North Beach Week: Autumn Moon Festival, Ghirardelli Square Chocolate

Photo: torbakhopper/Flickr

On the off-chance you've recently found yourself wanting to indulge in heaps of chocolate, then work off the sugar buzz by taking in a white crane dragon parade, you're in luck this weekend.

The two-day Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival will be celebrating its 21st year by rolling out a chocolate & wine pavilion, chef demonstrations, and a chocolate school, along with the traditional chocolate earthquake ice cream eating contest. Tickets are available online—if you feel guilty about embracing your sweet tooth, consider that 100 percent of all profits are donated to Project Open Hand.

If you prefer culture over sweets, the 26th Annual Autumn Moon Festival will be running all weekend on Grant Avenue in Chinatown. Along with Chinese opera performers, pop singers and martial artists, the festival will feature booths selling Asian arts, crafts and jewelry; a parade; a dog fashion show; and numerous places to pick up moon cakes, the staple treat of the holiday. Admission is free, and a detailed schedule is available on the festival website.

In other North Beach news, KQED took (another) look at the need for subway expansion and building lines to under-serviced neighborhoods that include North Beach, while architectural kudos are in order for the North Beach Library, which was recently cited in a list of the nation's most beautiful libraries.

Now, on to our editor's picks for the days ahead. For a full list of what's going on around town this weekend and beyond, don't forget to check our hoodline.com/events. If you see a local event missing and want to get in on the fun, submit it for free for the chance to see it featured in our next events roundup.