Arts/Culture/Weekend: Delights for your eyes, ears, and taste buds

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There may be spots of rain here and there this weekend, but there will still be plenty of opportunities to delight your senses AND stay dry.

If you listened to my interview with author, chef, and Chinatown Walking Tour founder Shirley Fong-Torres, then you would know that Saturday is the day of the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade. Even though rain is promised for the first part of the day, it looks like it could be dry by 5:30pm parade-time. It is touted as one of the top ten parades in the world, and as the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia.  Your eyes will feast on the colorful floats, costumes, and decorations that will adorn all of Chinatown. 
 
If you want to avoid the parade crowds but still partake in the ferocious new year spirit, there will be a community street fair in Chinatown on Saturday morning, where you can find calligraphy artists, kite-making workshops, and more. The colors of the day will be red and gold, so wear some!  It's supposed to bring you good luck in this coming Year of the Tiger.

For your aural pleasure, there are quite a number of free music opportunities this weekend as well, including several performances by the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir.  On Sunday at noon they will be at the Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley.  And next week, the Zambaleta World Music and Dance School in the Mission is offering a week of up to 50 free music classes to check out anything from guitar and mandolin, to the basics of DJing, cajon, and Post-Apocalyptic Pentatonic Flute. (I don't know what that is either...but now's your chance to find out!)

If you want to listen to music AND donate your cover charge to a good cause, there will be a couple of concerts raising funds for the ongoing relief effort in Haiti. We featured the Ladies for Haiti concert at the end of Crosscurrents on Thursday; that's on Sunday at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco. 

If you're in the East Bay, there's a Haiti relief event in your neck of the woods as well: photographers, DJs, live musicians and local beer crafters come together for A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words at the Oakland Noodle Factory.  The event is on Saturday night, and will be charging $5 - $10 on a sliding scale.

Music is all about listening, but so is storytelling, and that will be the focus of the listening party hosted by Audio Heirlooms on Sunday. The night will be celebrating the organization's 5th anniversary by showcasing the art of personal narrative at its best.

If your senses aren't satiated enough after all those events, your taste buds are in store for a thrill on Sunday at Omnivore Books on Food, where chocolatier Michael Recchiuti and cookbook author Fran Gage will discuss the ins and outs of chocolate obsession, and will also be offering samples -- all free. 

Who can say no to that?

Arts/Culture/Weekend is the editor's pick of arts and culture events around the bay for the coming weekend.  If you would like to let us know about an upcoming event, please email us at news@kalw.org -- we appreciate your input!