COYOTE Calendar: June 18-June 24

Welcome to the COYOTE Calendar. Here are this week’s hand-picked events, just for you. This Friday is Juneteenth, and there’s a ton to do to celebrate. Sunday is Fathers Day, which is a complicated holiday for many but thankfully it is also still pride month (have you run out of dollar bills yet?) so there are several events this week at which you can find yourself a daddy if you are in need. This weekend is also the 50th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, SF Succulent Expo (someone tell them to stop using AI for their flyers please 😭), a run of Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah shows at Yoshi’s, BIOMETRICKS at Audium, a new “part mud-riot part rave” play set in a ball pit, and there are still a couple of tickets left for INFINITE PRIDE, which will be a great show. Shapeshifter Cinema’s summer camp starts on Monday, so if you’re already sick of having the kids home send them off to become auteur filmmakers.

This week we’ve also got beaver puppets (not pride-related), spelling bees, fog, and bioplastic drum machines. We’ll post new events each Wednesday. Go forth and enjoy!

p.s. You can blame any mistakes in the next few calendars on the fact that I am, regrettably, addicted to the World Cup and am probably trying to write these entries while also watching a game. Are you all watching? Who are you rooting for? Invite me to your watch parties! calendar@coyotemedia.org

• San Leandro Juneteenth Celebration 〰️ Get a head start on Juneteenth and celebrate Black-owned businesses, culture, and freedom a day early.  “Enjoy incredible food trucks, vendors, community resources, a DJ, special performances, a special Juneteenth exhibit, and more!” 〰️ 4–9pm 〰️ Butterfly Plaza, San Leandro 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Hella Comix 〰️ Come see BIPOC cartoonists read their original comics work! Featuring Abby Rocha, Aida Irving, Cynta, Gladys Ochoa, Grey Sotelo, Mitchell Bercier and M Lions whose works cover everything from werewolves to tacos to death. 〰️ 5:30–7:30pm 〰️ Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• PRIDE AT THE LAKE 〰️ Join the folks at ROOT — a recovery-centered community — for a golden hour gathering to connect, reconnect, and uplift one another. Bring a blanket, snacks, games. This one is specifically for Black & Brown trans, nonbinary, gender expansive, and queer folks, and all ROOT events are substance free. 〰️ 5–8pm 〰️ Lake Merritt, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Eirinie Carson in conversation with Savala Nolan 〰️ Eirinie Carson and Savala Nolan both have recent books that tackle ideas of womanhood, motherhood, and power. Now they’ll be in conversation about Bloodfire, Baby and Good Woman, along with answering audience questions and signing books. 〰️ 6:30pm 〰️ Womb House Books, Oakland 〰️ FREE (registration required) 〰️ more info
• The Pride Show 〰️ Three drag performers (Kendoll, Tori Tia and Slay Her) put on a fabulous show. In between, the hosts will be highlighting single queer cuties for matchmaking. Find yourself a hottie, be someone’s hottie, queer hotness is an uninterrupted loop like an MC Escher print. 〰️ 6:30–10pm 〰️ Cedar Room, San Jose 〰️ $18+ 〰️ more info
• QTPOC Birders Pride Social 〰️ Bring a blanket or chair and some snacks to the lake and meet the fine folks behind QTPOC Birders. They’ll have binoculars on hand if you don’t have a pair of your own so you can spy on some birds. 〰️ 6–8:30pm 〰️ Lake Merritt, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• A Buzzed Spelling Bee 〰️ Maybe you watched this year’s Scripps Spelling Bee (won by Shrey Parikh who spelled 32 words in 90 seconds) and thought to yourself, I could do that, but way worse! Wow, do I have good news for you! Come show off your spelling skills to a bar full of people who probably don’t even know what bromocriptine is, let alone how to spell it. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Kinfolx, Oakland 〰️ $20 at the door (spellers free) 〰️ more info
• Bio-Plastic Beats: Building Living Musical Interfaces 〰️ Out: microplastics destroying your health. In: bioplastics singing you songs. Learn how to build a bio-sensor “drum kit” you can play to generate music. No prior experience with tech or music necessary; just come willing to learn a thing or two about plastics, beats, and connection. 〰️ 7–9:30pm 〰️ tiat (the intersection of art & technology), SF 〰️ $85 〰️ more info
• Groverflow 〰️ Every clip I have seen related to this play looks absurd and deranged (complimentary).  “Taking place in the interplay between our inner and outer watersheds, the show follows a beaver named Grover trying to deconstruct the megadam that his ancestors built after being infected by a spell called Disconnectitus that numbs heads from bodies.” Yes, yes, yes. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley 〰️ $18-188 sliding scale 〰️ more info

• Special assignment for non-Black readers: educate yourself about Juneteenth and think about how you are contributing to the ongoing struggle for equity in a time when Black Americans continue to be systemically disadvantaged.
• Juneteenth! at OMCA 〰️ OMCA and Black Freedom Fund are getting together again to put on an afternoon of live performances, DJ sets, food, and activities. Don’t forget to head into the museum and see the recently opened special exhibit Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory, which is excellent. 〰️ 11am–4pm 〰️ Oakland Museum of California 〰️ $10 if you want to go into the museum 〰️ more info
• Hella Juneteenth Festival 〰️ This festival started as a campaign to get Juneteenth recognized as a paid holiday (something that did successfully happen in 2021). Now, you can flex that paid day off and take the friends and family to this block party full of community, freedom and joy. There will be DJs, Black-owned food vendors, a lounge space, games for kids, games for adults, and more. 〰️ 12–6pm 〰️ Prescott Market, Oakland 〰️ $36.74+ 〰️ more info
• The Bay Area Black Fashion Expo 〰️ Now in its third year, this fashion show and block party will showcase  “the incredible talent the Bay has to offer in the often overlooked Fashion and Beauty industries.” Not just a fashion show, not just an expo, but a full-on block party with music, food, activities and more. 〰️ 12–5pm 〰️ Spoiled Boutique, Emeryville 〰️ FREE (but please RSVP) 〰️ more info
• WHERE DEM N*GG*S AT 〰️  “This is where the queer Black community can celebrate each other and remember why we are divine as Black people.” Put on by three crucial Bay Area movers and shakers: BLKINMOTION Collective, Black Trans Masc Collective, and B.Tourmaline. The theme is monochromatic, so dress accordingly. 〰️ 7pm–1am 〰️ Golden Ratio, Oakland 〰️ $6.19, NOTAFLOF* 〰️ more info
• Wine & Whine 〰️ Okay so here’s a confession: the event description for this is mostly a meditation on the nature of Geminis. I think this is a dance party, with DJs, and I am not entirely sure how those things are connected. But the DJs are all cool, Trans Bay Area is cool, and so the event is likely cool. I think you can attend even if you are not a Gemini. 〰️ 7–11pm 〰️ Kinfolx, Oakland 〰️ $5–25 NOTAFLOF* 〰️ more info
• The Blackest Wrench 〰️ As predicted in our members-only Buy Tickets Now section, this sold out. You can get the heads up on the best tickets that will likely go faster than I can include them on the weekly calendar by becoming a paying subscriber! 〰️ more info
• Reparations: 6 year anniversary with Sapphira Cristal! 〰️ Voted  “best drag show in the bay” five times for a reason! Witness an amazing lineup of drag artists including Sapphira Cristal, Major Hammy, Mojo Carter, Set Die Wies, Jaymelah Moore, Mudd the Two Spirit, and more. 〰️ 10pm 〰️ August Hall, SF 〰️ $30 〰️ more info
• Antioch Juneteenth Celebration 〰️ Celebrate Juneteenth out in Antioch with live music, youth performances, food and vendors, and tributes specifically to musicians Teena Marie and Frankie Beverly. 〰️ 4-8pm 〰️ Williamson Ranch Park, Antioch 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info

• Father’s Day Craft: Magnets 〰️ Forgot to get your dad something? Come through and make him a magnet! He is contractually obligated to appreciate it. (And if you want a father’s day trip tip let me suggest taking him to the The Bay Model Visitor Center, featuring a working hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta System. Dad kryptonite, but in a good way.) 〰️ 10–11am 〰️ San Jose Public Library, Santa Teresa Branch 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Dance & Rest Workshop for People of African Descent 〰️ This full-day workshop invites  “all movers of African descent to join in this collective liberatory experience.” Dance, rest, move, breathe, play, dream, and cultivate a kind of presence and awareness that you can take with you moving forward into your community, to reimagine and remake the future. 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE (must show a negative Covid test on day of workshop, masks optional) 〰️ 11am–5pm 〰️ Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists 〰️ sliding scale 〰️ more info
• Library Day at Yerba Buena Gardens 〰️ Celebrate Pride, Juneteenth, and the joys of summer all in one go! Start with dance, move to Per Sia’s read-aloud event with local BIPOC & queer authors, and finish with a Bhangra demonstration. You’ll get a workout for your brain, your body, and your soul at this one. 〰️ 11am–2pm 〰️ Yerba Buena Gardens, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Town Strides x BLK Juneteenth Cookout 〰️ I’m at the yoga session, I’m at the cookout, I’m at the yoga session cookout. Support an all Black-owned lineup of businesses, organizers, and creatives at this gathering celebrating wellness and community. 〰️ 11am–3pm 〰️ Snow Park, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Juneteenth Parade SF 〰️ This is the official official Juneteenth parade in SF and the theme this year is  “Freedom Then, Freedom Now.” There will be historical gallery exhibits, DJs, dance battles, kids games, vendors, and almost certainly several Black cowboys. 〰️ 11am 〰️ Downtown SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Baba & Me Father’s Day Celebration 〰️ A big old party to honor and celebrate Black fathers, caregivers, and families. Join in for martial arts, dance workshops, photo collages, play stations, chess lessons, a potato sack race, a bounce house, and more. 〰️ 12–2pm 〰️ Lakeview Library Lawn, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Shochu Live 〰️ I’m genuinely sad to be out of town for this one, since shochu is one of my favorite spirits. Come through and taste a variety of shochus (which can be made from sweet potato, barley, rice, black sugar, and more), try it mixed into cocktails, and listen to experts explain what this spirit even is and where it came from. 〰️ 1–4pm 〰️ Umami Mart, Oakland 〰️ $65 〰️ more info
• Quilted History with Khristel Johnson 〰️ The history of quilting in the United States is deeply entwined with Black history. Quilt collector and creator Khristel Johnson is letting folks in on that history and the ways in which quilts can  “inform, inspire and empower others to embark on their personal journey and discovery of phenomenal courage, exceptional intellect and countless contributions of African Americans.” 〰️ 2:30pm 〰️ Civic Center Library, Livermore 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• People’s Pride 〰️ Live music, resources, vendors and a march through downtown San Jose specifically focused on not just celebrating the joy of queer and trans life, but the power of our collective resistance to those who threaten the queer community. This march is anti-corporate sponsors, anti-ICE, and anti-cop — exactly the way pride should be. 〰️ 2–7pm 〰️ St. James Park, San Jose 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• ¿QUE BOLA?: PRE-PRIDE PARTY FOR CUBA 〰️ Killer DJ lineup at this party for a good cause: MS.Smith, Del, Sake One, and vRok will all be spinning for you. All funds go directly to La Red Afro-Cubana de Personas Trans — a network founded and led by Black Cuban trans women providing resources to trans people across Cuba — at a time when the country is particularly vulnerable and in need. 〰️ 2–6pm 〰️ The Stud, SF 〰️ $15 suggested donation 〰️ more info
• 25 Years of Gay Shame 〰️ Celebrate a quarter century of trans/queer organizers refusing to accept anything less than true collective liberation.  “We work collectively outside boring and deceptive non-profit models to fight white supremacy, capitalism, ableism, cops, settler-colonialism and all forms of domination.” Hang out, get a free zine, get connected with like-minded rabble rousers. 〰️ 5–7pm 〰️ Valencia Street between 19th and 20th, SF 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Pride Night at Berkeley Rep 〰️ Gather in the courtyard before the 8pm performance of The Lunchbox (which has been extended through July 12th) and enjoy drag, pop music, and free wine and food. 〰️ 6:45pm 〰️ Berkeley Repertory Theatre 〰️ FREE with RSVP (tickets to The Lunchbox are not, buy those separately) 〰️ more info
• Pride Paint and Sip 〰️ Join local artist Derrick Bell for a chill evening of creativity and connection. Sip a little, paint a lot, chat with fellow artists, and take home your very own masterpiece (or something like it). All the art supplies will be provided; just bring the good vibes. 〰️ 6–9pm 〰️ 3257 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Kind Eyes, Likewise, Displaced, Forever & Always and Icarus 〰️ AKA Black Dahlia Juneteeth. Four Black-fronted metal and hardcore bands that will rip your face off (complimentary). Featuring the first-ever live show from Icarus! LFG. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Neck of the Woods, SF 〰️ $19 〰️ more info
• RAAT: San Francisco South Asian Queer Pride 〰️ Rock up to this South Asian specific pride party and enjoy vendors, special drinks, DJ’s, giveaways, and more.  “We’re doing: Besharam Baddies 💅🏾. Badtameez Bitches 😜. Mission Maasis 👑, Castro Kuttis 💋 and Bay Area Betis 👌🏾” A beautiful, welcoming space for South Asian Queers to be themselves no matter what else is going on in the world. 〰️ 9pm–2am 〰️ Mabuhay Gardens, SF 〰️ $28.52+ 〰️ more info
• Out & Abt SF Pride Party 〰️ Hot DJs, hot pole dancing, hot tooth gems, hot, hot, hot. Dance and flirt the night away with fellow queers. 〰️ 10pm–2am 〰️ Public Works, SF 〰️ $20+ 〰️ more info

• Father’s Day Stop Motion Animation Workshop 〰️ A fun little outing for dads and kids of the tween/teen age (10+) to learn the techniques of stop motion animation. Annie Wong leads the class in how to turn materials like clay, paper, fabric, and found objects into delightful, original animated shorts. 〰️ 10am–12pm or 1:30–3:30pm 〰️ Berkeley Painting Club 〰️ $60 〰️ more info
• Sonoma County Mushroom Art Fair 〰️ This is the FIRST annual fair held by the Sonoma County Mycological Association, and it’s more than just looking at shrooms. Workshops will include using mushrooms to make paper, using watercolors to make mushrooms, and even turning mushrooms into dyes. Oaxacan food truck Lucha Sabina will be on-site slinging fungal cuisine. 〰️ 10am–4pm 〰️ Grange Hall, Sebastopol 〰️ $20 suggested donation 〰️ more info
• Berkeley Juneteenth Festival 〰️ There is probably a joke to be made about Berkeley deciding to hold their Juneteenth celebration two days late. Still! The lineup features some lively local musicians, and always has some great vendors and artists. 〰️ 11am–7pm 〰️ Alcatraz and Adeline, Berkeley 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Ocean Vuong in conversation with Ronaldo V. Wilson 〰️ Santa Cruz is a little bit outside of our usual radius here at COYOTE but this event is special — critically acclaimed author Ocean Vuong is celebrating the paperback release of The Emperor of Gladness and is doing so with Ronaldo V. Wilson, an incredible author in his own right (check out Narrative of the Life of the Brown Boy and the White Man if you haven’t already). 〰️ 7pm 〰️ The Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• Queer Cinema for Palestine 〰️ Join one of 300+ screenings of this special, 60-minute program of six powerful short films by queer, Palestinian, and allied artists focused on calling out Zionist pinkwashing. All proceeds go to mutual aid for Palestinian families in historic Palestine and the diaspora. 〰️ 😷 COVID SAFE (masks required and provided, air purifiers on site) 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Artists Television Access, SF 〰️ $15–35 NOTAFLOF* (tickets sold at the door) 〰️ more info
• Static - A T4T Pride Kick-Off Party 〰️ A play party specifically centering trans people — not as an afterthought, but as the heart of the event.  “Expect an evening of play, conversation, community, and celebration in one of the Bay Area’s beloved queer kink spaces. Show up as you are. Come to play, make friends, flirt, learn something new, or spend the night surrounded by people who get it.” 〰️ 7pm–1am 〰️ Transform1060, SF 〰️ $30 NOTAFLOF* 〰️ more info

• Sirene x Hadeem Pop-up 〰️ The cooking of the Jewish diaspora is the focus of chef Spencer Horowitz’s exciting pop-up series, which blends familiar, cross-cultural dishes with the farm-to-table vibes of California cuisine. The menu includes dolmas with chili crisp, duck breast cooked with harissa and paired with a schnitzel’d leg, and lots of other sure-to-thrill combinations. 〰️ 5–9pm 〰️ Sirene, Oakland 〰️ $125 〰️ more info

• Bay Area Maker Fireside Chat 〰️ This event is technically sold out but it sounds cool enough that I’m putting it here since you can still get on the waitlist and maybe you’ll get a spot: Come hear several local creatives answering a big question close to COYOTE’s heart: “What does it actually take to build a sustainable maker business in the Bay Area?” 〰️ 6–8pm 〰️ Open Test Kitchen, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• STREAM Reading by Aida Salazar 〰️ Come celebrate the release of Aida Salazar’s latest novel STREAM, a story about teenagers navigating online and then very, very offline worlds. Aida will read, and her son MJ will play music he wrote inspired by the book (cute!!) that will also appear in the audiobook. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Nomadic Bookshop, Oakland 〰️ FREE 〰️ more info
• I Love You So Many 〰️ Indigenous authors Terria Smith (I Love You So Many) and Chris La Tray (Becoming Little Shell) gather and discuss Smith’s book which occupies a highly unusual genre: Native travel memoir — “an ode to adventure and an account of what it means to leave one’s comfort zone—and what can happen on the other side.” 〰️ 7–9pm 〰️ Clio’s Books, Oakland 〰️ $10 general admission, $20 admission + book 〰️ more info

• Promotoras de Sanación: Limpias Ancestrales 〰️ Perdonen mi español mediocre en esta entrada: únete a los miembros de la comunidad Negra, Indígena e Inmigrante en este taller que exploramos la tradición de las limpias ancestrales para el bienestar físico, emocional y espiritual. Los participantes aprenderán sobre hierbas y crearán sus propios rituales espirituales basados ​​en historias antiguas y modernas. 〰️ 3–5pm 〰️ Freedom Community Clinic, Oakland 〰️ $15 〰️ more info
• Underwater Economies of the San Francisco Bay Area 〰️ The San Francisco Bay is an incredible ecosystem (the largest estuary on the West Coast!) and was once full of native Olympia oyster reefs and underwater eelgrass meadows. Come learn from the folks who are trying to bring back the oysters that were wiped out during the Gold Rush. 〰️ 6–9pm 〰️ Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito 〰️ $65 〰️ more info
• Pride at the Pulpit 〰️ Drag Me to Saint Joe’s is “a queer cabaret where drag reigns supreme and the dance floor becomes your altar.” A rotating variety show which includes things you expect: burlesque, standup, singing, and things you don’t, like  “seductive juggling,” a phrase that for some reason I can only hear in Gene Belcher’s voice. 〰️ 7–10pm 〰️ Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, SF 〰️ $20 (and bring cash to tip the queens) 〰️ more info
• Unions of Our Own by Daniel Gross 〰️ After years of active suppression, unions are having a resurgence as workplace conditions continue to change for the worse to enrich those at the top. If you’re curious about how to start a union at your workplace, Daniel Gross’s book is a great place to start. Gross is the co-founder of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union, and the book is full of practical tools and actual on the ground examples for organizers. If you can’t make this one, there’s another event on the 25th at Long Haul Infoshop in Berkeley. 〰️ 7pm 〰️ Bound Together Books, SF 〰️ more info
• Body is the Interface 〰️ Technobillionaires (or, now, I guess technotrillionaires) turning your body into numbers to make even more money? Bad! You turning your body into numbers as a form of creative expression? Good! Come learn from artist Zach Lieberman about  “how to connect movement and gesture to dynamic visual outputs.” This one requires some technical knowhow and comfort with coding. 〰️ 7–8:30pm 〰️ tiat (the intersection of art & technology), SF 〰️ $60 〰️ more info
• Get to Know Karl the Fog: The Science Behind Bay Area Weather & Microclimates 〰️ Recently, a story with the headline  “There’s Something Living Inside Fog, Scientists Find” captured the imaginations of folks in my corner of the internet. But any West Bay resident already knows that. His name is Karl. And now you can learn more about him from meteorologist Jessica Burch. 〰️ 7–9pm 〰️ The Faight Collective, SF 〰️ $27 〰️ 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