San Francisco [TWO nights this year!12/6 & 12/7] Highly recommended! Rick Prelinger’s –Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 11″ at Castro Theatre, 7:30 PM each night [Tickets]
“This year’s program features new scenes of San Franciscans working, playing, marching and partying during the Great Depression; unseen footage of Seals Stadium and the Cow Palace in the late 1930s; the reconstruction of Market Street and Embarcadero Plaza in the 1970s; rare footage of southeastern San Francisco and the Hunters Point drydock; the 1975 Gay Freedom Day parade; a 1940s-era ode to our fog; many more newly discovered gems; and greatest hits from past programs.
As always, the audience makes the soundtrack at the glorious Castro Theatre! Come prepared to identify places, people and events; to ask questions; and to engage in spirited real-time repartee with fellow audience members.”
(I’ll be at Wednesday’s performance! –Rusty.)
—-
All Cities
[11/25] Buy Nothing Day
“The rules are simple. For 24 hours you will detox from buying stuff–anyone take part provided they spend a day without spending…If you really need to shop on Buy Nothing Day, ignore the big retailers with their aisles of organized landfill and make a commitment to support local and independent shops and businesses.”
[12/5] International Volunteer Day
Various Cities
[Ongoing] Silent Book Club
[12/4 & 12/5] Spirited Away returns to theaters
[Through 12/24] SantaCon
[Until 2/2017] A Good Trip Tour with Shaune Mauss, comedy centered around psychedelics
[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
Adelaide, Australia
[3/3-3/19/2017] Adelaide Festival Thanks, J James!
Alameda, California
[Until 1/8/2017] The Little Ice Rink at Alameda South Shore Center
[12/10] Accordion Babes Cabaret Revue at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 8 PM [Tickets]
[12/10] SOLD OUT! Mid-Century Supper Club Holiday Potluck Extravaganza! at the Eagles Hall, 6 PM to 11 PM
Austin, Texas
[4/20-4/23/2017] The Old Settler’s Music Festival at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood [Tickets]
Berkeley, California
[12/10-12/11] 4th Annual East Bay Print Sale at Max’s Garage Press
[1/6/2017] 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]
Cambridge, Massachusetts
[12/11 & 12/16] Club Drosselmeyer, a show created by “swing dancers, swing musicians, game designers and LARPers” at Club Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Howard Square

Chattanooga, Tennessee
[Until 10/31/2017] Wayne White‘s Wayne-o-Rama at 1800 Rossville Avenue, open Weds-Sun, 11 AM to 6 PM and by special appointment
Chicago, Illinois
[12/8] Bawdy Storytelling: “Didn’t See It Comin” at Martyrs’, 8 PM[Tickets]
Denver, Colorado
[4/8-4/9/2017] 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
Las Vegas
[Ongoing] Akhob, an immersive “Ganzfeld effect” experience by artist James Turrell at Louis Vuitton [by appt only: 702-730-3150] HIGHLY recommended!
Los Angeles
[Until 11/27] Guillermo del Toro exhibit at LACMA
[Until 12/10] Fireflight, an immersive experience that “takes the audience on a journey inside the mind and through myths, demons, and fairy tales” [Tickets]
[11/26] Krampus lecture with costumed characters, slides, and video at the Goethe Institut, 6 PM and 8 PM [Tickets]
[12/2] Fourth Annual Krampus Ball with D’Oberlandler Bavarian dance troupe and others TBA
[12/3] CHARLES PHOENIX APOLLO SPACE CAPSULE HOLIDAY LIGHTING at Columbia Memorial Space Center, Downey, CA, 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
[12/4] CHARLES PHOENIX RETRO HOLIDAY SHOW & BREAKFAST FOR DINNER PARTY at Friendship Hall, 6 PM
[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
[12/8] La Krampus Run and After Party at The Regent, 8 PM to 11 PM
[12/10] Silverlake Flea, 12 PM to 5 PM
[12/10] Santacon 2016
[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
[1/27-1/29] stARTup Fair LA, “Los Angeles’s contemporary art fair for independent artists”
[Starts 10/2017] Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at The Broad
[11/10-11/11/2017] National Beard and Mustache Championship
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
[11/25] Annual anti-Black Friday open house at Minneapolis Institute of Art, 6 AM to 10 AM, Free
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 [Tickets]
[Ongoing] The Ferry Play on the Staten Island Ferry, $1.99
[Ongoing] More NYC events
[Ongoing] Madame Tussauds New York hyper-reality Ghostbusters Experience
[Through 1/8] Pip’s Island, an “indoor immersive experience lasting one hour for children between the ages of 4-10” [Tickets]
[Until 1/15/2017] Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest at New Museum, 235 Bowery, Manhattan, Free
[Until 1/29/2017] The Strange Undoing of Prudence Hart at The McKittrick Hotel [Tickets]
[Through 2/2017] Refuge, an “immersive performance and gameplay experience set in a mirrored 2016 reality where coastal cities are going underwater, temperature increases have caused nearly all vegetation to disappear, and natural disasters are wreaking havoc across every continent,” Needs a team of 4 to play [Tickets]
[11/27] A John Waters Christmas at City Winery New York, 8 PM
[12/3] Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, a costumed Holiday Dance Party at the McKittrick Hotel, 10:15 PM [Tickets]
[12/19] Mark Ryden and Marion Peck sign copies of Pinxit, 2 PM to 4 PM
Oakland
[Until 12/11] Root Collection: 20 Years of the Patti Smith Collection at Mills College Art Museum
[12/7] Movie Night: Dream of Life
[Until 2/17/2017] All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 at OMCA
[11/28] Nerd Nite East Bay #48: Stoicism, Supernovae, and Health at Club 21 [Tickets]
[12/2] Jack London Square Lights Up For The Holidays, Jack London Square’s “annual tree lighting festivities,” 5 PM to 7 PM
[12/3] The 40th Annual Lighted Yacht Parade [Parade Route]
[12/4] KitLAB Maker Market at Gingerbread House, 1 PM to 5 PM
[12/6] Yarn 4 : Comedy Storytelling hosted by Heather Gold
[12/10] The Annual East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest at Venue Ballroom, 11 AM to 6 PM
[12/10] On The Rocks: A Black Rock Lighthouse Holiday Party at Deathtrap, 9 PM
[12/12] Snoop Dogg at Fox Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]
[12/13] Tig Notaro at Fox Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]
[12/14] FLAME: A Keshet LGBTQ Hanukkah Revue, a “big, queer Hanukkah party with live music, Jewish drag queens, comedians, and more” at Uptown [Tickets]
[12/17] M0XY Krampus Party and Bazaar, 2 PM
[12/18] Radical Self-Love at East Bay Meditation Center, 10 AM to 4 PM
[1/7] Tycho at Fox Theater, 8 PM to 11 PM
[1/29] Oakland Museum’s White Elephant PREVIEW Sale, 10 AM to 5 PM, $15-$20
[3/4-3/5] Oakland Museum’s White Elephant Sale
[4/19-4/24, 2017] Psychedelic Science 2017 at Oakland Marriott Center [Tickets]
Oregon
[8/17-8/23/2017] Oregon Eclipse 2017, a “total solar eclipse gathering”
Pasadena, California
[Until 1/28/2017] Enchanted: Forest of Light, an interactive, nighttime experience at Descanso Gardens [Tickets]
Plains, Georgia
[Sundays] (Former President) Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School Class
Tulare and Sacramento, California
[Weekends until 1/6/2017] Global Winter Wonderland
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 Leandro, California
[11/17] Official launch for We Are From Dust, a new non-profit which aims to take nine large scale Black Rock City inspired installations to 2017 International Art Exhibition in Venice, at the Gate 510, 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM
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
{Gallery] Keane Eyes Gallery featuring the art of Margaret Keane, 3040 Larkin Street
[Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day] Illuminate SF, a citywide festival of light [The PDF guide]
[1/12-1/29/2017] SF Sketchfest
[1/14] Kids in the Hall: “Brain Candy” Live Staged Reading at Castro Theatre
[1/25] Bawdy Storytelling with Dixie de la Tour at Punchline Comedy Club [Tickets]
[Until 12/18] Home Land Security at Fort Winfield Scott and the Presidio, Wednesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM, Free
[Until 12/18] The Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace
[Until 12/31] Real Housewives of Macaroni, New portraits by Jason Mecier at Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street
[Until 1/14/2017] Street Talk: Puerto Rico, MFA Thesis Show, at Desai | Matta Gallery
[Until 1/15/2017] LogJam Cafe, part of Tom Sachs’ Space Program: Europa exhibition
[Until 1/29/2017] Curious Contraptions featuring cabaret mechanical theatre at the Exploratorium [Tickets]
[11/25-12/31] Cynthia Yee’s San Francisco Chinatown Ghost Tour, 7:30 PM
[11/30] A John Waters Christmas at Great American Music Hall, 8 PM [Tickets]
[12/1-12/3] ClownCon, Clown Conservatory’s Winter Showcase, 7:30 PM each evening [Tickets]
[12/1] Wunderfaire 2016 at IDEO Pier 28 Annex The Embarcadero, 4:30 PM to 8 PM
[12/6 & 12/7] Rick Prelinger’s –Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 11″ at Castro Theatre, 7:30 PM each night [Tickets]
[12/7-12/9] Chronicle Books’ Biggest Warehouse Sale
[12/7 & 12/8] “Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show Parts 1 & 2” at the Alamo Drafthouse
[12/8-12/13] Golden Gate Men’s Chorus holiday concerts
[12/9] Singin’ in the Rain—Feature Film with Live Orchestra at San Francisco Symphony [Tickets]
[12/10] San Francisco Fetish Flea at SF Citadel, 11 AM to 5 PM
[12/14] Bawdy Storytelling: Happy Endings at Verdi Club, 8 PM
[12/14] Fireside Storytelling: “Hot!” at Chez Poulet, 8 PM
[12/15] Buzzed Bee, “drunken spelling bee with fabulous prizes” at Monument 140 9th St, 7 PM to 10 PM, Free to attend & $10 to play
[1/1/2017] The 17th Annual Breakfast of Champions, 6 AM to 6 PM [Tickets]
[1/21/2017] The Calling All Choir’s 2017 San Francisco Fall/Winter Finale at Mission Dolores Basilica, 8 PM to 10 PM
[3/12/2017] Breasts. An Art Exhibit of Form and Function. 6 PM
[10/2017] 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love
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”
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
[Until 5/29/2017] Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning at Norman Rockwell Museum via
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!)
Vancouver, BC
[11/26] Personal Piñata: Craft and Artistry Workshop with Meaghan Kennedy, 12 PM to 4 PM
Vienna, Austria
[12/8-12/11] Roboexotica, a festival for cocktail robots
HEY YOU, YES YOU