Free Things to Do in San Francisco

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

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

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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

Want to celebrate this historic occasion with lots of other people, without having to go all the way to Washington, D.C.?

NextArts, a concert producer, will be putting on a video simulcast of the Inauguration ceremonies in Civic Center Plaza right here in San Francisco.

The event is free, but they are asking that you bring a new pair of socks or underwear (with the tags still attached), which they will donate to the homeless.

When:

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 from 7 am to 12 noon.

Where:

Civic Center Plaza, in front of City Hall.

Logistics:

Don’t know if there will be much, or any, seating. Probably a good idea to bring a blanket or a low chair if you’re going to be there for a while.

Don’t forget to bring a donation of new socks or underwear!

More information:

Next Arts inauguration FAQ

In the Chinese zodiac, people born in the Year of the Ox are said to be kind and caring, and born leaders.

To celebrate the Year of the Ox (the Lunar New Year) on January 25, the SF Zoo will be full of special festivities: lion dancers, folk dancers, acrobats, tai chi, crafts, and food.

And admission will be free for anyone who was born in the Year of the Ox: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, and even those very tiny people who were born in 2009.

When:

Sunday, January 25, 10 am to 4 pm

Where:

San Francisco Zoo, Sloat Boulevard and 47th Avenue.

More information:

Zoo event information

Phone: 415-753-7080

Buffalo Soldier Memorial in Fort Bliss, Texas

The “Buffalo Soldiers” were African-American soldiers who served in segregated cavalry units from 1866 to 1951. Bob Marley sang about them, and Danny Glover starred in a movie about them.

The Presidio is presenting a free tour, which (in their words) “will focus on the story of the elite African American 9th Cavalry and their moral dilemma of serving in a segregated military at the turn of the century. In this program participants may gain a more subtle understanding of the sad paradox of African Americans trying to belong to a society that was defined in part by their exclusion.”

When:

The tour will be presented two more times:

Sunday, January 11, 2009, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, and

Sunday, February 15, 2009, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Where:

Meet at the Presidio Visitors Center in the Officers Club, 50 Moraga Ave.

Logistics:

Rain cancels

For more information:

Presidio Schedule of Events

Presidio Visitor Center 415-561-4323