On the Cheap listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Selector.
WEDNESDAY 6
“The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories” Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk, SF; www.goodvibes.com. 6:30pm, free. Contributors read from editor Rachel Kramer Bussel’s latest erotica anthology.
David Henry and Joe Henry Diesel, A Bookstore, 5433 College, Oakl; www.dieselbookstore.com. 7pm, free. The brothers (David’s a screenwriter; Joe’s a musician) discuss their new book, Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him.
THURSDAY 7
Bill Ayers Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. The author discusses Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident, a sequel to his Fugitive Days that delves into his life after the Weather Underground.
Travis Smith and Chris Bale Books Inc., 2275 Market, SF; www.booksinc.net. 7:30pm, free. The authors discuss their best-selling travel book, Guide for the Modern Bear, at this official SF Bear Pride Week (www.sfbearpride.com) event.
FRIDAY 8
“Last Word Reading Series” Nefeli Caffe, 1834 Euclid, Berk; (510) 841-6374. 7pm, free. Poets Ivan Arguelles and Mary-Marcia Castoly read, followed by an open mic.
“A Planned Disappearance Of” Proxy, 432 Octavia, SF; www.deptofarchitecture.com. 6-9:30pm, free. Also Sat/9, noon-8pm, free. Dept. of Architecture gallery presents this pop-up event with sound performances, temporary exhibitions, talks, music, and more.
SATURDAY 9
Daniel Alarcón Diesel, A Bookstore, 5433 College, Oakl; www.dieselbookstore.com. 7pm, free. The San Francisco-based author discusses his latest novel, At Night We Walk in Circles.
“Celebration of Craftswomen” Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, Buchanan at Marina, SF; www.fortmason.org. 10am-5pm. Through Mon/11. $7-9 (free for children 12 and under; two-day pass, $15). Over 190 female artists showcase their wares and skills at this 35th annual juried event. Proceeds benefit the Women’s Building.
“Come Out & Play Festival” Today: Everett Middle School, 450 Church, SF; www.comeoutandplaysf.org. 11am-7pm (Journey to the End of Night, pre-registration required, 7pm), free. Sun/10, Mission Recreation Center, 2450 Harrison, SF. 11am-4pm, free. Local and visiting designers and street-game enthusiasts take to the Mission for smart phone-based games, alternative sports, sidewalk chalk-based adventures, and more.
“Diwali: The Festival of Lights” Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center, 401 Baker, SF; www.bksanfrancisco.com. 6-8pm, free (register online). Celebrate the Indian festival of Diwali, or “festival of lights,” with music and meditation to envision “the dawn of the era of peace, happiness, and prosperity.” Supervisor London Breed is the special guest.
“Issue in Focus: The Chocolate Industry” Eric Quezada Center for Cultura and Politics, 518 Valencia, SF; www.518valencia.org. 6-9pm, $5-10. Food Empowerment Project screens two short films (The Dark Side of Chocolate and The Shady Side of Chocolate) at its first-ever public event.
San Francisco Opera Free Community Open House War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, SF; www.sfopera.com. 10:30am-2:30pm, free. Onstage musical demonstrations, stage combat workshops, makeup and costume demos, a costume photo booth, scavenger hunt, food trucks, and more highlight this second annual event. Register online to win tickets to The Barber of Seville or The Barber of Seville for Families at sfopera.com/openhouse.
SF Green Festival Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 Eighth St, SF; www.greenfestivals.org. 10am-6pm; Sun/10, 11am-5pm. $10-15. Two-day festival celebrating sustainability and ecology, with cooking demos, environmental films, speakers, activities for kids, a green-biz marketplace, and more.
SUNDAY 10
Novemberfest in Temescal Alley Temescal Alley, 49th St at Temescal, Oakl; www.temescalalleys.com. Noon-4pm, free (beers, $5; all-you-can-drink tasting glass, $15-25; proceeds benefit Walk Oakland Bike Oakland). Live music and a showcase of local craft brewers, including Linden Street Brewery, Calicraft, Ale Industries, Drakes Brewing Company, and others.
MONDAY 11
Gail Carriger Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia, SF; www.borderlands-books.com. 7pm, free. The steampunk author reads from Curtsies and Conspiracies, the second title in her “Finishing School” series.
TUESDAY 12
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft, Berk; www.universitypressbooks.com. 6pm, free. The author discusses indigenous resistance and the re-release of The Great Sioux Nation: Sitting in Judgment on America. There will also be a poetry reading by Julie Thi Underhill, a descendant of the indigenous Cham of Vietnam.
“The Fabulous World of Queer Pulp Yesterday and Today” Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin, SF; www.sfpl.org. 6pm, free. Pulp icon Ann Bannon, historians Martin Meeker and Jenny Worey, and authors F. Allen Sawyer and Monica Nolan gather to discuss queer pulp paperbacks.
Warren Lehrer Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. The artist and author discusses A Life in Books: The Ride and Fall of Beau Mobley. *