This weekend: Scenes from Carnaval and Chinatown Pride. Last week: A BART wedding, a Muni tram, a Seth Rogan rom-com, and AI bots on the fritz; This week: book festival, menstrual dignity day, pro-wrestling, and SF LGBT Center block party.
Weekend Highlights:
Here are some last-minute additions before we close out the weekend. Scroll ahead for last week's round-up, followed by things to do in the coming week.
- The Chronicle and Mission Local posted some galleries showcasing the weekend-long Carnaval celebration in the Mission.
- And some lively scenes from Saturday’s Chinatown Pride:
- A bright streak over the Bay Area Saturday night was the SpaceX Dragon returning from the International Space Station and touching down off California’s coast, NASA confirmed, as reported by KRON4.
- According to California Academy of Sciences, the next few weeks are prime Tidepool time, as the tide is low enough for searching for star fish and other intertidal creatures. See their Tidepooling 101 guide, as well as some of the best tidepooling spots in the Bay Area.
Week in Review:
Wrapping up the week of May 19–25.
Transit Highs and Lows
- Muni’s boat tram is back for the summer.
- A couple got married on BART (!).
- Muni hit a maintenance snag at Embarcadero Station on Wednesday, halting service between Embarcadero and Van Ness.
- An electrical fire at San Leandro BART caused major delays Tuesday and shut down the Green Line through May 27.
Scandals and Legal Trouble
- A Sonoma County real estate mogul was arrested in a gym parking lot after allegedly scamming nearly 200 investors out of millions.
- The Parks Alliance is under fire — its own chair called it a “dumpster fire.”
- The rookie cop who got a DUI has been fired and charged with multiple counts.
Politics and Public Safety
- Barbara Lee was sworn in as Oakland mayor.
- Organizers behind the Recall Joel Engardio Campaign are moving forward.
- Speed cameras are catching 1,000 drivers a day.
- There were two suspicious fires at Lafayette Elementary School in Outer Richmond.
- ICE agents were seen inside Bay Area courthouses, with one man arrested outside Concord court.
Crime and Cannabis
- A Glendale woman was arrested at SFO for allegedly trying to fly with 151 pounds of cannabis.
- Synthetic cannabis is reportedly being smuggled into prisons via doctored legal paperwork.
- Two people were fatally shot at the same Oakland intersection within two days.
- One person was shot (non-fatally) in SF’s Potrero Hill neighborhood.
- The killer in the 42-year-old murder case of a Vacaville teen got a life sentence, and he’s already serving a sentence for a different murder..
- Three suspects were arrested in Berkeley after a failed carjacking attempt in SF’s Potrero Hill led to a police pursuit across the Bay Bridge on Friday afternoon.
Film, Art, and Tech
- Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde were seen filming a rom-com in the Mission.
- Artist Armand Vaillancourt flew in from Montreal to defend his 1971 Brutalist fountain at Embarcadero Plaza, which is at risk of being removed in the city’s proposed redesign.
- Square is moving into the old Lucca Ravioli space — turning it into a product store.
- Musk’s AI chatbot went on the fritz, talking about fictional South African “white genocide.”
- Amazon-backed AI model, Claude Opus 4 reportedly attempted to blackmail engineers, and earlier versions were willing to assist with harmful activities.
The Week Ahead
Things to do during the week of May 26–June 1.
Tuesday:
Comic-actor David Dean Bottrell (Modern Family, Frasier) presents Teenage Wasteland: Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen, a one-man show featuring five hilariously raw stories of adolescent heartbreak and awkwardness. Tuesday, May 27, 7–8:30 p.m. // Eclectic Box SF, 446 Valencia St // $15
Wednesday:
Celebrate Menstrual Dignity Day with a screening of the documentary Periodical, hosted by DailyBasis and Haus of Flow. The evening includes wellness mocktails, light bites, a Q&A on menstrual health, and a donation drive for PERIOD., a nonprofit fighting period poverty. Attendees are encouraged to bring menstrual products to support local women in need. Wednesday, May 28, 6–8:30 p.m. // NEON, 1974 Union St // $7
Friday:
West Coast Pro Wrestling returns to The Foundry for When The Lights Go Down In The City, an all-ages night of high-impact action. Featured wrestlers include Lee Moriarty, Starboy Charlie, Adam Priest, Vinnie Massaro, Jiah Jewell, and Maggie Lee, with more to be announced. Friday, May 30, 6–10 p.m. // The Foundry, 1425 Folsom St // $25
Saturday:
The SF LGBT Center kicks off Pride season with Building the Block: House Party at their iconic purple building on Market Street. This all-ages, official SF Pride event features live entertainment, an art exhibit, Queer & Well workshops, a free clothes closet, bang trims, a fat-positive flea market, community resources, and more. Saturday, May 31, Noon–6 p.m. // SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market St // free, all ages
The 11th Annual Bay Area Book Festival returns to Downtown Berkeley with two packed days of literary programming, headliner events, and a vibrant outdoor fair. Presented by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, the festival features Family Day (co-hosted with the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair), writers’ workshops, six indoor stages, a Bookworm Block Party, and more. Saturday May 31–Sunday, June 1 // Downtown Berkeley // free, all ages
Sunday:
Join fellow film lovers for the Bay Area Indies 2025 Film Festival, featuring 18 short films from local independent filmmakers. Expect a powerful mix of storytelling styles—from noir to satire to heartfelt drama. Sunday, June 1, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. // Delancey Street Screening Room, 600 The Embarcadero // $25, 14+
Previously: Last Week, This Week: Chinatown Pride Silent Disco and Drag Procession
