January 5 – Science: Catch a Wave
Our universe is awash with waves: sound waves jostling air molecules, seismic waves shifting the earth beneath our feet, electromagnetic waves vibrating through the vacuum of space. We’re buffeted by traveling disturbances. Come surf a groundswell of wave science and ride the face of big wave culture with short documentaries, and live surf rock. 6 to 10 p.m. $15 general admission; $10 members; free for Lab members. Adults, 18+, only. Exploratorium, Pier 15, Embarcadero at Green. To purchase tickets: http://bit.ly/2hEnmtw. For more information: http://bit.ly/2hEfbgF
January 5 – Art: Monet
This lecture, presented by Dr. Esther Bell, curator of European paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, is held in advance of the February 25 opening of Monet: The Early Years, the first major American exhibition devoted to the initial phase of Claude Monet’s, 1840 to 1926, career. $3 members; $4 non-members after general admission. No reservations. 10:30 a.m. to noon. Florence Gould Theater, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue. For more information: http://bit.ly/2h9Hkvb.
January 7 – Printmaking: Wine Art Calendar Posters
Printmaker James Tucker, from local letterpress print shop, the Aesthetic Union, will teach participants how to create single sheet 2017 calendar posters featuring custom designs by Tucker. Use the Aesthetic Union’s mobile printing press to produce your poster; customize it with a variety of artistic embellishments. 2 to 5 p.m. $30 non-members; $20 members. Workshop, exhibition access, and light refreshments included. Museum of Craft and Design, 2569 Third Street. To purchase tickets and register: http://bit.ly/2h3AY3z. For more information: http://www.sfmcd.org or 415.773.0303.
January 7 – Dance: Lunar New Year
Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the San Francisco Public Library with a Chinese Lion Dance and Martial Arts Performance. 12:30 p.m. at the North Beach Branch, 850 Columbus Avenue; 1:30 p.m. at the Marina Branch, 1890 Chestnut Street; 2:30 p.m. at the Golden Gate Valley Branch, 1801 Green Street. For more information: http://bit.ly/2hQens8.
January 11 – Music: Daniel Berkman
Potrero Hill resident Daniel Berkman is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and innovator of the kora, a 21-stringed harp/lute from West Africa. 7:30 to 9 p.m., Farley’s, 1315 18th Street.
January 12 – Music: Bum Wagler & The Tune Wranglers
Bum Wagler & The Tune Wranglers play original tunes in the honky-tonk country vein. 7:30 to 9 p.m., Farley’s, 1315 18th Street.
January 13 – Comedy: Good Times in the Grotto
Good Times in the Grotto, hosted by local comedian Anthony Medina on (most) second Fridays of the month, features a diverse lineup of Bay Area comedians. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free admission, drinks, and snacks, though a suggested $5 donation. 18+ unless accompanied by adult; 21+ to drink. Sports Basement, 1590 Bryant Street.
January 14 – Family: Cork Crafts
This all ages Family Day takes corks beyond the bottle stopper to create playful animal figures, keychains, stamps, jewelry, magnets and more! View current Museum of Craft and Design exhibit, Beyond the Pour II: The Creative Process, for inspiration, and join the MakeArt Lab for this free, drop-in activity. 1 to 4 p.m. Free with general admission: http://bit.ly/2gTpWxM. Museum of Craft and Design 2569 Third Street. For more information: 415.773.0303 or http://bit.ly/2gU458z.
January 14 – Book: The Modern Salad
Bursting with bold flavors, hearty ingredients, crunchy textures and brilliant colors, the salads in this book by Elizabeth Howes are a feast for your senses. Free. 3 to 4 p.m. Omnivore Books on Food, 3885a Cesar Chavez Street. For more information: http://www.omnivorebooks.com/events.html.
January 15 – Family: Mochi Pounding Ceremony
Celebrate the Japanese New Year with Kagami Kai, an acclaimed mochi group, as it presents the colorful and exciting New Year tradition of mochi pounding to make delectably sweet rice cakes, with music, dance and costumes. As part of the day, paint a Year of the Rooster netsuke to take home for luck and prosperity in the new year.Free with general admission. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Asian Art Museum, Samsung Hall, 200 Larkin Street.
January 18 – Meeting: Dogpatch & Northwest Potrero Hill Green Benefit District
Working together to green-up, clean-up and beautify public spaces in Dogpatch and NW Potrero Hill. Board of Directors meeting. Free. 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tivoli Room at UCSF, 654 Minnesota Street. www.dnwph-gbd.org
January 19 – Art: Museum & Gallery Crawl
Yerba Buena Third Thursdays is a monthly outing of art, performance, music, and drinks. Look for the yellow balloons for Third Thursday events at participating venues; be sure to pick-up your wrist band at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for special rates at participating bars and restaurants. 5 to 10 p.m. All gallery and museum admissions free, except for the Contemporary Jewish Museum, which’ll offer a special entry price of $5. For listing of participating venues: http://bit.ly/2ha5Wnl.
January 19 – Community Meeting
The Dogpatch Community Task Force has been form to identify and discuss potential impacts and solutions of UCSF’s proposed development in the Dogpatch neighborhood. UCSF is currently planning two developments in the Dogpatch that will be the focus of the discussion: graduate student and trainee housing at 560, 590, and 600 Minnesota Street; Department of Psychiatry Child, Teen, and Family Center at 2130 Third Street. 6:30 p.m. UCSF Mission Bay, Genentech Hall, Room N-114. For more information, contact Michele Davis at Michele.Davis@ucsf.edu or 415.476.3024.
January 20 – Education: Volunteer Opportunity Information Session
Experience Corps Bay Area taps the life experience of literacy volunteers, age 50+, to tutor elementary school children throughout the Bay Area, and is seeking volunteers to serve Starr King Elementary School, where 56 percent of third graders read below grade level. 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Potrero Hill Library, 1616 20th Street. For more information: http://www.experiencecorpsbayarea.org or 415.759.4222.
January 20 – Family: Movie
In partnership with the Potrero Hill Family Support Center (PHFSC), the San Francisco Public Library presents the family-friendly film, Akeelah and the Bee, with a meal provided by PHFSC. In Akeelah and the Bee, a young girl learns to believe in herself when she enters the school spelling bee and wins! Her workload increases as she prepares for the statewide bee. Starring Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, and Angela Bassett. Rated PG. 112 minutes. Stay after for a fun activity. 3 to 5 p.m., Potrero Branch Library, 1616 29th Street. For more information: http://bit.ly/2hQgDiT.
January 21 – Mini Parade: Lunar New Year
Experience what the original parade was like 150 years ago while you sneak a peek at what the larger Lunar New Year parade will bring. The procession begins at historic St. Mary’s Square, follows the original parade route down Grant Avenue and proceeds to the Flower Market Fair’s main stage on Washington below Grant. The procession will include lion dancers, giant walking puppets, costumed stilt walkers, drummers and dancers. 10:30 a.m. For more information: http://bit.ly/20rz5eM.
January 21 and 22 – Fair: Lunar New Year
Purchase fresh flowers, fruits, candies, and other supplies for the home to begin the new lunar year. Delight in performances of traditional Chinese magicians, acrobats, folk dancers and opera as you take in the beautiful spring fragrances. San Francisco Chinatown, Grant Avenue from Clay to Broadway; Pacific, Jackson and Washington between Stockton and Kearny. Saturday, January 21, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, January, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information: http://bit.ly/2hY5WqI.
January 26 through February 15 – Theater: Re-Opening
PlayGround, the Bay Area’s leading playwright incubator and theatre community hub will reopen in late-January under the new name “Potrero Stage: The PlayGround Center for New Plays.” To mark the occasion, PlayGround commissioned eight of its alumni to help create a theatrical imagining of Potrero Hill’s past, present and future. Through The Potrero Nuevo Project audiences will journey over 250 years to experience the people, places, and times that shaped this region: the Ohlone, who first hunted and fished here; the Spanish missionaries and early Californios who “settled” the region; Kit Carson, the De Haro twins, and the launch of the Mexican-American War; survivors of the 1906 earthquake; Fritz Maytag and the birth of the craft brewing movement; a Potrero Annex family on the eve of the Hope SF reconstruction, and beyond. The Potrero Nuevo Project, helmed by PlayGround company member Margo Hall and founding artistic director Jim Kleinmann, runs January 26 through February 19. Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street. To purchase tickets and more information, visit http://playground-sf.org.
January 26 – Music: John Lewis and Gary Schoofs
John Lewis and Gary Schoofs perform covers of Beatles, Eagles, Everly Bros, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. 7:30 to 9 p.m. Farley’s, 1315 18th Street.
January 27 through February 25 – Art: We’re Still Working: The Art of Sex Work
We’re Still Working addresses the complexity of sex work through multiple and diverse sex worker perspectives, creating a space for sex workers to creatively tell their own stories, insisting that sex worker contributions to the Bay Area’s history, art and culture are seen and valued. Free. SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street. For more information: http://www.somarts.org/stillworking/.
