Tomatoes, who doesn’t love the heart sculptures around the city? The latest Hearts are now on display, find out more about them. The official Lunar New Year and most celebrations occur next month, but Oakland’s Chinatown starts the celebration now. Going to Napa this time of year is always a good idea, check out the lighted art festival.  Our favorite museums always enlighten, and there are some particularly great exhibits coming up. A world premier play heads to the Magic Theatre with a title that will thrill you, Tomatoes, read on for the reveal.

Hearts in San Francisco

Two hearts are better than one as they say. That means our city is filled with love with the unveiling of the latest Hearts in San Francisco sculptures. This is the 20^th anniversary of Hearts in S.F. at least the ones that raise funds for SF General. That’s 20 years an over 500 hearts that raise critical funds for the public Zuckerberg SF General Hospital and Trauma center. There are large hearts, the ones you see around the city, tabletop hearts and mini hearts. You can bid on all of them online and wow are they stunning. Learn about the artists and place your bid! The latest Hearts in San Francisco Heart Sculptures will be on display at the Ferry Building from January 9 – February 29, 2024. See the 2024 Designs |

Now-Feb. 18. Napa Lighted Art Festival

This is a celebration of creative arts, technology, and lights, and supports innovative techniques using light and light technologies as a growing art medium. This walkable outdoor experience is FREE in Downtown Napa featuring 10 lighted art sculptures for five weeks and projection artwork on three iconic downtown buildings for the first nine nights of the festival. Here is a description of a stunning piece of art included in the experience.

House of Cards is beautiful and joyful during the daytime and turns into an exciting lightshow at night. The playful idea of creating a House of Cards is not about fragility, disaster, or crumbling. It is about the motivation within every child: to dare, to have courage, to create and to challenge one’s skills by aiming to build as high as possible. This installation reminds us to use determination, patience, and skill but also belief, trust and to keep the big vision in mind.https://donapa.com/lighted-art-festival/

Jan. 27-28. 32nd Annual Lunar New Year Bazaar 

This month the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce will celebrate Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon, with 2 days of celebrations and an in-person festival. The ill take place January 27-28, 2024, highlighting Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other cultural traditions and art forms connected to the Lunar New Year holiday. Get a head start on next month’s actual New Year with entertainment, art, food, beverages, and an opportunity to support local businesses. Oakland Chinatown, 388 Ninth Street Oakland, CA. Saturday and Sunday 10 – 6. Get the details.

Museum Offerings

World class museums, one of the perks of living in the bay. And wow, they do not disappoint. Check out these offers.

Thursday After Hours

Get late-night access to galleries at Thursday After Hours at the Oakland Museum of California. The weekly evening series is rich with culture, community, and cocktails. Take advantage of a two-for-one ticket deal by purchasing online in advance: Thursdays, 5pm to 8pm through March 28. Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St.  museumca.org

Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style

The de Young museum has an exhibit that will appeal to all fashionistas. We get to explore the history of San Francisco through fashion. Featuring one of the most iconic collections of 20th- and 21st-century women’s clothing in the United States, this exhibition includes 100 collection highlights, along with local loans of high fashion and haute couture. The first major presentation of their costume collection in over 35 years, it showcases designs from French couturiers, Japanese avant-garde designers, and other pillars of the fashion industry, including Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Christopher John Rogers, Comme des Garçons, and Rodarte. The designs on view, many never shown before, reflect San Francisco’s long-standing tradition of self-expression through fashion. https://www.famsf.org/

Healing Sound Bath for Cancer

If you know someone in need of healing from cancer, send them to SFMOMA for an incredible holistic experience. Artist Guadalupe Maravilla discovered the healing properties of sound baths during his treatment for colon cancer. Now a cancer survivor, he regularly offers free communal healing sound baths as a form of mutual aid and care. Maravilla and trained healers play gongs, bells, and percussive instruments in hypnotic sequences that build into an immersive soundscape in and around his Disease Thrower sculptures. For this healing sound bath for the cancer survivor community, Maravilla will activate the sculpture Disease Thrower #15 accompanied by the healing vibrations of throat singer Penpa Tsering.

He explains, “Human bodies are over seventy percent water, and the vibration of the gongs can help balance emotional, psychological, and in some cases physical pain.”

Note from SFMOMA:  This special program is tailored to the cancer survivor community, including family members of someone who has survived cancer, who is currently being treated, or who has passed away from it. GET THE DETAILS.

Now—Jan. 28. World Premiere at The Magic Theatre

The Magic Theatre in Fort Mason center always presents unique and thought-provoking works. Up next is the world premiere of MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT. They had me with the title! Two sisters, Miriam, and Esther, long estranged, meet at their wealthy stepfather’s condo, 45 years after their opera singer mother’s death.  They are there to sort through their mother’s things before their stepfather’s widow sells the unit. Once there, they discover all kinds of secrets about their past, and work to find forgiveness for each other and their past.  In their treasure hunt, they are visited by ghosts of their mother and pianist father and find much more than they bargained for with their hearts finally laid bare. Filled with song, music and dance, the play takes us on an immersive journey of what really matters- and how love wins no matter what. Written and directed by Andrea Gordon, the play features recordings from her own father’s piano playing. GET THE DETAILS.