COYOTE Calendar: August 27-September 2

Welcome to the COYOTE Calendar. Here are this week's handpicked events, just for you.

This week's calendar is dedicated to Moro. Hug your pets extra for me, okay?

This weekend is Silicon Valley Pride, because apparently tech hasn't captured enough of SF Pride just yet (too mean? sorry). It's also SF Black Pride which has an incredible set of events on the schedule. You can also check out several other events that sound like they might be pride related but aren't (technically): the State of Play festival, the Rose Blood festival, and the Pokémon World Championships. It's also Queer CampOUT this weekend (which paying subscribers already know about), and the Bathers Summer Symposium all week (which is full of absurdly good stuff — including our panel on indie media this Friday, Aug. 28).

This week we've also got moon appreciation, frogs, bird puppets, bimbos, punk, motorcycles, and more. We'll post new events each Wednesday. Go forth and enjoy!

• SWAP! 〰️ Every artist has a pile of stuff they are never going to use (be honest) but that they're hanging on to for some reason because maybe, just maybe, they'll actually need it one day (you won't). Now you can offload that stuff in exchange for new stuff you might also not need! (Or maybe you do!) I love a good supply swap, and this one is a good one. 〰️ 11am-2pm 〰️ Abrams Claghorn Gallery, Albany 〰️ FREE but please RSVP and you have to bring stuff to swap 〰️ more info
• Partial Lunar Eclipse Watch Party 〰️ Solar eclipse this, solar eclipse that. What is the moon to you, chopped liver? Our beautiful, reliable, moon? Bringer of tides? Reminder of pizzas? Please, put some respect on the lunar eclipse, and learn about how it even works at this event featuring some top tier moon appreciators. 〰️ 7-10pm 〰️ Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland 〰️ $24 〰️ more info
• On Speculative Futures 〰️ Did you know that in a past life I was a futurologist? I may become one again in a future life too (this is only half a joke, I have a big pitch in the works, please light a candle/rocket for me). And as such I cannot resist this event about “how science fiction offers answers to the political questions of our time.” Author Radhika Singh will talk about her latest book Earthly Playing Field with poet, scholar, and journalist Omar Zanzah. The future is ours, it we want it. 〰️ 7-9pm 〰️ Clio’s Books, Oakland 〰️ $10-$22.08 〰️ more info
• Bay Area Current Social 〰️ Curious about the Bay Area’s premier labor-focused outlet? Meet the folks behind Bay Area Current, pitch them your ideas, or just hang out with good people who support workers. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ The Lodge, Oakland 〰️ more info
• Book Talk: Thea Riofrancos, “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism” 〰️ School is back in session at UC Berkeley and that means that the academic talks will re-emerge on this calendar, like beautiful butterflies from their crispy chrysalides. In this one, Thea Riofrancos will tackle some of the stickiest questions about renewable energy: how to grapple with the extractive supply chains that things like electric cars and windmills require for construction. 〰️ 12-1:30 〰️ UC Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Valkyries Masked Up Watch Party 〰️ I'm stoked about this one because it's often really, really hard to find masked watch parties for sports and as such I never go to watch parties even though I would love to. See the Valkyries take on the New York Liberty and meet fellow COVID aware sports fans! 〰️ 😷 COVID Safe: mask or negative COVID test required 〰️ 4:30-7:30pm 〰️ Disability Cultural Center, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Ticket to Ride Opening 〰️ At COYOTE we love transit and we love art so this one is a no brainer: a collaborative group show featuring art that celebrates Bay Area buses, trains, ferries, operators, riders and more. 〰️ 6pm-late 〰️ Mini Bar, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• How to Become a Silicon Valley Creep (In 10 Easy Steps) 〰️ "Have you always wanted to become a rich-as-hell Silicon Valley weirdo, but are unsure how to decide between nootropics, how to pick blood bags, and where to set up your compound?" Okay probably not, because you're reading the COYOTE calendar and that is, let us say, not our vibe. But you might find it funny to dunk on this sort of thing, and if so this live taping of the In Bed with the Right podcast might be right up your alley. 〰️ 7:30pm 〰️ Swedish American Music Hall, SF 〰️ $36.64 〰️ more info
• "Two-Spirit People" screening 〰️ This short film from 1991 is a beautiful and fascinating look at the past and present ideas around gender that float through Native American cultures. This screening is the closing event of the Huitzulin 2S/Indigiqueer installation at Queer Arts Featured, which is absolutely worth checking out in and of itself. 〰️ 8pm 〰️ Queer Arts Featured, SF 〰️ FREE (donations welcome) 〰️ more info

• Streets & Backroads Ride, August 28 〰️ If Nuala's piece about the East Bay Coyotes intrigued you, now is your chance to suit up and go for a ride with them. Make your way from Concord down to Berkeley, and stick around for the show at Gilman. 〰️ 6:30 〰️ Rainbow Community Center, Concord 〰️ more info
• Black August Screening of The Strike (2024) Hosted by MXGM Oakland 〰️ Start with a panel discussion about the Black August Resistance, which began in 1979 at San Quinton. Then stick around for a screening of The Strike — a film documenting the horrific conditions that sparked the hunger strike that began at Pelican Bay Prison and spread through the California prison system. 〰️ 5-9:30pm 〰️ EastSide Arts Alliance and Cultural Center, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Valerie Hsiung, Linsday Choi, Talia Fox Poetry Reading 〰️ Sometimes what you need to feel alive is a little bit of local poetry. Tamarack is always having great readings, and this one looks particularly good. And if you're really vibing, you can walk from the poetry reading over to There/There and watch Sofia Dahlin (who curates these Tamarack poetry nights) perform in a staged reading of a sitcom pilot. 〰️ 6:30pm 〰️ Tamarack, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Live from San Quentin: The Imprisoned Voice 〰️ Hear Jason “Knowledge-Supreme” Jackson read his poetry at this installment of The Imprisoned Voice series. Jackson has been incarcerated for 13 years and is currently a staff writer for San Quentin News, and "uses poetry to inspire, educate, and uplift while tackling themes surrounding love, social climates, cultural expression, and history." Ticket proceeds go to continued programs to support and amplify incarcerated writers and scholars. 〰️ 7-8:30pm 〰️ Clio's, Oakland 〰️ $10 〰️ more info
• TRANSition: NERDS VS BIMBOS 〰️ Listen, not all of us can be baddies with a face card that is never declined. Some of us have to know how to use spreadsheets to track our bosses crimes, okay? As you can tell, I am on team nerd in the battle between the nerds and the bimbos. But the real secret is that they're better together. "Put on your best fits, grab your theys, and leave your cis boyfriend at home." 〰️ 9pm-2am 〰️ White Horse Inn, Oakland 〰️ $11.50+ 〰️ more info
• Capybaras in the Bay Game Night 〰️ The game designers behind the card came Cute and Aggressive Capybaras (elite game name) are hosting their first ever game night in the Bay. No experience with this game required, but if you're curious about a "card-effects game with modular play, blending luck and strategy" and want to play that kind of game with a sick view, check this one out. 〰️ 6-9pm 〰️ 77 Bruton St., Treasure Island 〰️ FREE, RSVP required 〰️ more info
• Full Moon Bair Island Sunset Walk 〰️ Good sunset? Check. Full moon? Check. Cool Bay Area ecological location? Check. Take a walking tour around Bair Island at dusk, catch all the birds and bugs and evening critters (crepuscular, is the word for that, which is an excellent word) and have big moon feelings. This is a pretty easy walk on a dirt path, but bring water and a sweatshirt. 〰️ 7-8pm 〰️ Bair Island, Redwood City 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• BFF.fm 13th Birthday Bash 〰️ Our pals at BFF are celebrating 13 years of community radio! Come through to hear great tunes, eat delicious snacks, and help raise money for this essential local radio station. I have found so many new fav artists listening to BFF, so even if you can't go to this please do check them out and consider donating. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ BFF.FM Studio, SF 〰️ FREE but donate money if you can, you heathens 〰️ more info

• Real Neato Music Fest 〰️ Forget Outside Lands — this is the Bay Area music festival that you don't want to miss. Two stages in a beautiful spot featuring local bands, tasty food, a cute little artisan market, and just a general good vibe. 〰️ 2-10pm 〰️ Rio Nido Roadhouse 〰️ $41.49-$82.69 〰️ more info
• Dawned on Dusk! 〰️ The puppet events will continue until morale improves, which means they'll be here forever probably? This one is a bird themes puppet show at a truly magical place and I think it's going to be hella rad. "The show will take place as the sun lowers over the Pacific horizon, perhaps in golden light or shrouded in the beauty of late summer fog." 〰️ 4:30 〰️ Slide Ranch, Muir Beach 〰️ $10 to $30 sliding scale 〰️ more info
• Berkeley Frog Fest 〰️ Frog Fest! What more do I need to say? There will be a frog themed photo booth, frog origami, frog-based screen printing, live poison frogs, and an opportunity to learn about something called the "amphibioscope" aka "your amphibiological sign." There will also be real frog facts. And some salamanders too because why not. I feel compelled to tell you all that my first ever screen name was frogsplaysoccer, so I will be at this event which happens to be right before my adult soccer game so I am really living my teenage dream. 〰️ 1-5pm 〰️ UC Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• 924 Gilman 40th Anniversary Gallery & After Show 〰️ One of the Bay Area's most iconic venues is celebrating 40 (!!) years of punk. Come early for the art exhibit featuring photos throughout the decades and some cute vendors, stay late for a show that reminds you that his venue is living and breathing and still putting on the good shit. 〰️ gallery show 2-6pm; 7pm after show 〰️ 924 Gilman, Berkeley 〰️ $5 for the gallery show; $15-20 for the after show 〰️ more info
• Moments Co-op Sidewalk Sale 〰️ Nothing better than a cute little sidewalk sale at a cute little spot and that's exactly what this is. Featuring QTBIPOC vendors selling handmade items, art, herbs, jewelry, food, and more — and make sure to checkout the Moments Co-op book selection. 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE: masks required inside and outside 〰️ 2-6pm 〰️ Moments Cooperative & Community Space, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Community BBQ, Birthday Celebration & Fundraiser 〰️ A second opportunity this week to go hang out with the East Bay Coyotes! This one isn't a ride, it's a stationary gathering to raise money for both Rage for Democracy and the East Bay Coyotes. 〰️ 5-7pm 〰️ Veterans Park, Brentwood 〰️ FREE but donate if you can 〰️ more info
• Wildchoir Farm Workday + Community Sing 〰️ Sing to the plants, meet people doing the work on the ground (and in the ground), and get your hands dirty in the best way at the Planting Justice Mother Farm in El Sobrante, where over a dozen formerly incarcerated staff members are building an ecosystem and a sanctuary. Food from the farm is distributed for free to schools and low-access places in our communities.〰️ 9:30am-12:30pm 〰️ Planting Justice Farm Store, El Sobrante 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Ceramic Scavenger Hunt 〰️ This is such a cute and cool event idea. A group of ceramic artists is going to hide pieces around Lake Merritt for intrepid scavenger hunt art appreciators to go find. Go forth and discover some new treasures! Unfortunately the only way to participate in this seems to be on Instagram, but hopefully in the future there will be a non-Insta version too! 〰️ 9am 〰️ Lake Merritt, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Becoming: Art, Yoga, and Sound Healing Half Day Retreat 〰️ If just one yoga session isn't enough, this half day retreat is aimed to rattle you out of that funk you're in. There will be journaling, reflecting, garden appreciation, movement, resting, and sound bowls. 〰️ 9am-1pm 〰️ Fig Leaf Gardens, Oakland 〰️ $55+ 〰️ more info
• Berkeley Vintage Market 〰️ Browse vintage wares in a lovely little park (fun fact, this is the park that this photo of some of the COYOTE co-founders was taken in). There will be clothing, jewelry, home decor, and you can always check out the Hidden Cafe. 〰️ 11am-4pm 〰️ Strawberry Creek Park, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Scumdance Film Festival 〰️ Celebrate 10 years of weird, micro-budget films from around the world at this festival dedicated to movies shot on the tiniest possible shoe string. A shoe string for ants, if you will. Horror, comedy, animation, and films that are impossible to describe but also impossible to forget. 〰️ 2pm 〰️ The Lost Church, SF 〰️ $20.90 〰️ more info
• Club Succubus 〰️ This is described as "the only lesbian & queer vampire cabaret dance party in the bay" and, you know what, I'm actually surprised that there's only one. Someone needs to start a rival vampire troupe ASAP. Or maybe a werewolf one? We'll workshop it. In the meantime, unleash your bloodlust at this party for hot goths and their blood donors. Fangs up girlies. 〰️ 10pm 〰️ The Stud, SF 〰️ $12 in advance $15 at the door 〰️ more info
• Chicano Moratorium Commemoration 〰️ In 1970, a group of Chicano anti-war activists mobilized 30,000 people in a walkout in East LA to protest the Vietnam War. Now, 56 years later, as a new war brews and the anti-immigrant brutality of the American empire continues, activists are calling upon that history as they work for a better future, demanding "no deportations, no separation of families, killer ICE of our streets, no detention center in Gilroy and LEGALIZATION FOR ALL!" 〰️ 3pm 〰️ Backesto Park, San Jose 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info

• Free Them All 〰️ Another event that commemorates Black August this week, in this case in the form of a forum and discussion about the ways in which the history of Black August can inform the fight for Black liberation today. PSL Bay Area is leading this discussion, and highlights the core tenants of the Black August movement: study, fast, train, fight. 〰️ 3pm 〰️ Peace and Justice Center, Santa Rosa 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Bay Bazaar 〰️ I low-key think that Safarii Camp is one of the most underrated/hidden gems of the East Bay art scene. A rad artists collective full of some people making super cool work, and putting on sales that are always extremely dangerous to my bank account. Buy local art! 〰️ 4-8pm 〰️ Safarii Camp, Oakland 〰️ $5 〰️ more info
• Holding Space 〰️ Leave it to the poets to write an event description that I just want to quote in full: "Language is one of the ways we come home to ourselves and to each other; the ability to name anything helps consecrate it and make it real. We spend our lives searching for words that fit, reshaping the ones we’ve inherited, and making room for the ones that don’t exist yet. Among Black trans folks, we know from our own lives that there are no better architects of language that identify us than us, and that language gives us a way to know ourselves more deeply and to be known by our friends, family, lovers, and community." 〰️ 5-7pm 〰️ Nomadic Bookshop, Oakland 〰️ $10 suggested donation NOTAFLOF 〰️ more info
• Summer Symposium Closing Night 〰️ The Bathers Summer Symposium is running all week (check out the full schedule here) and closing out their packed block of programming with a good, old fashioned party. There will be saunas, snacks, sounds, and synergy as all the ideas you just learned swim around in your head. 〰️ 5pm 〰️ good hot, Richmond 〰️ $30 separately, included in your Symposium pass if you got one but you still need to RSVP 〰️ more info
• Hella Plants Market 〰️ You all at this point know that I cannot resist a plant market, and this one is particularly enticing. They'll have plants (obviously) but also an art station, photo ops, local food, matcha, and good tunes. I'm hoping they have some hoyas I don't already have in my collection. 〰️ 11am-4pm 〰️ Hella Bees, Oakland 〰️ $7.18+ 〰️ more info
• think of others 〰️ The film Backrooms has warped the popular concept of "liminal spaces" into something bleak, anonymous, and terrifying. But liminality can also be freeing, and it exists in al kinds of places. "Liminality disrupts settler colonial ideologies through a dissolution of linear time, hierarchies, and certainty," write the organizers of this event. If that speaks to you, this evening of poetry and community is a must-do. Bring a blanket and a sweatshirt. 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE: masks required and provided 〰️ 12-4pm 〰️ Lake Merritt, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Radically Fit BBQ 〰️ Come through to meet the radically fit queers of Radically Fit. Bring a snack or just come with a rumbly tumbly. While you're there, make plans to enter the Deadlift and Drag competition. 〰️ 12-4pm 〰️ Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Valqueeries Watch Party 〰️ The Valks are currently in second place in the WNBA in their second ever season, which is an incredible start for a franchise team. Gather up with fellow Valkyries fans to watch, yell at the TV, meet new friends, and talk shit about Sophie Cunningham. Trans rights forever, fuck TERFS, go Valks. 〰️ 4pm 〰️ QUIK DOG, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Pride Tie-Dye Workshop 〰️ Get those rubber bands ready and make some tie-dye bandanas, flags, and more at this Silicon Valley Pride related event that blends classic Bay Area event (pride) with the trendy new thing (plant dyes) into the perfect 2026 object. Great for kids and adults alike. Your ticket includes a blank item to dye, so you don't have to bring one. 〰️ 2pm 〰️ The Tech Interactive, San Jose 〰️ $15 〰️ more info

• It Is Not in Heaven: A Talmudic Argument About an Oven and the Case Against Letting AI Decide 〰️ Oh yeah, this is the good stuff. Legal theory. Talmudic interpretations. AI refusal. Juicy, juicy, juicy. Also the official event entry comes with two words: "come argue." For a certain kind of COYOTE reader this is crack. Is that you? If so, you're welcome. 〰️ 1-2pm 〰️ UC Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Radio Planning for Actions & Social Movement Events 〰️ Radios can be a really useful tool to communicate during both an emergency and a big protest. But they're useless if you don't make a plan for how exactly you're going to use them. This talk will help organizers understand the pros, cons, and possibilities of using radio for tactical communication at events, featuring folks who've done it themselves. 〰️ 7-9pm 〰️ Berkeley Animal Rights Center, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Solidarity Mondays, USW Local 5 Strike 〰️ Join the picket line for Richmond Oilworkers as they push for wage increases and safety improvements. The picket line here is always on (24/7) so you can come by any time, but they're having specific solidarity gatherings on Mondays each week, so come through and show up for our community's workers. 〰️ 5:30pm 〰️ Solano Way & Arnold Industrial Way, Concord 〰️ more info
• The BIPOC Baddie Jam: Improv for BIPOC 〰️ Improv gets a bad rap (let's be honest, for good reason) but in the right hands it can be a liberatory and deeply special form of creativity and community building. These are the right hands! This improv jam is specifically for BIPOC folks but is open to all experience levels (including none). 〰️ 7-8:30pm 〰️ La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley 〰️ $10 〰️ more info

• David Perlis, Morning in Marin book talk 〰️ Marin native David Perlis has a new book out whose subtitle is Zen, Drugs, and Ewoks on the California Coast. Pretty enticing, right? Come hear Perlis speak about the book, which tries to capture what made Marin such a focal point in the 1980's for directors and drug dealers alike. 〰️ 6pm 〰️ Book Passage Corte Madera 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Floating to Shore 〰️ Alie Jones has been putting on this open mic series for a year now, which makes it a great time to go check it out. The readers at this one all seem incredible too: Donte Clark, Lyn Patterson, Mel Charles, and Trey Keeve III. Come with curiosity leave with joy. 〰️ 7-10pm 〰️ Night Heron, Oakland 〰️ $11 〰️ more info
• Spectrum 〰️ Aerialists, burlesque performers, drag kings, dancers and more at this variety showcase to benefit the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, which you'll see coming up on the calendar in November. Win prizes, be extremely impressed and entertained, and generally have a good time at a historic venue. 〰️ 6pm 〰️ Club Fugazi, SF 〰️ $30+, NOTAFLOF* 〰️ more info

• “Memories in Motion: Selected Stories of Mildred Howard” Screening and Q+A 〰️ If you missed the Juneteenth premier of this film at OMCA, never fear! You can now catch it along with a very special Q&A session with Mildred Howard herself, and her grandson, Lamar “MYL3Z” Brown, and Delency Parham, who together directed the film. Howard is an Oakland icon, and extremely funny, and you should take any chance you get to see her in person. 〰️ 6-8pm 〰️ UC Berkeley 〰️ FREE but please RSVP 〰️ more info
• San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 8 Candidate Forum 〰️ If you have a tendency to open your ballot, read the options, and think "whomst????" this is a great chance to hear some of the candidates speak before you have to fill in the little bubble. This forum (not a debate, candidates will be answering questions from the audience, not arguing with one another) features candidates running for San Francisco Supervisor, District 8. You can also watch online, if you can't come in person. 〰️ 6-8pm 〰️ Randall Museum, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Joyce Tang & Soleil Ho author talk 〰️ Last but certainly not least this week we have our very own Soleil Ho in conversation with Joyce Tang of Bake Sum about their co-written cookbook Bake Sum: Asian American Pastries, Breads, and Other Treats. To get in the mood for this, go get a pastry, or if you can't, check out our exclusive coverage of the Bake Sum opening. 〰️ 6:30pm 〰️ Omnivore Books, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ 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