San Francisco event organizers seem to realize that Labor Day is hovering and the carefree mood of summer is fading, so they're releasing an orgy of entertainment and activities for every weekend of August. If you're bored this month, you have only one person to blame.
AUGUST EVENTSYves Saint Laurent: Creating Power in Style for the Modern Woman
Aug. 4, at 5:30 - 7 pm
Julia Geist, docent lecturer of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, gives a retrospective of the famous and groundbreaking fashion designer's 40-year career. Part of the August The Ascent of Woman series at the Commonwealth Club.
At the Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market St. Tickets $8-20, including wine reception. RSVP: 415 597-6705 or 800 847-7730.
City of Stairways: A Poet's Field Guide to San Francisco
Aug. 5 at 7-8 pm, and Aug. 26 at 6-7 pm
Authors introduce and read from their recently released travel guide/literary collection. Ranging from their teens to their early 20s, the writers produced the book while in WritersCorps, a free creative writing program for youth organized by the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Public Library. They roamed seven neighborhoods, wrote poems on location and revised them over several months.
Aug. 5 at Green Arcade, 1680 Market St. Aug. 26 at Book Passage,1 Ferry Building, #42.
Peace Lantern Ceremony
Aug. 7, at 6:30 - 9 pm
This gathering to mark the 65th anniversary of the US' atomic bombings of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) & Nagasaki (Aug. 9) includes decorating the lantern shades, a display about nuclear weapons and proliferation, and releasing the lanterns on the water.
At the north end of Aquatic Park, 80 Bolivar Dr. (and Bancroft Way), Berkeley.
San Francisco Aloha Festival
Aug. 7 & 8, at 10 am - 5 pm
Celebrate Pacific Island culture-with music, dance, arts & crafts vendors, food, exhibits and kids' games.
At the Presidio Main Parade Ground. Free. No alcohol or pets.
Himalayan Pilgrimage: Journey to the Land of Snows
Aug. 8, at 1:30 and 3 pm
Supplementing the museum's current Himalayan exhibition, at 1:30 pm musician Techung plays traditional and sacred Tibetan songs using Tibetan instruments and talks about music's role in Tibetan life. At 3 pm, Stanford professor Robert W. Clark, who was a translator for the Dalai Lama, discusses Buddhism's spread from India across the Himalaya and into Tibet.
At Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Admission: Free - $8.
Atheist Film Festival
Aug. 14
Proof that there's a film festival for everyone. Includes Marjoe, winner of the 1972 best-documentary Oscar, about evangelic con-artists; Oh My God? (2009), which asks people in 23 countries, "What is God?"; and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
At Red Vic Movie House, 1727 Haight St. Free, but donations welcome.
Nihonmachi Street Fair
Aug. 14 & 15, at 11 am - 6 pm
The 37th annual edition of this popular community fair. Halaus from the Bay Area, Southern California and Hawaii, San Francisco Taiko Dojo, and jazz, hip-hop, and reggae musicians will perform. Bring new or almost-new shoes to be donated to Haiti.
At Japantown (Geary & Buchanan). Free.
Pistahan Parade and Festival
Aug. 14 & 15, at 11 am - 5 pm
Billed as the largest celebration of Filipino Americans in San Francisco. An adobo cook-off, mini Filipino history and culture museum, a kids' area, folk dancing, the annual San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival and health information and screenings. The parade on Saturday winds from the Embarcadero to Yerba Buena Gardens.
At Yerba Buena Gardens. Free.
Outside Lands 2010
Aug. 14 & 15
On the music roster: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Al Green, Kings of Leon, Tokyo Police Club, Pretty Lights and more, plus DJs and night-time concerts. Eco-conscious activities include an Ocean Beach clean-up, urban gardening workshops and cell phone recycling (and the Panhandle Stage is solar-powered). Wineries pour and restaurants serve their best stuff.
At Golden Gate Park. Tickets $75-395.
Bay Area Tap Festival
Aug. 16-22
Clattering, fast-moving workshops, master classes, a Tap Jam and a Community Showcase performance. On Aug. 20 and 21, concerts accompanied by live music feature top tappers who were in Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, Riverdance and Tap Heat, such as Mark Mendonca, Channing Cook-Holmes, John Kloss and Jason Rodgers.
Various venues and prices. Concert tickets ($21-25) available at www.cityboxoffice.com.
MATCHA: Drunken Dishes
Aug. 19, at 5 - 9 pm
At tonight's Asian Art Museum mixer, watch chefs Nei Chia Ji of Jai Yun restaurant in San Francisco and Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook prepare Shanghainese food-which you then get to taste. One dish is "drunken" chicken, where the meat is marinated in the famous wine of Shaoxing, near Shanghai. See the Shanghaiexhibit and other galleries and enjoy DJ music and cocktails.
At the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St. Admission $10.
