thursday 12
Around town
'Ayurveda: Herbs and Spices' Scarlet Sage Herb Co., 1173 Valencia; 821-0997. 7-9pm, $10. Learn how Ayurveda, a holistic form of medicine from India, applies to herbal healing.

'Iranian Fairy Tale' Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin; 581-3500, www.asianart.org. 7pm, free with museum admission ($5-10). Golden Thread Productions performs an Iranian play with music and movement as part of the United States of Asian America Festival.

'SF Documentary Festival: Opening Night Party' Art SF, 110 Capp; 820-3907, www.sfindie.com. 9pm-1am, free with opening-night film pass or $5 donation. Roller disco the night away to music by DJs Bishop, Madhatter, and others.

Benefits
'Barbary Bash and Auction' Washington Square Bar and Grill, 1707 Powell; www.yickwo.com. 5-9pm, free. Yick Wo Elementary School presents this fundraiser featuring live jazz, free hors d'oeuvres, an auction, and a no-host bar.

friday 13
Around town
'Art Institute Alternative Context Scholar Show' Club 1015 Folsom; www.1015.com. 8-10pm, free; 10pm-6am, $15-20. San Francisco Art Institute students invite you to experience "the return of futurism" with their multimedia installations and artwork. Music guest Matmos perform.

'Superstition Obstacle Course' Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon; www.exploratorium.edu. 10am-5pm, free with museum admission (free-$12). Walk under ladders, step on cracks, spill salt, and break mirrors as you navigate a course that challenges superstitions.

Benefits
'Venezuela' Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom; 826-2402, arthouse@redpoppy.net. 8pm, $10. Musicians Rennea Couttenye and Francisco Rosales perform a concert of Venezuelan music to benefit the art house.

saturday 14
Around town
'Kaleidoscope at Children's Day' Japantown Peace Plaza, Geary at Webster, www.artspan.org. 11a-4pm, free. Kaleidoscope presents free hands-on art activities with ArtSpan artists Priscilla Otani and Angela Baker.

'Morbid Curiosity' Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia; 824-8203, www.borderlands-books.com. 7-9pm, free. Automatism Press presents the latest issue of Morbid Curiosity. Allegra Lundyworf, Beth Touchette-Laughlin, David Booth, and others read.

San Francisco Literary Tours City Lights Books, 261 Columbus; 441-0140, www.sfliterarytours.com. Noon, $25. KGO reporter and author Scott Lettieri leads bibliophiles on a walking tour of the haunts of John Steinbeck, William Saroyan, Alan Ginsburg, and others.

Y Fest Civic Center Plaza, Polk at Grove; (510) 849-2064. Noon-4pm, free. Amnesty International, Global Exchange, Global Fund for Women, and others present a day of youth music, performance, and poetry featuring Backlight, the Gnomes, LVEO, and others.

Benefits
'Glamour' McKenna Theatre, SFSU, 1600 Holloway; 338-2467. Apparel and design majors show off their work at this fashion show. Partial proceeds benefit a Miner Miracle.

sunday 15
Around town
'Footstock' Polo Fields, Golden Gate Park, John F. Kennedy Dr near 36th Ave; 359-2800, www.baytobreakers.com. 10am-2pm, free. Gavin Degraw headlines a free concert that follows the Albertsons Bay to Breakers run.

Benefits
'Albertsons Bay to Breakers' Start at Howard and Spear; 359-2800, www.baytobreakers.com. 8am, $24.50-50. Run or walk with the costumed crowd on this popular annual run. Proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Sports Medicine Institutes/The Farm Team, and Organs 'R' Us.

'The Bondswoman's Narrative' Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California; www.jccsf.org. 4pm, $15. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. discusses the memoir and history of African American slave Hannah Crafts.

'For the Kids' Café Cocomo, 650 Indiana; www.nextaid.org. Noon-2am, $5-15. Miguel Migs, Jenö, Garth, MRK, Ellen Ferrato, Adnan, Andy Caldwell, DJ Seven, and many other DJs spin house music to benefit NextAid. The event is also a tribute to the late Wert Terry.

Bay Area
Benefit
Slow Food USA benefit Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, 2555 Main Street, St. Helena; 1-877-7569-3663, www.slowfoodusa.org. 1-4pm, $35. Taste gourmet food and wine by several wine-country purveyors at this benefit for Slow Food USA.

monday 16
Benefits
'Team in Training Spring Benefit Concert and Silent Auction' Canvas Gallery and Café, 1200 Ninth Ave; www.teamintraining.org. 8pm, donations accepted. A silent auction precedes a live date auction and a performance by rock band Brad Wolfe and the Moon. Proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

tuesday 17
Around town
'Dance/Screen' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission; 978-2787, www.ybca.org. 7pm, $4-7. This film screening and discussion features choreographer Bill T. Jones.

'From Microbrew to Home Brew' Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market, second floor; 597-6705, www.commonwealthclub.org. 6:30pm, $7-20. Mark Carpenter (Anchor Brewing Company), Homer Smith Jr. (Oak Barrel Winecraft), Tom Dalldorf (Celebrator Beer News), and others discuss the West Coast craft beer movement.

Benefits
'Art for Healing Spring Benefit' Fraenkel Gallery, 49 Geary; www.artforhealing.org. 6-7:30pm, $100. Enjoy wine, art, food, and a raffle which features a Rembrandt etching at this benefit for Art for Healing.

'An Evening in Havana' Café Cocomo, (650) Indiana; 206-8919, php.ucsf.edu/bapac. 6:30-9:30pm, $50. Cuban band Cubacan performs at a night that honors assemblymember Mark Leno and physician Dr. Meg Newman. Proceeds benefit the Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center.

'A Night with the Stars' Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell; 929-2470, www.chp-sf.org. 6pm, $75-250. Beneficiaries of Community Housing Partnership perform in a talent show juried by celebrity judges. Marcus Shelby Trio performs jazz music. Proceeds benefit the partnership.