00 p.m. every Tue.
Weekends are for amateurs — the really good stuff happens during the week. Well, that might be a little hyperbolic, but it's certainly true in the case of High Fantasy. Going on for over two years now, the weekly Tuesday night party at Aunt Charlie's is your midweek destination for a dose... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Nightlife, Music, LGBT Events

Sex and the City: Live! Rebel : 7:00 p.m. every Wed.
Still reeling from the stiletto-sized hole in your heart since The Golden Girls Christmas Episodes closed for the season? Us too. But you can wipe the glitter-encrusted tears from your eyes, because Trannyshack is back with drag renditions of the popular, cosmo- and shoe-obsessed HBO series Sex... More >>
Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin	Theater, Arts

Magic Bus San Francisco Union Square : Every Fri., Sat. until April 30
We want to warn you, because otherwise it might bum you out: You’re sitting comfortably on the Magic Bus, grooving out on a loving multimedia gloss of what happened in San Francisco in the 1960s, and the windows suddenly disappear. Because you’re sitting facing the windows, this... More >>
Union Square/ Financial District	Arts, Tours

"Boomtown: Barbary Coast." Conservatory of Flowers : Every Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. until April 14
This might shock you, but San Francisco has a debaucherous past. Once home to less than 500 people, as soon as James Marshall found gold in them thar hills, the population began to double every 10 days, creating a Boomtown full of saloons, sailors, slummers, and sinners. This was an era where... More >>
Sunset (Outer)	Museum Exhibits & Events, Arts