“John Waters Bong (Fleshtone)” by John de Fazio, on display at Venus Manhattan until 11/2 (John Waters is on tour from 11/27 to 12/21)
California
[10/28-10/30] Explorers Guild Caravan Rally 2016, “an epic journey crossing hundreds of miles, locating checkpoints, accomplishing outlandish tasks and doing so all in the company of some of the weirdest / greatest people in SF” [Register your team]
SF Bay Area
[10/7-10/9] The 20th Anniversary of ArtCar Fest
[10/8] ArtCar Fest Bash at NIMBY, 6 PM to 2 AM [Tickets] (Spy Emerson’s Hook-Up Truck will be there!)
[10/29-10/30] Treasure Island Flea Market, Treasure Island, SF
Various Cities
[Ongoing] Silent Book Club
[Until 2/9/2017] Mortified Live! “Witness a night of adults telling stories about their lives by sharing their most mortifying childhood artifacts (diaries, letters, lyrics, poems, home movies)… in front of total strangers”
[2017] Adam Ant goes on tour, playing his 1980 album, Kings of the Wild Frontier, live
Alameda, California
[10/8] BlackLight Art Show & Night Market at Studio 23, 7 PM to 10 PM
[11/5] The 23rd Annual Le Bal des Vampires at Alameda Elks Lodge [Tickets]
[11/10-11/13] Shoot The Moon! Pacific Pinball Expo #7 [Tickets]
Austin, Texas
[10/22] Austin Skipathon, 10 AM [Register]
Berkeley, California
[1/6] The Lookouting: A Celebration of Lookout! Records at 924 Gilman
Black Rock City, Nevada
[8/27-9/4/2017] Burning Man 2017
Boston, Massachusetts
[12/17] A John Waters Christmas at Berklee Performance Center, 8 PM [Tickets]
Denver, Colorado
[4/8-4/9] DINK: Independent Comic Expo, “Urban art with literature, zines, small press publishers, underground comix and cocktails!” Thanks, Mike McDaniel!
[12/7] A John Waters Christmas at Boulder Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]
Detroit
[April 2017] Allee Willis’ The “D” premieres at the Fisher Building, party to follow
El Cerrito, California
[10/16] Down Home Music Store’s Community Parking Lot Sale, 8 AM to 1 PM
Fallon, Nevada
[10/11] Coyote Goes to Burning Man: “an exploration of the historical roots of tricksters, pranksters and surrealistic art at Burning Man” by Michael Mikel (Danger Ranger), at Churchill County Museum, 6 PM
Las Vegas
[Ongoing] Akhob, an immersive “Ganzfeld effect” experience by artist James Turrell at Louis Vuitton [by appt only: 702-730-3150] HIGHLY recommended!
London
[Until 10/30] Dinner At The Twits: “Join Mr & Mrs Twit in their windowless house and ghastly garden for an evening you will never forget.” [Tickets]
[10/6-10/8] “The Joy of Bees” by Bompas & Parr, an “immersive experiential art installation and gastronomic tasting of honeys”
Los Angeles
[Until 10/23] Creep Los Angeles
[Until 10/31] Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s “Halloween Spooktacular” [Tickets]
[Until 10/31] Queen Mary Dark Harbor at That Big Ship in Long Beach
[Until 11/27] Guillermo del Toro exhibit at LACMA
[10/8-10/9] David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption at Ace Hotel via
[10/15] Charles Phoenix: This is Americana, Long Beach, CA, 8 PM [Tickets]
[10/15] Let’s Do the Time Warp (Again!): A Dance-a-thon Benefiting 826LA at iam8bit [Register]
[10/15-10/16] Taxidermy class: Lifesize Young Red Fox & Grey Fox
[10/28, 10/29 & 10/30] “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”: Danny Elfman Halloween show at Hollywood Bowl with special guests, including Paul Reubens (second two shows are sold out!)
[10/30] Alone: The Rite of the Anthropocene at an undisclosed location, 8 PM [Tickets]
[11/5 &11/6] Krampus mask-masking workshops, 1 PM to 5 PM [Register for 11/5 event]
[11/10-11/11/2017] National Beard and Mustache Championship
[11/19] Publication party for The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas at La Luz de Jesus
[11/26] Krampus lecture with costumed characters, slides, and video at the Goethe Institut
[12/2] Fourth Annual Krampus Ball with D’Oberlandler Bavarian dance troupe and others TBA
[12/5-12/8] Henry Rollins at Largo
[12/8] Los Angeles Krampuslauf at Downtown Art Walk. After-party with Rosemary’s Billygoat at the Regent
[12/10] TORRANCE: Krammpstein at Alpine Village
[12/11] St. Nicholas-Krampus Play, Austrian folk songs and stories by Michael Kaufmann, from Styria, Austria.
[12/17 & 12/18] Charles Phoenix’s Retro Slide Show, “Live Comedy Performance Celebrating 50s & 60s Holiday Life And Style!, Brea, CA
[Starts 10/2017] Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at The Broad
Malden, Massachusetts
[Ongoing] Boda Borg
Maxwell, California
[6/15-6/18/2017] Camp Tipsy 2017, “an annual rotten boat building contest and campout”
Minneapolis, Minnesota
[10/14-10/15] Nerd Con: Stories
New Orleans
[7/18-7/23/2017] Tales of the Cocktail
New York City
Quirky NYC by Oriana Leckert:
:: “From Bumper Cars to Torah Taxidermy: A Guide to 25 of Brooklyn’s Most Unusual Museums”
:: “From Elevators to Outsider Art: A Guide to 16 Under-the-Radar Museums in Queens”
[Ongoing] Sleep No More at The McKittrick Hotel
[Ongoing] Jungle-Ized by Sound Collective, Free
[Ongoing] The Ferry Play on the Staten Island Ferry, $1.99
[Ongoing] More NYC events
[Ongoing] Madame Tussauds New York hyper-reality Ghostbusters Experience
[10/7-10/9] Future of Storytelling Fest
[10/26] Opening night for Wilderness, a “multimedia, documentary theatre experience that illuminates the quest for connection within the 21st century American family”
[11/10] 55th Annual Gala for La MaMa experimental theatre (with a live performance by Allee Willis)
[11/27] A John Waters Christmas at City Winery New York, 8 PM
Oakland
[Until 12/11] Root Collection: 20 Years of the Patti Smith Collection at Mills College Art Museum
[10/12] Mills Train [Schedule]
[Until 10/14] Submit your #PATTIGRAM Thanks, Sonia!
[11/16] #PATTIGRAM opening reception
[10/7] ArtCars at Oakland First Fridays at Telegraph Ave at 23rd, 5 PM to 9:30 PM
[10/8] ArtCar Fest Bash at NIMBY, 6 PM to 2 AM [Tickets]
[10/8] Mortified Live at the New Parish, 8 PM
[10/12-10/15] 5th Anniversary Autumn Lights Festival at the Gardens at Lake Merritt
[10/15] Depressed Cake Shop Oakland, 3:30 PM to 7 PM
[10/22] Opening reception for Parts & Labor, a solo show by Nemo Gould
[11/13] An Afternoon with David Sedaris, 4 PM to 7 PM [Tickets]
[12/13] Tig Notaro at Fox Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]
[4/19-4/24, 2017] Psychedelic Science 2017 at Oakland Marriott Center [Tickets]
Oregon
[8/17-8/23] Oregon Eclipse 2017, a “total solar eclipse gathering”
Palm Springs
[10/20-10/23] MOD Palm Springs at Caliente Tropics Resort [Tickets]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thank you, Stefan Jewett!
[Until 10/31] ERASERHEAD FOREVER exhibit at Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art
[11/9] Diane Coffee at Boot & Saddle, 8:30 PM
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
[10/22] El Vez, the Mexican Elvis at The Warhol Museum
Plains, Georgia
[Sundays] (Former President) Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School Class
San Diego
[12/15] Presentation on The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas at San Diego Art Institute, Balboa Park
[3/4-3/11] JoCo Cruise 2017, “a whole cruise ship full of music, comedy, and general nerdery”
San Francisco
:: “Best storytelling events in the Bay Area”
:: Upscale vs. Frugal SF
[Ongoing] Elsewhere Philatelic Society
[Ongoing] More SF events
[Ongoing] Prelinger Library events
[Opening in Oct] The William Blake Gallery at 49 Geary
[Through Oct] San Francisco Neon Survivors and Icons From the Archives, SF Library, Main Branch, 4th floor
[Until 10/30] Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition at The Contemporary Jewish Museum (highly recommended!)
[Through November] Come Out and Play SF 2016
Some highlights: Thx, Albert!
[10/8] Journey to the End of Night, 5 PM – 11:30 PM [Register]
[11/20] The Dance and the Dawn: Dreams of Ice and Ash, “An improvisational theater LARP, with high drama and emotional investment.”
[Until 12/18] Home Land Security at Fort Winfield Scott and the Presidio, Wednesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM, Free
[10/13-12/31] Real Housewives of Macaroni, New portraits by Jason Mecier at Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street
Artist reception on 10/13, 7 PM to 9 PM
[10/5] DorkbotSF 90 at Gray Area Art + Technology, 7 PM [Details]
[10/6] Cory Doctorow at SFMOMA, 7 PM [Tickets]
[10/8] Gonzo: 50 Years of Hunter S. Thompson at Swedish American Hall, 8 PM to 10 PM [Tickets]
[10/9] Burning Man Decompression: Heat the Street Faire, 12 PM to 12 AM
[10/9] Bikes to Books Three-year Anniversary Bicycle Ride, a literary cycling tour, 1 PM to 4 PM, 16+
[10/9] HIGHtoberfest, 2 PM [Code: FRAULEINCHEF420]
[Until 10/9] The Way You Look (At Me) Tonight: “a social sculpture—a sensory journey for two performers and an audience” [Tickets]
[10/12] Fireside Storytelling: “Games People Play” at Chez Poulet, 8 PM
[10/13] Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary, 8 PM [Tickets]
[10/14] Drunken Dino Happy Hour OMG Sketchnotes! at General Assembly, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
[10/13] Mark Bittman on baking at JCCSF, 7 PM [Tickets]
[10/15-10/23] The Natives Are Restless: “From overthrow to uprising, an epic tale of Hawaiian resilience” at The Palace of Fine Arts [Info]
[10/16] UnPresenting workshop with Heather Gold: “Giving talks that are more fun, require less preparation & leave your audience feeling awesome.” [Register]
[10/22] 7th Annual SuperHero Street Fair 2016, 1 PM to 11 PM [Tickets]
[10/22] Opening reception for Radioactive Swamp Art Show at JOY Gallery, 7 PM to 12 AM
[10//22-10/23] Internet! A Retrospective, a “gallery exhibition organized by Helen Tseng and Tim Hwang, celebrating the spirit of possibility and experimentation in the technology and early web of the 1990s and early 2000s.” [Tickets]
[10/23] Publication party for The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas at the Elbo Room
[10/25] Mark Frost / The Secret History of Twin Peaks at the Roxie Theater, 7:30 PM to 9 PM [Tickets]
[10/25] Llamas and VR at Upload Collective, 7 PM to 9 PM [Tickets]
[10/25] Odd Salon: Justice at DNA Lounge, 7 PM to 10 PM [Tickets]
[10/27-11/6] Secret of the Cursed Chapel (site-specific escape room) [Tickets]
[10/31] The Night Circus Halloween Soirée, 7 PM to 12 AM [Tickets]
[11/9] Fireside Storytelling: “Caught in the Act” at Chez Poulet, 8 PM
[11/19] The Artumnal Gathering, 5:45 PM to 2 AM
[11/19-12/18] The Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace [Tickets]
[11/30] A John Waters Christmas at Great American Music Hall, 8 PM [Tickets]
[12/7 & 12/8) “Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show Parts 1 & 2” at the Alamo Drafthouse
[12/14] Fireside Storytelling: “Hot!” at Chez Poulet, 8 PM
[10/2017] 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love
San Jose, California
[10/4-10/7] Big Ideas Fest, “designing the future of education”
[10/14, 10/15 & 10/16] One-Day Taxidermy Workshop Series [Sign up]
[10/14-10/16] Large-Scale Immersive Experience: Matthew Briar and the Age of Resurrection, 7:30 PM to 11 PM Thanks, Albert!
Santa Fe, New Mexico
[Ongoing] Meow Wolf [Read this] [Tickets]
Scottsboro, Alabama
[Ongoing] Unclaimed Baggage Center Thanks, Farrah!
Seattle
“The Obscure, the Charming and the Odd: Mark Pahlow’s Guide to Seattle”
[10/27] Bawdy Storytelling: Wicked at Re-Bar, 8 PM to 10:30 PM
Sebastopol, California
[10/15] ThinkTank Stage Show with Spy Emerson and Dr. Hal
Sun Valley, Idaho
[3/19/2017-3/22/2017] Dent 2017, a creative retreat for people who want to “put a dent in the universe,” as Steve Jobs once said. (Highly recommended!)
HEY YOU, YES YOU