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The [Young] And The Restless
The joys of being a kid, concerts, and the outdoors
My siblings and I revert back to incapable preteens when home for the holidays. Pajamas become daywear; milk gets finished without leaving a note; cake becomes an acceptable form of breakfast. And while I don’t miss the PSAT or holding my breath for a bat mitzvah invite, ever-so-temporarily letting go of responsibility again has its comforts.
Here’s to enjoying museum-sanctioned kid life, one of my favorite musicians, a series of film shorts, and, to the shock of those who know me, a hike.
de Youngsters Day Out
Category: Family Friendly
Date: Saturday, May 4th @ 10am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: de Young Museum
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Kids really do have it all figured out. On-call uber driver? Check. Personal chef? Done. Museums filled to the brim with activities and crafts? Jealous! The de Young is delivering just that with a day of family fashion designing, mural designing, and button-making story time, just to name a few. There’s even a quiet zone for a moment of recentering, however fleeting it may be.
In East Bay and avoiding a bridge meltdown? Check out Children’s Day, which my adult friend Hannah and I may or may not have attended sans kids last year.
Caroline Rose
Category: Music
Date: Sunday, May 12th @ 8pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: The Chapel
Price Range: $42 (including fees)
Why I Care: Caroline Rose has been a Spotify Wrapped staple since I first discovered "Jeanine Becomes a Mom". They have a way with singing about subjects like growing up, feeling stuck, and falling in lust that just hits the mark. They even have a song on their therapist helping them through a breakup.
The venue may be haunted though, so we’ll see how ghosts affect the vibes.
Artist-led Hike: Scenic Sketches Splendor
Category: Art & Outdoors
Date: Saturday, May 11th @ 11am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Headlands Center for the Arts
Price Range: $35
Why I Care: I’m not entirely sold on ‘hiking.’ I love walking, I love running, but that uncanny valley of socially ambling about in a single file line can throw me for a loop. This, however, is an art hike. Artist Joshua Moreno, whose work addresses the intersection of the natural and manmade, will put his own spin on the beloved Bay Area activity by incorporating discussion, activities, and drawing guidance.
Or just stay cozy indoors and check out the Headlands’ current exhibitions.
Book Talk: “I’ll Bring Dessert”
Category: Culinary (Talk)
Date: Saturday, May 11th @ 3pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Omnivore Books on Food
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: You’d think I’d still be in a cake coma, but here I am back on that batter. Benjamina of Great British Bake Off fame is discussing her latest book, I’ll Bring Dessert, with local James Beard awardee Kristina Cho. Oh, you’re not a baker? Well you’re in luck because this book is exactly about making baking accessible to the non-baker. Learn how you, too, can achieve star baker status without anxiously waiting for a Hollywood Handshake.
No bake required for entry.
Battle of the Bands
Category: Music & Art
Date: Saturday, May 4th @ 11am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: For those of us slowly-but-oh-so-surely aging out of Coachella, may I interest you in a public library-sponsored music festival? SFPL’s Bay Beats broadcasts local musicians and is partnering with SFMoMA to put on a Battle of the Bands, in coordination with the museum’s Art of Noise exhibition. Enjoy as part of SFMoMA’s Free Community Day, where you can balance your inner hard core rocker with silent observation of a Richter.
4 de Mayo Dance Party
Category: Culinary + Dance (Party)
Date: Saturday, May 4th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: NIDO’s BackYard
Price Range: Free to enter
Why I Care: Cinco de Mayo is so 2023. NIDO’s uses its outdoor margarita and agave garden to the fullest with movie screenings, workshops, and even puppy adoptions. Their 4 de Mayo party will include a free ballet folklorico performance, but they’re also expecting you to hit the dance floor as DJ Manny Fresh scratches out the reggaeton, salsa, and bachata (I see you, JP).
So take a Jell-O shot (or not?), grab a quesabirria, and get ready to boogie.
CAAMFest: Lionhearted
Category: Film
Date: Sunday, May 12th @ 12pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Roxie Theater
Price Range: $15
Why I Care: Lionhearted is a program of 7 short films screened within CAAMFest, “the world’s largest showcase of new Asian American” film & food. Each short film highlights the breadth of voices on display at the festival: Ten Times Better narrates dancer George Lee’s journey from a refugee camp in the Philippines to Balanchine’s The Nutcracker to his present day obscurity as a blackjack dealer in Vegas. Mia’s Mission documents a respected trial lawyer’s path from one of America's shameful internment camps to coming out as transgender at 60.
And the list goes on. But don’t just take my word for it; get a ticket (or festival pass) and witness for yourself.
Next Drop: Monday, May 13th