Ballhalla DJs and Jalapeño Guy bring the beats, while Transit Month rolls on with art, walks, and the Worm Run. Add temple brunch, Doors Open tours, a rediscovered Coppola short, open studios, Black Neighborhood hikes, and a garter snake revival.
The soundtrack of Ballhalla
At Chase Center, the Golden State Valkyries are reshaping home-court energy, thanks in part to resident DJs, Shellheart and LadyRyan, who guide each game from warmups to the final buzzer, pumping the team and the crowd with Bay Area hip-hop and queer party anthems.
Both DJs came out of the local nightlife scene and have become part of the team’s identity — inspiring the crowd to get louder, helping the games feel larger than life, and giving Ballhalla its own signature rhythm. — KQED
The Jalapeño Guy
Jerry Turner, a.k.a. Jahri’s World, turns Sacramento playgrounds and birthday parties into classrooms with a beat — while helping young autistic fans feel supported.
Dressed in a red jalapeño costume and accompanied by saxophonist Dr. Paul D’ Blue, Turner mixes nursery rhymes, hip-hop, and call-and-response games, helping children count, sing, and play along on drums and tambourines. — CapRadio
Temple brunch, powered by volunteers
Every Sunday, the Berkeley Thai Temple draws hundreds for its famous brunch, a community tradition running since 1980. Behind the food — Thai noodle soup, curries, and Kanom Krok — are volunteers who start work long before the doors open, from monks prepping ingredients to chefs, retired cooks, and families keeping the meal running.
For many, volunteering is as much about connection and community as it is about cooking, turning the weekly brunch into a ritual of service, flavor, and shared joy. — Berkeleyside
Run the ‘Worm’
In honor of Transit Month, the Muni Run Club has mapped out the iconic “worm” route, which extends between Geary and Fulton Streets and 29th and 47th Avenues in the Outer Richmond. Complete the full 10-mile route or just the 3-mile “M” segment. Then relax on the bus ride home.
In addition to the worm, the club has been doing weekly runs along each individual bus route. Join them over at Strava. — SFMTA
Transit Month art, walks, and rides
Celebrate the tenth annual Transit Month with rides, walks, and surprises across the Bay Area. Highlights include the Peaks and Alleys: A BART to BART Walk on September 20 and the Pop-Up Transit Art Fair at Salesforce Transit Center on September 24.
Other events span bike parties, trivia, CEO ride-alongs, and the Bay Bridge Trail Anniversary Ride, giving riders plenty of ways to explore, play, and connect with the region. — BART
51 years of art and community
Starting next weekend, hundreds of creators will welcome visitors to see their work as part of ArtSpan’s 51st annual Open Studios, chat about their process, and purchase pieces directly.
The festival kicks off with ArtLaunch at SOMArts, showcasing 300+ artists, and later features Art Tasting, highlighting standout works and insights from jurors and artists alike. Each weekend offers a chance to explore different neighborhoods and connect with the people shaping SF’s creative culture. — ArtSpan
Exploring California’s hidden corners
Doors Open California unlocks some of the Bay Area’s hidden gems. Wander Julia Morgan’s Berkeley City Club, step into Oakland’s shuttered but stately 16th Street Station, or follow Bauhaus traditions at Guerneville’s Pond Farm.
Tour Niles where Charlie Chaplin made his early films or visit San Francisco’s Treasure Island to trace the stories of a former naval station and World’s Fair site. — KQED
A family legacy, in miniature
Longtime Bay Area filmmaker Christopher Coppola’s 1979 short film, Lightly, is making its debut at the 2025 Studio 8 Film Festival after years lost in storage. Shot on 16mm and recently transferred to digital, the two-minute film features Crispin Glover and painter Craig Klyver, with Coppola composing the score.
Coppola — older brother of Nicolas Cage and nephew of Francis Ford Coppola — made the film while studying at the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA Film, 1987), where he later became head of the film program. The rediscovered short showcases Coppola’s early experiments in storytelling, performance, and visual composition. Screens at the Roxie on September 20. — SF Artists Alumni
Taking up space in nature
The Black Neighborhood leads monthly Mental Health Hikes through East Bay trails — redwoods, creek crossings, ridgelines — pausing before the first climb as co-founder Cory Elliott urges everyone to “let go of everything from yesterday and look up.”
These monthly hikes carve out space for breathing, reflection, and connection, part of a broader Bay Area effort to reclaim the outdoors for communities too often excluded.
Many Bay Area residents face barriers like gentrification, long bus transfers, and unspoken hostility, which still keeps many out of parks and beaches. These hikes give residents a reason to show up, move, and be somewhere they might not have thought was for them. — Bay City News
Snake Revival in San Francisco
San Francisco’s native garter snake is one of the Bay Area’s most striking residents, as well as one of its rarest. Once common around wetlands and creeks, the colorful reptile has been endangered for more than 50 years.
A new project is giving these snakes a second chance — biologists collected pregnant females, the SF Zoo raised about 120 babies, and the snakes will be released next year once they’re big enough to avoid predators. Local agencies are working together to restore habitats across the region, from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to smaller urban wetlands. — KRON4
Top Image: Strava
Previously: Field Notes: SF Neo-Futurists Dig a Hole, Youth Capture the Tenderloin, Rainbow Sierrans Hike
