SAN FRANCISCO VIDEO FEST 2008: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Now in its fifth year, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts' Video Fest will be focused on people's existence and their surroundings, the relationships that develop between the human being and nature, community, family and their social surroundings. "Existence-Co-Existence" will emphasize strongly on videos with themes related to ecology, sustainability, community development and social and/or family stories. Submissions will be juried by Peter Bratt, writer, director and producer of the critically acclaimed independent film "Follow Me Home."

Prizes:
1st prize: $1,000
2nd prize: $500
3rd prize: $300 for Youth Video

Video Fest 2008 Categories:
Documentary (no longer than 60 minutes)
Short Fiction (no longer than 20 minutes)
Youth Video (must be 18 years old or younger /
no longer than 10 minutes)
Video del Barrio / Neighborhood Video / From or about a Neighborhood (no longer than 20 minutes)
Experimental (no longer than 20 minutes)

111 MINNA GALLERY: LOOKOUT WEEKEND
A happy hour of epic proportions! Open bar hosted by Peroni beer and Fernet, 4pm – 5:30pm. Complimentary appetizers courtesy of Bar Crudo, 4pm – 7pm. $3 before 6pm, $5 after. 21 and over, valid photo ID required. For free entry, RSVP to guestlist@justoneent.com. And dress your best, because the event will also be filmed by SFcocktails.com!
August 15 @ 111 Minna Gallery, on 2nd btw Mission & Howard

Read the Guardian's review here!

GUARDIAN ARTS SERIES: MIDNIGHT MASS 2008: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET TRIBUTE WEEKEND
Peaches Christ returns with her eleventh annual season of Midnight Mass in San Francisco! All shows $13. In this week's installment: It's a gigantic Tribute Weekend featuring Ms. Christ's two favorite films, a splatter-ific pre-show fright-fest and audience "wet section," as well as the triumphant return of Peaches' arch-nemesis "Troll Girl!"

8/15: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is having nightmares about a boogey-man with razor-sharp "finger knives", Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Nancy realizes that she must stay awake to survive. Uncovering the secret identity of the dream killer and his connection with the children of Elm Street including her boyfriend (Johnny Depp), the girl plots to draw him out into the real world. Also starring Ronee Blakely & John Saxon. Wrtitten and Directed by Wes Craven (1984)

8/16: NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3
Demented killer Freddy Krueger is back for fresh victims in this hallucinatory shocker co-written by original creator Wes Craven. The last of the Elm Street kids are now in a psychiatric ward where Freddy haunts their dreams with unspeakable horrors. Their only hope is dream researcher and fellow survivor Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), who helps them battle the supernatural psycho on his own hellish turf. Directed by Charles Russell. (1987)

*Bonus short film: A Nightmare On Castro Street (Written & Directed by Joshua Grannell) & starring Peaches Christ.

August 15-16 @ Landmark's Bridge Theatre,
3010 Geary (four blocks west of Masonic)

THE 13th ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO DRAG KING CONTEST
It's coming! Big Ball holder, DragStrip Productions, is proud to announce the most climactic and orgasmic live stage show of orgiastic gender bending revelry in the history of San Francisco - the biggest, girthiest, and most enduring Drag King Competition in the World. Hard and throbbing musical productions, firm and penetrating performances, and extraordinary feats of entertainingly unbridled masculine stamina and staying power are set to explode over the wildly anticipating and engorged-to-capacity-crowd. Starring MC's Virile Virtuoso; Fudgie Frottage ("The Man with The Biggest Balls in Show Business,"); and internationally renowned burlesque chanteuse, comic & siren, The Indra (as "The Indro vs. The Indra", a bi-sexual, bi-polar, half male, half female character). With Electro, The Pop N' Lock King, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang; Sister Roma; Buck Naked, Jay Walker, Delicio Del Toro, L. Ron Hubby, Shack "The Shack" Shackwell, Simone DeLaGetto, plus music by The Mighty Slim Pickins, Momma's Boyz, DJ's: Juanita MORE! & D.I.E. and more! Doors 8pm, show 9pm; tickets $20.- $25. A benefit for PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support).
August 16 @ DNA Lounge, 375 11th Street

THE INDEPENDENT: FORREST DAY
We’re an 8-piece band from here in the great Bay Area, and we're presenting something you will be glad you experienced. A truly grassroots effort, come support local music. Be sure to check out the sound online, and at our live show this Saturday!
August 16 @ The Independent, 628 Divisadero at Hayes

MOVE>SOUND: SOUNDWAVE>SERIES SEASON ((3))
Extraordinary events await you at leading San Francisco art and music institutions...as well as a moving bus venue. Each performance, by some of the most intriguing sound artists and musicans, explores movements connection with sound, inspiring new innovative ideas in the sound experience. Buckle up, you are going to be moved (literally) like never before! This renowned biennial event series challenges and inspires artists and audiences to look deeper into the sound medium and discover new connections to sound making and the sound experience.
Now through August 17 @ various San Francisco venues

STEPOLOGY PRESENTS: 2008 BAY AREA TAP FESTIVAL
now in its sixth year, celebrates the uniquely American art form of tap dance, and features Festival artists in a week of instructional workshop classes and a free panel discussion hosted by San Francisco Dance Center. The Festival culminates with the Bay Area Rhythm Exchange – a two-night production which features Festival artists in two concert performance programs with live musical accompaniment at San Francisco’s historic Herbst Theatre. A diverse, multi-generational roster of today’s tap stars from Broadway, film, and the concert stage returns for the annual concert performance, which has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top Ten Dance Performances of the Year for both 2005 and 2006. The cast includes Channing Cook-Holmes (Riverdance, Gangs of New York, Bojangles), Festival Director John Kloss (Tap Heat), Deborah Mitchell (The Cotton Club, Black and Blue), Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards (Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk; Bamboozled), Sam Weber (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood), and more!
Now thru August 17 @ San Francisco Dance Center, 26 7th St, 5th floor (workshop) and Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness at McAllister (concert performance)

BRASSLAND AND BEDROOM COMMUNITY PRESENT:
THE 802 TOUR
Fellow Vermont-to-New York transplants Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) and Sam Amidon like to make music together! The performances will feature music from each of the three of them, as well as some sneak previews of future collaborative schemes. Sam will perform a set of folk ballads interspersed with the occasional Melville reading and some liturgical dance, accompanied by Thomas, with guest plinks by Nico. He will then pass the microphone to Thomas, who will whisper some lamp-rock, gently expiring into the microphone, while Sam and Nico strum and plink and generally try to liven things up. Finally, Nico will perform a selection of his compositions, with help from Sam, Thomas, and favored drinking buddy and violist extraordinaire Nadia Sirota. 7:30pm, all ages. $18 advance, $20 door.
August 18 @ Swedish American Music Hall (above Cafe du Nord),
2174 Market at Sanchez

AUDITIONS FOR PAN THEATER IMPROV
Pan Theater is an Oakland, California based improvisational theater with classes, shows and performing troupes. Our classes are held at our Oakland rehearsal space, and shows are held at the Blue Bear Theater Black Box in Fort Mason in San Francisco. Our performers and directors have studied at: IO West, Second City Chicago, Bay Area Theater Sports, Comedy Sportz, Life Plays and San Francisco State. Pan Theater is holding auditions at our theater (two blocks from 19th Street BART Station) for a beginning improv troupe! Audition spots are limited. Register online today to reserve your space!
August 17, 19 and 22 @ Pan Theater,
2135 Broadway Ave btw 21st & 22nd, Oakland

SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE: DISCO BINGO!
The Sisters® and the American Legion Alexander Hamilton Post 448 are inviting you to join us for DISCO BINGO! Dig out your angel flight pants, your polyester shirts and dresses and come in costume for this crazy bingo featuring your favorite disco music! $100 prize for the best costume contest, plus a disco trivia contest which could win you a fabulous prize. Disco Bingo will also feature special guest Cockatielia performing in the Green Room. Tickets are $20.00 - $40.00 which include two game cards with additional games and cards for sale at the door.
Tickets are for sale online or by calling (800) 838-3006 or in-person at All American Boy located at 463 Castro Street.
The event starts at 7pm, but join us early at the Vets Canteen Lounge next to the Green Room (south entrance) for cocktails, beverages and food sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Post 448. Proceeds from this bingo will benefit Healing Waters!
August 20 @ Green Room, 401 Van Ness at McAllister

WORDLESS MUSIC SERIES:
JONNY GREENWOOD'S "POPCORN SUPERHET RECEIVER"
New York's intrepid Wordless Music Series concludes its 07-08 season with a surprise San Francisco debut, reprising the centerpiece of the inaugural Wordless Music Orchestra concerts from last January by presenting the West Coast premiere of Popcorn Superhet Receiver. The night before Radiohead takes the stage at the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Wordless Music will feature composer and multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood's Popcorn Superhet Receiver for string orchestra. Maestro Benjamin Shwartz, resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, will lead the Magik*Magik Orchestra in a program of music by Arvo Pärt, a major influence on the music of Greenwood and Radiohead, along with Bay Area composers Fred Frith, Mason Bates and John Adams.
August 21 @ Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness at McAllister

111 MINNA GALLERY: LOOKOUT WEEKEND
A happy hour of epic proportions! Open bar hosted by Peroni beer and Fernet, 4pm – 5:30pm. Complimentary appetizers courtesy of Bar Crudo, 4pm – 7pm. $3 before 6pm, $5 after. 21 and over, valid photo ID required. For free entry, RSVP to guestlist@justoneent.com. This very special installment will feature ticket giveaways to Bay Area concerts courtesy of the San Francisco Bay Guardian!
August 22 @ 111 Minna Gallery, on 2nd btw Mission & Howard

MIDNIGHT MASS 2008:
SF UNDERGROUND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
The only film festival in town to open with a live rock show! Dress up fancy! Meet the filmmakers! Stalk the Stars! Admission is only $10 tonight. Midnight Mass in association with Peaches Christ and Vinsantos presents the San Francisco Underground Short Film Festival. Enjoy midnight movies, b-films, cult cinema, drive-in trash, and the ultra outrageous in fifteen minutes or less. Tonight, we present a brand new program of Midnight Shorts all made by Bay Area Filmmakers. The SFUSFF attracts capacity crowds and showcases films made in your own backyard. Peaches and Vinsantos select films often over-looked by traditional festivals.
August 22 @ Landmark's Bridge Theatre,
3010 Geary (four blocks west of Masonic)

BERKELEY REP 2008-2009: YELLOWJACKETS
The season kicks off with the world premiere of an incisive play set in Berkeley and written by a Berkeley native. Nationally known playwright Itamar Moses returns to his hometown with a script set just around the corner in the halls of his alma mater, Berkeley High. When the school newspaper publishes an insensitive story, students suddenly find themselves embroiled in a volatile controversy—and even their teachers seem unprepared to deal with the repercussions. Artistic Director Tony Taccone directs Yellowjackets, a compelling collision of race and class that forces us to examine familiar surroundings with fresh eyes.
August 29 – October 12 @ Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St, Berkeley

30 BELOW
Join the Guardian Hellraisers on August 29th at the coolest party for the 20-something crowd! Free food, complimentary beer from Firestone Walker Brewing Co., live music by acclaimed DJ Alabaster and more. It’s a great place to hang out with friends—or maybe make a few new ones. And better yet, it’s free with your ticket!

EL RIO'S 6th ANNUAL COWGIRLPALOOZA!
BIG Labor Day show featuring the finest in female-fronted country. Oh yea, Oh yea! Featuring the ever feline-floral Kitty Rose playing solo; Starlene, featuring 3/4 of the old Calamity & Main (The New Misisipi Mike Wolf, Maurice Tani, Christopher Fisher) line-up backing a wonderful country singer, Catherine Foreman; BootCuts; Mighty Slim Pickens; and 4 Year Bender (actually not female-fronted but singer-songgrinder Ryan Smith certainly has the finest female rhythm section in the area –solid!). Finally, 77 El Deora headlining this year. That means a big, rockin' set! On the patio, 3-9pm $10bigbadbucks—plus free Lousiana gumbo by The Kitchen Witch!
September 1 @ El Rio, 3158 Mission btw Cesar Chavez & Valencia

CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS:
THE BUTTERFLY ZONE: PLANTS AND POLLINATORS
Fly on over to the Conservatory of Flowers this spring because the butterflies are back, and there are more than ever. The popular exhibit “The Butterfly Zone: Plants and Pollinators” returns to San Francisco’s beloved greenhouse with double the number of butterflies and special new Night Safaris, that let you search with flashlights for nocturnal moths. When you visit during the day, you’ll walk amongst a wide variety of brightly colored blossoms, watching (and sometimes ducking!) as butterflies fly from flower to flower drinking nectar and getting covered in pollen. The Butterfly Bungalow in the middle of the gallery also allows you to observe the pupae in their chrysalis stage. You never know, you may be lucky enough to catch the moment when one of these transformed, winged beauties emerges. Then come for a special Night Safari every first and third Thursday at 8:30 p.m., a rare opportunity to visit the Conservatory after dark to look for the mysterious, green Luna moth and other nocturnal critters!
Now thru November 2 @ Conservatory of Flowers,
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

YBCA PRESENTS BAY AREA NOW 5
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts' fifth triennial exhibition of Bay Area art, asks some fundamental questions: What, in this age of globalization, virtual everything, and a population that is both wired and mobile, defines a Bay Area artist? Is simple geographic residency enough? Are we aesthetically bound by our ZIP codes? More importantly, what issues and ideas dominate the thinking of Bay Area artists, and how do they matter to us? In the process, we discover insights and understandings that may challenge your view of what it means to be a part of life in the Bay Area. This year’s exhibition will feature a signature group survey of 22 Bay Area artists organized by YBCA curators Kate Eilertsen and Berin Golonu. Don’t miss out!
Now thru November 16 @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,
701 Mission Street