San Francisco Voice » festivals

Hayes Valley Design Festival

admin — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:07:10 +0000

As many of my regular readers already know, I spent the last few weeks back in my hometown. It’s always interesting going back home … for all of the reasons that going home as a grown-up means, of course … but also because it gives you such a refreshed perspective on your new home when you return. The first event that I went to after coming back to San Francisco was yesterday’s Capsule Design Festival in Hayes Valley. It was one of several events I’d considered for the weekend, including Lit Crawl and the Noe Valley Farmer’s Market and Festival. As usual, there were a number of different things to do here, things that involved creativity and art and that indescribable energy for life which I think is particularly unique to this area.

Did I love the Design Festival? Not particularly. It was crowded, which is great for the designers but difficult for actually seeing anything in order to buy it. But it was a good day. The sun was out. People dressed in unique fashions were milling around. I finally got to see some of the Hayes boutiques that I kept meaning to go see and hadn’t. And I was reminded of how interesting the world of fashion is here in San Francisco. We’re not known as any sort of fashion capital, but we have our own thriving fashion scene here with local designers and people who are interested in supporting local designers. I think, more than most places, fashion and art merge into one here. People walking down the street ARE art in this city.

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Carnaval San Francisco!

admin — Sat, 26 May 2007 09:00:31 +0000

Memorial Day Weekend in San Francisco means one major thing: Carnaval. For almost thirty years now, The Mission has come to life on this May weekend with a multi-cultural, multi-event celebration. There’s food and art, music and dance and general street fair camaraderie throughout the weekend celebrating the various Latin and Caribbean cultures for which the mardi-gras-esque carnaval celebration is known throughout the world.

Location of Carnaval SF:

It happens on Harrison Street from 16^th St. – 23^rd St. There will be seven stages along this route with different kinds of entertainment.

Time and dates of Carnaval SF 2007:

May 26^th and 27^th, 2007 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. both days.

The Parade:

A major event of Carnaval SF is the parade which takes place on Sunday morning, starting at 9:30 a.m. on the corner of 24^th St. and Bryant St. and continuing along the length of the carnaval area.

We’re lucky to have the diversity that we have here in San Francisco and this is just one way to go out and celebrate that!

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San Francisco YouTube Pick of the Day

admin — Fri, 25 May 2007 17:00:11 +0000

San Fran Voice is all about finding great things in this city from great venues for live music to lessons in love learned from the streets of San Francisco. One of the daily finds in the Bay Area is entertainment. There’s simply no shortage of art, oddities and experiences in San Francisco. To reflect that, San Fran Voice has a daily YouTube pick which shows off someone or something related to San Francisco.

Today’s YouTube pick is … in honor of Carnaval which takes place this weekend, today’s clips are from events of the celebration in past years.

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San Francisco YouTube Pick of the Day

admin — Sun, 20 May 2007 17:00:26 +0000

Today’s YouTube pick is … lots of stuff from previous years of Bay to Breakers which is taking place in the city again today!

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Bay to Breakers: San Francisco Race and Street Party

admin — Sun, 20 May 2007 09:00:45 +0000

Yeah, sure, technically the ING Bay to Breakers event is a 12 mile race on foot … but this historically San Francisco event has been much more than that since its early days and the fun just keeps on growing.

The History of Bay to Breakers:

It started in 1912 as one of the events designed to rally the city in revitalization after the Great Earthquake. It was originally run entirely by men, with approximately two hundred participants competing in the first race. In true San Francisco style, the early 1940’s brought a female-in-drag to the competition. Today, over 65,000 people will compete in this citywide race. And many, many more than that will tag along to watch some of the festivities.

What to expect from Bay to Breakers:

The thing is that Bay to Breakers represents human endurance, something which has been an important part of the history of San Francisco in so, so many ways. And San Franciscans celebrate that with lots of costumes, partying and shenanigans. So what you’re going to see out on the streets today is lots of people engaging in lots of fun street craziness.

The location of Bay to Breakers:

The entrance is at Mission St. and Beale St. near the Embarcadero at “the bay”. The last stretch is through the heart of Golden Gate Park to the finish line at “the breakers” of Ocean Beach. Check out the map on the site for the full course.

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San Francisco YouTube Pick of the Day

admin — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:00:09 +0000

Today’s YouTube pick is about Swan’s Oyster Depot, a longtime family restaurant in San Francisco. Today is the O’Reilley’s Oyster and Beer Festival which has live music and lots of goodies so learn a bit here about oysters in the area and then head out there to indulge.

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Recommended Event: MCMF Show Tonight!

admin — Sat, 19 May 2007 10:21:15 +0000

There isn’t any show that’s part of the Mission Creek Music & Arts Festival that I wouldn’t recommend, so why am I drawing particular attention to this one? Well, first of all, it’s the last San Francisco show this season for local band We Be The Echo (see their SFV Interview here). They’re playing with another awesome local band, And A Few To Break, as well as with Bad Dudes, an L.A. band that was described by We Be The Echo as “Nintendo-spazz at its most phenomenal”. And if that’s not reason enough to go out and catch the show, it’s also being filmed for The Bay Bridged so you can get your fifteen minutes (or a few seconds anyway) of fame by getting caught on camera. So, it’s tonight, May 19^th at El Rio in The Mission. It costs $7 and I’ve heard drinks are cheap there. Fun starts at 9 p.m. (with Bad Dudes) and goes until the bars close. We Be The Echo is the second band performing.

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O’Reilly’s 8th Annual San Francisco Oyster and Beer Fest

admin — Sat, 19 May 2007 09:00:23 +0000

O’Reilly’s is just one of San Francisco’s Irish pubs but it’s the one that really puts its name out there. On St. Patrick’s Day, the North Beach location puts on a block party that isn’t to be forgotten. And in May, they celebrate with all day drinking, music and shenanigans at this party on the Fort Mason lawn.

The details:

The festival starts at noon and goes until 7 pm on May 19, 2007.
It costs $15 in advance through www.SnagTickets.com or $19 at the gate on the day of.
There will be food, drinks and raffles galore so plan to have lots of fun.The music:

Four fun bands are being featured on the Oyster and Beer Fest Stage. There’s Los Angeles fun punk-like band, Flogging Molly along with San Francisco’s own Shantytown, The Hooks and Tea Leaf Green.

This is what weekends were made for!

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Top 5 Events Worth Traveling to San Francisco For

admin — Fri, 11 May 2007 15:20:17 +0000

It’s that time of year again; every single weekend in San Francisco is going to have at least one event which draws both tourists and locals to one of our many diverse neighborhoods. From the small street fairs to the specialty food tastings to the holiday activities, people who want something to do will not be lacking for events. But, as a local, it can get kind of tiresome. You want to check everything out, but you quickly tire of the constant activity, the crowds and the inflated prices on everything.

There’s something to suit everyone in this city, but these are the Top 5 annual events in San Francisco that locals don’t ever want to miss and tourists should find it worth their while to plan in advance for checking out:

1. Bay to Breakers. It’s a foot race from one end of the city to the other but you don’t have to be interested in runners to love it. First of all, the sheer numbers are worth seeing; 65,000 people participate in this run and more than that head out to watch it. Second, being a spectator is an event in and of itself. There are costumes (and considerable lack thereof), kegs being pushed down main streets, craziness frolicking in the middle of urban life … It’s unlike any event you’ve ever seen before and something you can really only experience in San Francisco. This year, it happens on May 20^th.

2. Fringe Festival. Live theatre is one of the most interesting forms of art in San Francisco. Big productions come here but we also get the opportunity to experience a really vast array of different local theatre events, from stand-up comedy to full-on productions. The Fringe Festival happens in September and carries on for two weeks, featuring nearly 200 performances all throughout the city. Some of them are even free things happening on the city streets. There’s something for everyone and it gives both locals and travelers a chance to get an inside look at the local theatre scene.

3. Stern Grove Festival. Speaking of performance art, if you’ve got any interest at all in being entertained and very little money to find that entertainment, San Francisco is the place for you. One event for such folks is the Stern Grove Festival which runs all summer long, bringing free music and entertainment to Golden Gate Park. This year, there will be free music every week from June 17^th to August 19^th. It ranges from Huey Lewis and the News to the San Francisco Symphony. It’s in the most beautiful part of San Francisco – a park that’s so large it’s got buffalo, polo fields, lakes, botanical gardens, museums and more. And it’s free!

4. Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival. If the normal treats at Ghirardelli Square aren’t reason enough to go check out this “tourist trap”, this weekend-long September festival should be. Vendors with all different kinds of treats are set up one after another in this Bayside location. You buy tickets that let you get samples of every different chocolate treat under the sun. It’s an all ages event with live music and there’s lots of neat stuff in the neighborhood (Hyde Street Pier, the bay beach, random street performers) so you can justify playing tourist while you’re there. This year, it takes place on September 8th and 9th.

5. Pride. It’s cliché, I know, but San Francisco has one of the biggest Pride celebrations in the nation and if you’ve got any interest in getting together to celebrate diversity and the community presence of a GLBT population, here’s where to do it. There’s a downtown event and there’s the PINK party in The Castro which is supposed to be more of a locals thing but isn’t necessarily. Admittedly, I’m divided on this one – drinks in the bars are watered down and the streets are packed from side to side as everyone tries to get a glimpse of gay boys acting naughty in the windows of Castro apartments. But, at the same time, there’s lots of playfulness in the city on this day. Insider tip: try to find out where the Castro house parties are at (hint: Craigslist!) because that’s where the real low-cost fun is at. This year, Pride is on June 23^rd.

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11th Annual Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival

admin — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:00:25 +0000

The Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival is so much more than just music but there are so many shows associated with the event that you might find it easy to forget everything else it’s got to offer. The ten-day festival is known for highlighting the work of emerging local musicians and getting them the attention that they deserve but they also support local arts of all kinds with events that include art at The Lab, performance art and a parade at Dolores Park and dance / choreography in the city.

As far as the music goes, there are more than a dozen venues in the city which are hosting Mission Creek shows. Just a few of these venues are:

Café du Nord:

5/11 – Calling All Monsters, Dear and the Headlights, Vedera and Track Star
5/12 – Derrick Lassiter, Katrina Lamb, and Veronica Klaus
5/13 – Junior Panthers, HIJK, and The Dont’s
5/15 – Coal Beautiere, Spider, Willard Grant Conspiracy and Edith Frost
5/17 – Eric Bauer, Sic Alps and Comets on Fire
5/18 – The Dilettantes, Persephone’s Bees and The Chamber Strings
5/19 – The Society, Sugar and Gold, Her Grace and The Duchess
5/20 – Last of the Blacksmiths, The Finches and Or, The Whale

Hemlock Tavern

5/10 – Mark Silverman, Rob Paravonian, Drennon Davis and Brent Weinbach
5/11 – French Disco, Empty Rooms and The Rum Diary
5/12 – Special Ed, Red Dons, Clorox Girls and The Contractions
5/15 – Daevid Allen with Kwisp and Josh Pollock
5/17 – Mute Socialite, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Wah Wah Exit Wound
5/18 – Nice Smile, Tyvek and Cheveu
5/19 – Andy Tisdall and King Kong

The Independent:

5/19 Winter Flowers, The Watson Twins and Lavender Diamond

Swedish American Hall:

5/12 – Sean Smith, P.G. Six, and Gary Higgins
5/19 – Vincent Gallo’s RRIICCEE

Check out the website for complete information about the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival and get out there and support your local music-and-more!

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