IndieMart: IndieMart celebrates Indian Summer with a "full fledged metal & psych rock fest, loaded with short sleeves a plenty, foxy ladies in fringe, summer BBQ, one too many beers and oh yeah, the best part- 100 rad vendors," including DIY-ers, makers, designers, screenprinters, illustrators, artists, typographers, vintage, a few carpenters, and foodies.
ArtSpan SF Open Studios: The SF Open Studios continues with its second weekend, featuring work by artists in the Ocean Beach, Sunset, Richmond, Duboce, Eureka Valley, Hayes Valley, Haight, Upper Market, Diamond Heights, Buena Vista, Mount Davidson, Twin Peaks, West Portal, Glen Park neighborhoods. Friends of SFist Harvey Milk Photography Center is co-hosting an open studio with Sharon Art Center. See you there!
Italian Heritage Parade and Columbus Day Block Party: Check out the floats and other entertainment at the 143rd Annual Italian Heritage Parade, and then enjoy some Toasty Melts and an adult beverage in the Columbus Day Block Party beer and wine garden afterwards.
Excelsior Arts and Music Festival: Check out the work of artists and musicians in the Excelsior District and beyond at Sunday's volunteer-run festival, which draws over 5,000 people to the neighborhood annually.
Bazaar Stock: FunCheap SF alerts us to this 12-hour, free acoustic music fest happening in the Richmond District this Saturday, featuring artists ranging from singer/songwriter, folk, roots, bluegrass to acoustic rock to orchestral acoustic rock. Be sure to buy some food while enjoying the free music!
Litquake: The annual literary festival kicks off this weekend with two days worth of Off the Richter Scale day-time programming followed by lots of night-time events. Day One includes "poets and prisoners, adventurers in science fiction and explorers of indie publishing," and Day Two features two hours worth of writers from California and the Bay Area, followed by an exploration in "writing in extreme circumstances and from deep within the mind—defined in terms spiritual, physical, or cybernetic."