BIG WEEK: Lesbian Lube Wrestling, Renegade Craft Fair, Tea Fest, VegFest, Can We Get Connected?…

GENERAL ARTS
Marke B. keeps an eye and ear and everything else out.

OPENING THU/12: SAFEWAY HOLIDAY ICE RINK IN UNION SQUARE Drag Queens on Ice doesn’t flip wigs here until December 3, but you can practice your ace skate moves like a true ice queen (or king, or Royalty Beyond Gender) now that this fantastically slippery holiday locus has once again opened. (PS did you know there’s a local drag queen named Kristi Yummikochi?) More info here.

SAT/14: 27TH ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO VEGFEST Beat the meat! Formerly known as the World Vegan Festival, this “joyful celebration of plant-based living inspires people to embrace a more ethical, healthy, and sustainable way of life” through cooking demos, engaging speakers, talented vegan chefs, comedians(?), and more than 80 exhibitors. 11am-5pm, SMC Event Center, SF. More info here.

SAT/14-SUN/15: RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR Kind of hate to say it but the page has turned on Halloween and we are now deep into Mariah Carey. That means it’s time to decorate and shop for the arrival of Little Baby Cheeses, or trim the wee Hanukkah bush, or spark up some Kwanzaa, as you see fit. The 250+ DIY vendors at the Renegade Craft Fair are here once again to provide, with every yummy handmade object imaginable. Support! 11am-5pm, Fort Mason Center Pavillion, SF. More info here.

SAT/14-SUN/15: SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL TEA FESTIVAL I’m usually more in the business of spilling tea rather than tasting it, but this celebration greatly expands my steeping possibilities. More than 30 international vendors lay out their leaves for you to try—and you get an adorable porcelain cup for tasting. Take that, PG Tips. Ferry Building Marketplace, SF. More info here.

SUN/15: LESBIAN LUBE WRESTLING Silicone-slicked Sapphic tussles are a Bay Area tradition, believe it or not, but this edition—brought to us by Curve Magazine, emceed by the delicious Marga Gomez, and DJed by Mamasan—is a fundraiser for the lively Lesbian Visibility Week, which takes place every year in April. 4pm-6pm, Oasis, SF. More info here.

MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.

FRI/13: TANK AND THE BANGAS Make no mistake, it’s a fortunate day every time Tarriona “Tank” Ball and the Bangas step to the stage and let loose that electrifying live show of soul, funk, hip-hop, and spoken word. When you match their singular sound, vibrant storytelling, and dynamic stage presence with those moments of vulnerability and joyful energy at the heart of the band’s music? Shoot. I would risk what is deemed a calendar-unlucky day to see this band repeatedly, like it was Groundhog Day. 7pm, August Hall, SF. More info here.

SUN/15: SIXTH ANNUAL BLACK WOMEN’S ROOTS FESTIVAL You want to witness celebrating powerful, pioneering Black women in roots music? Look no further than The Freight in Berkeley this Sunday, because it’s on. Showcasing a dynamic lineup of legendary artists, world-renowned performers, and emerging talent, this intergenerational program brings together some of the finest voices in roots music today. The dynamic Miss Faye Carol; jazz musician and Grammy-nominated vocalist Linda Tillery; vocalist and poet Jazzmeia Horn; “The People’s Champ,” singer, songwriter, and emcee who is Bay Area royalty Silk-E; the genre-bending singer-songwriter August Lee Stevens all all perform on one bill, on a Sunday afternoon, providing the vast landscape Black women have always represented. Don’t be late; it starts at 4pm. The Freight, Oakland. More info here.

FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork. 

THROUGH SUN/14: INDIAN RESTAURANT WEEK Indulge in the Diwali edition of San Francisco’s Indian Restaurant Week. Chefs Ashish Tiwari (ROOH), Srijith Gopinath (Copra), Pujan Sarkar (Tiya), Shibiraj Saha (Amber India), Ranjan Dey (New Delhi Restaurant), Thomas George (Bombay Brasserie) are offering tasting menus created especially for the holiday—not to be offered again—beginning at $75 and $85. Reservations can be made on the Indian Restaurant Week site. This isn’t a wade through a database for discounts kind of restaurant week—it’s carefully curated for excellence and is by invitation. Together, these six immigrant-helmed restaurants represent regions all over India, which has 28 states, all with different culinary expressions. More info here.

STAGE
Charles Lewis III checks out theaters and performance spaces every week in the Drama Masks column.

FRI/13 AND SAT/14: RACHEL SARAH THOMAS With so much political focus on the Middle East, it’s easy to forget that it’s one of the most artistically rich regions in the world. Here to remind us is ground-breaking Assyrian performer Rachel Thomas with two shows interweaving both English and Aramaic. Expect lush music with influences from Iran, Iraq, and Syria, and rich story-telling from the performer not known for keeping silent about the politics of her home region. The Palace Theater, SF. Tickets and more info here. 

SAT/14 THROUGH SUN/22: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Yes, that’s the title. The critically-acclaimed solo show (it triumphed at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest) brings its whirlwind US tour to the City by the Bay for a night of “part clowning, part surreal social experiment, part connection-forging alchemy.” We’re not entirely sure, what that means, but playwright-performer Julia Masli’s solo show has built up a devout fanbase across half the world already. It’s about time for SF to see what her self-therapy hath wrought. Theater 33, SF. Tickets and more info here. 

FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.

NOW STREAMING: BLACK ZOMBIE Maya Annik Bedward’s documentary provides an interesting perspective on what has (via the 28 Days films, The Walking Dead et al.) unexpectedly become one of the primary horror tropes of our eras. She is not so interested in the post-Night of the Living Dead cannibal spin that drove that popularity, but rather in how earlier zombie depictions borrowed, exploited, and warped Haitian culture—once again turning the Black into a fearsome “other,” reducing the history of slavery and voodoo practices to spooky exotica. A lot of vintage clips make this subgenre survey entertaining as well as educational. 

OPENING FRI/13: MOUSE In 2002 North Little Rock, Arkansas, Callie (Chloe Coleman) is queen of the school plays, has a cute blond boyfriend (Beck Nolan as Brad), and is liked by all in her extroverted, admittedly attention-needy but not overbearing way. Yet her BFF is contrastingly shy Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), to whom she remains loyal despite the ill-concealed jealousy and snobbery of some classmates. Fate drastically changes things. In their shared desolation, Minnie grows close to Callie’s mother Helen (Sophie Okonedo)—finding in her the maternal support rather sorely lacking in her own too-busy, dismissive single mum (Tara Mallen as Helen). But as we all know now, grief has many stages, and sooner or later this withdrawn teen and adult woman are going to find themselves no longer on the same page with their different needs. AMC Metreon and other Bay Area theaters

NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. goes out a lot, and you should, too

SAT/14: CAN WE GET CONNECTED? Chris Lum is an undersung god of the local dance music scene, from shepherding the legendary Moulton Studios into more decades of operation to producing some of the most indelible house records of our time. This is the second part of his label Moulton Music’s five-part Can We Get Connected? series, exploring different eras of the club scene, in which he DJs all night long. This time it’s 1995-2000, so get those white trainers and wraparound sunglasses out. 9pm-2am, Public Works Loft, SF. More info here.

SAT/14: SQUISH 100TH PARTY Do you love techno, but also suffer from dysphasia? If you’re like me, you adore DJs Aurora Halal and Laurel Halo, but constantly get them confused, despite both of them having very distinct and excellent styles and sounds. Welp, they are B2b headlining this party celebrating indispensable queer underground crew Squish, so now you can dance to them in a state of mixed up bliss, live. 9:30-4am, Monument, SF. More info here.

SUN/15: THEO PARRISH The brilliant and charming Detroit House legend helped revolutionize the art of sampling in dance music and has led generations of clubbers into the deepest realms of soul and funk with his hypnotic style and fearless selections. Prepared to be moved muchly when he spins at Audio all day long for the As You Like It party. 3pm-10pm, Audio, SF. More info here.

The post BIG WEEK: Lesbian Lube Wrestling, Renegade Craft Fair, Tea Fest, VegFest, Can We Get Connected?… appeared first on 48 hills.