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WEDNESDAY 7
Slideluck Sandbox Studio, 535 Minnesota, SF. (415) 550-8732, www.slideluckpotshow.com. 6pm, free. Food and art devotees and nationwide community fostering nonprofit Slideluck is teaming up with the Sandbox Studio to put on their fourth SF gathering for food and fun. Take in presentations on local art endeavors — just make sure that if you plan on attending, you bring a dish. Sharing food, after all, is just as big of a deal as sharing creative mojo.
THURSDAY 8
Virgie Tovar talks fat The Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF. www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. Big girls, hide those back rolls no more — Virgie Tovar is here to save you from self-doubt in this big old fat-phobic world. Tovar edited the recently-released Hot and Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion, and today will share the lessons she learned about learning to love being lush.
Woody LaBounty BookShop West Portal, 80 West Portal, SF. (415) 564-8080, www.bookshopwestportal.com. 7pm, free. Ingleside Terraces isn’t in the spotlight today as much as SOMA or the Mission, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a fascinating history. Learn about this neighborhood straddling the city’s southern border at Bookshop West Portal, where local author and designer Woody LaBounty (this name is too good to be true right?) will be sharing stories from his new book Ingleside Terraces: San Francisco Racetrack to Residence Park.
"Aesthetic Darwinism" 2050 Bryant, SF. www.aestheticdarwinism.eventbrite.com. 8pm, $7. Local artist Gretchen Andrus is counting on people power to curate her upcoming art show. Using a Facebook app, Andrus is allowing her audience to vote for specific pieces of work that will be on display.
River Otter Ecology Project Randall Museum Theater, 199 Museum, SF. (415) 225-3830, www.sfns.org. 7:30-9pm, free. By now you must be familiar with that clip of the river otter stacking cups (if you haven’t, hie thee hence to Google.) But did you know that river otters are known as ambassadors for habitat preservation and restoration? If you would like to know more about this wonderful critter, then please make your up the Randall Museum where members of the SF Naturalist Society Megan Isadore and Paola Bouley will gladly explain to you why the river otter is so crucial to the ecology of many North American watersheds.
FRIDAY 9
Reflectorize! A bike light workshop StoreFrontLab, 337 Shotwell, SF. www.storefrontlab.org. 6-9pm, free. Also Sat/10 10am-1pm, free. The nights are getting longer, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice safety on your two-wheeled steed. Hit up Shotwell Street’s pop-up community center for this free workshop, where you’ll find all kinds of reflective materials to sew onto your bike, helmet, and bag.
"Forever 21" Ever Gold Gallery, 441 O’Farrell, SF. (415) 577-1275, www.evergoldgallery.com. Through Dec/15. Opening reception: 6-10pm, free. No, your favorite spot for dollar bill print leggings and fake shearling vests is not hosting a wine and cheese event. This art show comes courtesy of New York-based artist Adam Parker Smith, who examines how the poignant experiences of our youth go on to mold our adult selves. Works on display include thousands of friendship bracelets chained together and a model of a Volkswagen Bug small enough to fit inside a glass bottle.
CYMN The Performance Art Institute, 75 Boardman, SF. (415) 420-2509, www.theperformanceartinstitute.org. Through Jan/15. Opening reception: 6:30-10pm, free. As a part of the Performance Art Institute’s new exhibit "The Future Imagined: What’s Next?" digital artist Tim Roseborough will remixing the iconic 1980s tabletop game Simon in this interactive art installation.
SATURDAY 10
Journey to the End of the Night Dolores Park, 18th St. and Dolores, SF. www.Journey2012.heroku.com. 6pm, free. It’s going to be quite the rumpus this Saturday evening. The interactive search-and-destroy street game Journey to the End of the Night returns to SF to kick off the 2012 Come Out and Play festival (www.comeoutandplay.org). Players don colored ribbons and race through various checkpoints scattered throughout the city, all while avoiding being caught by designated "chasers." Those who survive will have a party thrown in their honor. Those who get caught morph into chasers in zombie-like fashion. Online registration is required so make sure to check out the above link.
Red Bull Flugtag McCovey Cove, Third and Terry Francois, SF. www.redbullflugtagusa.com. 11am-4pm, free. In Flugtag (pronounced "floog-tug", it means "flying day" in German) 36 teams of amateur aviators, aircraft engineers, and their homemade flying contraptions leap off a flight deck glide and fall with style into a body of water. For the sake of the pilots, we hope they remember to bring inch-thick wetsuits — this is the Bay we’re talking about.
Opera open house War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, SF. (415) 864-3330, www.sfopera.com. 10:30am-2:30pm, free. Champagne taste, Boones Farm budget? Head to the SF Opera for a day of technical and musical demonstrations previewing the fall productions of Puccini’s Tosca and Wagner’s Lohengrin. To keep the kiddos occupied, there’ll be prop-making, a scavenger hunt, and a screening of a family version of Carmen.
Green Festival SF Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 Eighth St., SF. www.greenfestivals.org. Sat/10, 10am-7pm; Sun/11, 11am-6pm, free–$65. Taking center stage at this year of the mega eco jamboree will be a litany of speakers including journalist Amy Goodman, climate activist Bill McKibben, and former Green Party presidential candidate Winona LaDuke. In between speakers make sure to sample delectable goodies at the Good Food Stage, educate yourself about how your purchasing power can help to end global injustices, and participate in a workshop on how to grow and sustain your own green business.
SUNDAY 11
Rock-n-Swap McLaren Hall, USF, 2130 Fulton, SF. (415) 422-5555 www.kusf.org/rocknswap. 10am-3pm, $3. Attention music enthusiasts: USF’s radio station will be hosting a music flea market featuring a plethora of vendors selling collections of music that come in vinyl, cassette, and CDs — not to mention other music-related memorabilia like posters, books, and movies.