Folsom fashion, Litquake’s parade of words, Michoacán flavors in Redwood City, Black woman-owned cafe in Mission Bay, Lassen’s open trails, Betty Reid Soskin at 104, SF plates on the Top 100 list, AI art in San Jose, a love billboard on 101, and Oakland’s Tiny Plot podcast.

Inclusive fashion at Folsom

Folsom Street Fair returns Sunday with vendor stalls as vivid as the stages — from sequined kaftans and femme harnesses to hand-cut fringe and heritage leather reworked into new shapes. Five and Diamond, Love Lorn Lingerie, Bearly Covered, Krakenwhip, and CantiqLA each carry their own lineage, from pandemic sewing experiments to decades of queer craft.

Together they build a living archive in fabric and metal, where every strap and stitch carries both pleasure and defiance.   — 48Hills

Litquake season

Litquake returns, starting with the Small Press Book Fair on Sunday at Yerba Buena Gardens, where independent publishers, journals, and bookstores set up shop on the lawn. From there, the festival spreads across the city and beyond through October, with events ranging from a panel on writing about wildfire to an evening with US Poet Laureate Ada Limón.

Later in the month, Alta Journal teams up with Litquake to celebrate John Freeman’s California Rewritten, and neighborhood readings fill bars, bookstores, and back rooms. — Alta Journal

Voices in code

At the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Stephanie Dinkins has turned the gallery into a living conversation. Her installation Data Trust gathers oral histories from Bay Area Black communities, feeding them into an AI system that transforms the stories into moving, evolving projections across 14-foot walls.

Visitors can add their own memories through red rotary phones, weaving personal voices into the shifting digital fabric. Supported by the Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions, the project opened to a packed crowd and will remain on view through March 2026. — Bay Area News Group

A plot of their own

In Oakland’s Union Point Park, a group of unhoused residents decided to try something different — building a community where they could write the rules themselves. The new KQED podcast A Tiny Plot follows their experiment, tracing nights in tents, clashes with the city, and the hope of shaping a model for survival.

Reporter Shaina Shealy spent a year recording the daily grind of people who refuse to be defined only by crisis. — KQED

Nation’s oldest park ranger turns 104

Betty Reid Soskin, the nation’s oldest park ranger, marked her 104th birthday with hundreds of students at the East Bay middle school that carries her name. She says her life didn’t really begin until 50 — long before she put on a ranger’s uniform at 84.

Before that she ran a Berkeley record shop and wrote songs for the civil rights movement while raising kids in Walnut Creek. Later she worked for state assembly members, pushing for what became the city of Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter Park — where she eventually took the job of telling its stories herself as a ranger. — Richmondside

Quiet season on the peak

In the far northeast corner of California, Lassen Peak rises above a landscape of steaming vents and alpine lakes. This time of year, its 10,457-foot trail is clear of snow, the days are warm, and the crowds have thinned. The climb is short but steep, with views stretching from Lake Helen to Mount Shasta on the horizon.

For Bay Area hikers, it’s about the same drive as Yosemite or Tahoe — without the long lines or packed trailheads. The park’s geothermal basins, often called a “Little Yellowstone,” add another layer of wonder to a fall visit, making the trip feel both otherworldly and close to home. — SFGate

Michoacán in Redwood City

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum calls Redwood City home to the best Mexican food in the US, thanks to its deep ties to Aguililla, Michoacán. Families brought recipes, bakeries, and taquerias — including Carnitas El Rincón and Panaderia Michoacán — keeping traditions alive for decades.

Rising housing costs have changed the neighborhood, but for those who stayed the food remains a living connection to home and heritage. — KGO

SF on a plate

San Francisco tastes like the city itself — old favorites, new spots, and a mix of chaos and calm. At Piglet & Co, honey walnut shrimp and pork toast carry sticky sweetness, while Hilda and Jesse’s pancakes pile whipped buttermilk and blueberry syrup into a soft, messy tower.

Gola’s Tunisian deviled eggs with roasted shrimp add spice and nutty depth, and Prubechu’s ko’ko’ wings hit with a sharp, citrusy punch. All of them show up on this Top 100 list, a snapshot of a city forever rewriting its menu. — 7x7

Nirvana in Mission Bay

NBA Champ turned storyteller Festus Ezeli gives a strong endorsement to Nirvana Soul Coffee, a local Black woman-owned coffee shop, which recently opened its fifth location in SF’s Mission Bay.

The San Jose-based company recently partnered with NFL star Chidobe “Chido” Awuzie and will soon be opening locations at SFO and San Jose’s SAP Arena. — Festus Feasts

Love on a billboard

Drivers beware: Lisa Catalano is looking for love — and she’s advertising it on Highway 101. The Bay Area bachelorette has put up digital billboards from Santa Clara to the city, directing curious viewers to her website, marrylisa.com, where applicants can fill out a form and see her likes, lifestyle, and non-negotiables.

Catalano, whose fiancé passed away in late 2023, says she’s ready to love again. The billboards sparked TikTok chatter, but she insists it’s not a stunt: “This is a real endeavor. My goal is to meet the love of my life.” — KRON4

Top image: Bearly Covered/Facebook

Previously: Dancers on Buildings, Cowboys in Oakland, and Fun at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk

In this week's Field Notes: a Golden State Valkyries momcast, Audium’s 50th anniversary 176-speaker revival, Bandaloop in Oakland, Tamera Avery’s surreal art, the best swimming holes, Victorian towns, zany dioramas, and more.

Courtside vibes and Bay Area pride

Two former high school ballers turned San Francisco moms, educators, and entrepreneurs have created a podcast that’s as much about community as it is about basketball.

Valkyries, Say Less dives into the stories behind the players and coaches of the Golden State Valkyries, offering insider perspectives, bite-sized game updates, and the best Chase Center eats. Listen on Apple and Spotify.  — KPIX

Bay Area swimming holes worth the drive

Looking to beat the heat and escape the city grind? Bay Area swimming holes like the Inkwells in Marin, Russian River's Sunset Beach River Park, China Hole near Morgan Hill, and Garden of Eden in the Santa Cruz Mountains offer cool, refreshing dips in scenic spots.

Float beneath the redwoods, hike to hidden beaches, or spend a lazy afternoon tubing in the sun. Just check the water conditions, pack out what you pack in—and be sure to park legally. — Axios

A Victorian road trip through Northern California

From Ferndale’s dairy-fueled “Butterfat Palaces” to the gold-built facades of Grass Valley and Murphys, these Northern California towns flaunt 19th-century charm.

Nevada City saved nearly 70 Gold Rush buildings, including California’s oldest theater. Eureka’s Carson Mansion is a Queen Anne masterpiece. Together, they offer a road trip through California’s ornate architectural past. — Secret San Francisco

Audium at 50

A former donut shop turned sound sanctuary, Audium is celebrating 50 years in San Francisco with a revival of its first-ever tape piece, Audium VI. Created by founder Stan Shaff in 1975, the piece returns as an immersive, in-the-dark experience running now through August 23 — its 176-speaker choreography pulling sound across walls, ceilings, and floors like an aural dance.

Director Dave Shaff, Stan’s son, describes the composition as funky and raw — full of foghorns, field recordings, and subconscious stirrings. The lobby features archival gems: reel-to-reels, taped conversations, and the analog gear that shaped SF’s weirdest legacy venue. — KQED

Dancing on the walls of Oakland’s City Hall

Vertical dance pioneers Bandaloop return to their roots this July with Somewhere to Oakland — a free public series of gravity-defying performances on the walls of City Hall, the Rotunda Building, and more. Catch them through July 26. — Visit Oakland

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Call for zany local historic news dioramas

The Oakland Library is inviting the public to create miniature dioramas based on weird and notable local news stories throughout the ages for a new exhibit, All the News That’s Fit to Build, opening August 9 and running through November 29 in the Oakland History Center.

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KQED’s suggested diorama topics include a raccoon jailed for disorderly conduct, a Lake Merritt mud mishap, and a 1940s tomato spill in Hayward. Dioramas (max 6 inches tall) must be submitted July 21–August 2, along with a copy of the original news story. Outstanding entries will be honored at a special October 4 reception. — KQED

A local’s guide to Alcatraz

Alcatraz is more than just a prison tour—just ask longtime guide Brian Stannard. In summer, skip the crowded cellhouse and head for the quiet West Road, where birdlife abounds and the views of the Golden Gate are unbeatable. Winter is ideal for locals, with fewer crowds and access to the rarely open Agave Trail, marked by towering, Seussian trees.

Time your visit around the Red Power exhibit, which honors the 1969 Native American Occupation. Day tours offer more time to explore, but night tours deliver moody magic. — Broke-Ass Stuart

San Jose time capsule

Nostalgic social media account, Era Envy, featured the interiors of an immaculately preserved 1960–70s era San Jose home. That shag carpeting is just begging to be caressed. — Era Envy

Grappling with absurdity and decay

San Francisco painter Tamera Avery took an unexpected path to art. After earning a business degree at UC Berkeley, she rose through the ranks at Levi Strauss, eventually leading the Youth Wear Division. In 2002, she left to paint full time.

Largely self-taught, Avery creates large-scale oil works based on collages, costumes, and staged photos of friends and family. Her masked, isolated figures appear in surreal landscapes shaped by social and climate anxieties. Her work is currently featured in Force of Nature at Oakland’s Gearbox Gallery through August 9, with an opening reception this Saturday, July 12 and an artist’s talk on Saturday July 26. — 48 Hills

More days, more trips for the free water shuttle

The Oakland-Alameda Water Shuttle is now running six days a week with 63 free daily trips between Jack London Square and Alameda’s Bohol Circle Park. Friday through Sunday hours stretch from 7:20 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. — Port of Oakland

Top Image: tamaraavery.com

In any case, check out the podcast to find out exactly which funny, witty, and/or informative comments made by Suckafree, Seamus Furr, el Greco, Persona non Bergman, and Bikescape made the cut! Direct download here; or check out this page for a browser-based player. Only 4:47 this time around, still about 5.5 megs.

Hey everyone -- episode two is in the can for your listening pleasure information. Thanks everyone for your contributions; this week we turn our white-hot spotlight onto Kerbot2000, KWillets, "T", Marc, and classydave. Tune in for specifics on which of their comments, regarding which of our stories, made the cut.

To listen, either click here for direct download, or click here for a page with a browser-based player. 5.5 megs; 6 minutes and one second.

Hi, folks -- as promised, here's our very first "Top 5 Comments Of The Week Audio Podcast."

While there's a clear reason we're not in radio, we hope you'll check out this five minutes and 48 seconds where we present the editors' arbitrary favorites from the great discussions always churning in the comments sections.

Take a bow, Steve Portigal, DT, Dave (which one? There are so many . . . ), NoeValleyJim,and Matt from le blog exuberance. But which comments? From which stories?

To find out, either download the file (5.3M) or click here to access a page where you can listen through your Web browser.

If it's the Board of Supes you're looking to subscribe to, you've got to navigate through "Video on Demand" (even if you're seeking audio, not video), then click "Board of Supervisors," and then pick the committee to which you want to subscribe, then scroll waaaaaay down to the bottom to find podcast links such as this one for the regular Board of Supes meetings, or this one for the Rules Committee. There's about 40 or so different podcasts being offered. DUDE, SCORE!

So, now, you may be wondering: is there a list of all the available podcasts, so I can browse them and choose the ones I want? Not exactly. You'll need to browse the long lists of committees on the SF Gov TV website, opening each one's page one at a time, to find the subscription links. Because there's nothing that users love more than clicking on links to more links, and waiting for pages to load so that they can be presented with even MORE links to links.

Good news, though: we spoke to SF Gov TV today, and they told us that they're going to be available on iTunes soon, so their subscriptions will be easy to find. Instead of, you know, hard. Just don't try to subscribe to the City & Local School District Committee. They've got an ampersand in the title, and that totally screws up the XML. Whoops! Nice to see the city practices rigorous bug-testing.

The MacBook Pro has a new 17" model with a faster SuperDrive, an additional USB port, and the FireWire 800 port that's missing from the 15" version. So if you were holding off getting one of the new versions until they came out with a ludicrously large screen, or until that somewhat abrasive distant relative kicked off and left you $2800, then now's your chance! (If it's the latter, then our condolences).

One marginally interesting fact to note: the PowerPC versions of Apple's machines are being removed from the Apple Store as they're silently replaced, style, by their Intel Core Duo equivalents.

And some rumors: British gadget magazine/wank material T3 is forwarding the speculation that Apple will release 8GB and 10GB versions of the iPod nano, to make up for delays in releasing a new larger-screen, touch-sensitive video iPod. And it's old news at this point, but Apple Insider (link via Gizmodo) is speculating that the iBook will be succeeded by a just-plain MacBook line (unfortunately, not called the MacBook Amateur), and it'll come in pretty colors.

iTunes Podcast icon borrowed from Apple.com

That scandal, plus a less intense scuffle over the history of podcasting and the influence of vee-jays thereon, prompted Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales this week to change the site's policy and accept new entries from registered users only. Anonymous users are still permitted to edit existing entries. CNet News.com has compiled a full section on the controversy this week.

Because Wikipedia prides itself on being a grand experiment in the nature of populist, user-driven content creation, this week's controversy and the changes resulting from it will have a greater impact on all kinds of collaborative media on the internet. In the short term, it raises the question of liability — who can be held liable for libelous or inflammatory remarks made by anonymous users of a website?

In the longer term, it asks whether collaborative content creation is viable at all. Can Wikipedia's model of the natural selection of information really create a valuable resource, or is it doomed to be only ever as strong as its weakest link?

Past criticisms, and our long-winded but completely NPOV assessment, based on science, after the jump