Looks like the weather will cooperate for enjoying some events outside, like music, a park festival, a walking tour, and more, like Shakespeare in the Park and an art fair. Inside, there are two theater productions to choose from and a wine celebration. Have a great long weekend.
Thursday, Aug. 28
Hokum Hotshots will play blues at Rincon Center as part of the People in Plazas summer music festival, as a nice way to spend your lunch break. Free.
Explore the neighborhood while supporting the community and small businesses at SOMA Nights, a monthly art, food, and cultural event on Folsom Street (between Sixth and 12 streets). Free.
Friday, Aug. 29
The cozy Hôtel Biron Wine Bar & Art Gallery wants to celebrate National Red Wine Day with you. Enjoy red wine from around the world and food, which sounds delicious, prepared by their guest chef, whose photography is displayed along with others in their gallery. 5 p.m. Wine: $11; food: free.
Magic Theatre’s Jerry Garcia/San Francisco/Dead music story, Jerry Garcia in the Lower Mission, explores the imagined childhood, memories, dreams, and ghosts of the folk and rock icon. Through Saturday. Tickets: $50
Two Sisters and a Piano is set in Havana in 1991, follows two sisters under house arrest — one a pianist, the other a writer — who use art as a refuge and as resistance, demonstrating the power of creativity in the face of oppression. The performance features live music and storytelling. Through Sunday. Tickets from $10.
Saturday, Aug. 30
Shakespeare in the Park will perform The Two Gentlemen of Verona in McLaren Park, which is sure to “show all the beauty of the sun.” In this adaptation, two young men travel from a small Midwestern town to California, and confront their inner conflicts and the possibility of “love, success, and reinvention.” Through Monday and Sept. 6–7. Free.
The Kings Mountain Art Fair is a personal favorite. What could be better than strolling through the redwoods? Strolling through the redwoods looking at exceptional artworks. This juried fair, in its 62nd year, has a reputation as one of the premier art events on the West Coast, and will feature over 120 artists. It’s also run wholly operated by volunteers, has a goal of zero waste, and supports the Kings Mountain Volunteer Fire Brigade and Kings Mountain Elementary. All around win. Go early (8–10:30 a.m.) for breakfast (for purchase); fair opens at 10 a.m. Free.
Sunday, Aug. 31
Join the Ruth Asawa Public Art Walk, a scenic walk of five of Asawa’s most accessible outdoor works of art. The tour route passes by SFMOMA, where you could stop and visit Ruth Asawa: Retrospective, which closes Sept. 2. Two starting times (10 a.m. or 11 a.m.) to accommodate those who want a longer or shorter walk. Free, donations welcome.
I have a special place in my heart for those who are Japanese, carved by my high school classmate who kept me in stitches throughout American Lit to my stoic coworker who had been sent to an internment camp as a child. Anyway, the BonPOP celebration is a reimagined Obon Odori, a 500-year- old ceremonial tradition that honors ancestors with song and dance, regardless of religion, faith, ethnicity, and cultural beliefs, and features taiko drumming, live folk music, and dancing. 2–6 p.m., Golden Gate Park. Free.
Notable next week
Monday, Sept. 1
This is a public service message that the Waterfront (Levi Strauss Plaza, Battery, Green, Front, Vallejo, Sansome, and Greenwich streets) will be occupied by the 49th annual Il Giro di San Francisco, where amateur and elite cyclists compete in high-speed racing. It could be fun viewing, but I’d stay steer clear of the area if it doesn’t sound like your idea of how to spend your holiday and you’re trying to get somewhere else. Free.
The Golden Gate Park Band is planning a special Labor Day concert today at 1 p.m. I couldn’t find too much info on their program, but any day in the park is a good thing. And Cal Academy is open today, too, as is the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the Botanical Garden. Free concert.
Enjoy and be safe while you’re out and about.
