In this week's Field Notes: from a chic Mission dog shelter and a mansion under the Bay Bridge to pavement plants and dahlias in Oakland. Also, tactile SF maps, Obon in the park, queer family stories, cat zines, and a Sacramento ghost town.

Inside Muttville’s chic new HQ

In San Francisco’s Mission, Muttville’s new shelter blends style and dog-friendly design with Missoni carpets, playful murals, and Zen rooms for newcomers to decompress.

Interior designer Ken Fulk helped furnish the space with stylish but functional donations from storage. The on-site vet clinic, grooming area, and open adoption rooms keep tails wagging and humans lingering — where short visits often stretch into hours of play and companionship. — Dwell, neemtravels

New film traces LGBTQ+ SF family life

Fairyland, opening nationwide October 10, tells the story of poet and activist Steve Abbott and his daughter Alysia as they build a life together in San Francisco after her mother’s death.

Based on Alysia Abbott’s memoir, the film follows their unconventional family through the city’s queer community of the 1970s and into the devastation of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. It shows how love and resilience carried people through a hard chapter in LGBTQ+ history. — Edge Media Network

A Japanese American celebration in Golden Gate Park

BonPOP reimagines the Obon festival with dance, taiko, and ritual led by Japantown artists and cultural practitioners in Golden Gate Park on August 31.

Obon, a 500-year-old tradition originating in Buddhist and Taoist festivals, is marked across Japan each August with temple visits, lanterns, and family gatherings in honor of one’s ancestors — and BonPOP carries that spirit into San Francisco. — BonPOP

Tactile maps

Maps you can feel, shapes that spark memory and imagination — Fully Tactile Art SF’s Exploring Maps exhibition turns navigation into touch, emotion, and connection.

A nonprofit dedicated to free public art, they create spaces that engage all the senses and let artists reimagine how their work is experienced. Runs August 30–September 7. — Fully Tactile Art

Zine dad

Oakland dad, preschool volunteer, and longtime arts and justice professional, Channing Kennedy, draws the family cats for his kids every school day.

He’ll be at Berkeley’s Zine Fest August 23 (sorry for the late notice) and SF Zine Fest next Saturday, August 31, with new zines, cute stickers, and pawsitive vibes. — Berkeley Public Library

Gold Rush underfoot in Old Sacramento

On Sacramento’s riverfront, Old Sacramento still has wooden sidewalks, brick storefronts, and the kind of Gold Rush atmosphere that feels almost staged — except it’s real.

Decades of digs have made it one of the country’s most intensely studied 19th-century sites, with archaeologists unearthing bottles, tools, and everyday scraps of life. A historic district layered over an excavation site turned tourist stop. — Secret San Francisco

Mansion under the bridge

From the road it’s easy to miss, but tucked on Yerba Buena Island there’s a full-size mansion sitting almost directly beneath the Bay Bridge. It looks out at the water but mostly lives in the bridge’s shadow. Built in 1900 for Navy commanders, the Nimitz House once hosted brass and dignitaries, and schoolkids used to stop by with birthday cards for Admiral Chester Nimitz himself.

For a time, the house served as an event venue, which was short-lived due to the constant hum of traffic. These days it’s just another relic on the island — weathered, quiet, and nearly invisible to drivers above. — SFGate

Life in the cracks

Biology educator Mr. Kelkar turns a crack in the Oakland pavement into a classroom, pointing out foxtail, barley seed, marsh parsley, and other hardy invaders.

His whirlwind lesson shows how a handful of species dominate urban landscapes — and what we lose when they crowd out native plants. — Oakland Now

Explosion of color at Lake Merritt

The Lake Merritt gardens are full of dahlias, lined up for the San Leandro Dahlia Society’s annual show. Rows of yellow, pink, purple, orange, and white flowers fill the space, many named after family members or grown from cross-pollinated varieties.

Award-winning blooms like Olivia Maureen and Verde sit alongside favorites like “Just Married.” Each flower must bloom for three years before it can be officially named, ensuring only the strongest varieties make the cut.

After the show, the plants continue to bloom until October, when tubers are dug up, stored, and replanted in spring. Bouquets are sold to support ongoing garden care. — The Oaklandside

Dancing with visitors

For one day only, Alonzo King LINES Ballet steps into Ragnar Kjartansson’s The Visitors, weaving live movement through the iconic video installation on SFMOMA’s sixth floor.

Dancers respond to and expand the work, turning projections into a stage where choreography becomes its own living conversation.

The Visitors installation itself runs through September 28, so catch it while you can. — SFMOMA

Top image: Muttville/Facebook

Field Notes: Recology AIR 35th, Aquatic Park Doc, Rodin with Pipe Organ, and Teen Chase Film

This week: Filmmaker Joslyn Rose Lyons spotlights Oakland stories; Dr. Veronica Jow bridges dance and medicine; softball star Nina Pototo shines; and we honor lives well lived — Federal Glover, Rob Reich, and Dorothy Fisher Anderson.

Ahead of the big weekend headlines, we’re shining a light on Bay Area people making an impact — through creativity, service, leadership, everyday care, and now, in a new addition, through the legacies they’ve left behind.

Spotlight: Joslyn Rose Lyons

Born and raised in Oakland, Joslyn Rose Lyons is an award-winning director, writer, and producer known for telling powerful stories grounded in community, culture, and resilience. Her work includes the Emmy-nominated Showtime Sports documentary STAND and music videos for Bay Area legends like Too $hort and E-40, as recently reported by NBC Bay Area.

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Her newest film, The Masquerade, features an all–Bay Area cast and crew and explores how time changes a community — and how people hold on to their dreams through those changes, according to KQED. “It’s a love letter to time,” Lyons says, “and to the resilience of Oakland.”

She’s also a founding member of Make It Bay, a film collective focused on uplifting Oakland’s culture and economy through local storytelling. Other members include Kamau Bell, Rafael Casal, Ryan Coogler, and Stephen Curry.

As the site Canvas Rebel reports, Lyons says she’s driven by a simple idea: storytelling matters when it helps people feel seen. “Success,” she says, “isn’t just about the spotlight. It’s about what sticks with you. It’s about what you pass on.”

Through her films, her collaborations, and her community work, Joslyn Rose Lyons is helping shape what’s next for Bay Area arts — and doing it her own way.

Also Notable:

Dr. Veronica Jow, "Rave Doctor"

Dr. Veronica Jow is a Bay Area physician who combines her medical expertise with a deep passion for movement. As the official doctor for the San Francisco Giants and a longtime raver and festival-goer, she brings a unique perspective to injury prevention and performance care. After noticing the toll dancing was taking on her own body, she began developing resources to help others stay healthy — from online warm-ups and injury prevention classes to personalized fitness plans. Today, Jow is known for her work supporting both elite athletes and the city’s dance community, helping people stay active, resilient, and injury-free. [Broke-Ass Stuart]

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Nina Pototo, Lowell High Softball Standout

Since joining the city’s free Softball Academy program, Lowell High School sophomore Nina Pototo has become one of the city’s rising athletic leaders. A three-year participant in the academy’s year-round programming, she earned a varsity spot as a freshman and led her team with a .432 batting average. Off the field, she advocates for equity in sports through leadership and mentoring. This summer, she’ll represent San Francisco at the Elite Development Invitational in Kansas City — training alongside top athletes and coaches from across the country. [SF Recreation and Parks]

Lives Remembered

Federal Glover (1955–2025)

Federal Glover, the first Black supervisor in Contra Costa County’s 150-year history, died on May 18 at age 69. A lifelong Pittsburg resident and former city councilmember, Glover was elected to the county Board of Supervisors in 2000 and served District 5 for nearly 25 years. He was known for his steady leadership and deep commitment to equity, directing resources toward underserved communities in East County and the Carquinez Strait. Glover championed youth programs, public health, and transportation access, and helped guide the county through periods of major demographic and environmental change. After a life-threatening illness in 2015, he returned to office with characteristic quiet resolve. Glover died at a hospital in San Francisco following a brief illness. His legacy is visible in the civic fabric of the region he served with devotion and care. [SF Chronicle]

Rob Reich (1977–2025)

Rob Reich, the beloved Bay Area composer and multi-instrumentalist known for his accordion and piano performances at Zuni Café, died unexpectedly on May 15 while visiting Orr Hot Springs in Ukiah. He was 47. A cornerstone of San Francisco’s live music scene, Reich was the longtime bandleader for Circus Bella and a regular at venues from Davies Symphony Hall to Bird & Beckett Books. Equally adept at jazz, klezmer, chamber music, and experimental sounds, he was known for his warmth, versatility, and deep musicality. His final Circus Bella score will debut posthumously in June. [SF Chronicle]

Dorothy Fisher Anderson (1925–2025)

Dorothy Fisher Anderson, who died in March at age 100, lived a life defined by service, art, and intellectual curiosity, as Palo Alto Online reports. Born in Madeira and raised in New York City, she was shaped by Depression-era resilience and a progressive Jewish upbringing. After earning degrees in sociology and social work, she became a clinical social worker, supporting WWII veterans and at-risk children in the Bronx. A longtime Palo Alto resident, she raised three children, traveled widely, and returned to psychotherapy later in life, including play therapy from her home office. A sculptor, opera lover, and avid tennis player, Anderson celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family on the Stanford campus, where she had lived since 1968. [Palo Alto Online]

Image via Joslyn Rose Lyons on Instagram

Previously: Notable Humans: How Lisa Truong’s Help a Mother Out Changed Public Policy

This week, 4/21-27: Five-day sustainable fashion exhibition; queer-oriented climate meetup; live-painting and art auction; two-day celebration of queer country-western dance culture; and the 5th anniversary of the JFK Promenade.

Monday

• Rethink the Runway presents Threads of Change, an immersive, five-day sustainable fashion exhibition taking place during SF Climate Week. Featuring guided tours and work by Bay Area designers, the event highlights innovative, upcycled, and regenerative fashion—from 3D weaving tech to curated vintage—showcasing how creativity can drive climate-conscious change in the fashion industry.
  Monday, April 21 – Friday, April 25 // Tours offered daily at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm // Humanmade, 655 Bryant St // Suggested donation: $10

Tuesday

• Rooted in Rainbows is SF Climate Week’s first queer-centered event, celebrating the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity and climate action. The evening features trivia, drag performances, and community-building aimed at uplifting queer visibility and leadership within the environmental movement.
  Tuesday, April 22, 6–10 pm // Buzzworks, 365 11th St // Free

Wednesday

• Art Battle is a live painting and creative competition in which local artists face off in three timed rounds, creating original works before a live audience. Spectators play a key role by voting for their favorite pieces and helping crown the night’s champion. All artwork created during the event will be available for purchase through a silent auction, giving guests the chance to take home a one-of-a-kind piece.
  Wednesday, April 23, doors 7pm; painting 8pm // The Great Northern, 119 Utah Street // $21 – $26.26 // 21+

Saturday

• The San Francisco Dance Film Festival presents a two-night event celebrating queer country-western dance culture. The event kicks off on Saturday with a screening of Last Dance at the Sundance Stompede, an impassioned documentary capturing the final year of the iconic queer country-western dance event and its legacy of joy, resilience, and community. The premiere includes a Q&A with the filmmakers, and live performances, and some dancing. Ticketholders to Saturday’s event will then head on down to Sundance Saloon on Sunday night for some lessons and line-dancing.
  Saturday, April 26 // Brava Theater, 2781 24th St // $30.65

Sunday

• Celebrate five years of the beloved car-free JFK Promenade with a lively picnic hosted by Walk SF and partners. Enjoy family-friendly activities, lawn games, drag performances, a talk on the history of car-free spaces, and a birthday raffle.
  Sunday, April 27, Noon – 3pm // Peacock Meadow at JFK Promenade // Free

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Another stunning outdoor ballet video from Post:ballet, as their interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake premieres today and pirouettes around the Golden Gate Bridge.

This past holiday season, we got our Drosselmeyers in a bunch over this outdoor Nutcracker ballet on an Alameda tarmac, a remarkable piece of pandemic-era culture with masks and distanced dancing that still iterated on the timeless magic of the 130-year-old classic. The paradigm-smashing dance team at Post:ballet who brought us that video is at it again, this time springing forward with their interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake that places the dancers on the shores of the Pacific Ocean with a Golden Gate Bridge backdrop.

The video above is merely the one-minute Swan Lake trailer, but the full 15-minute version premieres tonight, April 1, at 7 p.m. PT. The show will be broadcast on Zoom, and will feature opportunities to Q&A with choreographer Robert Dekkers and the featured dancers.  Admission is donation-based and pay-what-you-can, though the ticketing system will take donations as small as $1.

Once again shot by cinematographer Ben Tarquin, this Swan Lake features dazzling dance along recognizable SF Bay coastal locations like Baker Beach, Hawk Hill, the Presidio's Torpedo Wharf, Marin County's Moore Road Pier, and Treasure Island.

Choreographer and Post:ballet founder Robert Dekkers tells SFist the troupe has “a vision to use classical ballet as a foundation to develop innovative new collaborations with multidisciplinary artists. Over the years, we've presented works featuring artists working in film, photography, architecture, new music, fashion, animation, and visual art/painting, as well as the traditional collaborators of dance — lighting, scenic, and costume designers.”

This dance troupe has still had a 2020-21 season! To bide your time until 7 p.m. Thursday night, you can also check out their previous recent pandemic-era works A Natural History of Vacant Lots, their SF Symphony collaboration Playing Changes, and two Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive collaborations, La Folia and Eight Whiskus.

Post:Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake’ premieres Thursday, April 1, online at 7 p.m. PT. Donations encourages, tickets here

Related: Holiday Palate Cleanser: ‘Nutcracker’ Ballet On an Alameda Tarmac [SFist]

Images: Post:Ballet

You may not expect an acrobatic, circus-style aerial performance to explore the topic of violence against women. But this improbable concept achieves great heights in Grace and Delia Are Gone, a new dance piece from Flyaway Productions that premiered Thursday night at the Fort Mason Firehouse. Dancers bounce and rappel off walls both indoor and out, perform daring acrobatic maneuvers, manipulate weights and pulleys to keep them afloat, all while remaining in theatrical character in a work that addresses some pretty brutal subject matter.

Flyaway Productions, who have been doing these apparatus-based dance performances with social justice themes for the last 20 years, takes over several different rooms and spaces at the Firehouse at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture for this piece. Grace and Delia Are Gone successfully takes you into the headspace of a woman thinking “My husband beats me and might kill me tonight”, and does so on a former military base. The site-specific magic of this piece manifests with daring suspension stunts in starkly designed sets with the sight of ships floating through the San Francisco Bay in the site’s background.

This show’s scenes take place in various different parts of the venue, and segments of the audience see different scenes at different times. In that sense, it’s reminiscent of an old-style haunted house attraction — though maybe a haunted house as conceived by Werner Herzog and Rebecca Solnit. The dancers’ movements are eerily hypnotic, and their wall-walking is on par with Spider-Man. Some abstract portions of the show might not make much sense to people who don’t watch a ton of dance. But there are so many gasp-inducing moments and astonishingly risky moves performed on rafters, fire escapes and large-scale, built-in, site-specific props that you can’t help but lost in amazement.

Artistically, Grace and Delia Are Gone is a powerhouse. Some fussier audience members might not be thrilled that they have to stand for certain segments of the show, and for one segment even have to stand outside by the chilly waters of the Bay. Plus it’s a little tough to find the Firehouse if you’re not familiar with the multiple-building labyrinth of the Fort Mason Center facility (HINT: It’s the northeast corner at the back the parking lot)

Megan Lowe in 'Grace and Delia are Gone'. Photo by Austin Forbord, Rapt Productions

But there is so much to “wow” at in Grace and Delia Are Gone, and much of its appeal comes from the inherent bizarreness and remoteness of the facility where it’s staged. The subject matter isn’t easy to watch and the narrative isn’t always easy to understand. But these suspension dancers are certain to suspend your disbelief in a work you won’t forget.

Grace and Delia Are Gone plays through October 2 at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture. Tickets here.

This weekend, spend some time with a great detective, watch dancers take over 24th Street, and celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Friday: Veronica Mars

Look, I need to be honest with you. I don't go to every event I've listed in SFist Tonight since I started doing it (with, obviously, a big intermission) in 2006. However, I always list things I would go to, if I didn't have multiple jobs, dogs and a spouse to attend to. Tonight what I would do and what I am doing converge with the notoriously-Kickstarted Veronica Mars movie. Tonight I will be going to either the Metreon or 1000 Van Ness (local showtimes are here), will put down my own actual hard earned money, and will reunite with all my friends from Neptune High one more time. Won't you join me? (And before you argue that VM's only for teens/ladies, I'll tell you that I know a guy who says it's his favorite TV show, ever, and he can bench press you.)

Saturday: Inhabitant
In this free, outdoor dance event, "performers blend in and out of the crowd"at 24th and Mission Streets, "drawing attention to the everyday encounters and movement of people through the site that creates a shifting lightscape beginning at dusk and continuing through nightfall."

The Ntsoana Contemporary Dance Theatre asks that Inhabitant audience members meet at 6:45 PM at La Taqueria (2889 Mission Street) or Arizmendi Bakery (1268 Valencia Street). You'll be given a program at the meeting place, and will be led to the site at 6:50, for a performance to begin at 7 PM.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

This year's San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade will include a first-time contingent from the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee. While other parades celebrating this booze-soaked holiday in New York City and Boston have been boycotted by their mayors due to LGBT discrimination, local organizer United Irish Societies of San Francisco has welcomed SF Pride and the queer community. Head down to Market Street between Civic Center and Second Street starting at 11:30 AM to catch the festivities. -- Brock Keeling

Why isn't there a dance club strictly devoted to tap dancing? We'd hit that place every night until our toes fell off into a pool of blood. We'd own that scene. But until someone creates such a space, here are the actual top dance clubs in San Francisco.

Audio Discotech
Ha! A lot of people were gloriously butthurt after not being able to gain entry opening night, but this nascent nightclub might be worth the long lines. Started by a gaggle of natives looking to up the chic ante in the neighborhood, this tiny club, described as being "reminiscent of a ’70s Cadillac," features a high-end sound system (designed by Funktion-One) with over 1,200 square feet of acoustic paneling and a pretty rad 45-foot wall dotted with over 1,000 LED lights. Sure, they're not going to play pretentious indie-rock pop song B-side; that's not why you come here. You come to see, be seen, and, hey, check out that cool circular thing above the decks!
316 - 11th Street (at Folsom)

The Cafe
Step back in time and check out the place to go in the Castro for LGBT tourists, bridge-and-tunnel ilk, and locals. The drinks are impossibly strong, the scene is prime for a hookup. (Also popular at the Cafe? Drag performances by RuPaul's Drag Race stars.)
2369 Market (at 17th Street)

Salsa dancing at Cafe Cocomo.

Cafe Cocomo
Don't be intimidated by the twirly pros at this salsa club: with tons of lessons and a non-judgemental crowd, Cafe Cocomo appeals to everyone who wants to get their partner-dance on. There's plenty of space and energetic live music that will get your blood pumping, and whether you're a seasoned dancer or a clueless amateur, you'll have a good time. (And especially if you're a lady, you'll have no trouble finding partners willing to teach you new moves).
650 Indiana (at 18th Street)

(Photo: Scott Beale)

DNA Lounge
On any given night, this Eleventh Street all-ages club's genetic makeup might morph from a sweaty DJ night to underground music venue to burlesque revue to drag stage. It's that sort of diverse lineup, bolstered by 24-hour pizza next door and unannounced shows from big names like Prince and Metallica that has made the club a SoMa staple for going on 30 years.
375 - 11th Street (at Harrison)

El Rio's patio. (photo: Darwin Bell)

El Rio
There are many reasons to lace up your dancing shoes and head to El Rio. But the best reason, if we may, would be DJ Carnita and DJ Brown Amy's Hard French, a daytime soul music party that sets out to "modernize, takeover, revamp, trick out, revive, and do up the outdoor afternoon dance party experience."
3158 Mission St (at Cesar Chavez)

Holy Cow (photo: M.C. / Yelp)

Holy Cow
This is a great place in which to get fucked up. Also, lots of private bathroom stalls. Draw your own conclusions. While the Folsom Street joint is good for a night of top-40, hip-hop, and party music, its real draw is, of course, Honey Soundsystem who specializes in the country's best Hard NRG. Know Honey Soundsystem, know God; no Honey Soundsystem, no God. Got it? Good. (They can also be heard at other venues, like Public Works, Beatbox, and more.)
1535 Folsom (at Norfolk)

Little Baobab (photo: Sunugal)

Little Baobab
Senegalese restaurant by day, dance spot by night, Little Baobab feels less like a dance club than an impromptu party with a friendly, casual crowd. You don't have to dress up to grind to the reggaeton, Latin and world beats, but you do have to try Baobab's signature hibiscus and ginger drinks.
3388 19th Street (at Mission)

Monarch

Monarch
The space at the corner of 6th and Mission has been a lot of things in the last ten years, but we dare say that 2-year-old Monarch has been killing it in a way that none of those other concepts came close to doing. The upstairs bar and lounge are cool and the drinks are decent enough, but the key is the basement dancefloor with its insanely good Void Acoustics sound system and underground vibe. It's everything that an urban club should be, and so long as the crowd isn't too bridge-and-tunnelly or douchey, it's one of the best places to dance in the city.
101 Sixth Street (at Mission)

Mighty (photo: fred zilla)

Mighty
A popular, albeit hidden, nightclub under the freeway where SOMA, the Mission and Potrero Hill meet. Plenty of House music nights as well as noted Burning Man DJs spin here.
119 Utah (at 15th Street)

Q Bar
The tourists and tacky gays can have Badlands and its newer sister across the street, Toad Hall, but we'll take Q Bar when it comes to dancing in the Castro. Wednesdays has been for Booty Call for the last six years, hosted by Juanita More and Joshua J, but lately there have been some other cool things cropping up on the weekends too, like Homo Erectus on the first Saturday of every month, and the electro-themed Hard Fridays. Again, like Monarch, depending on the DJ and how the crowd shakes out, it's the one of the only spaces in the city that can feel like a crowded, sweaty night in a Manhattan club with music that's current without being too radio-friendly.
456 Castro (at 18th Street)

Public Works (photo: Julia D. / Yelp)

Public Works
When this place opened over two years ago, it was a breath of fresh air in bringing a warehouse-y, cool club vibe back to the S.F. scene after about a decade of club closings and failures. We dig the raw wood aesthetic around the bar, and the sound system, and for bigger events the upstairs offers two alternative hangouts to the main floor, including a cool and cozy dancefloor with its own bar at the front of the building. Also, there's ample outdoor space with no nearby neighbors to worry about if you need to hoot and holler while you smoke, and there's an art gallery space too.
161 Erie Street (at Mission)

Honorable mentions

Makeout Room

Roccapulco

1015

Cat Club

Jay Barmann, Andrew Dalton, Rose Garrett, and Brock Keeling all contributed to this report.

Let's give it up for Richie Panic, shall we? Mr. Panic, local DJ of note, has been dishing out his monthly Lights Down Low for masses at Mezzanine. And now it's time to give back... in sweat.

Lights Down Low celebrates seven years tonight, featuring DJs Azari & III, Todd (the God) Terry, Lee Foss, Sleazemore, Jouquin Barta, and of course, Richie Panic.

"We are really trying to make this a big crazy event and we have put our lives on the line for this party," Panic tells SFist. So you know that tonight's bash is serious. Dress up, be nice, drink up, and come single or coupled (gay or non-gay!).

There are still a few general admission tickets available online. Otherwise, you can purchase tickets at the door at Mezzanine, (444 Jessie, S.F.) for $22.

The dearth of creativity and art in San Francisco is apparent and nothing short of horrifying. That is, until now. The fine folks behind Pride-season's GayGlo (remember that?) are back again (finally) and putting on a weekend-long show in honor of the return of Christ (or "Christ"). It's called the Zombie Christ Haunted House and it will be the best thing to happen to Easter since the advent of the Cadbury Egg.

Here's the deal: Brian Busta (aka Chickpea) and some crazy-ass faeries have taken over the old Tower Records space on Market and Noe, and have created a weekend pop-up haunted house. Christ has risen, but this weekend he's coming back as a zombie. A gay zombie, probably. You dig? Early word is that the final setup is brilliant. And if the legacy/aesthetic of GayGlo is any indication (do your homework, twinks), it's going to be way boss.

The haunted house happens on Friday and Saturday from 9pm-midnight. But the big bet is an Easter Day dance party on Sunday from 4pm-7pm (a good rainy Sunday alternative to the party Dolores Park).

If you don't go, you've failed at Easter and hate God. Speaking of, the fete will presumably be critical of Christianity. Just a heads up.

Donations run $10-$20. And proceeds go to LGBT senior housing, counseling, radical queer nuns. If you want to volunteer, go here. If you want more information, go here. If you yearn to have a bitchin' Easter, go here.

Starts tonight (Friday) and goes until Easter Sunday. Next door to Cafe Flore. Hop to it, kids.

Noted for being one of the first "homophile" organizations in the United States in 1950, the Mattachine Society were an anarchistic bunch of fun gays who liked to drink while being pinko political. The way things should be, really. Now, in their honor, John Cameron Mitchell brings his noted Mattachine Dance Party -- a smashing road party now touring the states -- from NYC to SF on Saturday with a bash at El Rio. Think disco party meets Radical Faeries meets Hard French. There you go.

Queerty notes:

Three years ago, Mitchell and fellow DJs PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson (both stars of Shortbus) and multifaceted cabaret performer Amber Martin started the party, which is named for the Mattachine Society, a pre-Stonewall gay-rights group that famously challenged New York’s “no service for homos” rule at Julius in 1966. A hit with gay celebs like Justin Bond and Alan Cumming, and New York hipsters of all persuasions, the Mattachine party stands in opposition to “the metronomic, inorganic kind of thump, thump, thump traditional gay folk music. The fascist body culture. The age phobia. The conformist, sheep-like quality of mainstream gay culture today," says Mitchell.

The ridiculously youthful 49-year-old goes on to reminisce that, “when I grew up, ‘gay’ meant ‘nonconformist’—each person was unique in their own gay way, rather than subscribing to a checklist of gay criteria. Which is part of the Radical Faerie thing too—find your own queerness. Harry Hay, the founder of the Mattachine Society, actually coined the term 'Radical Faerie' in the 1970s."

Mattachine will involve the smooth stylings of Mr. John Cameron Mitchell, (director: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus, Rabbit Hole), Amber Martin ('NYC performance queen"), Paul Dawson (Shortbus), PJ Deboy (Shortbus), and of course, San Francisco's very own DJ Carnita (Hard French, Daytime Realness).

When: Saturday, August 18th
Time: 3pm-8pm
Where: El Rio (3158 Mission Street)
Cost: $8, $6 before 5pm

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi cut a rug over the weekend at the wedding of Barney Frank and Jim Ready in Newton, Massachusetts. Here she is dancing with co-Best Man Terry Bean, the Portland-based developer and openly gay former member of President Obama's National Finance Committee. The song: ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man." Among other wedding-reception tunes Pelosi was said to have "swayed" to was "It's Raining Men."

Also, appropriately, Nancy and Barney filed an amicus brief on one of the federal cases challenging DOMA today.

[NYT, Boston Globe]

Still not sure what to do on Pride Sunday, other than stay at home with your cat, a bottle of fume blanc, and Donna Sachet on TV? Then check out one of these stupendous and pleasantly out-of-the-way dance parties happening. Each one promises to be (relatively) attitude-free and reasonably priced. You're welcome. They are:

• Gemstone: Simple enough, no? Come listen to Myles Cooper and Baron (of the kneecap-shatteringly brilliant High Fantasy) spin some of the sweetest sounds this city has to offer. The duo are currently our favorite DJs in town. Come hear for yourself why in the heart of of Tenderloin at Aunt Charlie's Lounge from 4-8 pm on Sunday. "No shade" and "affordable" are also noteworthy highlights. So go. OK? OK.
• Continental Breakfast at the Lexington: Sip mimosas and bloody marys at the city's most popular dyke bar smack-dab in the Mission. "DJ Katie Duck spins your hunger pangs away with sunny Sunday soul, blues, and rock 45s," notes SFBG. Delightful.
• Honey Soundsystem: Gipsters galore rain down on this regular party in SoMa. Expect Sunday's bash to be even more jam-packed with gays drinking, dancing, and waiting in line to use the bathroom at Holy Cow.
• Queerly Beloved: This sounds dirty, so we'll let SFBG explain it to you. Ahem: "Glittorises will tremble for local alt-queer pornographer Courtney Trouble in a rare live burlesque performance — and she's bringing a queer smut cavalcade with her to move the earth. FTM dreamboat James Darling burlesque babe Dorian Faust, and the crew from live sex sensation Cum & Glitter will perform sensual wonders; DJs and Lady Tragik provide dance party, and a kinky kissing booth will welcome those whose lips aren't otherwise entertained." Cum & Glitter? good heavens. Anyway, it all goes down, so to speak, at El Rio.
• Hard French Heart Los Homos: Promising to be a "inter-generational event," the Hard French crew dips its toes in SoMa waters by hosting a day-long party at SOMArts. Soul musician Sugar Pie DeSanto will be there. As will national touring act and indie electric darling SSION, and Portland Bounce Music magician BeyondaDoubt. The regular Hard French crew will spin 45s from resident DJs Brown Amy & Carnita, Expect dance moves from the Hard French Jiggalicious Dance Babes. Not to be missed, kids.

Check out SFBG's listings for a full breakdown of what's going on. Happy Pride!