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[Book] Worm
A Filipino American book festival, East Bay vintage, and the 'paper son' artist behind Bambi
My childhood Thanksgivings were synonymous with Filipino pancit noodles. The Dallas Cowboys’ kickoff time dictated when the family would gather, but my mom and Aunt Susan's cooking often remained the only victory. My mom, originally from Louisiana, would boil a toddler-sized pot of gumbo, while my aunt, originally from the Philippines, would make Filipino spring rolls and pancit. Today the Youngblood family has dispersed, and the Cowboys have broken one heart too many. I can still prod my mom for an occasional pot of gumbo, but my pancit noodle fixes are few and far between.
Dive into the literary world of Filipino American and diasporic writers, join an Oakland gallery walk, and immerse yourself in the future of sci fi.
Filipino American International Book Festival
Category: Literary
Date: Sunday, October 13th @ 12:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: San Francisco Public Library (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: October is Filipino American Heritage Month, and Filipino Americans represent the third-largest ethnic group in California. Local and international voices will come together at this 7th annual festival to discuss the literary and cultural trends close to the hearts of Filipino Americans. The weekend-long event will include a festival marketplace, book talks, and children’s story hours all anchored in Filipino American culture but intended for participants of all backgrounds.
Filipino food vendors will feature in the festival for the first time, so get ready for ube-flavored cookies, cakes, and brownies. No word yet on pancit availability, so keeping the World of Dumplings food festival as my savory backup.
Opening Reception: VERSUS Exhibition
Category: Art
Date: Wednesday, October 9th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Four One Nine (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Jonathan Carver Moore has been running at full speed since his eponymous gallery hit downtown in 2023. The space has been a powerful vehicle for LGBTQ+ representation, artist residencies, and acclaimed exhibitions that bring life to Market Street. His curation of VERSUS at Four One Nine will dive into the psychology of sports culture and why our emotional investment in pigskins, rubber balls, and wooden sticks runs deep enough to spoil Thanksgiving dinner.
Grand Opening Party: Mercy Vintage
Category: Fashion
Date: Saturday, October 12th @ 4pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Mercy Vintage (East Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: I credit many a black-tie and silver-leotarded outfit to Mercy Vintage and its kickass team of vintage mavens. A vintage store’s curation reflects the its leader’s eccentricities, and owner Karen Fort’s whimsy is made evident through the store’s collection. Her dedication to the craft is why I purchased a small business bond to support the opening of a new, expanded location, and this party will be celebrating the shop’s next phase with snacks, sips, and artist vendors.
Join Bartavelle Cafe the day after for their bittersweet closing celebration after 12 years of service in the community.
Litquake Festival: New Encounters of the Weird Kind
Category: Literary
Date: Tuesday, October 15th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Telegraph Hill Books (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: An early 2000s statistic sparked Litquake's founding 25 years ago: San Franciscans spent more of their income on books and alcohol than the average American, so why not have a book festival that’s also a bar crawl? Now the West Coast’s largest independent book festival, Litquake is celebrating its silver jubilee with book talks, a booksellers ball, and workshops that honor our local heroes pushing the literary envelope.
Join as Isaac Fellman moderates our panel of female sci fi writers on world-building, ancient family magic, and the eerily-close-to-home subject of a dystopian San Francisco.
Oakland Art Murmur: Uptown Art + Style Walk
Category: Art & Fashion
Date: Saturday, October 12th @ 12pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Even Space Studio (East Bay)
Price Range: $20+
Why I Care: Gallery access? Check. Snacks included? Tell me more. Signature tote bag, drink ticket, and fashion show entry? Heck to the yeah. Oakland Art Murmur has been cheerleading the Oakland art scene for almost 2 decades, well before I wrote my first post. They helped found First Fridays and are now squarely focused on making life and creativity sustainable for East Bay artists through events such as this one.
Looking for a more Western art walk? ArtSpan is also holding its final weekend of San Francisco open studios across Richmond, Parkside, West Portal, Twin Peaks, and the Sunset neighborhoods.
Book Talk: Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong
Category: Literary
Date: Friday, October 11th @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Oakland Asian Cultural Center (East Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Bambi owes its artistry to Tyrus Wong, whose creative vision is in turn indebted to the thousand-year-old Song dynasty. Tyrus Wong began this American life on Angel Island as a 9-year-old detainee of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Similar to many Chinese immigrants at the time, Wong circumvented the Act as a ‘paper son’, or a Chinese immigrant sponsored by non-blood relatives as a relative on ‘paper’. Author Karen Fang and Pixar Lead Story Artist Le Tang will discuss how Wong journeyed through the Ellis Island of the West to become a lead artist at Disney and the storyboard visionary behind such classics as Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild Bunch.
Looking to learn more about his impact without leaving that cozy couch or calling a babysitter? American Masters documentary Tyrus offers an on-demand, at-home alternative. As does simply reading the book.
Live Performance: A Conversation With The Muse
Category: Music & Art
Date: Saturday, October 12th @ 2pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: pt.2 Gallery (East Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Skateboarder-turned-gallerist Brock Brake founded pt.2 Gallery with two artist criteria: be a good person and make good work. The gallery focuses on Bay Area artists, and the gallery’s recent sold out booth at Frieze Los Angeles speaks to how his mission resonates beyond the Bay.
Pianist Allison Lovejoy will perform as part of Artist Mildred Howard’s solo exhibition at the gallery. The show is one of three concurrent local exhibitions for San Francisco-native Howard and represents her whole-hearted endorsement of a Bay Area arts resurgence.
Next Drop: Thursday, October 17th