We wish all of you mothers, grandmas, aunties, friends and matriarchal figures a beautiful and relaxing Mother’s Day.  Now onto events – Carnaval is coming up, so grab your feathers and get ready to boogie. Stanford has a health event on campus, Ferry Flicks are here to entertain at The Ferry Building, Filoli’s garden delights us with incredible offerings. An outdoor show and an immersive event at The Asian Art Museum are some of the wonderful opportunities we are looking forward to attending.

May 27-28. Carnival

The Mission District will sizzle with the sights and sounds of samba, salsa and more for the festival and grand parade on Memorial Day weekend. Themed as “45 Years of Music & Movement”, performers include La Sonora Dinamita con Vilma Diaz and Los Van Van. La Sonora Dinamita’s sound originated from Colombia and has become an integral part of Latino music history and celebrations, while Los Van Van is one of the most influential bands of 20th century Cuban pop music.

Favorites of returning spectators are the floats depicting multicultural themes. Brazilian-style escola samba schools with as many as 300 performers will dance through the streets in lavish, feathered headdresses and swirling Bahia skirts. At the same time, Caribbean contingents perform the music and dance of the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad. Other groups in the parade include Mexican Aztec performers, traditional African drummers, Polynesian dancers, Japanese drummers, giant puppets and folkloric groups representing Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia. https://carnavalsanfrancisco.org/

May 20. Health Matters

Stanford University invites us to focus on what matters most—our health. At this free community health event, held outdoors on the medical school campus, on Saturday, May 20^th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. you will hear from Stanford Medicine’s world-renowned experts in engaging Health Talks on longevity, food as medicine, and mental health. Visit the Health Pavilion for interactive demonstrations, health and wellness resources, food trucks, therapy pets, and more.

If you can’t be there in person, the Health Talks are available via livestream along with a live Q & A with Stanford Medicine faculty. We are so fortunate to have these resources in our area. Presentations include these topics: How 21^st Century Science is improving how we age, Food as Medicine – Eat well for longevity and health and Novel Therapies offer new help for Mental Health. GET THE DETAILS.

Outdoor Movies at The Ferry Building

The Ferry Building is the place to be for outdoor flicks. The screen will be located on the Ferry Building North Plaza which is perfectly viewable from the Fort Point Beer Garden which is the location of this fun night out. Tickets include picnic table seating inside the Beer Garden and snacks. Happy hour is from 5 – 8 and additional food and bev will be available for purchase all evening.

Shows are” Bullitt” showing 5/12;  “It came from Beneath the Sea” –  5/19; and last show is a fav of ours, “Sister Act” – 5/26. GET THE DETAILS.

Filoli Summer Stage

Beatiful Filoli continues to inspire and educate with evolving events. Particularly as the weather warms up the offerings are many. A new event is “Each Bloom Tells a Story”. Many creative women have shaped Filoli’s story over the years, from its residents to historic staff. Stories in Bloom showcases women’s storytelling of all forms, including poetry, music, and photography.

On June 11^th hear from Nita Winter – an internationally acclaimed photographer who will discuss her career as a visual storyteller. Summer Stage begins in June with riveting outdoor performances surrounded by the lush beauty of blooms in the garden. Lastly, Wander and wonder on Thursday nights! Slow down, smell the roses, and watch the sun dip behind the mountains. Meet friends for a drink at the Bluebird Bar or relax on the lawn with your family. Dine from a local food truck or one of the pop-up cafe locations as acoustic tunes drift through the air. New this year – lounge in the Vegetable Garden with a drink from the Hummingbird Bar!

Looking for a more active evening? Hike the trail at twilight, visit with a Horticulturist at their pop-up learning spot, or attend a free Garden talk with staff. Discover something new every Summer Night. https://filoli.org/summer-stage/

Outdoor Theatre

One of the wonderful things to come out of our “lockdown” was the creativity surrounding the arts. Outdoor theatre has never been more entertaining. One of the companies that truly enjoys creating outdoor shows is the 23-year-old “We Players”. Their splendid, site-specific “Adventures with Alice” has once more utilized their surroundings in GG park as a canvas for their artistic interpretations of shows.

Not just for children, this adaptation makes complete sense of Carroll’s famous nonsense. Iconic characters leap and test the boundaries of their personalities. We Players motto is connecting people with place through site-integrated theatre so only go if you want to interact, make new friends and be delighted by the White Rabbit and his friends. Playing now through May 20th – 5 p.m. Thursdays – Sundays. GET THE DETAILS.

Beyond Bollywood

The Asian Art Museum brings us “Beyond Bollywood” 2000 years of Dance in Art” and this is not your typical exhibit. This is a seamless blending of ancient art and 21^st century technology bringing a sense of movement and motion into the galleries. The exhibition features more than 120 historic and contemporary works spanning sculpture, painting, textiles, jewelry and photographs from South and Southeast Asia.

The exhibition’s design takes full advantage of the theatrical and technical capabilities of the museum’s new Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion, incorporating experiential elements from subtle musical backdrops to gallery-spanning video installations. Through live dance performances (taking place within the main pavilion itself) and other associated dance events and programs, viewers can experience the magic of dance in person. Through July 10^th. https://asianart.org/