Free Things to Do in San Francisco

The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra is presenting a free concert, “Clarinet Crazy.”

On the program are a seldom-heard Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland, the world premiere of a new concerto by Bay Area composer Richard Festinger, a J.C. Bach concerto featuring bellringers, and a section of Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

One performance will be in the auditorium of the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) as part of their new after-work series called “Rush Hour Concerts.” A second performance will be at the Herbst Theater. There will also be performances in Palo Alto and Berkeley

—————————————————————————-
Where:

Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth, and Market and Mission)

When:

Thursday, February 5, 2009
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

—————————————————————————-
Where:

Herbst Theater
401 Van Ness at McAllister

When:

Friday, February 6, 2009
8:00 pm

—————————————————————————-
Bonus:

A pre-concert talk starts 30 minutes before each concert.

More Information:

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Photo (c) Patryk Specjal

In addition to the pizza, they are having music, dancing, tarot and palm reading, continuous Korean and Vietnamese films, and the opportunity to see the current gallery exhibits.

They made a short video about the event:

Where:

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 3rd Street between Mission and Howard

When:

Saturday, January 31, 2009
9:00 pm to midnight

If you RSVP at their website, you can get in early at 8:30, and get priority admission to avoid the lines all night.

Cost?

It looks like everything will be free, including admission to the galleries — except for bar drinks.

More information:

YBCA What’s the Big Idea Night

Photo of the pizza (c) Pablo Rios

A new month is starting soon, which means that the monthly free first-week events are coming up. Grab your calendars …

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Asian Art Museum. More info

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Free admission to the de Young Museum, Legion of Honor, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Museum of Modern Art, Cartoon Art Museum (pay what you wish), Museum of Craft and Folk Art, and the Conservatory of Flowers.

More info

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Bird-watching walk in Golden Gate Park botanical gardens. More info.

Bank of America Free Museum day (B of A account or credit card required). Free admission to the de Young Museum, Legion of Honor, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. More info.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Another Bank of America Free Museum Day (see above).

Picture of the Museum of Modern Art (SF MoMA) by WolfmanSF, via Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.

California Quail

This monthly bird-watching walk, led by a naturalist in the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park, is billed as being for “everyone” — no previous experience in bird-watching is required.

The walk is put on by San Francisco Nature Education, a group which brings science and nature programs to the schools for underserved youth, sets up telescopes and leads walks for heron watching at Stow Lake in the spring (not to be missed!), and, starting this month, leads bird walks in the new Heron’s Head Park in the Bayview District, a park which is a former industrial waste zone that’s been transformed into a 25-acre wetland with over 100 species of birds.

Where:

Meet in front of the main gate of the Botanical Gardens (what used to be called Strybing Arboretum) in Golden Gate Park.

Enter the Park at 9th and Lincoln, and walk straight ahead for about a minute, on the left side of the road.

When:

The first Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to noon.

Logistics:

Bring binoculars.

The weather can change quickly from foggy to hot, so dress in layers and bring a sun hat.

You’ll be on your feet for the whole two hours, but the walking pace is slow, and there are frequent stops when interesting birds are spotted.

Children 7 years and up, accompanied by an adult, are welcome.

Cost:

The program is free, but donations are welcome.

More information:

Birding for Everyone

Phone 415-387-9160

Photo by Mila Zinkova, GNU Free Documentation License, via Wikipedia

Every Friday evening, year-round except for a break in late November to mid-January, the de Young Museum stays open late and presents different special programs that enable visitors to “experience art with all five senses.”

On any given Friday evening, there might be music, dancing, films, do-it-yourself art projects, lectures, and/or poetry readings.

Where:

De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park

When:

Every Friday evening, 5:00 pm to 8:45 pm

Mid-January through November

Cost:

Most of the special Friday-night programs are free. Regular admission fees apply if you want to go into the galleries, but most of the programs are held outside the galleries in the lobby, in the mural room, in the auditorium, or in a tent outside — none of which require an admission fee.

You can buy dinner at the cafe, which will be serving a special Friday night dinner, and they will be setting up a cocktail bar where you can buy drinks.

More information:

Friday nights at the de Young

Photo (c) 2006-09 Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Watching the Inauguration this morning at Yerba Buena Gardens.

Photo (c) 2009 Ms Terri

Koret Auditorium in the Main Library

Every year, the Library holds a special event to honor writers who have died in the previous year. Friends, relatives, and colleagues of the writers read from the honorees’ work and talk about their lives.

Writers to be honored this year include Tony Hillerman, Studs Terkel, David Foster Wallace, William F. Buckley, Helen Yglesias, and many more. Gerry Nicosia will be the host.

The library promises “an array of well-known authors” will be there to reminisce.

The event’s producer says, “This is more a celebration than a requiem. Many participants simply get up and tell embarrassing stories about those who are no longer around to refute them.”

When:

Saturday, January 31, 2009, 1:00 to 4:00 pm

Where:

Auditorium in the basement of the Main Library, Larkin and Grove (near Market)

Logistics:

This is a popular event, and the auditorium may be full at times, but people come and go all afternoon.

While you’re in the Library, you might want to check out an exhibit of photographs of wildlife in San Francisco (coyotes, bats, raccoons, rabbits, woodpeckers, quail, hawks, and more), on the fifth floor in the Wallace Stegner Environmental Center.

More Information:

San Francisco Public Library
Phone 415-557-4400

(edited to add in a few more things)

photo (c) 2009 San Francisco Public Library

The amazing new Academy of Sciences is free on the third Wednesday of every month.

Opening day at the Academy of Sciences, September 27, 2008

Inside the Academy, several weeks later

Where:

Golden Gate Park

When:

Third Wednesday of every month, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Last admission is at 4:00 pm.

Logistics:

Be prepared to wait on line. The Academy is very popular, and with a regular adult admission price of $24.95, you can expect big crowds on free days. As always, it’s best to get there early.

You need separate tickets for the Planetarium show. Tickets are free, but at some point during the day, they will be gone. If you can’t get a ticket, try going up to the Planetarium’s door where there will be a “stand-by” line.

Penguin feedings are at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm.

Don’t forget to go up on the roof!

More information:

Academy website

Phone: 415-397-8000

Photos (c) 2008-09 Ms Terri

I just heard about this one! There are going to be two JumboTrons set up in Yerba Buena Gardens, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, broadcasting the Inauguration live.

This might be the best place to go. It’s so pretty in the Gardens, and there’s lots of room, and it’s convenient if you’re working downtown.

Where:

Yerba Buena Gardens, between Mission and Howard, and 3rd and 4th Streets downtown. The JumboTrons will be set up near the Mission Street end.

When:

8:00 to 2:00, Tuesday January 20, 2009

Logistics:

They might set up a few chairs, but be prepared for sitting on the lawn.

It’s a big space, and I think there should be room for everyone.

No pets. Wheelchair accessible.

More information:

Yerba Buena event details

Phone: 415-543-1718

————-

There are only a few more days now until Obama takes over! I’m so excited.

While the outdoor simulcast in Civic Center Plaza (see previous post) will be the biggest Inauguration-watching event of the day, you can also watch a broadcast indoors at the Main Library just a block away.

The event is free, but they are issuing tickets. You can get tickets IN ADVANCE at the General Collections Reference Desk on the 3rd Floor of the Main Library.

Where:

Auditorium in the basement of the Main Library (Larkin and Grove, near Market).

When:

Doors open at 8:45 am ONLY for people who have tickets. At 9:00, when the program begins, admission will be open to all on a first come, first served basis.

Logistics:

The Library’s auditorium is not huge, and I’m guessing it will fill up very fast, especially for the actual swearing-in ceremony. So if you want to be sure that you can get in, pick up a ticket in advance. Otherwise, it might be worth waiting around for a seat, as people will probably be going in and out of the auditorium all morning.

If you can’t get in, or if you want to get some fresh air (and sunshine, weather permitting), the outdoor simulcast will be right down the block at Civic Center Plaza.

More Information:

Inauguration at the Library

Library’s main phone number: 415-557-4400