With the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place order extended through at least May 3, it suffices to say we’ll all be embracing Zoom happy hours and FaceTime kikis for a good while longer.
But we live in the Bay Area, and we miss all the culture we normally get to soak up easily. The good news is Covid-19 isn’t wiping lively social gatherings and frivolous hangouts all together—they’re just going online. Twitch, Facebook, Instagram Live, and, of course, Zoom have proven to be a salve to the wound that is our contact-free lives these days.
In light of our current isolation plights, we’ve decided to cherry-pick some of the best digital happenings — most locally — that we’re putting on our calendars this month. From drag shows on Twitch to wine tastings via Instagram Live, here’s the best of the bunch to enjoy while wearing your sweatpants.
We will be updating this list throughout the month as more events and happenings (literally) come online, so keep checking back. If you are hosting an event you’d like us to add, please email info@thebolditalic.com.
Drag
Drag Alive!
Every Saturday at 6:30–8 p.m.
Rejoice, nightlife revelers: The Stud is “opening” up again with a digital drag show. The queer SoMa watering hole is moving its weekly drag show, Drag Alive, online (via Twitch), featuring both staple queens and a rotation carousel of new talent. Tips and donations can be placed and made on the provided Venmo, Cash App, and Patreon.
Digital Drag Show 3.0
April 3 at 7 p.m.
Biqtch Puddin, a “gaymer” and winner of Dragula Season 2, is hosting Digital Drag Show 3.0, featuring admired queens and performers from across the country — including SF’s own Mama Celeste and Tito Soto. The show will stream on twitch.tv/biqtchpuddin; a $10 donation is recommended to help support the performers who’re making this all happen.
Online Sickening Drag Event
April 5 at 4–5 p.m.
An ill amount of celebrated queens, many from San Francisco (Adriana Roy, Frida Mont) will put on a show during the Online Sickening Drag Event, which will be streamed on Twitch.tv/SickeningDragEvent. The event will stream and is free to attend but a $10 donation is suggested.
The Monster Show: Virtually Live!
April 5 at 7–10 p.m.
The Monster Show: Virtually Live — a drag series that pedestals more Halloween-inspired, unearthly looks — is going completely digital, streaming straight through its Twitch channel at twitch.tv/monstershowsf. The first show, too, will double as a fundraiser for the Edge Relief Fund, which will help certain staff though these impoverishing times; all tips will be donated to the fund, and the Venmo accounts of certain performers will be shown to allow for other means of virtual tipping.
Hunky Jesus
April 12 at 10–11:30 a.m.
With Easter soirees effectively canceled throughout SF this year, so was the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s Hunky Jesus competition. But, just like the man the event was inspired by — it, too, will rise again! The Sisters are taking their wildly popular annual Hunky Jesus contest online, inviting anyone and everyone 18 years of age and older in the United States to join their blasphemous affair. A group of highly judgmental Sisters, including Sister Roma and Sister Dana, will scan the entries and select the top 15 Hunky Jesus and top 15 Foxy Mary contestants. Those 30 entries will be posted to the Sisters Instagram account (@SFSisters) on Easter Sunday, and the public can vote with likes and comments to choose the winner.
Activism and lectures
Cyber Conversations at Mannys
Various times
Manny’s, a “people-powered and community-focused meeting space” in San Francisco, is quickly becoming the digital watercooler in these uncharted weeks ahead. In the coming weeks, it will host virtual events with local leaders on topics like “art in the time of crisis,” “shopping, eating and gardening” with Michael Pollan, and more. Join Manny’s for a livestreamed conversation with District 6 supervisor Matt Haney April 6 from 6–6:30 p.m. that’ll span the topical gambit between the coronavirus and homelessness to San Francisco’s budgetary policies — and then some. One-time presidential nominee Marriane Williamson will also be speaking on Manny’s livestream April 6 at 2 p.m. as well to discuss her presidential run and finding hope in a time of crisis. Later this month, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will be on Manny’s Facebook Live to discuss her new book, Hell and Other Destinations.
Social(ist) Distancing
Every Thursday in April at 6 p.m.
Join California Senate candidate for District 11 Jakiee Fielder on Facebook Live for social(ist) distancing. The livestream will serve as a jumping point to talk about current events and important topics as well as doubling a digital hangout space.
The Science of Happiness During COVID-19
April 7 at noon–1 p.m.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected almost every facet of human life, with many of us struggling with an overwhelming amount of fear, stress, anxiety, and depression. So, to flip the proverbial table on those negative emotions, Dacher Keltner, the University of California, Berkeley, professor behind the popular course The Science of Happiness will share stories, tips, and resources to help listeners cope with issues. Such insights include how to speak to your children about Covid-19, embracing connection amid social distancing, managing financial stress, and more. The talk, “The Science of Happiness During Covid-19,” which is being put on in tandem with the Commonwealth Club, is free to attend with preregistration.
Food
Devine Cheese and Wine tasting class
April 5 at 2–3:30 p.m, multiple later times
San Jose-based creamery Devine Cheese and Wine is hosting a virtual cheese and wine tasting class where they’ll supply you with around eight kinds of cheese on class day. They’ll be doing multiples of these throughout the month, but the first is slated for April 5; tickets are $75 each on Eventbrite, and the price includes the cheese samples.
Stress Baking: Cake Edition
April 11 at 4–5:30 p.m.
We’re all doing it: stress baking (and eating). This completely digital baking class will be taught by Sierra Stollenwerk, the owner of Sierra’s Cakewerks, to help attendees crumb coat and frost the cake of their (realistic) dreams. The entry-level course is perfect for finally nailing that IG-worthy cake you’ve been itching to make. Attendees of the class will also receive a recipe for Stollenwerk’s famous American buttercream. Tickets start at $15 each.
Juanita MORE! makes brownies and more
Follow her to find out times
San Francisco’s benevolent drag mother is baking — and shaking, stirring, and cutting — up a storm while hunkered inside her Lower Nob Hill studio. Recently, she’s been on a bit of a brownie kick but plans on doing more in the coming weeks. Check out juanitamore.com/food for, well, more!
Wine
Winemaker Wednesdays at the Quintessa Estate
Each Wednesday in April at 4 p.m.
Every — you guessed it — Wednesday, Quintessa Estates is hosting a wine-centric gathering via Instagram Live. Attendees will join general manager Rodrigo Soto and winemaker Rebekah Wineburg for an interactive tour of the vineyard and winery experience; each virtual outing will be held.
Sunday night virtual tastings with Kendall-Jackson Winery
Every Sunday (through May 3) at 4 p.m.
Pinot Noir, Rose, Chardonnay — oh my! Join popular winery Kendall-Jackson’s Winemaster Randy Ullo on Facebook or Instagram Live for Sunday night virtual tastings. Guests can learn about the complexities of how soil and elevation affect the taste of whatever wines are being sipped that week.
Chateau Montelena IG wine tastings and virtual vineyard tour
Various times throughout the month
Chateau Montelena in Napa dates back to 1882. Winemaker Matt Crafton will be taking to Instagram Live for tasting sessions as well as doing deep dives on certain topics, such as sustainably in the industry. You can check out all the action on their Instagram Live throughout the week this month and, for a more in-depth tour of their facility, you can attend a virtual tour.
Literary events, readings, and open mics
Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman in Conversation
April 8 at noon–1 p.m.
Lauded wordsmiths Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon will be in virtual conversation to discuss their works, writing rituals, and other timely topics that may or may not have relation to us communally being kept indoors. And, yes: both Chabon and Waldman wrote for the recent TV series, Star Trek: Picard. The livestreamed talk will be free to attend, but a donation on Eventbrite is preferred, with all the proceeds of this event going toward Pegasus Books.
Facebook LIVE: Things That Make Me Happy
April 11 at 3– 4 p.m
Author-anthropologist-comedian-extraordinaire Gail Carriger (a.k.a. Tofa Borregaard) will take to Facebook Live to discuss the things she’s focused on that keep her spirits up. She’s expected to better our communal hopes, so tune in.
Katherine Applegate to support Book Passage
April 17 at noon–1 p.m.
Newberry Award winner Katherine Applegate will read from her collection of works and talk about her extensive writing history and catalog, all done in part to help support the indie-darling bookstore Book Passage. While tickets to the event are free with registration, a nominal (or large) donation on Eventbrite is suggested to help We Love Bookstores raise some $2,000 to support Book Passage.
Foglifter queer virtual reading
April 18 at 5–7 p.m.
Foglifter, a queer-centric literary journal, is going digital for its fifth issue release party, which will feature reading from Bay Area LGBTQ+ talent featured in the publication. The Zoom meeting is set to be held in partnership with Strut.
Silent Book Club SF
April 26 at 4–4:30 p.m.
Booksmith, amid the current pandemic, has chosen to move its Silent Book Club SF to Zoom. There’s no assigned reading material — so mosey on up to your webcam with whatever you’re reading and silently flip pages among other booklovers. It should be interesting.
Museums
The following Bay Area bastions of creativity, art, science, and culture all have virtual tours and digitally accessible collections and exhibits that can be explored from the confines of your bedroom:
- Cal Academy of Science’s island cam on Farrolan Islands
- Collections and exhibits at Legion of Honor
- Virtual tour of the Conservatory of Flowers
- De Young Mesusm’s digital roster of showcases and collections
- Exploritorium’s vault of videos
- Online collections a the GLBT Historical Society
Theater
The following SF theater companies are hosting at-home livestreaming while their stages are temporarily shut down:
- American Conservatory Theater is streaming Gloria and Toni Stone through the month
- Theatre Rhinoceros is hosting a script reading of Scotus Gay April 7 on Facebook Live
