San Francisco is home to a breathtaking diversity of cultural events. Between our fair city’s world-class museums, restaurants, bars, art galleries, music scene, festivals, and clubs, between all that is weird and quirky and purely San Franciscan, there’s something going down, somewhere, every single day of the year. Check out our Flavorpill social discovery engine, where you can create and share events with friends, and follow our carefully curated editors’ picks. Below, you’ll find Flavorpill’s top picks for this week — just a little bit of help as you set out into this beautiful wide world of SF’s happenings.
Monday, June 10
PERFORMING ARTS: The Moth StorySLAM Got something the whole world needs to hear? Get ready for The Moth’s newly established monthly open mic night (the second Monday of every month) in San Francisco. Whether you’re an aspiring Scheherazade or just a public radio podcast junkie, you may have heard the story behind this phenomenally popular storytelling series: after leaving behind his native Georgia, bestselling novelist George Dawes Green sought to bring the porch-lit yarn-spinning panache of his homeland to the clubs and cabarets of New York City. Flash forward 16 years or so, and the Moth open mic has arrived in SF. The last few months’ events have sold out in approximately eight minutes, so would-be raconteurs and listeners should snap up tickets as soon as they go on sale each month. — Meg Hurtado
Tuesday, June 11
PERFORMING ARTS: An Evening Affair with Dan Savage and Daniel Handler More than just a sex columnist (although there’s no one better), Dan Savage is a heavyweight proponent for gay rights (often crowd-sourcing his large fan base for effective political action), and creator of It Gets Better, a video blog storytelling platform aimed at reducing suicide rates among gay teenagers. Join him in conversation with Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) as he speaks about his newest book, American Savage, and anything else on his mind. As always, you can expect a mixture of his razor-sharp intelligence, unabashed point of view, and shameless humanity. — Joshua Wyatt
Wednesday, June 12
PERFORMING ARTS: Pop-Up Magazine: Wild Ones Live
Thursday, June 13
PARTY: SF IndieFest presents Hey Ho Bingo!
Friday, June 14
MUSIC: SF IndieFest presents ’80s New Wave Sing-along The best part of any karaoke night is that sweet spot when someone onstage has picked a tune that makes the whole room erupt in song. This night honors that moment by making every moment inclusive, getting everyone in on some of the best New Wave hits from the ’80s. Tonight’s “Ladies Edition” hints at favorites like Blondie and the Bangles, but if we’re lucky, we’ll get a little Toni Basil and Belinda Carlisle thrown into the mix. Don’t forget your fishnets and lace gloves! — Nora Oppenheim
PERFORMING ARTS: Youth Speaks presents Queeriosity
Saturday, June 15
PARTY: Dusty Stax and The Bold Italic present Under the Sea Soul Dance Dust off your beehive wig and squeeze into your sharpest threads for Dusty Stax and the Bold Italic’s annual Summer Formal, a seasonal social treat that follows on the heels of their Winter and Spring Formals. Dress code is enforced, and the rewards for your cooperation are sweet: performers including Quinn DeVeaux, Meryl Press, Noelle Cahill, Jen Snyder, and Paula Frazer. Don’t miss your chance to break in your dancing shoes with a sharply dressed friend, or maybe even a stranger, to classy tunes on a dapper summer night of soul, revelry, and Under the Sea nostalgia. — Cooper Berkmoyer
FESTIVAL: Northern California Pirate Festival
Sunday, June 16
FASHION/STYLE: Bay Area Vintage, Antiques & Collectibles Fair Because the Alemany, Treasure Island, and Alameda Fleas are just not enough to sate our taste for vintage, the Cow Palace plays host to this gigantic monthly Antiques Fair. No matter your preference of era, there’s sure to be something here to catch your fancy (okay, maybe no Richard III paraphernalia). — Nora Oppenheim
Ongoing
FESTIVAL: 76th Annual Stern Grove Festival In 1931, in memory of her late husband, Rosalie Meyer Stern donated the Sigmund Stern Grove to the City of San Francisco to be used exclusively for free-of-charge recreational purposes. It quickly became clear that the Grove’s unique terrain and border of eucalyptus trees made the area exceptionally well-suited to outdoor music. A restored clubhouse and $15 million renovation later, the Grove now hosts up to 20,000 picnickers at each concert, and the first “Sunday at the Grove” marks the official start of summer for many a San Franciscan. This year, greats like Deltron 3030, Kronos Quartet, Boz Scaggs, and the San Francisco Symphony are part of the 76th season of the nation’s longest-running free outdoor music festival. — Bonnie Chan