Along with temperate weather, a surf-friendly beach, and nearby state parks for days, San Francisco is also home to a breathtaking diversity of cultural events. Between our fair city’s world-class museums, restaurants, bars, art galleries, music scene, festivals, and clubs, between all that is weird and quirky and purely San Franciscan, there’s something going down, somewhere, every single day of the year. What’s an engaged culture hound to do? First step: Check out our newly launched Flavorpill social discovery engine, where you can create and share events with friends, follow our carefully curated editors’ picks, and connect with other people who have similar interests as you. Below, you’ll find Flavorpill’s top picks for this week. Just a little bit of help as you set out into this beautiful wide world of SF’s happenings.
Monday, March 18
PERFORMING ARTS: Porchlight SF: Law and Order The Porchlight monthly storytelling series, started by Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte, is in its 11th season this year and still going strong. Tonight’s theme, “Law and Order: Stories from All Sides,” dares to open the potential Pandora’s Box of tales about our legal system. Your yarn-spinners tonight: comedian and union organizer Nato Green; a former Google lawyer; a former Coroner for Marin County; a judge of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer; an SF police sergeant who is currently under house arrest; and a survivor of Nigerian civil war and U.S. incarceration. They all share their stories in the usual Porchlight storytelling format — ten minutes, no notes, and no memorization. Just hilarity and hell, straight from the heart, the court and/or the jail cell. — Bonnie Chan
Tuesday, March 19
PERFORMING ARTS: Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck feat. Quiet Lightning San Francisco loves its books. San Francisco loves its food. So when literature and culinary delights marry for a night, chances are that it’s going to be tantalizing. SOMArts’ Feast of Words is a monthly potluck dinner party where you eat at the same table as some favorite local writers. This month, rather than spotlighting one or two writers, Feast of Words teams up with SF reading series Quiet Lightning to feature a whole literary mixtape of local writers delivering their pieces one after another. The writers were chosen, in usual Quiet Lightning format, by blind submission, and will be printed in the 37th issue of QL’s publication, sparkle + blink. How’s that for some interesting dinner guests? — Bonnie Chan
FOOD/WINE: Four Barrel Coffee Tasting
Wednesday, March 20
Thursday, March 21
FESTIVAL: The Disposable Film Festival The Disposable Film Festival responds to the fast and easy media that dominate our social lives; camera-phone party snaps clog Facebook profiles and viral videos burn out on YouTube before they fully flare up. If Marshall McCluhan’s famous maxim “the medium is the message” still holds, then this media landscape must hold a pixelated mirror to a vapid, impatient culture. Commanding filmmakers to use cell phones, webcams, and digital video cameras for creative purposes, the Disposable Film Festival is determined to make this media saturation as intentional and arresting as possible. The resulting work offers commentary on the ephemeral nature of art in the age of YouTube, and it’s commentary that is anything but superficial. — Matt Sussman
FASHION/STYLE: The Bay: Creators of Style
Friday, March 22
FASHION/STYLE: Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire The sprawling, spectacular Alameda Point Antiques Faire moves indoors this weekend for its annual Vintage Fashion Faire extravaganza. Unlike the monthly outdoor antiques market, this weekend’s fair is limited to clothing and accessories — though “limited” may not be the right word to use for 50 booths’ worth of vintage clothing spanning a hundred years of fashion, from the Victorian era through the 1980s. Whether you’re shopping for a fashion statement or for next year’s Edwardian Ball, it’s guaranteed you’ll find some treasures. The fair is open on Friday night for the 21-and-up crowd (the $10 admission grants you complimentary cocktails, early buys, and entry for the next day), and all day on Saturday for all-ages shopping. — Bonnie Chan
Saturday, March 22
ART: Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction “An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need to have,” said Andy Warhol. Find such products (or, if I may, desiderata?) while celebrating the era of Edie Sedgewick and the Factory at Southern Exposure gallery’s annual art auction. This year’s event, as in past years, features work from over 150 Bay Area artists and should draw sizable crowds. Prepare your bids, your palate, your Candy Darling costumes — and remember that proceeds go towards the admirable efforts of SoEx programming. — Joanna Swan
Sunday, March 23
PARTY: SF Mixtape Society: Anchors and Sails The SF Mixtape Society is dedicated to the long-lost ’80s ritual of creating a mixtape. When founders Annie Lin and John Verrochi arrived here from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, they missed their neighborhood mixtape swaps and decided to create their own “Secret Santa + mixtape” party. Today’s theme is “Anchors and Sails,” so take your finger off the genius button and start practicing your fade-ins. If you want to take the Judges Choice Award for best mix, pre-submit your entry, but be warned: the competition is fierce. One of Lin’s past playlists was a historical evolution of the song “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and included renditions of the original French ballad and UB40’s version. The event is designed for the digital age — well-curated playlists on CDs or flash drives are accepted — but cassette tapes (complete with handmade album artwork) are preferred. Just remember to be kind and rewind. — Allison P. Davis