COMING UP THIS WEEK:

Dorkbot
People doing strange things with electricity is simply the best way to describe Dorkbot. Four fantastic hackers/artists/thinkers/weirdos showing and telling.
WED SEPT 25, 7:00pm, Humanmade, SF, Donation suggested

Astronomy on Tap South Bay
Talks on Saturn’s rings, star formation, and exoplanets in a brewery.
WED SEPT 25, 7:30pm, Uproar Brewing Co., San Jose, FREE

Toolapalooza
Start your power tools! On your marks, get set, go! It’s time for Center Hardware’s annual toolfest, featuring a Belt Sander Drag Race ($500 prize!), sawing a van in half for some reason, demos, artists, and enough power to sate your inner Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor. That was a 90s sitcom reference that, like, 10 of you got.
THU SEPT 26, 9:00am – 4:00pm, Center Hardware, SF, FREE

SF Heritage – History of Tamale-Making in SF
Tamale Lady may be gone, but not forgotten. She was part of a long SF tradition of tamale vendors stretching back to the Gold Rush. Learn the history of this beloved late-night street food.
THU SEPT 26, 6:00pm, 906 World Cultural Center (a lovely restored church that is now an events space), SF, $15

Wonderfest + Commonwealth Club: Understanding Bias
Brains do stuff we’re not aware of, like, all the time. These unconscious biases change our perceptions, alter our memories, and have dramatic impacts on justice, employment, and society at large (and it only gets worse when it’s married to machine learning). Jennifer Eberhardt is a fantastic expert on the subject.
THU SEPT 26, 6:30pm, Cubberly Theatre, Palo Alto, $22

NightHowl
Don your “trail chic” party clothes for the big annual party for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. “Campfire stories” on coyotes, bats, and nature photography, paired with cocktails, catering, and a big DJ-fueled dance floor. Finish the night with some stargazing and s’mores.
FRI SEPT 27, 8:30pm, Presidio Hollow, SF, $100

Portola Gardens tour
The Portola Garden Tour will celebrate 13 years in San Francisco’s Garden District. This is a neighborhood with some serious green thumbs. Residents open their yards for a garden crawl, followed by a happy hour.
SAT SEPT 28, 10:00am, Portola Neighborhood, SF, $25

Lawn Bowling National Championships
The SF Lawn Bowling Club is the oldest such municipal club in the US. According to the delightful Outside Lands history podcast, it’s existence is a bit funny, as the legendary overseer of GG Park, John McLaren, was generally resistant to putting structures in the park. But somehow, the Scottish McLaren made room for the popular Scottish sport, and just happened to become it’s vice-president. Double standards aside, I’m glad he did. Today, it hosts the national championships.
SEPT 24-27, 9:00am, SF Lawn Bowling Club, SF, FREE

Drawn Together, an after-hours, live-art event for grownups at Fairyland
Our guest curator, the ineffable Rusty Blazenhoff, plugged this one a couple weeks ago, and it’s a good thing, too. Children’s Fairyland is a storybook theme park for kids that expressly forbids grown-ups without young ‘uns. But for this one night, you get to bring out your inner child in a fantasy park with artists, auctions, and drinks.
FRI SEPT 27, 6 PM to 9 PM, OAKLAND, Tickets are $28 now, $30 at the door (if available), For grown-up children, aged 21+

Nerd Nite East Bay
Grab some drinks and hang out with ~150 nerds in a spacious gay latinx discotheque with DJ (and middle school math teacher) Rubberband Girl for some talks on ecomimicry, using nature-inspired systems design; the scandalous true tale of the Transcontinental Railroad; and a tongue-in-cheek lecture on the evolutionary biology of hyper-evolved theropod kaiju, aka Godzilla. That is a crazy goddamn sentence.
SEPT 30, 7:00pm, Club 21, Oakland, $8/$10