What To Do Right Now: May 17 – May 31
Our latest roundup of events includes something for everyone. Interested in a classical music concert set in a stunning garden? Check. Maybe an alfresco site-specific dance and theater performance is more your thing? We’ve got that, too. As far as benefits go, how about a barbecue on the beach or an art auction? Get details on these happenings, plus more fun stuff in the coming weeks, below.
Flour + Water
To mark its 13th anniversary in the Mission, now through May 23, Flour + Water is offering a special tasting menu that spotlights 13 Bay Area farmers and purveyors who have influenced the restaurant over the years. Guests will receive an illustrated zine that shares the story of these partnerships.
Through Monday, May 23. | Flour + Water 13th Anniversary Tasting Menu
Enjoy an Immersive Performance
For the third edition of Island City Waterways, a free public art event celebrating Alameda’s past and present, ODC/Dance and Rhythmix Cultural Works will present Uprooted, led by a cast of around 35 dancers, actors, musicians and performers. The story — about the power of community and resilience — is based on letters by founding ODC member and associate choreographer Kimi Okada’s mother, who was incarcerated in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII.
Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22. | Island City Waterways: Uprooted
Support a Benefit Barbecue on the Beach
The Annual Muir Beach Volunteer Firemen’s Barbecue returns for its 48th edition. Eat, imbibe and enjoy live music at this long-standing and beloved fundraiser. The festivities conclude with a raffle of over 100 prizes.
Sunday, May 29, noon–5 p.m. | Annual Muir Beach Volunteer Firemen’s Barbecue
Surround Yourself in a Cinematic Work
Now through May 27, you can catch the U.S. premiere of Gone, Gone Beyond, a 360-degree spatial cinematic presentation. The immersive production takes place in a wraparound audiovisual environment. Meet the artist, People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett), during a special talk and screening next Wednesday, May 25.
Through Friday, May 27 (presented Thursday–Saturday). | Gone, Gone Beyond
Listen Up in a Lush Garden
If you think the SF Botanical Garden’s Flower Piano event is amazing, then you don’t want to miss In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild. Rather than a traditional concert hall, the San Francisco Botanical Garden and Woodside’s Filoli will be among the stunning backdrops for live performances (which include a 9-foot Steinway grand piano). Thanks to wireless headphones, audiences can walk the grounds while enjoying the music.
SF Botanical Garden: Wednesday and Thursday, May 18 and 19.
Filoli: Tuesday and Wednesday, May 24 and 25. | In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild
All Aboard for Dinner & Drama
Napa Valley Wine Train recently announced the 2022 dates for its popular Murder Mystery Tour, which includes dinner on the vintage locomotive. Get out your costumes and put your clue-solving skills to work. Up first: Till Death Do Us Part is happening May 19, while Death of a Gangster is slated for June 2, with additional mysteries and dates through October.
Till Death Do Us Part: Thursday, May 19.
Death of a Gangster: Thursday, June 2. | Napa Valley Wine Train’s Murder Mystery Tour
Attend an Artsy Party
Headlands Center for the Arts’ annual benefit auction returns with an opening celebration at Fort Mason’s Store House. Expect delectable bites and cocktails, along with bidding on art and experiences, at the indoor-outdoor soiree. The public exhibition of 65 works will be on view through June 1, when a closing event will be livestreamed.
Friday, May 20, 6 p.m. | Headlands Benefit Art Auction
A Comedy News Quiz Show Comes to Town
NPR’s Peabody Award–winning comedy news quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, is happening live at San Francisco’s Sydney Goldstein Theater. Test your knowledge of the week’s news as host Peter Sagal leads a rotating panel composed of comedians, writers, listener-contestants and celebrity guests.
Thursday and Friday, May 26 and 27. | Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
Celebrate in the Streets
Save the date for the 44th annual Carnaval San Francisco! The two-day festival includes the King & Queen Competition on May 28 and the Grand Parade on May 29.
Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and 29. | Carnaval San Francisco
Catch a Cool New Installation
Last Friday, the Exploratorium opened Double Horizon, a new installation in its Black Box gallery space. The immersive triple-screen video experience features Lia Halloran’s portraits of Los Angeles, shot over the course of two years from cameras positioned on a plane piloted by the artist. The project is accompanied by an original music composition by Allyson Newman.
Now through Sunday, August 7. | Double Horizon at the Exploratorium
