This week: PBS Kids’ Mychal Threets at South SF library, the Counter-Culture Museum, free books for kids, San Mateo desserts, and Alysa Liu at Paris Fashion Week. Plus, honoring the female Muni drivers through history and cutting hair and giving space.

A chair and a listening ear

A new community barbershop called “The Shop” has opened inside GLIDE’s Tenderloin building, offering free haircuts alongside a place to sit, talk, and connect with help. The space draws on the long tradition of Black barbershops as neighborhood gathering spots, pairing domino games and conversation with counseling, overdose prevention, and links to treatment and housing support through the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

At the ribbon cutting, actor and longtime Glide supporter Danny Glover took the ceremonial first haircut as the pilot program got underway. The pilot, funded through the city’s opioid settlement funds, comes as San Francisco continues to lose dozens of residents each month to accidental overdoses, many in the Tenderloin. — Bay City News

Library joy, spoken aloud

Bay Area librarian and literacy advocate Mychal Threets will lead a mindfulness talk and community gathering on March 28 centered on reading, wellbeing, and the quiet magic of libraries. The PBS Kids resident librarian plans to share parts of his own mental health journey before hosting a story time and book signing for his new title, I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy.

Threets, who was recently named one of Time’s Next Generation Leaders, has built a following by championing libraries as welcoming spaces for curiosity and calm. The all-ages program invites families and neighbors to gather for conversation, stories, and a chance to meet him in person at the event. — Eventbrite

A warehouse of books

At a Bayview warehouse run by The Children’s Book Project, visiting students browse rows of donated books and choose five to take home free of charge. The nonprofit hosts field trips for schools serving low-income communities, giving kids time to explore the shelves after a story time with a visiting author.

On a recent visit, fourth graders from Moscone Elementary School listened to Bay Area writer Gennifer Choldenko read from her new book Dogtown. Founded in 1992, the project has distributed more than 3.4 million free books to children in San Francisco and 37 counties across California. — Mission Local

Streetcars and wartime grit

During World War II, with many men overseas and transit demand surging, San Francisco Municipal Railway turned to women to keep the streetcars running. New operators like Dolores Piluso and Ellen Peterson stepped into the roles of motormen and conductors, guiding packed cars through the city at a moment when the system was under intense strain.

Their work helped maintain daily life in San Francisco while quietly pushing against the limits of who was expected to run public transit. The agency is highlighting their contributions this month during Women’s History Month and ahead of Transit Employee Appreciation Day. — SFMTA

From ice to runway

Fresh off her historic Olympic season, figure skater Alysa Liu turned up at Paris Fashion Week, taking a seat at the Louis Vuitton Fall 2026 show.

The 20-year-old shared snapshots from the night on Instagram, praising designer Nicolas Ghesquière and calling the experience unforgettable. — Parade

Crunch and memory

Inside her longtime San Mateo home, former mayor Claire Mack still answers every phone call herself, taking orders for the layered desserts she bakes under Claire’s Crunch Cake. Customers choose from flavors like mocha, lemon, chocolate, strawberry, whiskey, or banana, each topped with the brittle-like “crunch” she coats by hand.

Mack started the business decades ago after trying to recreate a favorite treat from the now-closed Blum’s bakery. Orders are picked up from the same house she bought with her husband 70 years ago — a spot now marked nearby by a street sign reading “Mack Family Way.” — KRON4

Echoes of Haight-Ashbury

At the corner of Haight-Ashbury, the Counterculture Museum traces the movements that reshaped San Francisco in the 1960s. Visitors move past looping footage of the Human Be-In and into rooms filled with music, protest ephemera, and artifacts tied to civil rights, women’s liberation, and early gay rights activism.

The museum was founded by Estelle Cimino and Jerry Cimino, who also launched the Beat Museum in North Beach. The space opened in June 2025, adding a new stop for visitors tracing the city’s counterculture past. — Time

City rhythms

DJ Buck was a fixture of San Francisco’s dance and electronic music scene, spinning at clubs and events throughout the ’90s and beyond. His mixes and records drew from the city itself, layering local sounds into house and rave tracks.

Friends and fellow DJs recall his influence on the music community and the energy he brought to the scene. — 48 Hills

Image: Glide Memorial/Facebook

Previously: Field Notes: Rare SF Tree Map, Dad Punk, and the Fight for Reproductive Rights in 1960s SF

Everyone's favorite hairy-footed friend, Elijah Wood, is coming to San Francisco next week. However, instead of reprising his notable role of hobbit Frodo Baggins in the recent film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, the 5' 6' celebrity will be performing in another manner altogether — as DJ.

The actor has for some time been running his own record label, notes the Chronicle, and five years ago he started spinning vinyl with established Los Angeles DJ Zach Cowie under the name Wooden Wisdom. The two are booked to play a set at San Francisco's Harlot on Friday, January 15.

If you're inclined to throw down for a $30 ticket to catch the duo in action, don't expect Wood to sign any Lord Of The Rings memorabilia that you bring along.

"I suppose most people are familiar with me from the work that I do in films," celebsplained Wood to the Chronicle. "I guess sometimes when we play there are a certain group of people who come for that reason, but the hope that I always have is that they walk away having let go of that sort of preconceived relationship, from what they're familiar with, and kind of take away the musical aspect of what it is that [Zach and I] do together."

The performance is the penultimate stop in a five-city tour for the duo. As to what you should expect to hear should you attend the show? Wood explained to the paper the one element connecting everything they play.

"It's not easy to quantify," he noted regarding his artistic vision. "I think the sort of major through line to anything that we play is that it has to be danceable. That's the only consistent thing."

Related: Video: 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Preview

FOOD: After a full year of being woefully out of commission, forageSF's Underground Market returns with a Kickstarter celebration, featuring a line-up of favorites who got their starts at the market and have since gained success. Proceeds from the event will top off forageSF's Kickstarter campaign, which will fund their forthcoming food community incubator, Forage Kitchen. (5 to 10 p.m., Public Works, 161 Erie Street)

CLUB: Club Leisure presents a DJ set by Smiths legend, Andy Rourke, whose contribution to The Smiths' The Queen Is Dead LP Johnny Marr claims was "something no other bass player could match". Popscene DJs Aaron Axelsen and Omar will also be on the decks throughout the night. (10 p.m., Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street)

FILM: Oakland's Compound Gallery & Studios presents a screening of the documentary, Herb & Dorothy, which tells the story of avid art collectors, Herb Vogel and his wife Dorothy — a postal clerk and a librarian — who amassed a staggering collection of over 4,000 important works by unknown 1960s-era minimalist and conceptual artists (later valued at several million dollars) before donating their collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (9 p.m., 1167 65th Street, Oakland)

Life/Style DJs Ts, Roll, and various special guests consistently rock the party on Thursday nights at Beauty Bar, featuring weekly vodka specials and no cover.

Selected tunes/genres include "shoegaze, Prince, New Order, raw soul, fun house, Primal Scream, party music, C86, Mary Jane Girls, new wave, Roxy Music, glam pop, George Michael, anything, indie, brit, Fleetwood Mac, Daft Punk, dark pop, psych, dance, dance, dance! Whatever we feel like whenever we feel like it."

The Life/Style crowd is reliably fun, diverse, and ready to dance.

Life/Style | Beauty Bar, 2299 Mission St, at 19th, SF | Thursday nights, 10pm - 2am | No cover, vodka drink specials

MUSIC: You muse have energy left to "Rickshaw Stop’s 5th Anniversary Bash," don't you? What if we told you LA/Canadian pop-alt band Dengue Fever will headline the Hayes Valley birthday bash? (Be sure to say 'hi' to local music scribe Dan Strachota when ordering your drinks!)

9 p.m. // Rickshaw Stop (155 Fell) // $8

CLUB: With an "occasional cheeky bit of psyche rock and drum and bass" wildly unpretentious British DJ Bonobo comes to town tonight.

9 p.m. // 103 Harriett (at Folsom) // $12

FILM: Oliver Stone's underrated fablepic of President George W. Bush, W. (2008), screens in the Haight.

7 p.m., 9:40 // Red Vic (1727 Haight) // $8.50

Who knew that the art of listening to records in over-sized headsets while rip-roaring high at nightclubs DJing paid so well? We didn't.

DJ Lamont who, with all due respect, we've never heard of before, has enough dough to buy ad space--evil Clear Channel ad space!--on a bus station at Masonic and Turk to promote the education of his mad DJing skillz. (For more info on learning how to become a master DJ via master classes with DJ Lamont, visit Fingersnaps.net, which seems to be some sort of art collective.)

So: DJs of San Francisco, how much do you get paid on average? (And, no, that's no longer a rude question to ask, at least according to Suze Orman it isn't.)

Photo by Rahir/Flickr

According to ASD, loads of local, talented, but predictable faves--such as DJs Theo, Gabriel & Dresden, Kaskade, DJ Shadow, Mark Farina, DJ Qbert, DJ Behrouz, Bassnectar, Claude VonStroke, Miguel Migs, Garth--were all nominated for Best American DJ. But many notables were left off. Kids like DJs Earworm, Bus Station John, Jeffrey Paradise (formerly Jefrodisiac, at right), Omar, and Richie Panic, just to name a few, weren't on the list. Bah.

Any others that deserved a tip of the hat?

*CLUB: San Francisco's 6th annual DJ Dreamteam lineup -- which consists of local legends Miguel Migs, Mark Farina, David Harness, Julius Papp, Taj, Rooz, Icon, Dirtyhertz, a-tn-nae, Smoove, Mancub, Kapt'n Kirk, M3, Aaron Jae, Shooy, and Motion Potion -- will have you up off your ass and busting out your choicest vogue moves on the dance floor.

10 p.m. // 1015 [1015 Folsom] // $15-$25

FILM: Cringe-worthy cult film heralded as "one of the truly great copyright infringements of the 20th century," , screens in the Mission tonight, accompanied by a live improvisational jazz-metal soundtrack. Rumor has it it's the "Turkish Star Wars." Oh my.

8 p.m. // Artists' Television Access [992 Valencia] // $6

LIVE MUSIC: Jeremy Jay, Ty Segall, the No-Go's perform delicate and delightful nerd rock for the masses. (Jeremy Jay also makes an in-store appearance at Aquarius Records at noon on Saturday,by the way.)

9 p.m. // The Knockout [3223 Mission] // $8

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.

Ordinarily at this time Ted's gearing up for South by Southwest, where he would be grinning from ear to ear, seeing the bands you'll be listening to next year, tracking down people for yet another celebrity station ID, and radiating joy wherever he goes. However, this year he might not make it - the station is what Ted does, and it can't pay his way this time around. Fans of the station have started a drive to Send Ted to SXSW - and we here at SFist are happy to do our part to help. If you can, click over to his pad and flip him what you can. Ted has given as much as anyone to San Francisco music; it would be nice if he got a little back.

*MUSIC: Kelley Stoltz, Grand Archives, the Morning Benders, and le Weather Underground sing some songs for you over at the Independent. (Part of Noise Pop 2008.)

COMEDY: Get ready to hee yourself silly. Kenny Altman hosts Ron Vigh, Kelly McCarron, Maggie Newcomb, and Morgan Ryan Kasmier at "Gays and Dolls," a homosexually-charged night of stand-up hilarity. You can catch the queers killing it over at the Clubhouse. (BYOB, people. For reals.)

CLUB: New York-based DJ Satoshi Tomiie forces you to like house music all over again at Mighty. (Be sure to take a disco nap, kids. The party will go well into the wee hours of the morning.)

FILM: It's a Coen brothers blowout! The Depression Era adventure/ reimagining, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and that movie they did a few years ago with Billy Bob Thornton that we never got around to seeing, The Man Who Wasn't There, screen over at the Castro Theatre. (7pm and 9:10, respectively.)

The Weather Underground's image credit goes to Indie for Bunnies.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.

*FILM: She Done Him Wrong (1933) screens at the Castro Tonight. What's is about? Well, according to CinemaSource, "Lady Lou works as a singer at the Gay Nineties saloon of Gus Jordan, who plays her with diamonds to keep her by his side. She runs afoul of stalwart Salvation Army captain Cummings, who warns her that she''s on the road to perdition. Though Lou herself steers clear of criminal activities, Gus Jordan runs a counterfeiting and white slavery ring. Also, Lou's ex-lover Chick Clark has been sent to jail for stealing diamonds for her. Things come to a boil when Chick breaks prison and goes gunning for Lou." But for all intents and purposes, it's that film where Mae West coos to Cary Grant, ""Why don't you come up some time and see me?" (Which was then changed to "...see me sometime" for her next movie, I'm No Angel.)

CLUB: Tonight's Noise Pop afterparty, intriguingly titled "Italians Do It Better In San Francisco," will be held at...Harlot. Why not? DJ Mike Simonetti spins tonight. We look forward to not remembering what happens tonight come tomorrow morning.

ART: Tonight's "Experimental Film & Video Art Series" over at Varnish Gallery, which happens on the last Wednesday of every month, features strong work by Bay Area women filmmakers. According to SF Weekly, "Terrie Samundra, known for her short film A Short Tale of Xuan; dreamy, glowing, impressionistic work by Vanessa Woods; and Jill Johnston-Price's animations are all curated by Scarlett Shepard, founder of the San Francisco Women's Film Festival." Yay! And you can get dunk off of some of the choicest wines in the Bay Area to boot.

MUSIC: There's no other noise to hear tonight save for the sounds coming from Noise Pop. Check out tonight's schedule here and here.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.

*FILM: The final release of Ridley Scott''s love-it-or-hate-it science fiction noir thriller — now with added footage, re-mixed sound, and minor improvements on visual effects! — screens at the Castro.

COMEDY: SF Supervisor Tom Ammiano attempts a return to stand-up comedy at the Makeout Room's "Laughing Liberally Local 415 with Will Durst" tonight.

MUSIC: Indie folk/country jazz duo Dean & Britta (former Luna members) perform at Yoshi's-SF. "Mazzy Star-like" songstress Keren Ann joins them as well. SOLD OUT. Alas. (Well, how about Flipper over at Amoeba, performing at 6 p.m.? We don't really know much about this '80s punk band. Sorry. Although according to flavorpill, Kurt Cobain seemed to like them. So...there you have it.)

CLUB: Over at The Transfer, DJ Rapid Fire hits the decks at "Sucker-Punch" — happening every Monday — where you can get drunk on the cheap with $1 cans of PBR. Read more about it here.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.