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.
Tuesday, May 28
PARTY: Funkytown Tuesday Night Skate Far from being a cultural relic or an occasional Xanadu party theme, roller disco is alive and well — nowhere more so than in San Francisco, where “Godfather of Skate” D. Miles and the Black Rock Rollers join forces every Tuesday night to host the weekly Funkytown roller disco party. The Black Rock Rollers are the originators of Burning Man’s Black Rock Roller Disco, so rest assured that you’re in good hands when you strap on your skates. (If you don’t have a pair of your own, rentals are just five bucks.) Funk and old-skool jams, cowboy hats, rainbow tube socks, leopard print, mirror balls — they’re all fair game here. And if you need liquid courage to break out your new skate moves, this party is BYOB. — Bonnie Chan
Wednesday, May 29
FOOD/WINE: Drinking/Songs: A Night of Beer and the Music That Goes With It
Thursday, May 30
PERFORMING ARTS: City Arts & Lectures presents David Simon and David Chang In possibly one of the least expected juxtapositions of audiences we’ll see this year, City Arts & Lectures hosts the guy who created The Wire in conversation with the guy who opened Momofuku to talk about… drugs and food? David Simon, who created both The Wire and Treme (which features a chef character and guest-starred David Chang, among other top stars of the foodie world), has contributed to Chang’s amazingly creative food magazine, Lucky Peach (put out by local powerhouse McSweeney’s), so our guess is they will have a lot to chat about. — Nora Oppenheim
MUSIC: The xx w/ Hundred Waters
CITY GEM: SFMOMA’s Countdown Celebration
Friday, May 31
BOOKS: Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society San Francisco’s culture-jamming subversives the Cacophony Society have almost 30 years of baffling, laughing at, and sometimes pissing (the right) people off under their belt. Founded in 1986 from the remnants of the Suicide Club, an earlier Bay Area secret society, the Cacophony Club was an instrumental force in the ’80s and ’90s underground art scene, helping to found the now obligatory Burning Man festival as well as organizing Dadaist flash mobs, public installations, and pranks. The (unofficial) publishing party for Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society, a history of sorts on the organization, will be hosted by Church of the Sub-Genius’ Ivan Stang and features the Yes Men, Improv Everywhere’s Charlie Todd, and Reason magazine’s Brian Doherty, among others. — Cooper Berkmoyer
FOOD/WINE: Mugsy Pop-Up Wine Bar
Saturday, June 1
FILM: Grease Sing-Along Combining the timely fervor of Eisenhower-era nostalgia with Glee-ish group show tunes and flash-mob madness, a more perfect, of-the-moment kitsch event than a Grease sing-along is hard to find. This popular annual run at the Castro Theatre comes complete with goodie bags and a costume contest. Whether you’re a Sandy or a Pink Lady, a Kenickie or a Rizzo, just remember to keep your bob curled under and your ducktail well greased. — Emma Rae Lierley
Sunday, June 2
FOOD/WINE: Frankenart Mart Hot Dog Day The premise of Frankenart Mart: hot dogs + interactive art (though not necessarily at the same time) + curiosity and creativity in a very small space — a 200-square-foot storefront in the Inner Richmond, to be precise. It’s a “for-prophet business that does not make a profit.” Frankenart’s ongoing, rotating art projects are theme-based and rely on public participation; all you need is a willingness to, for example, play dead for a little while, or engage in outdoor sports indoors. Oh, and on one Sunday each month, Frankenart gives out free hot dogs (both beef and veggie are available) to anyone who drops by. Just because. Drop by to engage in the current art theme, then replenish your energy with a dog or two. — Bonnie Chan
Ongoing
FESTIVAL: San Francisco Green Film Festival One doesn’t always associate “environmentally savvy” with “the movie industry,” but that’s what’s happening at the San Francisco Green Film Festival. Featuring films from all over the world, this week-long gathering of film buffs and green gurus is an entertaining way to stay up-to-date on your pet environmental cause, whether it’s global warming, the recycled art movement, urban gardening, or composting. Choose from over 50 films and/or attend panels and events hosted by over 70 filmmakers and environmental researchers. — Meg Hurtado