As the morning fog dissipates and the long week winds down, we know you're already thinking about the weekend. Let's quickly recap what went down across SoMa this past this week, so you can get on to the fun stuff.
Once again, office development and tech company moves dominated the headlines. We gave you a sneak peek at the nine-story development in the works for the corner of Bryant and Fourth streets, where a Shell station currently stands. One block from there, Pinterest has found a new home—to the relief of many small businesses that were at risk of losing their Design District spaces, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
Food was also a hot topic. UberEATS launched its lunchtime delivery service, focusing exclusively on users in SoMa and FiDi. The folks behind Taboon shared their plans for a future kosher bakery on Sixth Street. And Barbary Coast Collective is getting ready to expand its Mission Street location and offer tastings of cannabis edibles and cannabis onsite.
Now that you're up to speed on the week that was, go have some fun!
Thursday
5-10pm
Host Description: "Yerba Buena Third Thursdays is a monthly outing of art, performance, music, and drinks in the Yerba Buena neighborhood in the heart of downtown San Francisco, between 2nd and 5th Street, and Market and Harrison Street."
Jessie Square, Yerba Buena Gardens
6-7:30pm
Host Description: "Since moving to the Bay Area in 1996, Havana-born percussionist Carlos Caró has become a ubiquitous force on the Latin music scene, providing authoritative rhythmic support in numerous bands representing a dazzling array of Cuban styles, from 19th-century danzón to 21st-century timba. He launched Vision Latina 12 years ago to pursue his passion for high-energy salsa, and the band features an impressive cast of masters from across the Americas. A key addition came in 2008, when the well-traveled Cuban vocalist Felix Samuel joined the fold in time for the group’s blazing second album, Sonando Como un Cañón, earning avid international attention."
Off the Screen: Back to After School with Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
Exploratorium, Pier 15/17
6pm
$15
Host Description: "Midnites for Maniacs host Jesse Hawthorne Ficks brings his signature series of overlooked or forgotten films to the Exploratorium this August, just in time for school. This triple feature of educational family dramas and cautionary tales are presented in their original 16mm formats."
Taco Knockdown, Presented by Milagro Tequila
Folsom Street Foundry, 1425 Folsom St.
6:30pm
$75
Host Description: "Eat Drink SF festival weekend is kicking off this year with a brand new event. Watch top restaurant chefs compete in a creative battle for the 'taco' title. (Yes, 'taco.' Think foldable food inspired by the legacy of the taco.) Tacos will be judged by a panel of experts with a grand prize awarded for ‘Best Overall’ and the crowd voting for a ‘People’s Choice’ winner. Guests will enjoy all competing tacos, cocktails by the Bon Vivants from three unique bars throughout the Foundry, great tunes from DJ-Chef Antelmo Faria (Uma Casa), and friendly head-to-head creative competition from the city’s top restaurants."
Public Works, 161 Erie St.
7:30-9:30pm
$12-$20
Host Description: "Speechless is a live show/corporate training phenomenon that puts presenters on stage to deliver a PowerPoint presentation without any knowledge of the slides or decks. Watch your favorite tech industry gods and comedians turn improvised presentations into a competitive showdown!"
BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie St.
8:30pm
$35
Host Description: "BADBADNOTGOOD is a formally trained trio of young musicians made up of Matthew Tavares on keys, Chester Hansen on bass, and Alex Sowinski on drums. Since first meeting at music school in 2011, the three have challenged the rule book on improvised instrumental music and taken a fresh look at the jazz tradition by setting their sights on the future. Now, the inseparable friends are prepping to release their biggest project to date III on prodigious young label Innovative Leisure, a highly-anticipated project ushering in the group’s newest explorations which are proving to be limitless."
20th Annual SF Drag King Contest
Oasis, 298 11th St.
9:30pm
$20
Host Description: "A sizzling summer night of swaggering cockitude!"
Friday
Children’s Garden, Yerba Buena Gardens, 799 Howard St.
11am & 12:15pm
Host Description: "Silliness is very serious business for the Pi Clowns. A company dedicated to knock-about physical comedy, these performers don’t tell jokes. They embody them with robust and timeless antics. Blending mime, theater, acrobatics, juggling, and improvisation, the Pi Clowns deliver delightful and original clown vignettes. Pi members have worked as performers, teachers, and technicians for world-class institutions from Cirque Du Soleil and The New Pickle Circus to the San Francisco Circus Center and Teatro ZinZanni."
Fifth & Minna Streets
11am-2pm
Host Description: "Every Wednesday and Friday, this market is perfect for lunch! Nestled in the Minna Street tunnel (at Fifth Street), this location is great for escaping the fog or rain. Check out live music every Friday."
111 Minna
8pm-2am
$10
Host Description: "Pancake batter is sizzling, beer froth is flowing, and bare flesh is slathered in paint. Indie musicians and DJs break sound waves off the canvas-lined, graffiti-strewn walls, while revelers stuff their faces with endless amounts of free pancakes."
Saturday
Soma StrEat Comedy and Food Festival
Soma StrEat Food Park, 428 11th St.
12-7pm
Host Description: "This is the first Soma StrEat Comedy and Food Festival! We will be bringing in some awesome headliners, backed up by 25 local comics! There will be food vendors on hand along with a bar serving beer and wine. The goal of this event is the ultimate experience of comedy, food and beer! There will be eating contests with the audience facing off against the comics, photo op's with the comics and a full day of fun!"
Esplanade, Yerba Buena Gardens, 773 Mission St.
1-3pm
Host Description: "When the community comes together in the state of Veracruz, the resulting party is a fandango, a celebration powered by the Afro-Mexican style of son jarocho and the percussive zapateado dance. With two son jarocho groups making their Yerba Buena Gardens Festival debut, let the fandango begin! Cambalache (a word meaning “exchange”) is a Chicano-jarocho group based in East Los Angeles known for inviting the public to participate in their presentations. Tarimba is a band comprised of Bay Area multi-instrumentalists dedicated to son jarocho’s community-building ethos, playful lyrics, and improvisational sensibility."
Explore SoMa: Baseball, Business & Breweries
24 Willie Mays Plaza
2pm
Host Description: "Explore the heart of San Francisco's booming tech industry and the unique culture it has to offer the city. Join this walking tour guided by born-and-bred San Franciscans to experience the bona fide side of SoMa."
Leela proudly presents: Marjorie's Mask | Microwaved PIE | Orthrus
Ninth Street Independent Film Center, 145 9th St.
8pm
$15
Host Description: "Three fantastic improv ensembles, one great night of improvised theatre!"
111 Minna
8pm-2am
$15
Host Description: "Pancake batter is sizzling, beer froth is flowing, and bare flesh is slathered in paint. Indie musicians and DJs break sound waves off the canvas-lined, graffiti-strewn walls, while revelers stuff their faces with endless amounts of free pancakes."
Oasis, 298 11th St.
10pm
Host Description: "Drag superstar Sharon Needles descends on MOTHER for this night of debauchery, also featuring DJ LePerv (Dark Room)."
Bootie SF: Michael Jackson Mash-Up Night
DNA Lounge
9pm
Host Description: "Bootie celebrates Michael Jackson with an evening filled with mashup tributes to the late, great "King of Pop." Resident DJs A Plus D and Entyme take charge of the decks, as they mix and mash Jacko throughout the night, mixing him up with anybody and everybody! At 11 PM, the Monster Drag Show takes the stage for a non-stop all-MJ mashup drag spectacular, featuring some of the most creative drag queens in San Francisco!"
Sunday
AT&T Park
7am
Host Description: "The sixth annual race includes a half marathon, 10K, 5K and kids race along the Embarcadero. The race starts in waves beginning at 7am and ends on the field at AT&T Park. Spectators can watch from the stands, while enjoying a bite and a drink from stadium vendors."
Citywide
Host Description: "Step out on Sunday for some welcome reviving after an incredible weekend of food, drink, and celebration. Restaurants around the city will be offering their own special Eat Drink SF brunch menus. Participating [SoMa] restaurants: Twenty Five Lusk, Zero Zero, Trace, Bluestem Brasserie, EPIC Steak, Waterbar, MKT Restaurant + Bar. No tickets are required, but make a reservation if the restaurant offers it."
Meet the Makers: Etta + Billie
Makers Market, 865 Market Street #136, Fifth Street Entrance
2pm
Host Description: "Come Meet the Makers, featuring local soap-maven Alana Rivera from Etta + Billie. Born from a desire to step away from a stifling office job and an awareness to develop product free of cheap chemical laden ingredients found in most bath + body products on the market, Alana realized that making her own products enabled her to feed her bath + body addiction while giving her creative freedom and control over the health of her routine. Rejuvenate yourself with her amazing collection while hearing the story behind these special products."
