North Beach Week: Chocolate Festival, Fargo In The Park And More

North Beach Week: Chocolate Festival, Fargo In The Park And MorePhoto: David McSpadden/Flickr  
Mike Pinzuti
Published on September 11, 2015

Looking back at Hoodline coverage this week, we bade farewell to the local Duck tour chapter, spoke with the owner of Le Chat Rouge Bakery, chatted with Aaron Peskin on the upcoming District 3 Supervisor race, checked in on some of the early Super Bowl 50 kick off events in the area and listened to some concerns from locals about the Salesforce "Dreamboat" hotel that will dock in the area next week.

Now for your slate of weekend events in North Beach and its environs:

Saturday, September 12th

29th Street Swingtet: The six-man gypsy jazz group performs at Rose Pistola, beginning at 9pm. (532 Columbus Ave.)

Ali Wong: The SF-native actress and comedian will perform two sets at Cobb's Comedy Club, at 7:30pm and 9:45pm. (915 Columbus Ave.)

Disco Revolution: "Sacramento's Baddest Dance Band" hits the stage at Maggie McGarry's, starting at 10pm.(1353 Grant Ave.)

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival 2015: Join 50 vendors for chocolate tastings, live demonstrations, an ice-cream-eating contest, and hear from Ghirardelli's own "chocolate professor" Steve Genzoli at the two-day festival. See more from Hoodline on the event here. (900 North Point)

Eddie Pepitone: The comic and actor will perform in his second event of the evening (see Set List LIVE below for more) for Doc's Lab's one-year anniversary celebration, starting at 10pm. (124 Columbus Ave.) 

Electronic Music Scores: View two short movies about yo-yo tricks and city sights paired with innovative electronic music. Shows are at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. (Pier 15, Embarcadero) 

Film Night in the Park - Fargo: The annual summer event, sponsored by the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, finally lands in North Beach with a free showing of the film Fargo starting at 8pm in Washington Square Park.

Fire of Freedom: Described as a "multimedia immersive dance piece", the performance explores cycles of violence and healing from the Lenora Lee Dance group. Performances will be at 8pm on Saturday and Sunday. (2 Marina Blvd)

Fog Swamp: The "West Coast bayou"  band plays a free show at Pier 23, starting at 8pm. (Pier 23, Embarcadero)

Hot Pocket: The SF-based hip hop/reggae outfit will perform at Tupelo in the evening, starting at 9:30pm.

Josh Blue: The Last Comic Standing winner will perform two sets at Punch Line Comedy Club, 7:30pm and 9:30pm. (444 Battery St.)

Michelangelo Playground Clean-up: Join fellow neighbors between 9am-noon to help clean up the park and playground. (Greenwich St. and Jones St.)

North Beach Brass Band: Mark it the third consecutive Saturday that the local New Orleans-style brass band group will perform at Tupelo in the afternoon, from 3-6pm. (1337 Grant Ave.)  

Sea Music Festival: Join the SF Maritime Museum from 11am-4pm for traditional sea music performances on the Hyde Street Pier aboard the 1890 ferryboat Eureka and the 1886 full-rigged Balclutha. There will also be maritime craft activities for kids. (2905 Hyde St.)

Set List LIVE - Stand-up Without A Net: As part of their one-year anniversary, Doc's Lab will have a special comedy show where comedians only see the topic for discussion while on stage, creating an edge-of-your-seat experience for everyone. This week's comedians include Eddie Pepitone, Drennon Davis, Joe Klocek, Lydia Popovich, Kaseem Bentley and Sid Singh. The program starts at 7pm.  (124 Columbus Ave.) 

Weddings Unveiled: Billed as a "one stop wedding shop," this free event (you must RSVP first) allows you to meet with wedding experts to discuss invitations, music, cakes, caterers, flowers, wedding attire and more from 11am-2pm. The first 100 guests will receive gift bags and bridal magazines. (3 Embarcadero Center)


Dr. Strangelove in the park, 2011. (Photo: Jager McConnell/Flickr)

Sunday, September 13th

Electric Squeezebox Orchestra: The 17-piece big band rounds out the anniversary celebration for Doc's Lab with a Sunday evening performance starting at 5:30pm.

Jimmy Duvet & The Comforters: This classic rock n' roll group will perform a free show at Pier 23 starting at 5pm.   

Nocoasters: The jazz trio will play at  Rose Pistola, beginning at 8pm. 

North Beach Brass Band: The five-piece group returns for an afternoon show at Tupelo, 3-6pm.

One Night with Mike E.: The up-and-coming actor and comedian Mike Winfield will perform a set at Cobb's Comedy Club starting at 7:30pm. 

SF Comedy Showcase: The showcase of up-and-coming SF comedians returns for its weekly 8pm performance at the Punch Line Comedy Club.

The Love Gangsters: The SF-native funk/jam/jazz outfit closes out the weekend at Tupelo, performing from 9pm-1am.

Young Performers Theatre - Peter Rabbit: Join the child acting group and watch them become Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and rest of the Peter Rabbit characters. Tickets at $12 and the show starts at 2pm. (2 Marina Blvd)  

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.