Welcome to our calendar feature BIG WEEK, wherein our expert Arts & Culture writers recommend the best things do.

Crowd contemplates vintage vibrators at the Exploratorium’s After Dark Sexplorations.

GENERAL ARTS
Caitlin Donohue is keeping an eye on the situation.

WED/11 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28: THEY DESERVE TO PLAY In 2011, over 15,000 kids took to the beaches of Gaza to simultaneously fly kites, breaking a world record and bringing attention to their plight in Palestine. A monthlong arts program honors them, as well as the rest of their country’s youth, with a Wed/11 poetry reading and documentary screening about the high-flying protest as well as an interactive exhibition that will last through the end of February. Santa Clara County Government Center, San Jose. More info here.

THU/12: AFTER DARK: SEXPLORATIONS Feeling freaky, and not in a good way? Tonight’s to-do at the Exploratorium offers a hundred examples of sexual shenanigans, both in the natural world and throughout the timeline of human existence. Take in an explainer of flower reproduction, or perhaps a tutorial on shark sex. You’ll be feeling normal and natural by the end of this late-night learning. Exploratorium, SF. More info here.

FRI/13: CARNIVALE The community power of Carnaval comes to one of the city’s most transcendent holy places tonight, with the explosive Sampa Samba providing beats. Come attired in your best gem tones and ready to snap your family photo and bid on a variety of community treasures (massages to an ikebana session to VIP Oakland Ballers tickets) at this fundraiser for Grace’s grace. Grace Cathedral, SF. More info here.

FRI/13: PROBLEMATIC BAE “A night for those who rise above the neurochemical con job of romantic love in the modern empire!” Indeed. Top-shelf DJs the likes of Robin Simmons B2B Elaine Denham and Charles Hawthorne invite one and all to this all-break-up-anthems dance party. We will survive! White Horse, Oakland. More info here.

FRI/13 + SAT/14: PASTA SUPPLY CO GOTH PROM Because good goths clean their plate, the Pasta Supply Co family is offering an a là carte dark fest featuring black pasta, on-site makeup artist, a gates of Hell photo stage, and a “goth duck pond”. Say less, come hungry. Pasta Supply Co (both locations: 3233 22nd St., SF and 236 Clement, SF). More info here.

SAT/14: BAAITS TWO-SPIRIT POW-WOW Couple pointers before heading into this spectacular celebration of Native communities: pay close attention to the MC for stepping/standing/sitting orders, ask permission before snapping photos of people (outside the dance arena only), no non-consensual touching (of course), make sure you leave many a donation on the specified blanket, leave required gendered regalia at home—and save room for frybread. Fort Mason Center, SF. More info here.

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SAT/14: CARRY ON: JUSTIN WONG This Hong Kong political cartoonist presents his work made in the three decades since he left his home country. Ready to laugh with the anxieties of our era? Chinese Cultural Center, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: CLIFFORD’S BIRTHDAY PARTY Sure there’s a lot of red going on today, but you’ll agree that this big scarlet pooch (whose adventures have been entertaining fans since 1963) is far from promoting heteronormative romantic ideals. A local bookstore is throwing a free bash for Clifford the canine literary legend, where you’ll be invited to read, make crafts, and meet the doggo himself! BookShop West Portal, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: LOVER’S LANE We dare you to attend this four-year-old community come-together in one of the Mission’s most beloved back streets and not have your heart grow two sizes. Founded by a local muralist and now a grassroots gathering point for loved-up artists, it’s a fab place to enjoy food, music, creativity, and more with your family of all ages. Balmy Alley, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: THE LOVERS BALL What do the decks have in store for your romantic future? Club Yearn sets out to answer just that, extending an invitation to dress as your favorite tarot card at this dance party featuring a live performance from Shinji Hirako from Bleach. White Horse, Oakland. More info here.

SAT/14: GIRL CULTURE IS SACRED: A VALENTINE’S ABORTION BENEFIT SHOW Let’s hear it for reproductive rights! 1001 Stevies has been around since 2017 putting on concerts in support of abortion services, and this edition with Pretty Beat will showcase the rrradicality of local groups Ouch!, Baycoin Beats, and Tracey Holland’s alt-R&B-soul supergroup. Come through for the sake of an ovary you know and love. El Rio, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: FLEETMAC WOOD You get the sense that Stevie would approve of this evening of Fleetwood Mac dance remixes, capable of delivering the complex commentary on love and loss befitting of your V-Day. In the words of organizers, “this is a tunnel-visioned, all-night journey. If you don’t like Fleetwood Mac, Stand Back, Stand Back.” Regency Ballroom, SF. More info here.

SUN/15: LITTLE SAIGON LUNAR NEW YEAR TET FESTIVAL It’s the Year of the Horse and Black History Month, so you know that the Oakland Black Cowboy Association will be at this family event with friendly steeds ready to be admired. Wear your áo dài, take in traditional performances, have your fortune ready, and get ready to eat your way through some of the East Bay’s most succulent Vietnamese (and beyond) food offerings. Clinton Park, Oakland. More info here.

MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.

SAT/14: ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE This film remains one of my comfort watches. It works on so many levels, starting with the fact that it feels like San Francisco. Co-leads and writers Ali Wong and Randall Park look like local folks you’d run into or have some beers with out in the avenues. Why? Cause they can crack jokes on anybody without breaking a sweat. I love this movie cause it’s the funny, gross, weird, and realistic version of a rom-com that most people will be able to relate to. Wong and Park bring their cultural heritage to this Asian-led version of When Harry Met Sally, whose comedic beats are hella funny and hella Bay. It features cameos from Keanu Reeves and rapper-cum-gourmand Lyrics Born, and Park (a former member of the 1990s Bay Area hip-hop group Ill Again) co-wrote several songs for the movie with hip-hop producer Dan the Automator. This flick is so damn funny, with believable romance that sneaks up on you. Get your dork-love on, Son. Four Star Theater, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: PEOPLE WATCH AT CASANOVA LOUNGE A Mission locals’ bar that has this much character can absorb weekend foot traffic without changing its badass vibe. Valentine’s Day can be weird, no matter what your situationship or throupling—sometimes you want to go out with that special someone, and other times, you need a Greyhound paloma or that real stiff Mission Margarita to wash down all the shit-talking amongst your crew. Casanova Lounge, with the velvet paintings, has kept SF’s Mission district sexy since 1997 with its rad, loud mix of tunes. Grab a drank, and go people-watch this Valentine’s Day. More info here.

Treasure’s green peppers with century egg. Photo by Tamara Palmer

FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork. Sign up for the new Good Taste newsletter here.

TASTE TOUR OF BELMONT Head to San Mateo County to eat your way through this diminutive peninsula town. I found out about Treasure (51 El Camino Real) from David R. Chan, a retired tax attorney from the San Gabriel Valley who writes about Chinese American restaurants. Now, I’m obsessed—can’t wait to come back and try more modern dishes and dim sum. We also witnessed a Peking duck carving, which must be preordered, and wished we were at that table. Your second stop might well be Blue Sky Cafe (1625 El Camino Real), a popular Cantonese restaurant that has been open since 1994. Lines are common on weekends. It’s known for homey claypot rice dishes, but the menu is huge and rife for exploration. No wrong answers, as far as I can tell. Last but not least, Jiro Cafe & Bakery (1094 Alameda de las Pulgas) is a charming takeout spot for Japanese snacks and bevs, including ceremonial-grade Uji matcha. We cleaned them out of their last desserts: premium hojicha pudding and yuzu cheesecake slices.

SF Playhouse’s ‘M. Butterfly’. Photo by Jessica Palopoli

STAGE
You can also find astute theatrical musings with Charles Lewis III, who checks out theaters and performance spaces every week in the Drama Masks column.

WED/11-SUN/15: DEAR SAN FRANCISCO V-DAY WEEKEND Do artful, theatric historical vignettes leave you feeling full of love, lust or both at once? Club Fugazi’s city-adoring spectacular is offering inspiring packages of sparkling wine, assorted snacks and romantic accessories, should you fancy treating someone to acrobats kissing on vertical poles and other sights amid a holiday mini-season that could always use an injection some levity and show. Club Fugazi, SF. More info here.

THROUGH MARCH 1: THE NOTEBOOK Refuse to be shamed for romance fandom! True connections can be lacking these days, but not so in this stage adaptation of Mr. Ryan Gosling’s “hottest bachelor”-era cinematic showcase (JK, it’s based on Nicholas Sparks’ crushingly popular source novel). Rather than go with a tenuous date to this one, how about bringing that buddy in front of whom you don’t mind ugly-crying. Feel something! Orpheum Theatre, SF. More info here.

THROUGH MARCH 14: M. BUTTERFLY In Emily Wilson’s upcoming 48hills interview, the star of this revival of David Henry Hwang’s complex 1988 tale of gender “reveal” Edrick Young said, “I think the idea of surprising audiences with the deception is not as compelling anymore. What is more compelling to us, and hopefully to our audiences, are the ideas around hope and love and what happens when our bodies are policed by other people, when our identities are weaponized against us.” Suffused with movement and deeper character work, the production twirls its polemic source material. San Francisco Playhouse. More info here.

SAT/14 + SUN/15: GRAHAM100 A Cal Performances weekend in celebration of the icon herself, choreographer Martha Graham, and the 100th anniversary of her seminal company. Classic Graham pieces like “Appalachian Spring”, “Night Journey”, and “Chronicle” will stun. Escapist dance this is not: on Saturday, audiences will watch Baye & Asa’s response to Graham’s anti-war “Cortege of Eagles”, while on Sunday, Jamar Roberts’ “We the People” takes stage. Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. More info here.

FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.

OPENS FRI/13: THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE Probably the best movie opening this week is one that might recall the postwar Italian depictions of child poverty in movies like The Bicycle Thief. Hasan Hadi’s debut feature is set in 1990 Iraq, when U.N. sanctions have thrown citizens into considerable everyday hardship. Nonetheless, it is mandatory that the entire nation celebrate Saddam Hussein’s birthday, with nine-year-old rural schoolchild Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef) “winning” the dubious honor of making her classroom’s honorary cake. This is in fact a terrible stroke of luck, because such basics as sugar, eggs, and flour are in extremely short supply—yet the punitive consequences for failing this stupid obligation will be no joke. Compellingly performed by mostly nonprofessional actors, very well crafted on an often impressive scale, it’s a depressing-sounding story that somehow sports too much warmth, color, and suspense to come off as a simple downer. It did not, alas, make it to the Oscars’ final five of current Best International Feature nominees—though it should have. Opens in Bay Area theaters including SF’s AMC Metreon.

OPENS FRI/13: AMERICAN PASTORAL In early 2023, a French film crew visited Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, where all five school board seats then held by moderate (as opposed to far-right) Republicans were up for election. Whipped into states of hysteria by the phantom menaces of “gender ideology” and supposed “porn” on children’s bookshelves (though notably no one claiming that ever names an actual tome), voters replaced the incumbents with extremists so unified, they all belonged to the same batshit local evangelical church. Though it’s taken its time getting released in the United States where it was shot, Auberi Edler’s 2024 documentary remains alarmingly relevant—a scrupulously neutral gaze at Americans so indoctrinated they have no idea they represent an extreme, and who are now driving national policy. Available via VOD and Digital streaming from Film Movement as of Fri/13.

SAT/14 + SUN/15: NIPPON VIBES This event space, whose past functions included a too-brief stint as SFFilm’s year-round arthouse, appears to be at least temporarily back in the exhibition business with a weekend of Japanese cinema co-presented by the Roxie. Its four shows span eight decades, from the original 1954 Godzilla (quite a different movie from the drastically altered U.S. release version) and Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 Throne of Blood (an ambitious feudal-era spin on Macbeth) to the beloved 2016 anime your name. and last year’s Kokuho, an epic three-hour drama set in the Kabuki theater world that’s now the highest-grossing Japanese live action feature ever.

Horse Meat Disco plays Fri/13.

NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up.

FRI/13: HORSE MEAT DISCO Treat your sweetie to some horse meat! Horse Meat Disco, that is, the UK DJ outfit that helped revive disco and soul music on queer dance floors in the techno pop-drenched 2000s. They’re still going strong as a global act, popping into the Stardella party at Great Northern with the ever-glorious CarrieOnDisco and DJ M3. 9:30pm-3am, Great Northern, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: GREG WILSON It’s a V-Day weekend double dip at Great Northern, as one of the most respected DJs of the past 50 years and my hero, Greg Wilson, comes into town for a rare appearance. Wilson was the first person to DJ live on UK television and championed Black music at a time when record companies were acting really racist. His skills on the reel-to-reel are phenomenal, and he’ll make you hear dance music history in an entirely new way. 9:30pm-3am, Great Northern, SF. More info here. 

SAT/14: RHONDAVOUS: SAN FRANCISCO (A LOVERS’ BALL) W/ FLOOPLAN: Detroit techno royalty Robert Hood teamed up with his daughter Lyric a decade ago to infuse gospel house with deep techno vibes, and the payoff has been enormous. (Try not to smile watching this.) Floorplan playing SF is already big news, but headlining LA’s pansexual bacchanal A Club Called Rhonda’s Rhondavous V-Day party in SF is wild. Let’s go. 10pm-3am, August Hall, SF. More info here.