Dr. Murrell Green will lead AAACC through a city audit and a major seismic retrofit that will pause operations.

Ira Sandler, the owner of 1015 Folsom, has died at 73. The SoMa club announced a celebration of his life after decades shaping the city’s dance‑music scene.

Napa sculptor Mario Chiodo says he supports pausing the Chavez statue installation at Puertas Abiertas after national reporting raised abuse allegations.

The Out Museum opened in Chinatown with a ribbon-cutting Friday, billed as the world’s first Chinese-language queer museum and archive. The launch includes exhibits, films and community programs through early June.

After six decades, Contra Costa Ballet Centre is closing its Walnut Creek studio; Aaron and Kristin Orza are poised to take over and continue training.

Berkeley’s Bay Area Book Festival runs May 29–31 with 350+ authors, dozens of stages and a free Bookworm Block Party. Evening headliners at The Freight are ticketed.

Carnaval San Francisco, the largest multicultural celebration on the West Coast that honors the diverse traditions of Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrated its 48th annual festival last weekend.

Vermont capped ticket resale markups at 110% after advocacy from Noah Kahan and venue groups. The law bans speculative listings and gives the attorney general enforcement powers.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera arrives at the Orpheum on May 28 in a refreshed touring production that runs through June 21. Tickets are on sale now.

Elim Chan will be the San Francisco Symphony’s first woman music director. She becomes music director-designate next month and takes the post fully in September 2027.

The Museum of Illusions plans a 14,300‑sq‑ft Market Street outpost near Union Square, bringing selfie-ready optical rooms to downtown San Francisco’s retail core.

Rome’s "Treasures of the Pharaohs" will premiere in San Francisco at the de Young in August 2027, then tour to the Kimbell in Fort Worth the following spring. The show brings 130+ Egyptian masterpieces, including recent finds.

The Venice Biennale opened May 9 amid protests after its international jury resigned over Israeli and Russian participation. Organizers shifted prize decisions to ticket‑holding visitors and postponed awards to Nov. 22.