As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
Welcome to the COYOTE Calendar. Here are this week's hand-picked events to fill up your empty evenings. We have lesbians who wrestle. A talk on baseball’s influence on just about everything. BULL KELP. Go forth: learn, eat, cruise, speed date, and look for ghosts.
The "Original" Trans Men 4 Men Cruising Night 〰 Look, we don't know who actually came up with it first. But if you go to the Steamworks night, you're only cheating yourself if you don't try Eros too. Steamworks has a DJ, and they're open 24/7; Eros has no DJ and closes at 10pm. Who knows what other differences you'll find! 〰 2–10pm 〰 Eros SF 〰 $25 〰 more info
Queen vs. ABBA 〰 There will be no screaming concert-goers at this concert. This live performance featuring the music of two classic bands is played by candlelight in the stunning Italian renaissance and baroque architecture of St. Ignatius Church. 〰 6:30–7:30pm 〰 St. Ignatius Church 〰 San Francisco 〰 $30 〰 more info
Beyond the Field: Baseball Empires, Tycoons, and Rebels 〰 Baseball has shaped American society, politics, and foreign policy — not to mention racial justice and labor rights. Grab a drink and sit down with Rob Elias, Emeritus Professor of Politics and Legal Studies at the University of San Francisco, as he unpacks baseball’s rich history, and how athletes, owners and fans have long wrestled for power. 〰 7–9pm 〰 The Sycamore 〰 San Francisco 〰 $25 〰 more info
Lez Wrestle 〰 Are you ready to throw down? Queer wrestling meets queer nightlife at this crossover event, with performance fights, DJs, drinks, and community. 〰 9pm–2am 〰 Beaux 〰 San Francisco 〰 $11, NOTAFLOF 〰 more info
Restoring Our Underwater Forests 〰 Have you ever heard of bull kelp? After this talk you’ll basically be an expert. Fascinate your friends and family this holiday season with tales of marine animal diets, global warming, a surge in purple sea urchins — and how all of these factors affect bull kelp near the Farallon Islands. Environmental changes got you down? Not all is lost! Scientists Julieta Gomez and Rachael Karm share stories of restoration, and how efforts to bring back bull kelp keeps our ecosystems healthy. The lecture will be from 7:20–8:20, with informal chats before and after. 〰 6–9pm 〰 1100 Valencia 〰 San Francisco 〰 $25 〰 more info
Transgender Film Festival 〰 An exiled Kung Fu master. A Sesame Street song. A mysterious neighborhood fox. These are just a few of the characters that will make an appearance in the music and animation showing at the Transgender Film Festival. The nine pieces feature artists from six different countries, and range in medium from short films to music videos. 〰 7–9pm 〰 The Roxie 〰 San Francisco 〰 $15 suggested donation 〰 more info
Seafood City’s Late Night Madness 〰 A nightclub at a Filipino grocery store? Count us in. Seafood City’s “Late Night Madness” runs Friday and Saturday nights, with dancing and DJs in the aisles of the grocery store. Proceeds support Cebu & Mindanao relief. 〰 8pm–12am 〰 Seafood City 〰Daly City 〰 $25 〰 more info
Anime Destiny 〰 The premier anime festival at UC Berkeley is back, featuring voice actors from various anime and video games, meet and greets with VTubers, a VTuber mini concert, and a Cosplay Contest judged by "professional master-level cosplayers.” 〰 10am–7pm 〰 UC Berkeley 〰Berkeley 〰 $15 〰 more info
Haunted Hike 〰 Halloween is over (wahh) but spookiness is eternal. Luckily, we have a hub of supernatural happenings smack in the middle of the Bay. UC Berkeley’s historic buildings are filled with stories and hauntings. Hear ghost legends, witness reports, tales from psychic mediums, and first-person paranormal investigations. Warning: some people have found the second half of this tour really spooky, so if you’re faint of heart, this may not be for you. 〰 10am–7pm 〰 UC Berkeley 〰 Berkeley 〰 $55 〰 more info
Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk 〰 Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi records a series of video calls with a young Palestinian photojournalist, Fatma Hassouna, who describes her life confined in Gaza during the current regional conflict. 〰 3pm 〰 The New Parkway 〰 Oakland 〰 $20 〰 more info
KEXP Presents Vinelands Live 〰 KEXP’s killer show Vinelands — a cross-genre show of local Bay Area and Northern California artists — broadcasts live from Thee Stork Club, with live, on-air and on-stage performances from Aluminum, Hannah Lew, and Tim Cohen. The show will run 6–9pm, with a free after party and DJs Gabriel Lopez b2b DJ Reeves, Zack Zoom, and Lake b2b D!ana. 〰 6pm 〰 Thee Stork Club 〰 Oakland 〰 $12 advance, $15 door️ 〰 more info
Before I Forget: The Impossibility of Getting Life Right 〰 Would you rather know who you are, or remember in crystal clear detail that time you peed your leotard in ballet? Playwright and performer Adam Strauss’s new show explores fate, memory, and life’s meaning in this funny exploration of Ancient Greece, artificial intelligence, and Alzheimer’s disease. Saturday is opening night, but the show runs Nov. 9–Dec. 14. 〰 8pm 〰 The Marsh 〰 San Francisco 〰 $25 〰 more info
Three-Way Pastry Pop-Up 〰 If you were faced with a salted yolk molten custard mooncake, a pumpkin cheesecake panna cotta, or a peppercorn marshmallow bonbon, what would you choose? Choices are for suckers, have them all! This Pastry Boys popup features creations by three incredible pastry businesses: Stay Sweet, Gong Dessert Shop, and Macbox Desserts. 〰 10am-3pm 〰 1oz Coffee 〰 San Mateo 〰 more info
Noel Jewkes at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society 〰 Superfans say there’s no better jazz venue in the Bay Area than this spot in Half Moon Bay, and no better person to see perform there than jazz legend Noel Jewke. The flute and saxophone player, also known as “Dr. Legato,” has a storied, 60-year career, and is a regular at Bach. 〰 4:30pm 〰 Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society 〰 Half Moon Bay 〰 $40 〰 more info
Tùm Lum Tùm La: An Evening at Sfizio 〰 Vietnamese pop-up Tùm Lum Tùm La is testing out a new menu at Sfizio! The menu will be family style, with rice and small dishes. Tùm Lum Tùm La means 'All over the place' in Vietnamese, usually something a parent will yell at an unruly child. As a direct response, chef KT seeks to embrace their unruliness via their cooking. 〰 5:30pm 〰 Sfizio 〰 Oakland 〰 more info
Padma Lakshmi in conversation with W. Kamau Bell 〰 Padma’s new cookbook, Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes From Taste the Nation and Beyond landed last week. It’s a personal exploration of her travels around the country, how immigrants have influenced what is considered American cuisine, and stories of people who produce the nation’s most famous dishes. She talks with standup-comedian, director, and East Bay resident W. Kamau Bell. 〰 7:30pm 〰 Sydney Goldstein Theater 〰 San Francisco 〰 $69 〰 more info
Author Talk: Gordon Walker 〰 Learn all about mushrooms and mushroom-adjacent organisms at this book talk by local TikTok star Dr. Gordon Walker (@fascinatedbyfungi). His new book, Dr. Fun Guy's Passport to Kingdom Fungi, is a guide to foraging, cooking, and identifying shrooms. 〰 7pm 〰 Lafayette Library 〰 Lafayette 〰 $20 〰more info
Cuffing Szn Speed Dating 〰 Put on that ugly holiday sweater. Arm yourself with intriguing questions. Then head to a good, old-fashioned-but-updated-for-the-modern-human speed dating event. When you arrive, you’ll have a card taped to your back — and only through talking to other guests can you figure out your identity. Then, the race is on to find your partner: the beanie to your gloves, the wood to your fireplace, the rain to your boots. Serves ages 25-40. 〰 6-9pm 〰 Great Notion Brewing 〰 Berkeley 〰 more info
