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[Hella] Tight
Hella Juneteenth Festival, intergalactic queer short films, free outdoor jazz, and a bookstore anniversary party
Pool parties and barbecues are usually associated with the 4th of July, but growing up as a Black Texan, they also marked Juneteenth. Long celebrated in local Texas communities, Juneteenth spread to other southern states and was made an official Texas state holiday in 1980. Seeing Juneteenth blossom into a national holiday reminds me that American history is a composition of narratives. The country we inhabit today, with all its promises and contradictions, grew out of diverse lived experiences; may we continue to find and honor those stories.
Celebrate Juneteenth in Oakland, participate in biofeedback art, and be on the lookout for Danny Glover at a local film festival.
Hella Juneteenth Festival
Category: Music & Art
Date: Thursday, June 19th @ 12pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) (East Bay)
Price Range: $20+
Why I Care: We have Oakland to thank for Juneteenth’s national recognition. Texas-native Miles Dotson helped found Oakland-based Hella Creative, an organization focused on supporting creatives from diverse backgrounds. The nonprofit’s 2020 Hella Juneteenth grassroots campaign caught the attention of over 800 companies around the US and helped spur Juneteenth’s becoming a federal holiday. Hella Creative now produces OMCA’s Hella Juneteenth Festival, which celebrates Black history, creativity, and joy. The event will include local vendors, art installations, live music, and family-friendly programming.
Women in Jazz | Mae Powell & Jaycie Grady 4tet
Category: Music
Date: Saturday, June 21st @ 2pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Jerry Garcia Amphitheater (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: The inaugural season of Women in Jazz will kick off in San Francisco this Saturday. Live music organizer Higher Ground Presents has partnered with SF Porchfest, SF Parks Alliance, and SF Parks & Rec to highlight female and nonbinary jazz musicians with a series of three free outdoor concerts. This first performance will include Bay Area indie musician Mae Powell and local jazz band Jaycie Grady 4tet. The Bay Area weather gods have also blessed us with a forecast of 70ºF, making Saturday the perfect day to enjoy free music in the park.
Opening Reception | Good Mother Studio
Category: Art
Date: Thursday, June 19th @ 3pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: 945 Market Street, Level 3 (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Good Mother Studio spent nearly a decade highlighting local Bay Area artists before launching a second location in LA. The gallery has since closed its permanent Oakland space and now uses its LA base along with local Bay Area pop-ups to exhibit artists from across California. The studio will have an opening reception for its Pride Month SF pop-up of LGBTQ+ artists in the heart of downtown San Francisco, snuggled between the IKEA and Saluhall on Market Street. Enjoy works from nearly 20 artists before grabbing Swedish meatballs and a FÄRGKLAR dinnerware set.
Frameline49 Festival | Alien Extravaganza
Category: Film
Date: Monday, June 23rd @ 3:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Vogue Theatre (SF)
Price Range: $19.50
Why I Care: Frameline49 returns as one of the world’s longest running LGBTQ+ film festivals, with its first event having taken place in 1977. The program runs from June 18th to the 28th, but I’ve highlighted Alien Extravaganza because these days I need fiction to be stranger than truth. The program is a series of short films that explore “alien aesthetics, cosmic glamour, genderfluid and pluralistic futures” and includes such titles as Arctic Diva and The Last Story on Earth, which involves a drag queen finishing a library reading during a protest turned alien invasion.
Unable to pull off a 3:30pm weekday film screening? The program will also be available online until June 30th.
Opening Night | San Francisco Black Film Festival
Category: Film
Date: Thursday, June 19th @ 5pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Delancey Street Screening Room (SF)
Price Range: $30
Why I Care: Hop over the Bay Bridge after OMCA festivities to celebrate the opening night of the San Francisco Black Film Festival. The festival has been showcasing African American and African diaspora stories for over 25 years and features filmmakers from every career stage. The opening night event will include a screening of If We Don't Work, a documentary about Bayview Hunters Point labor legend James Richard, and a guest appearance by Danny Glover. Apparently he's not too old for this…shindig.
Look, Ma – No Hands! : The Early Days of Biofeedback Art
Category: Film
Date: Friday, June 20th @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Gray Area (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Before technology impersonated humans, humans voluntarily merged with technology. Biofeedback artwork centers on the interplay between physiology and creative production, with pioneers like Alvin Lucier producing live music through his own brainwaves. Look, Ma - No Hands! is a screening of works by Lucier and several other biofeedback artists who were active in the 1960s to 1990s. The event will also highlight how the Bay Area played a role in pushing the boundaries of science within the art world. Add yourself to the biofeedback art canon and volunteer your heartbeat for a live drum performance.
Anniversary Party | Womb House Books
Category: Literary
Date: Saturday, June 21st @ 12pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Womb House Books (East Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Happiest of birthdays to my local bookstore, Womb House Books! Womb House Books (WHB), which curates feminist literature, is having an all-day celebration in Temescal Alley. Event vendors will include Ritual Florals for small bouquets, Pretty Heavy for flash tattoos, and Contact Records for a selection of vinyls along with wine from Sapphire Hill Winery. Stick around until 5pm to throw your hat in the ring for a grab bag and (most importantly) cake giveaway.
Next Drop: Thursday, June 26th
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