MUSIC: Artists' Vocal Ensemble (Jonathan Dimmock, Artistic Director) kicks off its '08-'09 with "St. Francis of Assisi : Musings on a New World Order," celebrating the life and works of San Francisco's very own patron saint via song, both old and new.

8 p.m. // St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Berkeley (2300 Bancroft Way) // $10/$20

LITQUAKE: Tonight's the night, kids. Follow some writers -- ones you've probably never heard of before -- around the Mission while you get smashed. Oh, and you'll get to listen to some of Litquake's finest literati pen pushers reading their stuff aloud. The Litquake Bar Crawl happens in three phases (at 6 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 8:30 p.m.), each of them beginning at Clarion Alley between 17th and 18th Streets, Mission and Valencia Streets, right by Good Vibrations and Community Thrift. For a comprehensive list of all the writers, bars, and times, go here.