North Beach Weekend: Fireworks, A Mural Walk, The Dinosaurs Of Comedy And More

North Beach Weekend: Fireworks, A Mural Walk, The Dinosaurs Of Comedy And MorePhoto: Mail Collector/Flickr
Mike Pinzuti
Published on July 03, 2015
The long weekend is a perfect time to get away, but if you choose to stick around, there's plenty of music to enjoy, along with some unique cultural events to keep you entertained until the annual fireworks show begins. If we missed anything, let us know in the comments!

Culture

Coit Tower Mural Walk - Sunday, 9:45am
As part of this year's LaborFest, Peter O’Driscoll and Harvey Smith will lead a guided tour of the Coit Tower murals and detail the struggles of the mural's leftist themes against organized privatization attempts throughout the years. Meet at the Coit Tower entrance at 1 Telegraph Hill

Fourth of July Celebration / Pier 39 - Saturday, 12-9:30pm
This year's Fourth of July Celebration at Pier 39 this year kicks off at noon, with performances from WJM (noon) and Tainted Love (5pm). There will also be plenty of family-friendly activities around the area, including quite a few shark exhibitions sponsored by the Aquarium of the Bay in honor of Discovery's upcoming Shark Week. Here's more info on the full lineup. If you don't want to deal with the crowds in the wharf area, Aquatic Park, and Ghirardelli Square, you can backtrack towards North Beach and Telegraph Hill for a better view.

Free Fishing Day - Saturday
Twice a year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife lifts the fishing license requirement for sport fishing within city boundaries. Other regulations, such as bag and size limits, fishing hours and report card requirements, remain in effect, but all the local piers (Fort Mason Piers, Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 7 at the end of Broadway) are open for public use. 

Laughs

Cobb's Comedy Club: The funniest and up-and-coming comedians in San Francisco, all of whom have been selected as "Best of SF" by the SF Weekly or San Francisco magazine, will perform two shows on Friday night (8pm & 10:15pm). Tickets and more information at cobbscomedyclub.com.

Punchline: Four veteran SF comedians—Johnny Steele, Michael Meehan, Larry "Bubbles" Brown and Steven Pearl—come together for two shows on Friday night (8pm & 10pm) as the "Dinosaurs of Comedy." The SF Comedy Showcase, featuring up-and-coming local comics, returns on Sunday night at 8pm. Tickets and more information at punchlinecomedyclub.com.

Sounds

Doc's Lab: SF-based Sugar Ponies will perform on Friday (doors open at 8pm), and the Darren Johnston Quartet, featuring Ben Goldberg, Hamir Atwal and David Ewell, will perform a free show on Sunday (doors open at 5:30pm).

Fior d'Italia: The Italian eatery will host Mal Sharpe Big Money in Jazz Band on Sunday from 2:30-5:30pm. 

Maggie McGarry’s: SF natives Fast Times will cover top dance hits from the '60s through today on Friday night (10pm), while party and dance cover outfit California Groove hits the stage on Saturday (10pm).

Pier 23 Cafe: Jazz/funk group Kenya Baker Trio will perform for free on Friday (8pm), and jazz outfit Legends & Friends play for free on Sunday at 5pm.

Rose Pistola: The Italian eatery continues to offer free jazz this month. SF native Dave Bendigkeit performs on Saturday (9pm), and saxophonist Joe Cohen plays on Sunday (8pm).

The Condor: The adult venue kicks off the weekend with the blues outfit Tommy D Band on Saturday. Mike Lee and the Nightriders perform on Sunday.

The Saloon: The local home for jazz has a packed schedule again this weekend, starting with The Jukes (4pm) and Stan Erhart (9pm) on Saturday, followed by Blues Power (4pm) and PA Slim (9:30pm) on Sunday.

Tupelo: "Soul and Roll" outfit Shantytown plays on America's birthday (9pm), and jazz musician Kit Ruscoe and Freaky Deaky play for free on Sunday (as they do on the first Sunday of every month).