COYOTE Calendar: April 16-April 22

Welcome to the COYOTE Calendar. Here are this week's hand picked events, just for you. San Francisco Art Fair kicks off tomorrow and runs through the weekend, as does Startup Art Fair SF (which as far as I can tell isn't actually about those kinds of startups), and a new Gray Area art series called ./local_memory: soft systems. This weekend there is also a student print sale at UC Berkeley that I was going to keep to myself to get all the good stuff but I'm sharing with you because I love you. The Peninsula Libraries Comic Arts Fest has events going on throughout the month and it all looks awesome (especially this). Next week is Lesbian Visibility Week so get out there and be visible (or, don't) at various events around the city.

Looking a little further ahead, Earth Day is right around the corner so it's time to figure out what you're doing next Wednesday — there are loads of things to choose from. 

This week we've got whales, kites, pinball, and scent foraging. We'll post new events each Wednesday. Go forth and enjoy!

• The Work of Risk: Guerrilla Art for Surviving the Carceral Present with Faye Gleisser 〰️ It's never been truly safe to be an artist, but today's creators are facing ever heightened risk of arrest and violence. Come hear art historian and curator Faye Gleisser talk about the ways in which artists are weighing those risks, the impact they have on the art itself, and what that interplay can teach us about how to push back against authoritarianism. Art nerds, punk nerds, abolitionist nerds, this is for you. 〰️ 5:30-7pm 〰️ Stanford University 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• The Futures of Ancient Rome 〰️ Futurism is my Roman Empire so this talk was basically made in a lab to entice me. Suspicious! Historian Duncan MacRae will dive into oracles, their impact, and how they influenced the Roman state (for good and for ill). 〰️ 6pm 〰️ Faction Brewing, Alameda 〰️ $13.50 in advance, $17 at the door 〰️ more info
• Death and Taxes Sea Shanty 〰️ Did you know that April 15th is both the anniversary of the Titanic sinking and tax day? This feels cosmically correct. And now you can channel either (or both) of those events into a lot of shouting and drinking at a Titanic themed night of ShantyOke. 〰️ 7:30pm 〰️ Sláinte Oakland, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• The Jack Knives, Rudy Nuño & The Broadcasters, Black Guy Fawkes 〰️ If you like your singalongs less "19th-century shipwreck" and more "21st-century trainwreck" then put on your dingiest leather jacket and bounce along to some pop(ish)-punk. 〰️ 8pm 〰️ Bottom of the Hill 〰️ San Francisco 〰️ $13 in advance $15 at the door 〰️ more info
• Native Fest 〰️ Join the Native community in the North Bay for an afternoon of celebration and culture — whether you’re furthering your roots, or just learning about them. 〰️ 11am-2:30pm 〰️ Sonoma State University 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info

• Student Print Sale 〰️ Screenprints, etchings, risos, relief, monotypes and more at this sale put on by the UC Berkeley Art Practice students. Get art before these kids get famous. 〰️
• Friendship Games 〰️ One cool thing about putting together the calendar is that I'm now listening to way more music as I try to decide what to include on here. Anyway, if you try to google this band you will mostly get My Little Pony results but their songs are actually pretty rad. Go check them out. 〰️ Tamper Room, Fremont 〰️ FREE (I think?) 〰️ more info
• T4T Spring Mixer 〰️ Trans folks, come meet some new possible pals! 〰️ 5-8pm 〰️ La Loulou Wine Bar, Oakland 〰️ FREE, RSVP requested 〰️ more info
• Disturbing the Peace: Sonoma County's Early Punk Underground 〰️ Three different COYOTE's flagged this one for the calendar so you know it's good. Come to the opening of a new exhibit full of local punk flyers, vintage photographs, listening stations, photocopied zines, archival video, records, T-shirts, stickers, musical instruments and handmade cassettes documenting the punk scene in Sonoma County from the 1970's to today. (There's an afterparty sponsored by KQED and featuring the iconic Victims Family but it's sold out.) 〰️ 5pm 〰️ Museum of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa 〰️ $25 〰️ more info
• Finding Our Roots 〰️ Join fellow QTBIPOC folks for a masked rope jam themed around bloom. Open to all skill levels (even beginners) and there will be rope available to borrow if you don't have your own. Also, bring some flowers and be cute about it. 〰️ 6:30-9pm 〰️ Oakland 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE (masks required) 〰️ $20-50 〰️ more info
• Gravitational Lensing, Program 14: Speculative Histories 〰️ Feminist film buffs gather round for a showing of six films that all engage with the ideas of speculation, history, and historical events. "When evidence is sparse or completely absent, speculation becomes a generative method for circumnavigating the unknowable by flooding the void with possibilities." 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Shapeshifters Cinema, Oakland 〰️ $15 〰️ more info
• April Monthly Community Potluck 〰️ Bring a dish and good vibes to this regular community meetup that may or may not involve a spontaneous musical jam. There will be a fire, and potential new friends. And if you can't make this one, they happen once a month. 〰️ 7pm-12am 〰️ Bay Area Makerfarm, Alameda 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Bululú: A Night of Bubbles & Boleros 〰️ The Back Room is celebrating 10 years of good music and welcoming environs with the delightful music of Bululú — a blend of salsa, calypso, cumbia, merengue, boogaloo, bachata, son, and more. As always, you're welcome to bring your own food and beverages. All ages welcome! Masks encouraged but not required. 〰️ 8-10pm 〰️ The Back Room, Berkeley 〰️ $25 〰️ more info

• Pond Farm Pottery Tour 〰️ Kick your Saturday off with some gorgeous pottery! This docent-led tour of Pond Farm Pottery will feature a demonstration of throwing on one of the site’s historic kickwheels, and introduce you to the life and work of Marguerite Wildenhain, the first woman to graduate from the Bauhaus as a Master Potter. 〰️ 9:30am 〰️ Armstrong Redwoods Volunteer Office, Guerneville 〰️ $25 (reservations required) 〰️ more info
• Somatic + Scent Foraging Walk 〰️ This one is for my fancy bitches: a half-day workshop on "scent foraging" to get in touch with "the sensory intelligence of place." You'll leave with a "scent artifact" and a digital archive of the sensory map you made together. (Please arrive fragrance-free so you don't cross any nose-wires.) 〰️ 9am-1pm 〰️ The Last Straw, SF 〰️ $200 〰️ more info
• Black Earth Day 2026 〰️ Get a head start on Earth Day this year with the fourth annual gathering and community cleanup outside the iconic Esther's Orbit Room. Bring the kids, grab a broom, and help give back to 7th Street while meeting neighbors and indulging in some much needed joy. 〰️ 10am-3pm 〰️ Esther's Orbit Room, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Cemetery Walk 〰️ At this point in the year, your spooky pals are suffering. This is as far from Halloween that they ever get. If this is you, and you're wallowing in frightful withdrawal, then may I suggest a walk through a cemetery put on by "Halloween Addicts Group Support." Meet at the fountain just past the main mausoleum, and soak in the deathy energy. 〰️ 11am 〰️ 〰️ Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Art Market & Concord Open Pinball Tournament 〰️ I recently learned the term "gobble hole" and I can't stop laughing. Now you know it too and you can put that knowledge to use at this pinball tournament where you can see some extremely legit pinballers battle it out. Plus, art! Gobble it up! Put it in your gobble hole! Someone take this phrase away from me. 〰️ 11am 〰️ The Flipper Room, Concord 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Empowered Women Poetry 〰️ Come see a super sweet lineup of women reading poetry at a super cute new cafe that makes very good coffee! Support local poets and local businesses. 〰️ 11am-2pm 〰️ Cafe Santana, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Bay Area Brew Fest 〰️ A real who's who of beer at this one — over 70 breweries will be at this, along with a bunch of food trucks and live music. Admission includes unlimited samples from participating breweries. Please drink responsibly!!! 〰️ 12-4pm 〰️ Presidio Main Lawn, SF 〰️ $80 for early admission, $65 for regular admission 〰️ more info
• Queer Magic Dance Party* 〰️ Spring into the new season with a cute little queer party! There's a meet and greet, there's a vendor market, there's a heated tent to snuggle your friends and crushes under. All proceeds go to the Trans Advocacy & Care Team. 〰️ 4-10pm 〰️ Temescal Brewing, Oakland 〰️ $20 at the door CASH ONLY 〰️ more info
• THOP: Clothing Swap 〰️ It's that time of year to go through your closet and admit that you're probably never going to wear that sheer flower top you got, or whatever it is. Bring your gently used treasures, and find new ones to take home with you! Donations welcome, and surplus clothing will go to local women’s and men’s shelters. 〰️ 1-4pm 〰️ The Health Of The Public, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Girls of the Internet 〰️ The internet is a series of tubes, and so are you when you think about it. Move those tubes to the beat at this day party featuring UK house and deep disco on a gorgeous outdoor patio. 〰️ 2-8pm 〰️ 620 Jones, SF 〰️ more info
• Search for Treasure in Old Newspapers 〰️ Journalists are pretty much all obsessed with archives. They're full of incredible stuff! (I recently, for example, got really obsessed with tracking down who, exactly, did these various jetpack demonstrations in the 1960s.) And you can learn how to dig deep into local historical collections with the Oakland History Center and the Magazine & Newspaper Department. Tell us about the gems you find! 〰️ 2-3:30pm 〰️ Oakland History Center 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Kitchen Table Mahjong 〰️ The only thing hotter than being queer in the Bay Area right now is mahjong (we've got a story on that coming soon at COYOTE, in fact). And now you can do both at once at this queer mahjong meetup! 〰️ 4-6pm 〰️ Moments Cooperative & Community Space, Oakland 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE (masks required) 〰️ NOTAFLOF* 5-10$ donation suggested 〰️ more info
• Adobe Books at Horsies Market Pop-Up 〰️ If you like horses and books (shoutout to our favorite calendar reader, Nuala's mom) come through to this Adobe Books popup at Horsies Market where you can pick up "horsies inspired" pulp and paperback books. Yeehaw! Plus, purchasers of books will receive 20% off a drink. Yeehaw x2! 〰️ 5-11pm 〰️ Horsies Market, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• The Compound Gallery Celebrating 18 Years of Art Show 〰️ Come meet real, working artists in the Easy Bay at this reception that features "giveaways, spin the wheel o’ bounty for some free celebratory schwag, free prints, treats, libations, tons of art!" (Full disclosure: I'm a member of this studio, which means I'm biased and also that I know how rad the other artists in this space are.) 〰️ 6-9pm 〰️ The Compound Gallery, Emeryville 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info

• Camp Scrap: Earth Day Party 〰️ Curious about crafting but hesitant to spend too much money or try something with expensive supplies? Come play with recycled, sustainable and donated stuff! There will be paper, fabric, patches, birdhouses, handbags, and all kinds of other stuff to try. All ages welcome! 〰️ 11am-5pm 〰️ Cassa Jam, Fremont 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Flower Power Queer Afro-Latin Dance Day Party 〰️ Come dress in florals, be extra, be subtle, wear a mask and learn bachata with cuties! If you’re an April baby tell them and you’ll get something special. Plus cocktails and mocktails. 〰️ 12pm 〰️ Open Test Kitchen, Oakland 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE (masks required) 〰️ $10-25 sliding scale 〰️ more info
• Wild Foraged Kimchi Tasting Pop Up 〰️ Shoutout to Cindy who gets extra points for making her calendar submission to match our format so I will simply let her take it away: "Join forager Cindy and Aruna Lee, Founder and Fermentress (ed note: great title) of Volcano Kimchi for a spring kimchi tasting menu at the Volcano Kimchi kitchen & headquarters, featuring foraged wild spring edibles turned into delicious kimchi. We’ll have mugwort tea, delicious fermented snacks like wild radish, wild garlic kimchi, mingle, and enjoy the beautiful Bay Area spring together." 〰️ 2-4pm 〰️ Volcano Kimchi, SF 〰️ $25-45〰️ more info
• Messy Art Day 〰️ Let your kids get messy somewhere that is not your house! This event has grown over the last 20 years from a little gathering to a cherished Bay Area tradition. Come explore, create, and yes, get messy. Plus, most of the art stations you'll find use recycled and donated materials to keep things sustainable. 〰️ 1:30pm-3:30 〰️ El Cerrito Preschool Cooperative 〰️ FREE (donation suggested) 〰️ more info
• April Showers, Paper Flowers 〰️ Learn how to make paper flowers! A great little surprise to your friends, enemies, and future self (who are sometimes all one person, let's be real). Also featuring a community sharing table for scrap and sticker swaps. 〰️ 1:30-4:30pm 〰️ Sunnyvale 〰️ Exact location & ticket prices available after RSVP 〰️ more info
• 63rd Street Community Garden Fundraiser 〰️ Help raise money for a community garden and potentially win a very cool prize. Kids welcome and activities on hand, along with neighbors and community spirit. Mutual aid is the way. 〰️ 1-4pm 〰️ 1615 63rd St., Berkeley 〰️ FREE
• Adornment Playdate: Acrylic Earring Making 〰️ There's no cooler thing to say in response to a compliment about your earrings than "thanks, I made them!" And that can be you, if you come to this class and make some gorgeous pieces to wear around. No experience necessary, all materials provided, just be cool. 〰️ 2-4pm 〰️ Dear John Shop, Oakland 〰️ $68 〰️ more info
• Mississippi Masala Pop-up 〰️ If you've been saving up for a special one-of-a-kind fancy pants dinner, your patience is about to be rewarded. Behold! An exclusive six course dinner, "honoring the space where spice meets soul, and tradition meets innovation from scratch. Expect bold flavors, thoughtful storytelling and elevated cannabis pairings-throughout the night." 〰️ 6pm 〰️ near Lake Merritt, Oakland (exact location on RSVP) 〰️ $220 〰️ more info
• Church of Good Vibes: 10th Celebration of Life of Prince 〰️ You don't have to be rich to celebrate the icon, the legend, the artist forever known as Prince. Join fellow Prince lovers to commemorate the 10year anniversary of his passing. "Come dressed to celebrate, come ready to dance, and come ready to honor the purple legacy with love." I'd love you even if you were a dolphin. 〰️ 6-10pm 〰️ Fireside Lounge 〰️ Alameda 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Peng You Chinese Brunch @ Joodooboo 〰️ A real Oceans 11 situation here with a dream team of chefs partnering on a Chinese Brunch. The full menu isn't up yet, but it's gonna be good! 〰️ 11am-3pm 〰️ Joodooboo, Oakland 〰️ 〰️ more info
• Kite-Flying Hike 〰️ QTPOC baddies it's time to touch grass! Literally. Bring a kite, borrow a kite, fly a kite on a nice spring day and pretend that the world isn't... what it is. Be whimsical! Breathe the air! Meet some cool people! Wear sunscreen! 〰️ 11am-1:30pm 〰️ Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Cozy Collage 〰️ There are a billion ways to process grief. Collage making is one of them. Come meet crafty folks who "wish to explore their death curiosities while being held in a radical death care community" in a space that centers the experiences of Black, Indigenous, Brown, Immigrant, disabled, trans, queer, undocumented, houseless, and incarcerated peoples. 〰️ 12-2pm 〰️ Moments Cooperative & Community Space, Oakland 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE (masks required) 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• TouchGrass3 〰️ Bring snacks and your booty for a chill afternoon of good weird music (think: deranged Soundcloud mixes (complimentary)). Bonus: LAN Party! "Bring your shittest laptop because we’re gonna be kicking ass in Quake III Arena and StarCraft 1." If you don't know what a LAN Party is, ask your mom. 〰️ 12pm-sunset 〰️ Lake Merritt, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Daruma Kiosk + Not Too Sweet & Beyond Rescue 〰️ Get down on some Japanese snacks and delicious handmade desserts to help raise money for Beyond Rescue, an org that accepts dogs from their owners to keep them out of shelters entirely. 〰️ 12-4pm 〰️ Broc Cellars, Berkeley 〰️ more info

• Blaze it.
• Showgirls of Pakistan: Film Screening and Conversation with Filmmaker Saad Khan 〰️ Catch a screening of this really cool sounding documentary which "follows mujra dancers Afreen Khan, Uzma Khan, and Reema Jaan as they defy censorship, predatory managers, and social stigma in pursuit of stardom." Then, stay for a Q&A with the director Saad Khan, who also founded Khajistan (a very cool archive dedicated to digitizing work from overlooked regions). 〰️ 5-7:30pm 〰️ Stanford University 〰️ FREE (RSVP requested) 〰️ more info
• Jane Fulton Alt's "STILL LIFE" 〰️ What is one to do when your husband dies leaving you a half finished native garden? If you’re Jane Fulton Alt, you learn to care for it. And you can now hear her speak about this journey of gardening and grief as she discusses her new book Still Life: A Photographer's Journey Through Grief and Gardening. 〰️ 7-8:30 〰️ Mrs. Dalloway’s, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info

• Queer and Now Conference 〰️ A full day of queer lineage and celebration at this conference which is in its 12th year (damn!) and will feature a Two-Spirit Drum Circle, community gatherings, a drag show, and a keynote by Rayceen Pendarvis. Call out sick from work and hit this up. It will be worth it. 〰️ 11am-5pm 〰️ De Anza College, Cupertino 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Wearables on whales: Engineering methods for sensing physiology of the planet’s largest animals 〰️ You might think it's easy to put a Fitbit-like device on a whale. You would be wrong! Come see Dr. Ashley Blawas talk about the challenges of tracking these giant yet still quite mysterious creatures, and the next generation of "biologging" tools that can tell us not just where whales go, but what their bodies are doing while they go there. 〰️ 6pm 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove 〰️ FREE but RSVP required 〰️ more info
• When We Win: Reclaiming Indigenous Language and Land 〰️ We've put a couple of entries in this series of films on the calendar, because they're all so cool. This one is about the connection between language and the land. Watch the film Zuguleaiñ: hablaremos (we will speak), about a group of Mapuche students who organized the first Mapuzugun language camp, and discuss. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley 〰️ $5-25 〰️ more info
• The Edge of Space Time 〰️ I'll confess that I'm not a space or physics guy. Whales, yes. Wave functions, no thanks. However, I make an exception for the work of Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein who is both a genius and a delight. Go see her talk about her latest book The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie, which made even me, known space-hater, feel some good old cosmic wonder. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Bookshop West Portal, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info

There are way too many Earth Day events for us to list them all! We've included a couple here that look especially enticing.

• Earth Day Minus Low Tide Walk 〰️ Learn about the muddy buddies in the low tides: snails, crabs, algae and more. Wear old shoes or boots, you will get muddy! That’s the whole point. Become one with the mud. People pay a lot of money for that, you know. 〰️ 2-3pm 〰️ Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Earth Day BioBlitz 〰️ A lot of Earth Day events aren't super accessible, but this one is focused on making sure everybody can get in on the action. Learn how to use the iNaturalist app (warning, you might become addicted to it) and then wander around and document the nature you find! 〰️ 4-6pm 〰️ Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Golden Hour Wildflower Hike 〰️ Golden hour 🤝 wildflowers. Two magical natural joys come together on this walk where you'll see beautiful blooms lit in that buttery golden light. Look out for California poppies, fairy lanterns, irises, orange bush monkeyflowers, lupines and more. 〰️ 4-7pm 〰️ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Kenwood 〰️ $5-$10 〰️ more info
• Stir: Flower Season 〰️ If you're really an inside kinda guy, never fear, you can still get in on the Earth Day action more cerebrally. Come hear from a lineup of local writers focused on the environment hosted by solarpunk author T. K. Rex and editor of The Fabulist, Josh Wilson 〰️ 5-8pm 〰️ Cafe Suspiro, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Meet the Author: Dani Burlison 〰️ It's easy to forget, given all the rain we just got, but fires are only getting worse. Join writer Dani Burlison to discuss the anthology Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California's Fire Country and talk about how wildfire impacts communities, and what any of us can do to prepare and prevent the worst of the worst.〰️ 6-7:30pm 〰️ Oakland Public Library, Montclair Branch 〰️ FREE 〰️ Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California's Fire Country
• Exercism-Pilates Hour 〰️ Look, I don't usually put exercise classes on this calendar because there are just so many of them. But I was hooked by the idea of... exorcism themed pilates? I have no idea how far they're taking this bit. Can you attend in a nightgown? Will there be backwards stair walking? I am already terrified of pilates ladies, this is just too much. Someone please go and report back for me. 〰️ 7-8pm 〰️ Spire the Church, Oakland 〰️ $15 〰️ more info

You can see all of COYOTE's past calendar picks here. If you have an event you'd like to see on a future COYOTE Calendar, email us at calendar@coyotemedia.org. If you attended and enjoyed any of these events, we'd love to hear about it in the comments!

*NOTAFLOF = No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds