San Francisco is 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. Check out our Flavorpill social discovery engine, where you can create and share events with friends, and follow our carefully curated editors’ picks. 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, May 13
FILM: 90-Second Newberry Film Festival
Tuesday, May 14
PERFORMING ARTS: The Social Network Effect with Nicholas Carr Not to spoil the party, but Nicholas Carr says that the addictive and compulsive nature of our drive for filling up our working memory with insignificant factoids, fueled by so much speed on the information super-highway, has driven our minds to information overload! Prove him wrong or right by way of careful, extended, focused attention to what he has to say. — Joshua Wyatt
Wednesday, May 15
FASHION/STYLE: Geek 2 Chic Like the plot of many a romantic comedy or fairytale, “ugly ducklings” become swans — or, in this case, “geeks” become runway models — in the Geek 2 Chic charity fashion show. Produced by Mark Drapeau of Microsoft in collaboration with Bloomingdale’s, this national series of fashion shows benefits the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which helps at-risk youth stay in school and become geeks who will change the world. San Francisco certainly has no shortage of geeks to offer up for the show. But if you’re expecting facial tics and pocket protectors, you might be surprised: tonight’s lineup of geek models includes Rachel Peterson, an MIT chemical engineering grad and NFL cheerleader who went to the Super Bowl with the Niners. — Bonnie Chan
ART: SFAI’s Gala Vernissage Preview Party
Thursday, May 16
ART: ArtPadSF You don’t need to be an art collector to revel in ArtPadSF, just an art appreciator. Started two years ago by Chip Conley (who is the founder of California’s largest boutique hotel group, Joie de Vivre Hospitality), ArtPadSF has already made a name for itself as a thoroughly contemporary art fair that reflects Conley’s enthusiastic love of art and good causes — and also of having a good time; the last two years’ ArtPadSF fairs have featured a distinctly Burning Man-esque party atmosphere and ethereal water performances in the Phoenix Hotel’s illuminated outdoor pool. This year’s fair promises more of the same, along with video and sound installations, intriguing panel discussions, and live performances throughout the three days. — Bonnie Chan
Friday, May 17
PARTY: Skill Exchange at Makeshift Society Kick off a season of making things with Skill Exchange, which teams up with the creative co-working clubhouse Makeshift Society for a springtime series of workshops. Tonight’s party is a chance to sip cocktails, meet the workshop teachers and other creatives, and check out demos. It’s also an opportunity to get inspired to sign up for the workshop offerings, which focus on the basics of upholstery, Italian cheese, and cocktail-making. — Bonnie Chan
Saturday, May 18
FESTIVAL: Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival The EastSide Arts Alliance in East Oakland takes all the best parts of street fairs and blows them up to mega-scale with the annual Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival. To call this event a jazz fest is slightly misleading, only because there’s so much more. Jazz there will be, yes, but also capoeira, hip hop, spoken word, all kinds of dance, local art, local food, and most importantly, local community to surround yourself with at this awesomely local celebration. — Nora Oppenheim
CONFERENCE: Big Wow! ComicFest
Sunday, May 19
CITY GEM: 102nd Annual Bay to Breakers Started in 1912 in an effort to raise the morale of the citizenry during post-1906-quake reconstruction, the 7.5-mile Cross-City Run (which became Bay to Breakers in 1964) is one of the longest-running footraces in the world — and in 1986, it also became the largest footrace in the world, topping out at 110,000 zany participants, many of whom were registered runners, and more of whom were unregistered revelers wearing costumes and/or pulling wagons filled with booze. (Be warned, though: Floats are not permitted and alcohol laws will be enforced.) Today, mingle with crowds of Elvises, human centipedes, salmon running upstream, pro runners, and nudists alike as you run, walk, or stumble across the city from the Embarcadero to Ocean Beach. The race begins with the traditional tortilla toss and ends with the traditional Foostock post-race party. — Bonnie Chan
Ongoing
FESTIVAL: KUNST-STOFF Arts Fest Homegrown dance troupe KUNST-STOFF is well known for its fearless creation of bold, modern, and multidisciplinary performance. Under the direction of Yannis Adoniou, KUNST-STOFF’s mission is to train versatile dancers who are equipped to bring their individual, unique artistic styles onto the stage of an ever-evolving form of performance. The KUNST-STOFF Arts Fest is a smorgasbord of workshops and delights for the dancer or dance appreciator, with multimedia interactive events, a series of $15 performances, morning drop-in classes, and workshops led by some of today’s most acclaimed choreographers and dance instructors. — Bonnie Chan