events

Events listings are compiled by Sarah Han. See 8 Days a Week for information on how to submit items to the listings.

wednesday 7

Around town

'The Work of Judith Scott: What Did We Learn?' Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon; 563-7337. 7pm, $6-10. Executive director of Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland Tom DiMaria discusses the art of Judith Scott, which is now on display in the Exploratorium's Seeing Gallery.

Authors

Cameron Tuttle A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness; 441-6670. 7pm. The author discusses The Bad Girl's Guide to the Party Life.

Bay Area

Peter Greenberg Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera; (415) 927-0960. 7pm. The author discusses The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential.

thursday 8

Around town
'Blubbery Beasts and Flippered Friends' Aquarium of the Bay, Embarcadero at Beach; 1-888-SEA-DIVE, www.aquariumofthebay.com. 7pm, $10. Doreen Moser discusses the natural history of Bay Area marine mammals.

'Journalists and Unions: Writing the Good Write' Media Alliance, 814 Mission, No. 205; 546-6334, ext 310. 7pm, free. Jeff Fohl, Michael Cabenatuan, Al Weinrub, and others discuss how unions can help journalists work for social change.

'2002 World Footbag Championships' Palace of Fine Arts Theater, Bay and Lyon; 522-9899. 7:30pm, $15. Come check out the semifinals for the freestyle footbag competition. See Sat/10 and Sun/11.

Authors

M. Christian A Different Light Bookstore, 489 Castro; 431-0891. 7:30pm. The lesbian erotic writer reads from Speaking Parts.

Mark Coggins A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness; 441-6670. 7pm. The author discusses Vulture Capital.

Thom Rutledge Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market; 597-6732. 5:30pm. The author discusses Embracing Fear.

Bay Area

Debra Ginsberg Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera; (415) 927-0960. 7pm. The author discusses and signs Raising Blaze.

Peter Greenberg Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 843-3533. 7:30pm. The author discusses The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential.

friday 9

Around town

'American Craft Council Show San Francisco' Herbst and Festival Pavilions, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 896-5060. 10am-6pm, $8-14. This craft show features furniture, ceramics, jewelry, and glass works by more than 300 artists. Through Sun/11.

Sarah Boxer San Francisco Art Institute Lecture Hall, 800 Chestnut; 749-4563. 7:30pm, $4-6. New York Times critic and reporter and Artforum writer Sarah Boxer speaks.

'Hot Stuff' Fort Mason, Gate House, Marina at Laguna; www.precieux.com/hotstuff.html. 10am-7pm, free. Bay Area artists display and sell their handmade jewelry, accessories, and glass works. Through Sun/11.

Bay Area

'Tattoo the Earth' Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakl; www.tattootheearth.com. Noon-midnight, $20. Hundreds of tattoo artists, including Filip Leu, Horitoshi, and Ed Hardy, come together at this ink-slinging festival; other highlights include a panel discussion, displays of Bay Area tattoo artifacts, and demonstrations. Through Sun/11.

Benefits

Benefit poetry reading Clarion Music Center, 816 Sacramento; 391-1317. 8pm, $15. Poets Camincha, Gail Mitchell, and Clara Hsu read their works at a benefit for Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, the first Mongolian woman accepted to Stanford University.

'Jive Dangerously' Jon Sims Center for the Arts, 1519 Mission; www.jonsimsctr.org. 9pm-1am, $4-6. The benefit for Other Magazine features performances by DJs; lesbian bedtime-story readings by Shar Rednour, Carol Queen, and Michelle Tea; and cock-fighting, strippers, and tarot readings.

Bay Area

'Celebration of the Mother: An Evening with Author Andrew Harvey and Friends' University of Creation Spirituality, 2141 Broadway, Oakl; (510) 835-4827, ext 29. 7-9pm, $20. Author Andrew Harvey and guests Eryk Hanut, Mary Ford-Grabowsky, and Dorothy Walters speak; proceeds benefit the university.

Authors

Bobbie Ausubel, Joani Blank, Cecilia Wambach, D.H. Wu Boadecia Books, 398 Colusa, Kensington; (510) 559-9184. 7:30pm. The contributing writers to That Takes Ovaries: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts.

Debra Ginsberg Cody's Book, 1730 Fourth St, Berk; (510) 845-0837. 7pm. The author discusses and signs Raising Blaze.

Michael Wenger Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera; (415) 927-0960. 7pm. The author discusses Wind Bell: Teachings from the San Francisco Zen Center 1968-2001.

saturday 10

Around town

'American Craft Council Show San Francisco' Herbst and Festival Pavilions, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 896-5060. 10am-6pm, $8-14. See Fri/9.

'Dog Days of Summer' Pacific Bell Park, Willie Mays Plaza; 972-2361, www.sfspca.org. Noon, $30. The San Francisco SPCA invites baseball fans to bring their dogs to the ballpark for this event featuring a dog costume contest, a parade, games, and souvenir leashes.

'Hot Stuff' Fort Mason, Gate House, Marina at Laguna; www.precieux.com/hotstuff.html. 10am-7pm, free. See Fri/9.

San Francisco Gymnastics grand opening San Francisco Gymnastics, Bldg 920, 920 Mason, Presidio; 561-6260. 2-5pm, free. Come celebrate the grand opening of the gymnastics club; U.S. Olympic gold medalist Amy Chow appears.

'Serbian Food Festival' St. John's Orthodox Church, 900 Baker; (510) 614-8704. Noon-midnight, $5-15. The daylong event features a village fair with food, music, and entertainment, a vespers service, and a folk dance performance.

Strybing Arboretum August plant sale Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Golden Gate Park, Ninth Ave at Lincoln Way; 661-1316, www.strybing.org. 10am-1pm. The plant sale features shade plants including thalictrums, Japanese toad lilies, blue corydalis, and dicentra.

'29th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair' Japantown, Post and Webster streets; 771-99861, www.nihonmachistreetfair.org. 11am-6pm, free. The community festival celebrates the Bay Area's Asian American and Pacific Islander community and includes music by Cubancan, Native Elements, Mana, Big City Review, and the San Francisco Taiko Dojo and performances by West Coast Lion Dance and Japanese odori dancers. Through Sun/11.

'2002 World Footbag Championships' Justin Herman Plaza, Market at the Embarcadero; 522-9899. 11am-5pm, $10. This event is the semifinal competition for the net footbag competition. Palace of Fine Arts Theater, Bay and Lyon; 522-9899. 7:30pm, $18. This event is the final competition for the freestyle footbag competition.

Bay Area

'Tattoo the Earth' Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakl; www.tattootheearth.com. Noon-midnight, $20. See Fri/9.

Benefits

'Hot Summer Flow' El Rio, 3138 Mission; 282-3325. 3:3-8:30pm, $7-15 sliding scale. Santa M and Aza host a benefit for Herstory featuring spoken word performances, DJs, and visual arts.

Bay Area

'The 11th Annual Rubber Ducky Derby' Lazy River, Waterworld USA, I-680 and Willow Pass Rd, Concord; (510) 869-3770, www.rubberduckyderby.org. 10:30am, $10-500. Come "adopt" and race a rubber ducky down the Lazy River at Waterworld USA to benefit Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland.

Authors

Warren David Jacobs Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo, Berk; (510) 548-2220, ext 233. 2-4pm. The author reads from Three Stories.

Sheldon Siegel Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera; (415) 927-0960. 7pm. The author reads from Criminal Intent.

sunday 11
Around town

'American Craft Council Show San Francisco' Herbst and Festival Pavilions, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 896-5060. 10am-5pm, $8-14. See Fri/9.

'Earthquake Tips and Tools' San Francisco Tool Lending Center, 2713 San Bruno; 1-888-4-HELP-BAY, www.bayarea-redcross.org. 1-3pm, free. The American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter and San Francisco Tool Lending Center present an earthquake-preparedness class for San Francisco residents.

'First Annual Drag King Olympics' Glas Kat, 520 Fourth St; FEZ-8000. 8:30pm, $10-15. The Fairy Butch Dynasty and Vixen Creations present this drag king event. Highlights include contests, celebrity appearances, and prizes.

'Hot Stuff' Gate House, Fort Mason, Marina at Laguna; www.precieux.com/hotstuff.html. 10am-6pm, free. See Fri/9.

Pottery demonstration The Cannery, 2801 Leavenworth; 771-3112. 1-2pm, free. Ceramic artist Christa Assad gives a demonstration.

'29th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair' Japantown, Post and Webster streets; 771-99861, www.nihonmachistreetfair.org. 11am-6pm, free. See Sat/10.

'2002 World Footbag Championships' Justin Herman Plaza, Market at the Embarcadero; 522-9899. 11am-5pm, $12. This event is the final competition for the net footbag competition.

Bay Area

'PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles National Literary Awards' Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St, Oakl; (510) 525-3948. 6-9pm, $5-8 donation. Author Jack Foley and Rep. Barbara Lee host PEN Oakland's award ceremony featuring readings by A. Van Jordan, Myronn Hardy, Agha Shahid Ali, and others.

'Tattoo the Earth' Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakl; www.tattootheearth.com. 11am-6pm, $20. Today, Mötley Crüe member Nikki Sixx appears for a custom hot-rod show outside the arena in conjunction with the tattoo festival; see Fri/9.

Authors

Joe Wolff Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera; (415) 927-0960. 7pm. The author discusses Café Life Rome: A Guidebook to the Cafés and Bars of the Eternal City.

monday 12

Authors

Kristine Clark Booksmith, 1644 Haight; 863-8688. 7pm. The author is joined by football players Burl Toler and Bob St. Clair to discuss her book, Undefeated, United, and Uninvited: A Documentary of the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons Football Team.

tuesday 13

Around town

'Tribute to Bernard Maybeck' Forest Hill Association Clubhouse, 381 Magellan; 775-1111. 7:30pm. Kenneth H. Cardwell discusses the life and work of the architect.

Bay Area

Tomato tasting Berkeley Farmers Market, Derby at MLK Jr. Way. 2-7pm, free. Come sample the many varieties of ripe and fresh tomatoes at this tasting event.

Authors

Lalo Fiorelli A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness; 441-6670. 7pm. The author discusses Wild Splendors of California.

Christina Henry De Tessan Books Inc., Laurel Village, 3515 California; 221-3666. 7:15pm. The editor of Expat: Women's True Tales of Life Abroad and other women travelers discuss their globe-trotting adventures.

Camille Roy, Jan Richman, Chaim Bertman, Chris Stroffolino Adobe Bookshop, 3166 16th St; 864-3936. 7:30pm. The authors read their works. See 8 Days a Week, page 56.

Bay Area

S.L. Wisenberg Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera; (415) 927-0960. 7pm. The author reads from Holocaust Girls: History, Memory and Other Obsessions.