This week's rainy weather likely makes you want to just stay home under a blanket with your best friends Netflix and Postmates. But it's just water, you guys! You're not made of sugar. Here are some items to tempt you out from beneath the duvet — we promise, once you're out of the house, you'll be glad you went.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
STARS AND BAR: Put your Save the DNA! money where your mouth is with tonight's Astronomy on Tap event, which will cover the search for Planet 9, women in astronomy, and...the Animaniacs? There are also giveaways and prizes, plus you're in a bar so there's booze and other humans and that other stuff. 7:30-10:30 p.m., DNA Lounge, 375 11th Street, free admission.
JOYCE CAROL OATES READS: "Prolific" doesn't begin to describe Oates, whose output of books, short stories, articles, and tweets is near-superhuman in volume. Tonight, she's at City Lights to read from her novel A Book of American Martyrs, the story of the folks left behind after an abortion provider is assassinated. Area vegan restaurants, be on alert! 7:00 p.m., City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, free.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
INSIDE DANCE BASEBALL: Grace Cathedral's Spacious Grace arts fest has been going on since last week, but tonight's event is my favorite, as you're invited to "step into the rehearsal studio with ODC/Dance Company." In this behind-the-scenes look at one of SF's most exciting dance troupes, you'll get to see what's going into their newest work, which will premiere later this year. 7:30 p.m., Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street, free
EFFING IN 1800s SF: This week's installment of Shaping San Francisco's public talks focuses on "19th Century San Francisco’s underworld of prostitutes." The panel includes luminaries like Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus, who brought us Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute and Clare Sears, author of Arresting Dress: Cross-Dressing, Law, and Fascination in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco. 7:30 p.m., Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics, 518 Valencia Street, free.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
BOOZE AND DOGS: The SF SPCA's been running a pop-up pet adoption event at Two Embarcadero this month, with loads of events including a weekly Thursday "yappy hour" in which you're encouraged to "unwind with wine and some serious cuteness." As February is coming to a close, tonight's your last chance to grab some free booze and play with a pet or two...and maybe meet your new best pal. 4:30-6:30 p.m., Two Embarcadero Center, free.
LIVE DRAWING LOVE: February's installment of monthly live drink and draw event Quick Draw SF is themed "Love Beyond Valentine's Day," because, really, leaving just one day for love can lead to all sorts of trouble. Ten artists will come to live draw then sell their work, but everyone's encouraged to bring their sketchbooks and play along. There's also a raffle of SFMoma tickets, Flax gift certificates, happy hour specials, and rock-bottom prices on art and merch from the participating creators. 6-10 p.m., F8, 1192 Folsom, free.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
SFIST COMMENTERS TROLLED BY MOVIE NIGHT: Pier 39 heard your gripes about Caleb's rom-com picks and decided to punish all y'all The Wedding Planner haters with a free screening of the J-Lo/Matthew McConaughey film at tonight's "last Friday" movie night. Alright alright alright. 6:15 p.m., the Carousel Stage at the Bay end of Pier 39, free.
FAKE PROTEST: Funcheap SF brings word of the fifth annual Fauxtest. "a fake protest, rally and march to demonstrate for/against Dada (fake or nonsense) news." Participants in "outlandish costumes" will meet at Dolores Park, then march down Valencia bearing flashlights and funny signs as they "embrace hypocrisy and irony, air petty annoyances and gripes, facts, truth and nontroversy." 5:45 p.m., Dolores Park (then down Valencia), free
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
THRILLPEDDLERS PROP SALE: Though we're losing the Thrillpeddlers, that doesn't mean you can't hang onto a bit of their greatness. Today and Sunday, all their "set pieces, costumes, props, books, odds and ends" are "priced to move." Will that include their infamous wired-to-shock box chairs? Only one way to find out. 12-5 p.m., The Hypnodrome, 575 10th Street, free admission
KIDS' DENTAL CARE: As a kid who grew up in a paycheck-to-paycheck home (what can I say, my parents were teachers!) I remember how much my mom and dad struggled to afford get us kids to the dentist fro regular check-ups. The University of the Pacific is working to take the heat off parents like mine with their Give Kids A Smile event, which features a free "dental exam and cleaning, orthodontic evaluations, sealants, fluoride treatment and an opportunity to have oral health questions answered" for kids under the age of 17. There is also a petting zoo, which my dentist NEVER had. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, 155 Fifth Street (at Minna) - 2nd Floor Pediatric Clinic
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
CAL ACADEMY FOR FREE: Without debating the merits of the California Academy Of Sciences, I think we can all agree that its $34.95 fee for adult admission is not an insignificant expenditure. But today is one of the four Sundays a year admission is free to the general public, so you can keep your cash to yourself. Be warned: "Early arrival is recommended," they say, "due to the likelihood of high demand." 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive in Golden Gate Park, free.
OSCARS PARTIES: Today's the 89th annual Academy Awards, and since most of us didn't get invited, we're stuck with a viewing party closer to home. SPARK Social SF is hosting a $20 affair with Funcheap, Novela Bar's free event includes free popcorn (but not a table reservation), the historic Balboa Theatre's do is $11 and is hosted by Reed Kirk-Rahlmann of Howard the Duck fame, and the Knockout's is free to attend and boasts "red carpet drink specials and other surprises." I'm sure there are tons of others, but those are the ones who sent me press releases so those are the ones I got for you. Awards broadcast begins at 5:30, click individual links for specific party details.
