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, April 15
FOOD/WINE: Myriad Gastro Pub Pop-Up Fundraiser
Tuesday, April 16
MUSIC: Sigur Rós It’s not every band that can do epic and precious at the same time and actually pull it off, but Sigur Rós is that band. Yes, they sing in a twee, made-up nonsense language (“Hopelandic”), but their sweeping, largely instrumental songs also approach an impressively massive scope: whale songs, glaciers breaking into the sea, that sort of thing. Expect their live show to alternate between tiny, delicate moments and huge uplifts. — Eric Grandy
Wednesday, April 17
BOOKS: An Evening with Angela Davis Black Panther Angela Davis and her trademark Afro spent two months on the FBI’s most wanted list in 1970, after the guns used to murder a California judge were purchased in her name. She was incarcerated for 16 months, but a worldwide Free Angela Davis campaign (which included songs written by The Rolling Stones and John and Yoko) eventually led to her acquittal. She ran for US Vice President twice as a Communist, and has remained a figurehead in the worlds of social activism and black academia — despite former California Governor Ronald Reagan threatening she would never teach in the state again. Tonight, the Middle East Children’s Alliance hosts Davis in Berkeley as she talks about politics, justice, life as a renegade, and her new book, The Meaning of Freedom and Other Difficult Dialogues. — Allison P. Davis
Thursday, April 18
PARTY: Big Bang Gala 2013 Instead of the usual Thursday night NightLife party this week, the California Academy of Sciences is going big with the Big Bang Gala, which benefits the Academy’s research and educational programs. Where else but at the Academy can you party to live music, a Mayer Hawthorne DJ set, and a bike-powered DJ booth (courtesy Rock the Bike) under a living roof and next to a four-story rainforest? To further sweeten the deal, you also get an open bar and Del Popolo’s hot Neapolitan pizza, complete with pizza-making demo. Oh, and, you know, some world-class exhibits, too. — Bonnie Chan
FOOD/WINE: Wildflower Craft Cocktail and Twilight Tour
ART: The Gun Show: A Collection of Posters Against Gun Violence
Friday, April 19
DANCE: Alonzo King LINES Ballet Spring Season Alonzo King LINES Ballet consists of dancers rigorously trained in the classical, gravity-defying art form of ballet, dancing to a liberated style of choreography that exists uniquely somewhere between ballet and modern dance. Celebrating 30 years of highly acclaimed and groundbreaking dance, Alonzo King LINES Ballet continues its rich history of collaboration (remember the Shaolin monks?) this spring season with performances set to the work of double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer and Oscar-winning designer Jim Doyle, whose cascading wall of illuminated water serves as a stunning backdrop. Featuring, as always, the company’s superlative troupe and the incomparable choreography of Alonzo King, this spring season’s performance is not to be missed. — Joshua Wyatt
Saturday, April 20
FESTIVAL: Earth Day SF We know that the green eco-tide is swelling as environmental issues become ever more pressing — but this one day is the Mama of all green days. Head to Civic Center today for a San Francisco-style, multicultural, multi-denominational festival celebrating our planet. Speakers run the gamut from spiritual activist Starhawk to Ruckus Society organizer Joshua Kahn Russell. Additional goings-on include permaculture workshops, chef showcases, live music performances, eco fashion shows, DIY stations, and beer and wine gardens — sustainable and eco-friendly ones, of course. — Bonnie Chan
FESTIVAL: César Chavez Holiday Parade & Festival
Sunday, April 21
FESTIVAL: Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s Grand Parade In Japan, the cherry blossoms, or sakura, begin their flowering in January in Okinawa, then cast a wave of blossoming throughout the winter and early spring that is reaching Tokyo right about now. The cherry blossoms hold tremendous cultural significance to many Japanese people, and remind us of the beauty of nature and the transience of life. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the largest such festivals in America, and depicts and celebrates all things Japanese: martial arts, tea ceremony, flower arranging, traditional music and theatre, not to mention pageantry and an annual Grand Parade. Spring is here, but soon will pass — come enjoy while you can. — Joshua Wyatt
Ongoing
ART: Amusement: New Works from Skewville Brooklyn-based street artists Skewville have been disseminating their unique style across New York since the ’90s, when they achieved prominence for the wooden sneakers they would dangle from telephone wires. Since such humble-ish beginnings, these twin brothers’ art has been showcased in galleries from California to Holland and everywhere in between. For this show at White Walls, Amusement (following up on last year’s show Playground Tactics), Ad and Droo have prepared 30 new works on a mix of wood canvases and found materials, and large installation pieces to boot. — Cooper Berkmoyer