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THURSDAY 14
Screening of Ken Russel’s Gothic Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft, Berk. bampfa.berkeley.edu. 7:30pm, $9.50. Director Ken Russell passed away this year, but his 1986 feature film continues to transport audiences. Gothic takes audiences into the country estate where Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne), Mary Shelley (Natasha Richardson), and her partner Percy Bysshe Shelly (Julian Sands), give birth to the idea for Frankenstein’s monster. Prior to the screening, listen to a brief set by the world’s only Ken Russell tribute band Brale.
Oakland Landmarks book signing Cathedral Gift Shop, 2121 Harrison, Oakl. www.cltcathedral.org. Noon-1:30pm, free. Oakland historian and columnist AnnaLee Allen and artist Heidi Wyckoff raised enough donations through Kickstarter to publish their new book Oakland Landmarks, a melding of Wyckoff’s watercolor images and Allen’s detailed descriptions of historical sites. The project is a tribute to the city in honor of its 160th birthday this year. Today, come meet the author and illustrator, eager to sign your copy this afternoon.
Celebrate Flag Day with America the Philosophical Mechanic’s Institute, 57 Post, SF. (415) 393-0114, www.milibrary.org. 6pm, $12, members free. Just in time for Flag Day, award-winning book critic Carlin Romano challenges the idea that our nation is anti-intellectual. Using the examples of talk shows, social media, blogs, and an online trend he calls “cyber philosophy,” he argues that the USA is still a nation of innovation and public debate. Listen as Romano speaks up for the intelligence of you and yours at tonight’s reading.
FRIDAY 15
Rex Ray pop-up show and Information release Gallery 16, 501 Third St., SF. www.gallery16.com. Also Sat/16, 6pm-9pm, free. To celebrate Rex Ray’s new book, Information, this pop-up gallery displays images of his artwork, photographs, and private moments of inspiration. The new book highlights a collection of happenings that the artist says inspired his life’s work. Ask him more about it in person.
Faetopia reclaims vacant Castro space for public joy Vacant Tower Records building, 2286 Market, SF. www.faetopia.com. Through Fri/22, event times vary, $10 suggested donation. Faetopia imagines a world where queer people are honored and respected for their gifts and perspectives. Artists and collaborators have created a space for the LGBTQQ community and their allies in the long, vacant storefront. During the day, Faetopia will host a visual arts gallery, workshops, meditations, teach-ins, and more. Theater, poetry, cinema, and sexy book readings in a land where the arts reign supreme.
SATURDAY 16
“The Stuff That Dreams are Made of: San Francisco and the Movies” Old Mint, Fifth St. and Mission, SF. www.sanfranciscomuseum.org. Through Sat/24, 11am-4pm, $10. Thanks largely to cinema, people everywhere know about our city by the bay, even if they’ve never visited it. To highlight the movies and filmmakers that make San Francisco one of the world’s film capitals, the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society present this exhibition.
Father’s Day weekend at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach 10979 San Pablo, El Cerrito. www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org. 10am-5pm, $15. Don’t let Dad spend his special day sitting on the couch watching other people play. Accompany him to Playland, where the two of you can raise a ruckus with pinball and carnival games galore — there’s even an ugly tie contest. Pops also gets $3 off admission this weekend — perfect for Playland’s theme of the week: celebrating everyday American heroes.
San Francisco Crystal Fair Fort Mason Center, SF. www.crystalfair.com. 10am-6pm; also Sun/17 10am-4pm, $6. The Pacific Crystal Guild hosts a magical mix of crystals, minerals, beads, jewelry, and the healing arts today and tomorrow. Crystal enthusiasts can gawk at some of the most hard-to-find gems around, and those new to the world of geology can learn about the history and potential healing powers of these natural treasures.
North Beach Festival North Beach neighborhood, SF. www.sresproductions.com. Also Sun/17, 10am-6pm, free. One of the country’s original outdoor festivals, this 58th annual event brings you to the city’s Little Italy for 125 arts and crafts booths, 20 gourmet food booths, three stages of live entertainment, Italian street painting, beverage gardens, and the blessing of the animals. Join in this longstanding San Francisco tradition.
Marin Art Festival, Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Dr., San Rafael. (415) 388-0151, www.marinartfestival.com. 10am-6pm, $10. Enjoy the famed Marin oyster feast while you view the works of more than 250 fine artists. This annual event takes place in the spectacular Marin Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, so be sure to look up and down and all around at the architecture while you’re there.
SUNDAY 17
Open Cockpit for Father’s Day Oakland Aviation Museum, 8252 Earhart, Building No. 621, Oakl. www.oaklandaviationmuseum.org. Noon-4pm, $9. Sit in a Korean War MiG-15 next to Dad, and feel what it would have been like to fly for the “other side” in America’s first war of the jet age. Learn about the training involved for naval flight officers in the 1970s via a Navy A-6 simulator trailer, horse around on a carrier deck in the Navy A-3 Sky Warrior, tour the Solent Flying Boat from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
MONDAY 18
Baasics.2: The Future Oberlin Dance Collective Theater, 3153 17th St., SF. www.baasics.com. 7:30pm-9:30pm, free. Do flying cars and android housekeepers to mind when you ponder the future? Will humanity populate other planets and interact with extraterrestrial beings? Or, do you fret about the imminent environmental catastrophe, the rise of a totalitarian mega-state, and the end of our species? This event brings together Bay Area artists, inventors, researchers, and musicians whose projects and musings provide a sense of what they think lies ahead.
TUESDAY 19
Activists read from The Harvey Milk interviews: In His Own Words HRC Store, 575 Castro, SF. (415) 387-2272. 6pm, free. This newly released collection of never-before published transcripts of unrehearsed interviews with Harvey Milk will be read live tonight by Bay Area activists and novelists. Learn about the local icon on a deeper level.