Around the bay in February 2011

Looking for the perfect Valentine’s weekend date with that special someone?

Published: February, 2011 

Exploratorium Offers Ultimate Valentine’s Date

Looking for the perfect Valentine’s weekend date with that special someone? The Exploratorium has you covered with the Ultimate Date Tour—a steamy walk through the museum’s most romance-worthy exhibits on Saturday, February 12. Start off by visiting the Heat Camera. Try touching each other to see if you can figure out who’s hotter. What about the chemistry between you? Hold hands and crank the electricity to see if sparks flow at the Finger Tingler. Next up: Everyone knows the keys to a solid relationship are trust and communication—the Emotion Tracer lie detector gives you a chance to find out those dirty little secrets. Take turns asking each other those burning questions and find out if the truth sets you free. If you’ve made it this far, head over to the Everyone Is You and Me exhibit where you can preview your potential progeny. Sit across from one another and position your faces so that your heads are the same size and your features are aligned. Adjust the light until an image appears that combines your beautiful faces. For more details on the Ultimate Date Tour, visit www.exploratorium.edu.

Real-Life Couples Perform in Valentine’s Day Dance

James Graham Dance Theatre presents Dance Lovers at Kunst-Stoff Arts on Monday, February 14 at 8 p.m. Seven real-life couples will be presenting work. The performers represent a diverse involvement in the San Francisco Bay Area dance world. Contemporary ballet, social dance, performance art, theatre, contact improvisation, and modern dance scenes influence these duets. A common element is that the audience knows these two people are romantically involved. The audience is privy to this “secret” and will be able to discern what this does to each duet. Tickets are available at the door with a $10-$20 sliding scale. For more information, email dancelovers2011@gmail.com.

SF Beer Week is Back

Uf-da! It’s gonna be one exciting SF Beer Week this year. SF Beer Week runs from February 11 through 20 and is about showcasing the amazing flavors, fun, and culture of beer—these are the types of high-quality events that your favorite breweries, restaurants, and bars are putting together. Call yourself Jacques or Jane Cousteau, because after going to a few events, you’ll find yourself quite the explorer of the species, habitat, and culture of beer. Brewers and drinkers and foodies rub shoulders as they mingle throughout the mosaic of new beer releases, beer and food pairings, open brew days, and charitable events. There’s even a beer brewed especially for SF Beer Week called Liquid Sour Dough, brewed by Bay Area brewers and bar owners at Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp last December. There are over 200 events scheduled, so visit www.sfbeerweek.com and find a way to join in on the fun.

Crystal Clear

The San Francisco Crystal Fair takes place at Fort Mason Center on February 26-27. It’s the beginning of their 24th year and the shows are still spectacular. The Crystal Fair is a magical mix of crystals, minerals, beads, jewelry, metaphysical healing tools and the healing arts. With over 40 vendors at each show, there are thousands of items available at affordable prices. For more information, visit www.crystalfair.com or call (415) 383-7837.

City Hall Rotunda Dance Series Begins

A free public performance of Leung’s White Crane Chinese Lion Dancing at noon on February 4 is part of the City Hall Rotunda Dance Series, a partnership between Dancers’ Group and World Arts West with San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts and San Francisco City Hall. The dance group is a long-time San Francisco cultural tradition, most noted for their larger-than-life performances in the annual San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade. Come and join this dynamic lunchtime dance performance amidst the grandeur of San Francisco’s City Hall. The high profile City Hall Rotunda Dance Series brings 10 of the Bay Area’s most acclaimed dance companies to the Rotunda of San Francisco City Hall for free noon-time performances taking place the first Friday of each month. Events will primarily involve dance, but might also include music, theater or other performing art disciplines. Future Rotunda Dance Series performances will include Hālau o Keikiali‛i (hula), Monique Jenkinson / Fauxnique, Hui Tama Nui (Tahitian), Ohlone Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribal Dance, AXIS Dance Company, and Gamelan Sekar Jaya.

New ‘CalParks’ App Offers State Park Trail Guides

California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) recently announced the release of its new iPhone application “CalParks.” The free app allows users to take trail guide information with them while they explore state parks and beaches across California. To develop and launch the app, CSPF partnered with EveryTrail, the leading online and mobile travel technology company. The CalParks app marks an exciting new time for visitors who want to explore California’s many parks. While there is no shortage of park information available in print or online, it can be difficult to take that information along without cumbersome workarounds such as printing, emailing web pages, and lugging paperwork. In contrast, the CalParks app by EveryTrail offers visitors a detailed, media-rich, interactive and location-aware experience, complete with guides to over 45 parks. It is lightweight and always up-to-date with the latest park information. Users can download the app in the App Store today or find it on iTunes.

2011 Camp-California Guide Released

The California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds recently released the 2011 Camp-California! The Camper’s Guide to California is a free, four-color glossy magazine that lists more than 700 campgrounds and RV resorts throughout the Golden State. The directory includes listings of privately owned campgrounds as well as campgrounds in county, state and national parks, which you typically won’t find in the same directory. The directory is free and can be picked up at most campgrounds that are affiliated with the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds as well as California Welcome Centers, Camping World and Bass Pro Shops stores throughout California. It can also be ordered online through Camp-California.com for a small fee to cover the cost of postage. The guide also includes locator maps that feature multiple campgrounds on the same page so you can see where the campgrounds are located in relation to places you might like to visit.