Tomorrow night, Wednesday, May 14, the Performing Arts Workshop will host a swank yet accessible World's Fair themed party, celebrating their 43rd year in providing quality arts education to more than 7,000 at-risk youth throughout the Bay Area. While the first half of the fete will be for the hoity-toity set--you know, to extract a few bucks from their clutches and wallets--the second half (the better half) will be for everyone! For a mere......

FILM: Head over to the Castro to catch Jacob Cheung's A Battle of Wits (Muk gong), which is, according to IMDB, an action-drama-historical epic focusing on a "battle during China's Warring States period...which spanned from the 5th to the 3th centuries B.C. Based on a popular Japanese manga, which was in turn based a Japanese novel inspired by Warring States history in China." Part of the 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.......

The title of Nobuhiro Yamashita's A Gentle Breeze in the Village poignantly conveys the tone of this film. Witnessing the gentle coming of age of young Soyo (played by Kaho), the oldest of the students in her small, combined elementary and middle school, personifies for the viewer the lush yet gentle breeze that reverberates throughout the beautiful landscape shots of the Japanese countryside. Oh, to be young and going to the beach and playing with......

Bay Area filmmakers Arne Johnson and Shane King present Girls Rock! The Movie, a highly moving documentary about Portland's Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, a place for girls ages eight to eighteen to learn an instrument, form their own bands, write songs, make friends, and then perform in front of 700 people -- all in a week's time. The film is opening in seven cities today -- San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland, New York,......

The last time we saw Sandra Bernhard, which was at Bimbo's earlier this year, we almost walked into her as we were leaving the ladies room and she was making her entrance from the back of the theater, crooning "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." After a stagehand or security guy or au pair grabbed and shook the holy hell out of us, preventing us from colliding with Ms. Sandra, we went......

Well, this certainly rocks. Gina Pell, Internet-y type and founder of Splendora, just started a brand spanking new non-profit, Care Through Action. And their first event, happening next Wednesday, is a fundraiser for Darfur victims. The benefit will be held at Frisson (mmm!), and there will be an exhibition of photographs by noted photographer, Alissa Everett. And sure, a few of you might find the dinner a bit on the pricey side (at $200......

We had an interview lined up, and were instructed to call his hotel at the agreed time, and ask to be transferred to Christopher Hampton. What? The guy won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons, won a Tony award for the libretto of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of Sunset Boulevard, wrote the script for, and directed tons of movies involving Leonardo di Caprio, Richard Gere or Gérard Depardieu, and he......

Jake Shimabukuro Playing at Yerba Buena Gardens...

On Saturday, the roads of west Marin and southern Sonoma counties were rife with those two-wheel vermin known as cyclists. Nearly 2500 of them. No, Critical Mass didn't make a drunken wrong turn on Friday night. This was an impressive gathering of the tribes known as the Marin Century.

Hey foodies! We've got a giveaway for you! Wanna grab dinner at Michelin-rated Maverick with Yahoo food columnist Eric Gower, the Breakaway Cook? What's a Breakaway Cook? Well, Gower defines a Breakaway Cook as one making easy home cooking including ingredients and techniques from around the globe. Miso-flavored mashed potatoes? Poached eggs with green tea-infused salt? Why not? The Chron says they taste great. Salon.com's got passes for one lucky winner to attend the dinner......

Hey, SFist Krissy already told you about this, but we're going to remind! Go to the Benefit to Save Internet Radio at the Bottom of the Hill tonight. Bagel Radio Ted and SoMa FM Elise from SoMa FM are picking the tunes, and a bunch of favorite local bands will play too. 1233 17th St (x Connecticut), 6 p.m., and $3 (but give more). Other events: --The Fillmore Jazz Festival continues all day today (10-6)......

A variety show and a chance to help out Killing My Lobster? But of course! The Romane Event, the monthly music/film/comedy/spoken word event at the Make Out Room the last Wednesday of every month and hosted by Paco Romane, is a benefit for local comedy group Killing My Lobster, and will feature their sketches and movies tonight. Looks like fabulous fabulist Harmon Leon'll be there too! $7-15 sliding scale, 8 p.m., at the Make Out......

Pick your poison -- it's either flyering for Gavin Newsom or going to the Progressive Convention this afternoon. If politics isn't your game, here's some other options for today and tonight: --The Manga show's opened at the Asian Art Museum! Featuring the art of Astroboy! Check out the blog, and check out the show. 200 Larkin Street, $12, 10-5. --Bring a radio and come to a Southern Exposure artists' walking/radio broadcast narrative tour of 20th......

Here's what on tonight around the city - assuming you survive the Zombie Mob Invasion... Carnaval weekend in SF jumps off at the Great American Music Hall, with Sila and the Afro Funk Experience. Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Funk, Afro-Latin beats get the party going right, starting at 10 pm. Tickets are $18, 859 O'Farrell Street, SF. Emerging San Francisco fashion designs show off their wares at the De Young tonight.Designers Jasmin Zorlu, Gregory Sovik, Antonio Luna,......

Conan O'Brien Ticket Giveaway in S.F. at NBC 11...

Dazzle yours senses with SFist tonight's picks... Music by the Eyeful The first of three concerts featuring inventions in visual audio, exploring the moving boundaries between music, film, optics, graphics, loops and reels. Guest curated by Suki O'Kane [www.myspace.com/sukiokane], musician and curator of The Illuminated Corridor, an outdoor cinema project in Oakland. Event starts at 8pm with a $6-$10 sliding scale. Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market Street, SF. Celebrity Chef Alert! Join Food Network's Tyler......

Next time someone asks you what you're doing to save the Earth, you'll have an answer: Dance! This Earth Day Eve (Saturday, the 21st, tomorrow) from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, join a crowd of like-minded weirdos for Flash Dance 7 at the 24th St Bart plaza. Event organizer Amandeep Jawa is asking that you demonstrate your Earth-Day-Eveishness by wearing blue or green, unless you hate ecology, in which case you can dress in soot-grey and......

Tonight, grab a 7:30 p.m. low cost ($4) lecture on planets, stars and brown dwarfs with Dr. Ray Jayawardhana at the JCC. We love the JCC space, because it's organized, clean, and spacious. There's a friendly vibe, too, but be prepared to pop your trunk for a bomb search if you park in the JCC lot. Origins of Planets and Brown Dwarfs at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California Street. Phone:......

Tonight, tonight, la-la-la-la-la-la tonight. Fly thee to Phoenix Books! Not only do we love their calendar and used and new book selection, we're tapping our toes at the notion of musical entertainment and readings by Jane Juska, Jon Longhi, Meredith Maran, Bucky Sinister, S. Clay Wilson and more. Brownie points to those willing to find out exactly what word Sinister has tattoed on his gums. Phoenix is proudly celebrating their 22nd Anniversary with this......

All the political junkies in town know that David Latterman and Rich DeLeon's cogent analyses of the current local political scene are statistically sound, politically astute, and so cannily call the upcoming trends that it's a little frightening how accurate they are -- but we love them the most for their gorgeous maps! The map to your right (from this analysis) is the percentage of people ranking more than one choice in the supervisorial races......

Noise Pop announced their full line-up this week and it has us feeling a little dizzy with excitement. The fest's 15th anniversary kicks off on February 27th with a free Opening Night Event (lineup TBA), followed by highlights including Sebadoh performing with their original lineup and Roky Erickson of 13th Floor Elevators' first Bay Area show in 25 years. Read all about the events and performances and get your all-fest badge while they're still......

Yeah, we know, we're stuck here at SFist fetishizing weirdo wonks like Gavin Newsom and Ross Mirkarimi because we don't have any actual celebrities in town that we can follow around and talk about. Well, it's not always true! Drew Altizer sends along some pictures he took at the GlobalGreen USA fundraiser benefit ("Gorgeous and Green: An Ecofabulous Party"), whose board has enough celebrities that they were willing to fly a couple of them up......

Our favorite society photographer Drew Altizer thoughtfully sent along these pictures from the Glide Memorial Church Holiday Event yesterday, featuring Will Smith and the Bay Area premiere of the new movie The Pursuit of Happyness. The Pursuit of Happyness is based on the true story of a homeless man in San Francisco named Chris Gardner who turned his life around in the 1980s with the help of Glide Memorial and became a successful stockbroker --......

Two films about the Middle East involving food: "AnTEAcipation" screens at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (701 Mission St. @ 3rd) as part of the SF World Music Festival. This documentary takes a gradual, personal approach to the role of tea growing on the Laz people of Turkey. The 8pm screening is preceded by a lecture on the Laz that starts at 7pm. "Border Café (Café Transit)" is an Iranian film about a......

Last year's phenomenal lineup of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival earned it one of our esteemed 'Fistie Awards for Best Musical Event, for being both amazing and free of charge. They've just announced the line-up for this year's fest, taking place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 6, 7 & 8 in Golden Gate Park. Highlights include Elvis Costello, Alejandro Escovedo, Linda Ronstadt, Drive-By Truckers, Emmylou Harris and many, many more. Check out the full......

One Wednesday you're in, and the next you're .... out. Tonight: Independent bookstores all over town are closing left and right. Help the one on the left stay open at a benefit for Modern Times tonight. Local musicians, artists, and performers like Solidad diCosta, Ghost Family, Bahiyyih Maroon, Seeley Quest, Grant Donnelly and Joolie Geldner are donating their time and talent. Plus -- food and drink! Valencia x 20th, 7-9 p.m. Thursday: As part of......

In all honesty, we can't call ourselves the biggest soccer-phile out there. We don't really follow the sport when it's not the World Cup, although we do occasionally pay somewhat attention to what's going on in the World of Futbol. Still, we’ve always rooted for soccer to become big here in the States. We played it as children, played it again as adults, and love the sport and the passion that it brings. Yesterday, we couldn't have been happier about how into the game everyone was. The day had a Big Event feel to it, like a Bay To Breakers or Superbowl Sunday vibe. It felt like half the city was either on their way to Dolores Park or to North Beach. So naturally, we went to Belden Place. Why not? We were rooting for les Bleus and the idea of being surrounded by people screaming "Sacre Bleu" or "Zizou!" with non-ironic French accents warmed the cockles of our heart. And we got what we wanted, other than a French victory, of course. The alley way was jam packed with people, we heard smattering of French and Italian everywhere, and we even got to hear people sing "La Marseillaise." If only it were WWII and in black & white, it would have been just like Casablanca. ...

Today through Sunday, the 16th annual Sea Otter Classic (SOC), the self-proclaimed "world's largest cycling festival" is going down at the Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey. This is a big-time cycling throwdown featuring a full spectrum of competitive events, including road racing, circuit racing, dirt jumping and gravity contests, as well as MTB downhill, dual-slalom, mountain cross, short track, and cross-country races for all skill levels and age groups.

Saturday: SFist Jackson just about lost his s**t when he heard about MOB: the ArtFag Mafia Premiere Event. Starting at around 9 p.m., there'll be "Fighting Robots, Fire Art, DJs and bands". It's all happening at the NIMBY warehouse (28th St. and Mandela Parkway, in West Oakland). Sunday: We've got to go see sketch comedians Bitter Show's Pilot Pitch-O-Rama, in which they pitch "terrific television pilots to you. All you have to do is......

Fill in your Wednesday so that every row, column, and 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9! Tonight: Local author ZZ Packer will be reading from her acclaimed short story collection, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, at the SF Main Public Library. 6:30, in the lower level auditorium. After the reading, go hear another set of interconnected tales at the Make-Out Room as the band Deliver Me From Nowhere covers Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, in track order. That show starts at 9. Thursday: Has anyone else seen this Dance Dance Revolution-type game where instead of dancing, you drum? Help us try and remember the name of that game as you attend the SF Conservatory of Music percussion department student recitals! Student Jamie Drake is performing for free at 8 pm in Hellman Hall (19th Street and Ortega). and Friday: It's the Exploratorium's opening night event for its show "Reconsidered Materials," and Elizabeth Hickok will be displaying her awesome San Francisco in Jello (tm), for one night only. Hickok makes a scale model of city scenes, then casts the buildings in gelatin, and then paints and lights it up. (See above.) The gelatin then falls apart. Event starts at 7. Picture of Alamo Square from LizHickok.com...