San Francisco - Arts & Culture

Rain didn’t dampen the new year spirit over the weekend as participants and onlookers alike converged on downtown to celebrate the 2023 Alaska Airlines Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday night.

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) voted unanimously in support of recommending the expansion of the Castro Theatre's landmark designation to the Board of Supervisors.

Last Thursday, a coalition of community groups held a Castro Theatre town hall ahead of two consequential public meetings about the theatre's landmark status and preservation of its seats.

Thanks to muralist Natalie Gabriel, Carol Doda, the iconic stripper who shimmied her way to international fame as a topless dancer in the 60s and 70s has returned to North Beach in a new mural at wine bar Bodega.

Both the Tenderloin and Oakland locations of PianoFight will be closing permanently on March 18, but the scheduled SF SketchFest and other shows will continue until then.

Shake off the post-holiday blues with some high-energy fun courtesy of Club Fugazi’s latest production, “Ennio: The Living Paper Cartoon.”

The 77-year-old quirky attraction Camera Obscura had walls and parts of its exteriors blown off in the recent storms, and while repairs are necessary, the camera contraption itself is still in good working shape.

Meet the Mills Bow-Front Violano Virtuoso, a 350-pound, 110-year-old antique musical apparatus that self-plays a piano and violin at the same time, now performing regularly at the always-quirky Musée Mécanique.

Mission District bar Kilowatt is changing hands, and its new ownership team won a Place of Entertainment permit at Tuesday night’s SF Entertainment Commission meeting to bring live music back to the bar’s storied stage.

On the heels of a dressing-down from the SF Historic Preservation Commission, North Beach’s Condor Club was still awarded entry into SF’s Legacy Business Registry, 58 years after becoming the first topless dance club in the U.S.

The 4 Star Theater has been closed for nearly three whole years, but the scrappy little theater at Clement Street and 23rd Avenue will rise again this week, with movies plus pizza and bagels provided by nearby neighbor The Laundromat.

Returning for another year, Exploratorium’s annual light art show, "GLOW: Discover the Art of Light," returns on November 17 and will showcase works from six participating artists.

Long before the stretch of Broadway between Columbus and Montgomery was peppered with strip joints, it was home to some of the city’s most popular jazz clubs. With the opening of Keys Jazz Bistro last week, North Beach is once again poised to become a prime destination for jazz aficionados.

More than 20 Black-owned retail businesses are getting a new home in the Fillmore District, as the new marketplace In The Black is moving in beneath the Fillmore theater at the end of this month.

Hundreds gathered in the Mission District Wednesday night for the annual Día de los Muertos procession, the first in-person event since 2019.

North Beach strip club the Condor Club’s application for Legacy Business Status advanced Wednesday, but the SF Historic Preservation Commission told the club to do more legwork with regard to gender equity issues.

About 20% of the population suffers from dyslexia, though many people go throughout their entire lives without a formal diagnosis. "Dyslexic Dictionary" — a new exhibit in the Presidio that features contributions from notable dyslexics like governor Gavin Newsom and author Sally Gardner — makes it clear that the learning disorder can also be a “hyper-ability.”

Once upon a time, there was a cabaret-style nightclub in San Francisco's North Beach that featured a cast of female impersonators. The place gained nationwide notoriety, and became a go-to destination for tourists, sailors, and celebrities alike.

The Haight-Ashbury Street Fair was abruptly “postponed” in June, but it’s back (with beer!) this Sunday, and the renowned rapper Talib Kweli on the main stage.

Last week at the monthly virtual Castro Merchants membership meeting the group announced that it has declined to sign a letter in support of Another Planet Entertainment's proposed changes to the 100-year-old Castro Theatre.

Not even a chilly fog could dampen spirits as the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Music Festival made its return to Golden Gate Park over the weekend after a pandemic-driven hiatus.

Dolores Park has its first big Indigenous People’s event Saturday, with an all-day program of DJs and dancing, and some wild projections after the sun goes down.

Clara Hsu, owner and executive director of the Clarion Performing Arts Center in Chinatown, wears many hats, and on October 8, she'll be helping to host a fundraiser for the arts center that will double as a fashion show for local designers.

The first-ever Portola Music Festival — the two-day concert series that was held this past weekend on Pier 80 — included outstanding performances from famous acts like Charli XCX and Flume, but the festival's high points were kicked down a notch due to long lines and dangerous crowd conditions.

On Friday September 16, Castro community gathering space and art pop-up Third Space opened at the former gay bathhouse/sex club Eros (2051 Market St. at Church).