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, June 24
ART: Joseph A. Blum: The Bridge Builders Joseph Blum has 25 years of experience as a boilermaker, shipfitter, and welder, which gives him a uniquely articulate perspective when it comes to photographing the construction of the new Bay Bridge. He has done so since the project began in 1998, and thus far has amassed a body of work that gives an insider’s look into the riveting scope and scale of the project — made even more arresting by Blum’s focus on the men and women who labor to bring the bridge’s eastern span into reality. This San Francisco Arts Commission exhibit of Blum’s work from The Bridge Builders sheds light on the people who give rise to the anonymous steel and concrete that we might otherwise take for granted, and also highlights the sheer beauty of both the project and the people. — Bonnie Chan
Tuesday, June 25
Wednesday, June 26
PERFORMING ARTS: Dita Von Teese’s Burlesque: Strip Strip Hooray! Buckle your corsets, ladies and gentlemen: Ms. Dita Von Teese is coming to the Fillmore. Dripping in her signature style and sass, Her Royal Hotness performs a four-night run of Burlesque: Strip Strip Hooray!, a vamped-up variety show bursting at the seams with glamor, guest stars, and Swarovski crystals. Whether you’re a longtime lover of limelit spectacle or just looking to inject a little Fabulous into your night, this ravishing revue will delight you in places you didn’t even know you had. All hail the queen of tease! — Meg Hurtado
Thursday, June 27
PARTY: RAW:San Francisco: Kaleidoscope Art crawls and gallery parties may be synonymous with Friday nights, but RAW:San Francisco’s bimonthly art showcase re-institutes Thursday as the new Friday. Leveraging the concept of “power in numbers,” RAW:San Francisco packs 1015 Folsom with the work of over 50 emerging and established Bay Area artists — along with aerialists, burlesque performers, DJs, vendors, roaming photographers, body painters, and some 750 partiers. And that’s all before the after-party. This month’s theme is “Kaleidoscope.” You’re encouraged to interpret that as you will, so long as you dress to impress. — Bonnie Chan
CONFERENCE: Higgs: The Theory, the Discovery, and the Fate of the Universe
Friday, June 28
Saturday, June 29
CITY GEM: SF Pride Celebration and Parade When Dykes on Bikes led the 2008 SF Pride Parade down Market Street, some of them wore wedding veils and adorned their bikes with signs that read “Just Married.” Two months later, Proposition 8 took away the rights of same-sex couples to wed (again). SF Pride celebrates its 43rd birthday this year with the theme “Embrace, Encourage, Empower.” This weekend’s celebrations sees the usual flotillas of scantily clad go-go boys and glittery drag queens, celebrities, VIP parties, and round-the-clock DJs. But amid all of the fabulousness, don’t forget to also be fierce: go forward demanding nothing less than full equality under the law. — Matt Sussman
CITY GEM: San Francisco Dyke March 2013
FASHION/STYLE: Score! Pop-Up Swap
Sunday, June 30
FESTIVAL: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Although commonly used as a kind of catch-all for chaos and destruction, the word “mayhem” more exactly describes an act of violence that results specifically in dismemberment. Hopefully, then, Rockstar Energy’s Mayhem Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre won’t live up to its name. Instead of severed limbs flying through the air like so many bloody meat boomerangs (although, let’s be honest, that would be one hell of a festival, too), Mayhem Festival gathers together some of the biggest names in metal today: Amon Amarth, Mastodon, Rob Zombie (OK, not really metal, but whatever), and more. — Cooper Berkmoyer
FOOD/WINE: Pinot Days San Francisco
Ongoing
ART: Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art