* NOTE: Items in RED and with an asterisk before the date are local and being held in person.

Tuesday, 10/1, 8-9am

Re-live: The Creative Age: A Live Performance by Older People Across the World Celebrate the UN’s International Day of Older Persons through spoken word, music, singing, and dance from Wales, New York, Brazil, and South Africa.

Tuesday, 10/1, 4-5pm

East Hampton Library: MUTTS and Breaking the Chain Cartoonist Patrick McDonnell will discuss Breaking the Chain The Guard Dog Story, about one of his most beloved characters, Sparky (formerly known as Guard Dog). 

Tuesday, 10/1, 6-7:30pm

SF Library: Coyotes Among Us.  Professor Stanley D. Gehrt will talk about his book. 

Wednesday, 10/2, 5-7:30pm

Theater of War Productions: The Drum Major Instinct.  Dramatic reading by acclaimed actors of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermon, with original music and a diverse choir of singers.

Thursday, 10/3, 4:30pm

AARP: A Virtual Bluegrass Music Experience. Guitar Get Down with Rick Faris features the lead singer and guitar player of the Rick Faris Band.

Friday, 10/4, 10:30-11:30am

UC-Berkeley OLLI: Economics and Politics of the 2024 Election.

Friday, 10/4, 1-7pm 

KQED: Livestream of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass from the Banjo Stage.

* Friday, 10/4, 7-8:30pm

Rotary Nature Center Friends: The Mushrooms of Lake Merritt. Damon Tighe will talk about bioluminescent fungi, deadly toadstools, and ones that turn insects into zombies.

Saturday, 10/5, 11am-7pm

KQED: Livestream of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass from the Banjo Stage.

Saturday, 10/5, 11am-12pm

American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center: Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing.  Documentarian Ceri Levy will discuss his collaboration with Ralph Steadman, the creation of the Gonzovation Trilogy, and what it means to be a true “Gonzovationist.”

Sunday, 10/6, 11am-7pm

KQED: Livestream of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass from the Banjo Stage.

Sunday, 10/6, 11am-12pm

Catskill Mountain Foundation: A Unique Stein Piano Comes to Life.  Pierre Goy and fortepiano maker Matthieu Vion introduce a newly completed Stein replica piano, which has rounded hammers, with performances and discussion.

Monday, 10/7, 11:30am-12:30pm

LEVEL: Poetry Reading: Mystery, Miracles and Magic.  Actor Matthew Peter-Carter will read Miracles by Walt Whitman, The Secret Rose by WB Yeats, Such Silence by Mary Oliver and Her Kind, by Ann Sexton.

Tuesday, 10/8, 5-7pm

AARP: Movies for Grownups: Food and Country (Documentary).  Food writer Ruth Reichl reaches out across political and social divides to uncover the country’s broken food system and the innovators risking it all to transform it.

Wednesday, 10/9, 1-2pm

Stanford: Election 2024: Education to Reduce Online Disinformation.  Speaker: Sam Wineburg, co-author of VERIFIED: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Wise Decisions about What to Believe Online.

Wednesday, 10/9, 3:30-5:30pm

Georgetown University: Screening of Still Working 9 to 5 and Panel Discussion.  Documentary about making 9 to 5, with commentary from the film’s stars on the social issues brought up by the film and implications for the modern workplace.

Wednesday, 10/9, 5pm

Illinois Libraries Present: Being Imperfect with Erika Sanchez.  Sanchez is the author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

* Wednesday, 10/9, 6:30-8pm

VOTE 2024: A Virtual Voter Education Event: Featuring an unbiased presentation of ballot initiatives from the League of Women Voters as well as faith-rooted insights. (See leaflet for zoom sign-in info.)

Wednesday, 10/9, 6:30-8pm

West Hollywood Arts Division: Creating Queer Families and Communities.  In celebration of National Coming Out Day, we gather authors and poets to discuss coming out and creating queer families and communities.

Wednesday, 10/9, 7-8pm

Friends of the Alameda Free Library: Docent Talk: Leonardo da Vinci and The Power of Observation.

Thursday, 10/10, 10-11am

Internet Archive: Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.  Barbara McQuade will talk about her book.

Thursday, 10/10, 3-5pm

Poster House: Building a Global Environmentalism Poster Collection.  Executive Director Angelina Lippert and curator Tim Medland will discuss how they built We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970-2020.

Thursday, 10/10, 6-7pm

SF Library: A.I. — The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.  Speaker: Scott Mauvais, previous director of AI and Global Partnerships for Microsoft Philanthropies and Microsoft Cities.

Thursday, 10/10, 7pm

KQED:  How We Fight: The Power of Asian American Activism.  Featuring personal stories about the Third World Liberation Front and how the Stop AAPI Hate movement is influencing November’s election.

Thursday, 10/10, 7-9pm

Marin Audubon Society: Raptor Quest: Chasing America’s Raptors.  Speaker: Scott Harris, Author and Photographer

Friday, 10/11, 10:30-11:30am

UC-Berkeley OLLI Gender in All its Splendor and All Its Controversies.

Friday, 10/11, 3-5pm

Poster House: What is Latinx Design?  Panel discussion with 4 Latin American designers. 

Saturday, 10/12, 12am through Tuesday, 10/15, 11:59pm

AARP: Screening of Miss Angela.  This documentary recounts the remarkable story of 91-year-old Cuban-American singer-songwriter Angela Alvarez, whose songs were nearly lost to the world. 

Saturday, 10/12, 6-8pm

Community Living Campaign: Screening of Frankenstein.  A 1931 pre-code sci-fi horror film, showcasing Boris Karloff.

Sunday, 10/13, 2pm

Ashby Village: Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and The Rise of the Right  .  An interview with Arlie Hochschild, about her book.

Monday, 10/14, 5-6:30pm

AARP Theater: Broadway & Beyond with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley.

Tuesday, 10/15, 10:30am-12pm

AARP: Hamilton: The Man and The Musical.

Tuesday, 10/15, 4pm

UNAM: What’s Our Problem? Self-help for Societies.  Tim Urban will discuss his book.

Tuesday, 10/15, 6pm through 11/5, 11:30pm

SF Opera Guild: Tristan und Isolde Virtual Opera Preview.

Wednesday, 10/16, 10-11am

AARP: Virginia Treasures: A Journey to Find California Gold.  Learn about forty-niner John Maban via letters sent to his wife, describing his travels, the cholera epidemic of 1849, the great St. Louis fire, and more. 

Wednesday, 10/16, 7pm

City Lights/Litquake: California’s Fiercely Independent Literary Culture.  Panel discussion with Jack Boulware, Beth Spotswood, Steve Wasserman, and Paul Yamazaki.

Thursday, 10/17, 10:30-11:30am

Climate Action North: One Garden Against the World: In Search of Hope in a Changing Climate.  Kate Bradbury will discuss her book.

Thursday, 10/17, 3-4:30pm

Poster House: Lester Beall & the Campaign to Electrify America.  Mark Resnick will discuss Beall’s career and the series of posters he designed for the Rural Electrification Administration, crucial for President Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”

Thursday, 10/17, 5-6:45pm

AARP: Movies for Grownups: Join or Die.  This documentary follows the story of America’s civic unraveling through the work of Robert Putnam and his legendary Bowling Alone findings.

* Thursday, 10/17, 6-11pm (and also Friday, 10/18, 6-11pm and Saturday, 10/19, 6-11pm)

Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt: 13^th Annual Autumn Lights Festival.  Experience 75 locally-produced illuminated art displays in Oakland’s beloved eight-acre municipal gardens.

Thursday, 10/17, 7-8:30pm

City Lights: Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It’s a Lie: A Memoir in Essays. Heyday Books publisher Steve Wasserman will discuss his book with Adam Hochschild.

Sunday, 10/20, 3-4pm

Share My Lesson: Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.  Heather Cox Richardson will discuss her book with Randi Weingarten. 

Monday, 10/21, through Sunday, 10/27

Playwright’s Center: Streaming of The Irrepressible Magic of the Tropics.  Julián Mesri’s play is a farcical romp through Latin American history and literature and an exploration of capitalism, colonialism and US-led economic imperialism.

Monday, 10/21, 7-8:30pm

City Lights: Cellophane Bricks: A Life in Visual Culture.  Jonathan Lethem will talk about his new book.

Tuesday, 10/22, 6-7pm

SF Library: Cook-Along with Hetal Vasavada.  She will discuss her new book Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts and will lead a live cook-along. 

Thursday, 10/24, 4-5pm

African American History and Culture Museum: A Conversation between Bill Banfield and Ernie Isley.  Professor Emerita Banfield (Berklee College of Music) and Isley, of the Isley Brothers, will discuss Isley’s long career and will perform.

Thursday, 10/24, 6-8pm

Grand Avenue Art Walk. Visit the shops along the Avenue, meet artists with their creations, enjoy treats (and discounts) from local restaurants, and get to know your neighbors and neighborhood.

Thursday, 10/24, 6pm through Friday, 11/1, 11:30pm

SF Opera Guild: Beethoven’s 9th Virtual Concert Preview with Kip Cranna.

* Saturday, 10/26, 10am-12 noon

Halloween Parade & Harvest Festival. Families will gather at the church for fun games, exciting prizes, and a tasty handmade corn dog lunch. Afterward, join the parade in your best costume, and enjoy trick-or-treating at participating businesses.

Saturday, 10/26, 11am-3:45pm

City Lights: Making Democracy Real: Encouraging an Active Citizenry.  Panel discussions about the political situation in the US, with Martha S. Jones, David Daley, Paul Pierson, Eric Schickler, Amanda Becker, and Erin Geiger Smith.

Saturday, 10/26, 6-8pm

Community Living Campaign: Screening of The Bride of Frankenstein. This 1935 classic is sometimes considered the best sequel ever made in the horror genre.

* Sunday, 10/27, 4-7pm

Splashpad Park: Fourth Sunday Volunteer Work Day. Gloves and tools are provided or bring your own for weeding, pruning, litter pick-up, and planting.

Sunday, 10/27, 4-7pm

AARP: Ricciardo E Zoraide at the Rossini Opera Festival.

Tuesday, 10/29, 11am-1pm

GreenEducation US: The History and Future of US Recycling: From the 1950s ‘Throw Away Society’ to the 2040s ‘Zero Waste Society’ (Maybe Sooner).

Tuesday, 10/29, 3:30pm

CUNY: John Lewis: A Life. David Greenberg will discuss his book with Rachel L. Swarns.

Tuesday, 10/29, 11am-1pm

GreenEducation US: The History and Future of US Recycling: From the 1950s ‘Throw Away Society’ to the 2040s ‘Zero Waste Society’ (Maybe Sooner).

Tuesday, 10/29, 6-7pm

SF Library: Dialogue: Grotto Nights @ The Library – Baycentric: Writers on the Bay Area.  Laurie Ann Doyle, Douglas Henderson, Dominic Lim and Kathy Seligman will talk about their books and take questions from the audience.

Wednesday, 10/30, 3-4pm

Bodega Marine Laboratory: From Classroom to Oyster Farm: Tideland Tales of a Recovering Academic.  Speaker: Gary Fleener – Sustainability and Farm Education Manager, Hog Island Oyster Co.

Thursday, 10/31, 5-7pm

AARP: Movies for Grownups: Hocus Pocus. Three sister witches are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween night. Three kids and their newfound feline friend put an end to the witches’ reign of terror.