5 options for stay-at-home fun in SF: Thursday, July 16

5 options for stay-at-home fun in SF: Thursday, July 16Photo: Amanda L./Yelp
Teresa Hammerl
Published on July 15, 2020

The Bay Area's shelter-in-place order has brought countless events usually held as in-person gatherings online. We're aiming to support local businesses in San Francisco and Oakland by highlighting five of these events each day.

Got a suggestion for an online event based in SF or Oakland? Email our events reporter, Teresa Hammerl. 


Here's your San Francisco online event calendar for Thursday, July 16. Put your knowledge to the test during a trivia night, learn what it takes to record in a home studio environment or tune in to a poetry reading.

Film Discussion: Slay the Dragon

Image: Mother Jones/Facebook

Join for a discussion about the impact campaign tied to the documentary, Slay the Dragon, which aims to shine a light on gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing electoral maps to serve a single party.

In Slay the Dragon, hear how a secretive, high-tech gerrymandering initiative which launched 10 years ago threatens to undermine democracy. The documentary follows everyday people as they fight to make their votes matter.

Panelists will include Mother Jones senior reporter Ari Berman, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, and Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities. The discussion will be moderated by Carlene Bechen, Fair Maps Organizer for Wisconsin.

When: Thursday, July 16, 12 p.m.

How to join: Via Eventbrite

Price: Free

Recording Concepts

Photo: SFJAZZ/Facebook

Tune in when recording engineer and producer Heidi Trefethen hosts a class covering the basics of recording vocals, and various other instruments in a home studio environment.

Trefethen will discuss and illustrate signal flow, mic placement, pre-amps and basic mixing technique to get your recordings sounding great while sheltering in place.

When: Thursday, July 16, 6 p.m.

How to join: Via SFJAZZ

Price: $50

After Dark Online: Algorithmic Accountability

Image: Exploratorium/Facebook

Then, learn more about the ways algorithmic decision-making and facial recognition technologies reinforce human bias and racism and dive into the work being done to support algorithmic accountability. Timnit Gebru, a computer scientist and the technical co-lead of the Ethical Artificial Intelligence Team at Google, will join this session hosted by the Exploratorium.

Gebru is also an advocate for diversity in technology and the co-founder of Black in AI, a community of black researchers working in artificial intelligence. 

When: Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via YouTube

Price: Free

Virtual Trivia Night

Image: Rebuilding Together San Francisco/Facebook

Thursday night will also give you a chance to join a trivia night hosted by Rebuilding Together San Francisco, a nonprofit providing home repair and renovation programs for low-income residents.

The hosts will lead teams through five rounds of trivia via Facebook Live. Designate your captain, get your team on the phone, and put your collective knowledge to the test.

When: Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via Facebook Live

Price: Free, donations are welcome

Launch for Via Negativa: Poems, with author July Westhale and Katie Tandy

Image: The Booksmith/Facebook

Join Upper Haight bookstore The Booksmith and event space The Bindery as they host a virtual event with Oakland-based author July Westhale, who will read from her new collection of poems, Via Negativa. Reading with her is journalist and playwright, Katie Tandy.

When: Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via Facebook Live

Price: Free, donations are welcome