The Stanford Powwow is a three-day festival held every Mother’s Day Weekend in the Eucalyptus Grove on Stanford campus. A Pow Wow is an American Indian celebration of dancing and drumming that normally starts at noon until sunset. People wear traditional tribal regalia and there are dance contests in many different categories. The drummers compete to sing the longest or drum the best. (more…)

The 540 club, a fun dive bar in the richmond district is hosting a meet and greet for the independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, his VP running mate Matt Gonzalez, and the legendary Jello Biafra this Sunday morning. Come on out and show your support, ask the burning questions you want to know face to face, or at least hear what they have to say. No Cover charge but they are accepting donations. Doors open at 9am (more…)

The Oakland Museum of California hosts a day of fun for “all” California families—with a special welcome to those with adopted, foster, mixed-race, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members. The event includes  live music from Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus Otto Voci ensemble, Magician Timothy James, a Martial arts demonstration by Destiny Arts, Gold panning and more. (more…)

Centered around the delicate voice and guitar playing of songwriter Andy Cabic, Vetiver is a surreal and psychedelic take on indie folk. This is Vetiver’s first performance in the East Bay and the release date of their newest album, Thing Of The Past

Join us for an “Opening Gala” to celebrate the launch of San Francisco Cocktail Week, sponsored by the Museum of the American Cocktail. Returning to where he launched his career, honoree Tony Abou-Ganim, creator of the legendary Cable Car cocktail will be tending bar and wowing the crowd with his renowned talents. Upon arrival guests will be greeted with a complimentary cocktail. The Starlight Room is on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and has amazing city views. Source: sf.myopenbar.com

Erick Lyle (formerly known as Iggy Scam) looks back at the past ten years of activism and guerilla art in San Francisco with his new book “On the Lower Frequencies: A Secret History of the City“. Come join Lyle and collaborators in a night of free vegan food, art, readings, and live punk rock music, featuring Zara Thustra, Sy Loady, Shotwell, Black Rainbow, and many more. Dinner at 6pm, Music at 9pm

Come exploring the art and inner workings of Area 2881, studio to Carl Pisaturo. Learn about reliable electrics and electric nervous systems and the mysteries of led pusling strobe lights. Explore the processing and properties of materials like 2 part urethane polymers, belts, shafts and ball bearings, silicone elastomers and miniature, wire rope. Source: SF Weekly

Volunteers will cheer you on at 25 Energizer Stations around San Francisco. Stop by one of the stations (some are during morning, some are in afternoon) to load up on free coffee, snacks, and convenient tote bags for future commutes. We’ll also be passing out info about how you can get involved in making San Francisco a better bicycling city. The SF Guardian Bike to Work Station will be on Fell and Masonic where from 5-7pm we will be handing out SFBC bags of goodies. Enjoy blinkylights, Jetset energy drink, Kristin’s cupcakes and other fabulous give aways.

West Bay Opera closes its 2008-09 season with a new, fully staged production of Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). Der fliegende Holländer is the last of Wagner’s Italianate operas and his first major success. For centuries, the Flying Dutchman sailed the seas, condemned to live until he could find salvation in the love of a truly faithful woman. Senta, a young girl in a Norwegian fishing village, proved herself faithful to the death. This event is a free preview. The full production opens May 23rd (more…)

Bring your tortillas (stale preferred), your costumed, your naked and your beer and participate in one of the largest races in America, and also one of the most strange and “San Francentric.” The Third Sunday in May sees this crown jewel of SF events with over 70,000 race/walk/stroll 7.46 miles from Bay (Howard/Beale) to Breakers (the western end of Golden Gate Park) in a costumed mass of people. Be prepared to see 1,000 ridiculous costumes, lots of naked people and the tired “salmon” swimming against the tide of racers. Although you’re supposed to register and pay $48-$59 to race, but many people just show up and race anyway. We won’t tell anyone.

Let’s go Green in May. Meet Christie Matheson Of Green Chic, a guide for your thoughtful decisions in every day life, from food to beauty to wine, travel and home and Anne Vollen of Green Zebra, valuable coupons to dozens of green retailers in San Francisco. Both authors support The Reading Tree, a San Francisco based non-profit dedicated to supporting early literacy and healthy reading habits.

Woven through actual letters, diary entries and haiku poetry, “From A Silk Cocoon” is an award winning documentary about the true story of a young couple whose shattered dreams and forsaken loyalties lead them to renounce their American citizenship while held in separate prison camps during World War 2. They struggle to prove their innocence and fight deportation during a time of wartime hysteria and racial profiling. Followed by Q&A with filmmaker and psychotherapist Satsuke Ina.

With its huge production-ready sound library, advanced KoreSoundВ® Browser, highly flexible Sound Matrix and analog-style controller,
KORE 2 offers practically endless creative music making potential. The interactive workshops are aimed at boosting your workflow and
deepening your knowledge of the Super Instrument. True to the motto “Find, Play & Tweak”, NI’s knowledgeable experts will be taking
you inside KORE 2 and answering your questions on any of its powerful and groundbreaking features.

Topics to be covered:
the KoreSoundВ® Browser, the controller, morphing, effects sound design features advanced browser features KORE in a sequencer: management, host automation KORE as a live host: creating and organizing performances.

The free 5th annual Berkeley World Music Festival is a cultural program that offers over two dozen continuous musical performances throughout the Telegraph Avenue district, in cafes, street corners, and in People’s Park, plus a craft bazaar at People’s Park. Bands include Dengue Fever (Cambodian Pop/Psychedelic Rock), Sila and the AfroFunk Experience (Africa’s James Brown),  SambaDá (Brazilian Samba Afro Funk) plus Pakistani, Didjeridu Fusion,Cajun Dance Music, Ukrainian & Eastern European, Rebetika (Old Time Greek Blues) and more.

The Berkeley World Music Festival presents Cambodian-American psychedelic rock band Dengue Fever live at Amoeba Berkeley. Dengue Fever blends the rhythms of 60s Cambodian pop - heavily influenced by American surf, rock and early psychedelic garage bands - with their own eclectic mix of American and international styles.

Bay Area R&B icon Booker T. Jones and Detroit’s “Great Lady of Soul” Bettye LaVette kick off the Stern Grove Festival’s 71st Season of free Sunday concerts with an afternoon of soul. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. and the MGs) is a legendary figure with an impressive string of hits, including the million-selling “Green Onions.” He has performed as a session musician on some of R&B’s most seminal songs, including “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” (more…)

Get ready for an afternoon of African rhythms in the Grove when Nigeria’s prince of Afrobeat, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, make their San Francisco debut. With blazing horns, unstoppable rhythms, hypnotic dancing, and marathon performances, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 will have the Grove moving. Opening the afternoon will be local group, Sila and the AfroFunk Experience, who know how to get dance floors around the Bay Area in motion with an exhilarating sound and energetic performance.

Since 1938, Stern Grove Festival has been the Bay Area’s home for outstanding performing arts in a beautiful outdoor setting, completely admission-free. Bring a picnic and arrive early as the main garden often fills up by 1pm.

Public Transportation:
Muni buses: 23 and 28, exit at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
Muni Metro: K or M, exit at St. Francis Circle

Apple is offering a FREE 1/2 day seminar on using video production & editing software Final Cut Studio 2 and Final Cut Server (Apple’s new media asset management and workflow automation software). This in-depth seminar features workflows used by some of the industry’s leading film and video production companies. Apple experts will give step-by-step demonstrations that reveal how each of these customers used Final Cut Studio 2 and Final Cut Server to achieve exceptional results. Source: onedigitallife.com (more…)

A three-time Emmy Award-winner for his production design on Pee-wee’s Playhouse and the recipient of the 2000 Chrysler Award for Design Excellence, artist Gary Panter has drawn inspiration from diverse arenas over the past four decades. Closely associated with the underground comics and music scenes on both coasts, he is responsible for designing many record covers for Frank Zappa, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Residents. Plus, he is a musician too. Gary will be performing live and signing copies of his new book.