Voices from the Kitchen is coming this way – a unique evening and storytelling project from La Cocina where you will hear stories from cooks that are less often heard.  Cantor art museum has an ingenious exhibit by the uber creative artist Nina Katchadourian – run don’t walk to see it. And Roz Chast, cartoonist extraordinaire makes an appearance at the Nourse Theatre. And Autumn Lights is a magical light festival. October has it goin’ on Tomatoes, so get out there and enjoy!

Now thru January. Nina Katchadourian: Curiouser

Cantor Art Museum is a hidden gem on the peninsula – and I know many of you reading this have explored the location. A free museum on the Stanford Campus, it features a Rodin Sculpture Garden that will transport you to Paris. The ever-changing exhibits are always a treat and Nina Katchadourian: Curiouser is the remarkable exhibit I recently had the pleasure to explore. I literally laughed out loud.

Playful and perceptive, this mid-career exhibit explores several major bodies of work by this celebrated Brooklyn and Berlin based artist who was raised on the Stanford Campus. The exhibition includes video, photography, sculpture and sound. Her amazing work encourages us to reinvigorate our own sense of curiosity and to see our everyday surroundings as a site of discovery and possibility.

You will also LOL at “Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style” where she improvised with materials on hand to create video and digital images all made within the confines of an airline flight. Over 2500 photographs and videos were made on nearly 200 flights to date, and she is still going!  The museum is free and Nina Katchadourian exhibit will be here through January.  Info: www.museum.stanford.edu

Oct. 19-20. Voices From The Kitchen

Voices from the Kitchen is a storytelling event from La Cocina that shares voices and stories from the cooks and kitchens that are less often heard. The event is a twice-yearly performance that revolves around (and includes) food and drink on a singular topic or theme – this year’s theme is Refuge.

This month you can hear the stories on October 19^th in SF at the Swedish American Hall at 6 p.m. or on the 20^th at the San Jose Museum of Art also at 6 p.m. Tickets are $35 – $50.

La Cocina is an organization that cultivates low income food entrepreneurs as they formalize and grow their businesses by providing affordable commercial kitchen space, industry-specific technical assistance and access to market opportunities. Their focus is primarily on low-income women and those from immigrant communities. La Cocina (the kitchen in Spanish) helps these entrepreneurial women gain financial security by assisting them as they let their passion for cooking unfold. www.voicesfromthekitchen.org

Oct. 19-21. Autumn Lights

Light up your night with this magical festival of illuminated art. Over three nights, this huge art and light event will take place at the Gardens of Lake Merritt. Acclaimed Bay Area artists present their favorite brightly lit works. From tiny clay pottery lanterns to Burning Man pieces, to glow-in-the dark pianos you can immerse yourself and discover mesmerizing, larger-than-life art installations, fire dancers, music and more.

Held within the Gardens at Lake Merritt in Lakeside Park, this annual community gathering is a fundraiser for these beautiful, free public gardens. From 6 – 11 p.m. each night tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of. It sells out, so it is advised to get tickets in advance. There will be locally sourced food and drink on hand for purchase as well. Grab your lightsticks and glow forth! www.autumnlightsoakland.org

Oct. 27. Roz Chast at Nourse Theater

Roz Chast, if you don’t know about her, is an artist/tomato, most well known for her cartoons in the magazine every cartoonist aims to be a part of – The New Yorker. As one of the coveted staff reporters since 1978 she has published more than 800 cartoons. She will be entertaining at the Nourse Theater as part of the City Arts & Lectures series.

She went to RISDI as a painting major, thinking that would be more artistic than the cartoons she had loved to pen since she was a child. However, the lure and love of cartooning called and her work has been featured in such diverse publications as Scientific American, The Harvard Business Review, Redbook and Mother Jones. She has illustrated a book with Steve Martin, published her compilation of favorite cartoons and has a forthcoming book entitled Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York. Info here: www.cityarts.net