Free Theater Tix: Starting Wed. 9/30 at 6:00pm

Its the return of Tix Bay Area's Free Night of Theater! Over 100 companies are participating, and together they've offered up over 6,000 free tickets to tons of performances (including Beach Blanket Babylon, ACT, Berk Rep). The public ticket giveaways are on Wednesday, September 30 and Wednesday, October 14 -- both days starting at 6pm at tixbayarea.com

FREE Opera at AT&T Park. Tonight! Saturday Sept 19 8pm

There will be another live Opera simulcast in AT&T Park tonight. Tonight's performance will be Guiseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore. The show starts at 8pm, but I recommend you get there a bit earlier, bring a picnic and enjoy the crowd. The weather should be great for this tonight.

Nicola Luisotti makes his debut as San Francisco Opera's music director with this audience favorite, in which fast-paced action is propelled by an irresistible stream of melody. Verdi's favorite themes of destiny and desire are threaded through this suspenseful story of a corrupt count, a dashing warrior and a Gypsy who plots to avenge her mother's wrongful death. David McVicar's visually striking new production is inspired by the haunting imagery of Francisco de Goya. Tenor Marco Berti and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whose beautiful tone and emotional intensity thrilled audiences in last season's Simon Boccanegra, head a charismatic cast featuring mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and soprano Sondra Radvanovsky.

Free Stand Up Comedy: GG Park, Sunday Sept. 20th; 12-5

Only a few more weeks of summer for us here in san francisco, so get out and enjoy the free outdoor activities while you can! This Sunday, from 12-5, there is a FREE comedy show at Sharon Medow in Golden Gate Park. 5 hours of stand up.

Comedy Day is an all-day free outdoor comedy concert featuring nearly 30 of today’s top bay area comics(last year featured Brent Weinbach, Will Durst and Brian Copeland - and often there are special surprise guests like Robin Williams). This comedy festival is free and open to the public and is a PG-13 rated event. Click here to see the lineup.

Opera at Giant's Stadium: FREE; Friday, June 5 8pm!

The San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Giants invite you to “Opera at the Ballpark” on Friday, June 5, 2009 for a free, live simulcast of Puccini’s Tosca. Join more than 20,000 fans picnicking on the baseball field and in the stands to watch Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka and the entire cast up on the huge 103-foot-wide HDTV screen at AT&T Park.
This event is FREE and open to the public.

Free Circus: Sat. May 30: 12pm & 2:15; Yerba Buena Gardens

This Saturday, May 30, the Circus is coming to town! Circus Bella that is.
This FREE performance is part of the Yerba Buena Garden Festival.
There will be 2 shows: 12pm & 2:15. You can meet the performers after the 2:15 show.
Circus Bella is an outdoor, one-ring circus featuring high-level acts set to the sounds of the Bella All-Stars. The show combines contemporary performance with the rich tradition of the American Circus and features acrobatics, juggling, slackwire, beatboxing, eccentric performance, aerial artistry, and musical mastery.

Dolores Park Outdoor Movie Thurs. May 14: AMELIE

The weather should be warm all week and this month's FREE OUTDOOR MOVIE being shown in Dolores Park is Amélie and it starts at 8:15. I love this movie!

Amelie is a 2001 French/German film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and starring Audrey Tautou. The film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story of a shy waitress who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation. Amélie was nominated for five Academy Awards.

Click below to watch the trailer.



Dolores Park
8:15pm
Thurs. May 14

Free Admission on Mother's Day to 17 Bay Area Museums

17 museums around the Bay Area are offering FREE admissions all day this Sunday, May 10 (Mother's Day) courtesy of the Koret Foundation.

It's a perfect activity for Dads to take the kids to so Mom can have some quiet time to do what she wants!

Participating museums include:

Asian Art Museum

Bay Area Discovery Museum

Chabot Space & Science Center

Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Exploratorium

Judah L. Magnes Museum

Lawrence Hall of Science

Legion of Honor

M. H. de Young Museum

Museum of the African Diaspora

Oakland Museum of California

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

San Francisco Zoo

San Jose Museum of Art

Tech Museum of Innovation IMAX Movie

Zeum

Free Bluegrass Music & Picnic: Saturday May 9 GG Park

You might be familiar with the large Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival that comes to GG Park in the fall (if not, its a great line up of music and its free), and this weekend there is a much smaller sort of DYI version.

This Saturday, from 12pm-6pm, the California Bluegrass Association is hosting a FREE bluegrass picking party in Golden Gate Park with Jeanie & Chuck's Roundup. This event is open to all who play or like to listen to bluegrass music.

Bring a side dish or something to throw on the grill along with something to drink (they'll provide plates, condiments, utensils) and bring your instruments.

The Event takes place at the Dahlias Picnic Area which is just east of the Conservatory of Flowers in the northeastern corner of the park. It can be a little tricky to locate, but this map shows it pretty well.

SFMOMA Artist Gallery Warehouse Sale: 5/6 - 5/10

Since 1993, art lovers in the know have looked forward to this annual event, when artworks are on sale for up to 50-percent off regular retail prices. Proceeds benefit the programs of the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, which in turn supports the museum and regional artists. The Artists Warehouse Sale offers original art by more than 300 emerging and established Bay Area artists at affordable prices (from $50 to $5,000), making it an excellent way to acquire paintings, sculpture, drawings, and unframed works on paper without breaking the bank.

Thursday-Sunday 11:30am-5:30pm
SFMOMA Artists Galeery
Fort Mason Building A
Admission is FREE
More Info

The Picklewater Free Circus Festival: Sundays at Union Square

The Picklewater Free Circus Festival returns for its second year at Union Square. A FREE festival of circus arts featuring some of the best in Circus Arts from around the Bay Area, the festival will offer a mix of professional and student performers, free circus lessons and a wide variety of circus styles.

2 different acts will take the stage each Sunday starting at 2pm.

Neighborhood Free Days: Cal. Academy of Sciences. First up, 94110

Throughout the Spring, the California Academy of Sciences is offering FREE admissions for SF residents by zip code.

So, if you live in the 94110 zip code, you can get in for FREE May 1, 2, & 3, 2009. All you need to do is bring in a copy of your driver's license or a utility bill.

So what if you are not a Mission Hipster or a Bernal Babe? CLICK HERE to get a full listing of dates for all other neighborhoods.

Free: Yerba Buena Garden Festival: Sat. May 2, 1:00-2:30

This Saturday, May 2, the first of the 2009 Yerba Buena Garden Festival events takes place. Between May and October, the Festival presents nearly 100 programs in Yerba Buena Gardens, all FREE. These events are a great place to bring a blanket, a picnic lunch, the kids, meet up with friends and enjoy some really wonderful art programs right downtown. (Think Stern Grove without the crazy crowds and the need to get there at the crack of dawn to secure a spot!)

The first weekend event is Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, a dynamic Hawaiian dance company, who will present an authentic hula program. This event will be its only full-length San Francisco performance this year and the company will feature a rich blend of traditional and contemporary forms of hula, showcasing a combination of signature pieces and audience favorites in the hula kahiko, hula 'auana, and hula mua styles. Performances are given in a “talk-story” format, incorporating narration and dance to provide a rich cultural context.

Visit the calendar (you can view events by type or month) - there is such a variety of events - music, dance, poetry, a circus act, etc.. Weekends, thursday lunch programs, kids programs, etc.


Yerba Buena Garden Festival
Saturday, May 2
1:00-2:30
Yerba Buena Gardens Esplanade: On Mission St. (btw 3rd & 4th)

Free Fire Dancing Show: Sat. 7:50pm Union Square

Bring a blanket and head down to Union Square Saturday evening at 7:50 to watch a free Fire Dancing Show. Its the Temple of Poi 2009 Fire Dancing Expo and its FREE.

I actually used to work with someone who did Fire Dancing and this show includes a real who's who in the Fire Dancing world!

Poi is a form of juggling using a ball suspended from a length of flexible material that is held in the hand and swung in circular patterns. Light that ball on fire and you have Fire Poi!

Check out the video below of a past performance.

Dolores Park Movie Night Tonight! Free!

Grab a cozy blanket to watch this one. Tonight, and every 2nd Thursday of the month, there are FREE OUTDOOR MOVIES being shown in Dolores Park.
Tonight's movie (8:00pm) is Madagascar, starring Ben Stiller, Chris Rock & David Schwimmer.

You can purchase popcorn there as well as tamales from Virginia, The Tamale Lady.

Check here, to see whats playing next month.

Dolores Park
8:00pm
Thurs. April 16

Free Jazz Every Friday: Bird & Becket in Glen Park

A neighborhood tradition since 2002, Bird & Beckett Books and Records in Glen Park presents FREE "Jazz In the Bookshop" every Friday from 5:30-8:00pm. The line up rotates and includes Don Prell's Seabop Ensemble, The Jimmy Ryan Quintet and the Henry Irvin Quartet.

Bird & Beckett is a great bookstore that does more than simply sell books and music, they provide lots of FREE cultural events in Glen Park as well (this jazz series, poetry readings, open mic, book clubs, Bloomsday celebrations, etc), so please SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE.

Did you know: That for every $100 spent in a locally, independently owned store, $68 returns to the community via taxes, payroll and other expenditures. Spend that same $100 in a big chain store (target, borders), and only $43 stays here. Spend it online, and none of it stays here. For more info on how important it is to spend your $$ locally, click here.

Bird & Beckett
653 Chenery (@ Carrie - off Diamond)
415-586-3733
http://www.birdbeckett.com

$1 Book Sale on SF Main Library Steps, this Wednesday

Now through October, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library will host "Steps Sales" on the 1st & 3rd Wed of every month. The sale is located outside on the Larkin St. entrance of the Main Library. All books are only $1 or less.

That's probably less than what many of you, if you are like me, pay in late fees at the library! Even better, all proceeds from Steps Sales go to benefit the San Francisco Public Library.

SF Main Library
100 Larkin Street 1st & 3rd Wednesday of every month (April through October)
11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mark your calendars: April 15, May 6 & 20, June 3 & 17, July 1 & 15, Aug 5 & 19, Sept 2 & 16, Oct 7 & 21

$5 Movies - Tuesday at the Castro Theater

Sorry about the lack of posts..... Spring break for the kids, folks in town..... Anyway, back to the savings:

Every Tuesday, all seats at the Castro Theater are $5 and they will be showing Classic Movies. The Castro Theater is the most beautiful movie theater I've ever been too, and the Wurlitzer performance before the shows begin give it that extra special touch. This Tuesday, April , they are showing the 1940’s film “My Little Chickadee” staring Mae West and W.C. Fields. preceded by the short film The Dentist (1932) in a restored 35mm print. I actually recall watching The Dentist with my grandfather when i was really young and even then finding it very funny.

The following Tuesday, April 21, features The Animation Madness of Max Fleischer. This collection from the animation pioneer collects his most popular creations in one program. Headlining is the 70th Anniversary of Gulliver's Travels (1939, Original 3-Strip Technicolor Print), preceded by the shorts Betty Boop in Blunderland (1933), Superman's Mechanical Monsters (1941), and Popeye Meets Ali Baba and His Forty Thieves (1937)

The Castro Theater
429 Castro (@17th St.)

Free Docent Tour of The Upper Crust - Civic Center

The San Francisco Arts Commission will offer a free docent-led tour of Patrick Dougherty’s large-scale environmental work, The Upper Crust on the first Tuesday of every month through November 2009.

Comprised of 18,000 pounds of freshly cut willow saplings, the sculpture is woven into the tops of the sycamores located on Joseph L. Alioto Performing Arts Piazza in front of City Hall. Tour will meet in front of sculpture.

Patrick Dougherty's work is very cool if you have not seen one before. If you've ever been to the SF Bay Discovery Museum, you've likely seen his work. In the back of the outdoor playground there is that willow maze (back by the spider's web). That's Patrick Dougherty, it's cool. I bet it will be very cool to watch as seasons change too.

http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/

Civic Center Plaza (Polk & Grove)
12pm-1pm Every First Tuesday

First Free Days in San Francisco

Lots of museums offer 1 free day a month. Sure these days can get a little crowded, but it is free and some of these museums have a pretty steep entrance fee. Most often they are the first ____ of a month (for example, Asian Art Museum is free the first Sunday of every month)
Here is a listing:

First Sunday:
Asian Art Museum

First Monday: none

First Tuesday:
Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission Street (between 2nd & 3rd)
First Tuesday is “Pay What You Wish Day.”

de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
Also: $2 discount on regular admission with Muni pass or transfer.

Legion of Honor
Lincoln Park
Also: $2 discount on regular admissionwith Muni pass or transfer.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard)
Also discounted every Thursday evening: Half price admission from 6:00p to 9:00p.

Yerba Buena Center Galleries
701 Mission Street

First Wednesday
Exploratorium
at the Palace of Fine Arts

Always Free:

Cable Car Museum
1201 Mason St

Chinese Cultural Center Gallery
750 Kearny St, 3rd Floor

Museo ItaloAmericano
Fort Mason Center, Building C

San Francisco Fire Department Museum
655 Presidio Ave (at Pine)

Visitor Center & Hyde Pier at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
499 Jefferson St (at Hyde)

Wells Fargo History Museum
420 Montgomery St (between California & Sacramento)

Adults Only at Cal Academy of Science

I've been to the Academy of Sciences at least 10 times already (I've got three kids!) and every time I go, I say to myself "I've got to get back here without the kids one day." Well, now I can and not only without my kids, but without ANY kids there at all.
Now through October 2009, Thursday evenings the Academy are for the 21 and over crowd. Music, booze, food and "provocative science" (those are the academy's words!). 6pm-10pm
It's $10 to get in ($8 if you are a member). Keep in mind that regular admission is something like $24.95 for adults, so its a real bargain.
Check out their website for that evening's performace: http://www.calacademy.org/events/nightlife/