We know things are weird right now, and you might not even be working with everything going on, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a chance to enjoy the weekend! Life goes on, and having a little fun and/or some relaxation is still necessary for your mental health. So check out these (safely social distanced) events you can participate in this weekend!
Click on any of the event titles for a link to the event.
Friday, October 23rd
San Francisco
All Weekend, All Ages
Free
Litquake seeks to foster interest in literature for people of all ages, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provide a vibrant forum for writing from the Bay Area and beyond as a complement to the city's music, film, and cultural festivals. Litquake is a project of the Litquake Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit registered in the state of California.
Litquake 2020 - October 8 - 24 - 60 events o 150 authors
Schedule: https://litquake2020festival.sched.com
Litquake History - From Litstock to Litquake
Originally hatched over beers at the Edinburgh Castle pub in 1999, Litstock debuted as a free one-day reading series in a fog-bound Golden Gate Park. Local writers Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware realized quickly that booklovers craved something grander. Against the backdrop of a technology-crazed San Francisco, writers were still drawn to the city, and readers still appreciated the written word.
In 2002, the festival was rechristened Litquake, and began expanding its programming to include all elements of the Bay Area literary scene. Taking a cue from a USA Today report that San Franciscans spend twice the nation's average on books and booze, in 2004, the festival inaugurated an immediately successful closing night Lit Crawl bacchanal throughout the city's Mission District.
Popular demand drove Litquake to expand even further, adding more national and international authors, youth programs, classroom visits and book giveaways, monthly literary Epicenters, and special localized editions of the Lit Crawl now held each year in Austin, Seattle, New York City, Iowa City, Los Angeles, Portland, London, and Helsinki.
Whether it's poets reciting in a cathedral, authors discussing science versus religion in a library, or novelists reading in a beekeeping supply store, the goal remains the same: whet a broad range of literary appetites, present the literary fare in a variety of traditional and unlikely venues, and make it vivid, real, and entertaining. Now grown to the largest independent literary festival on the West Coast, Litquake continues its mission as a nine-day literary spectacle for booklovers, complete with cutting-edge panel discussions, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings.
Online
7 PM, All Ages
Free
We're celebrating this Halloween in style! How, you ask? By testing your knowledge of everything spooky and scary, creepy and crawly, fun and festive!
Come test your skills in this family-friendly (teams encouraged) game of skill, wit, and plenty of laughs. Register yourself or play as a team, all are welcome.
After you register you will receive an emailed invitation to join a zoom chat. The entire game can be played online via Zoom. All you need is a computer and a piece of paper.
Saturday, October 24th
Online
All Weekend, All Ages
$12 Individual Showings, $200 Festival Pass
We are in a strange year and UNAFF is trying its best to adapt by moving the festival online, while endeavoring to retain the dynamics and feel of its theatrical incarnation. As documentaries vary in running time, from a few minutes to full feature length, we have always bundled 2-4 films into screening sessions of 2-4 hours, each covered by one ticket. We are doing the same now online, so we will present 60 films grouped in 26 sessions spread over the 11 days of the festival. We are making the films available to watch on demand anytime during the day on which their session is scheduled, which is also the best way to stay in lockstep with the dense festival program. We also hope that our viewers will join us for the 6:00 PM daily Zoom sessions and learn more about the films from the filmmakers, subjects of the films and experts. We are convinced that the 60 films our jury has selected for you among our 600 submissions will offer you excitement, exhilaration, answers to many questions, and pose even more new ones, while shrinking the world and allowing you to embrace it through the POWER OF EMPATHY.
Our streaming platform Eventive requires that you set up an account in order to purchase tickets and passes or to access the films. Once logged in (the button in the upper right corner), it will enable you to watch the films on your computer, phone or TV. It will also keep track of your screenings and remind you by email when they are ready to be watched.
They offer technical support (see FAQ & HELP) and even live chat if you should encounter any viewing problems.
Please note that our festival films can be viewed only in California.
Finally, as documentaries are typically not rated, we urge you to explore carefully our Film Guide and make your viewing decisions accordingly.
Online
8 PM, All Ages
$20
Palo Alto Players presents a virtual Halloween-themed cabaret. Once Upon a Midnight Dreary is what happens when some of your favorite Palo Alto Players ghouls set their macabre side free! Join us for a cabaret of songs, dances, and scenes from Broadway hits and beyond - perfect for the homebound spooky season!
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary is the first in Players' virtual series HOMEBOUND CABARETS streaming October 23 through December 13, 2020. With original concept by Artistic Director Patrick Klein, the cabarets are designed to be at-home experiences that can be watched at sho time, hosted live with special surprise guests, or viewable on demand up to 24 hours after the live stream. Single streaming tickets ($20) and 3-series virtual subscriptions ($50) are on sale now at paplayers.org or by phone at 650.329.0891.
Directed By: Patrick Klein
Approximate Running Time: 60 minutes (no intermission)
Age Recommendation: Appropriate for all ages
Ticket Price: Viewing Access $20, per household
Your Viewing Link: Arrives one day before your show at 2 PM, from info@mail.paplayers.org. Viewable for 24 hours after showtime
Sunday, October 25th
Online
7 PM, All Ages
$20
Hess Love, a conjure woman and rootworker based in the Chesapeake area traditions of Conjure & Hoodoo, will lead this workshop on Ghost Stories in Black American Folklore, as well as Black Ghosts whose energies are manipulated during local "Haunted History" Tours.
In this class, you will learn about the impact that socio-political happenings have on the spiritual world, how to pay respects to the local famous ghosts, and how to elevate the ghosts in your family into ancestors fit for working with. Hess Love is a writer and historian based in Baltimore. Their work as a generational Hoodoo practitioner is centered on Hoodoo in the Chesapeake, Black Womxn and Spiritual Resistance, and how Hoodoo got outlawed in the United States. Hess is the co-founder of Chesapeake Conjure Society, a spiritual activism hub that celebrates Hoodoo as the epicenter of its direction and welcomes in people of all African/Diaspora faiths.
37th between Ortega and Pacheco
9 AM, All Ages
Free
Come eat, drink, shop, play, connect and be local at the Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile, a festive open-air, year-round weekly market featuring local farmers, ranchers, food artisans, merchants, makers, artists, and organizations on a closed-to-traffic 37th Avenue between Ortega and Pacheco.
Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile Every Sunday at 9 am – 3 pm 37th Avenue at Ortega, SF
The Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile is a weekly market featuring farmers, ranchers, food artisans and vendors, makers, merchants, artists, and local organizations. OSFMM is proudly presented by Sunset Mercantile in collaboration with District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and People of Parkside Sunset.
Our open-air market will launch with a thoughtful and comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan. The plan will include guidelines, protocols, and a modified program of activities that will evolve along with this situation but will reflect at all times the goal of helping to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the community, vendors, and staff.