Civic Center-Tenderloin

The farmer's market held Sundays and Wednesdays offers a less expensive alternative to the yuppie Ferry Building Farmer's Market, though it helps if you're seeking the ingredients for Asian food. On other days, there are often tents with vendors selling jewelry, scarves, clothing, snacks, house wares, and who-knows-what. The fun is in the surprises.

The Catholic church features its original elaborately decorated interior from 1900, so why not come in and say a prayer! A Franciscan parish, it is also known for allowing the homeless to sleep in the pews on weekdays.

They offer walking tours of the Civic Center, the Tenderloin, the main library, and City Hall, free of charge. The tours highlight the history, architecture, culture, events, and folklore of the area.

If you have the budget, why not "hob-nob" at San Francisco's classiest party? Taking up four entire blocks of the Civic Center, this ball attracts a well-heeled crowd, as well as those who who are just splurging. The ball began in 1956 and features several high profile bands the Grateful Dead played here in 1969, and includes a performance by the San Francisco Symphony orchestra. $200 gets you in the door, feeds you, and lets you enjoy the music, dancing, and entertainment. If you want to formally dine at the Patrons Dinner, you'll have to shell out a lot more.

This bohemian 10 day festival is all about theatrical experimentation and having fun... even if you don't know what you're doing exactly. Chaos rules here; even the list of performers are selected randomly at the last minute and participants are effectively given "carte blanche" to be as artistically free as possible. This leads to a lot of wackiness and of course a healthy dose of good old nudity! It takes place in several theaters but it is run by the EXIT Theater in the Tenderloin.

San Francisco's annual "Gay Pride Parade" long ago grew into a two-day "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration" see above. The parade itself, which takes place on the Sunday, features over a hundred contingents, and takes over four hours from start to finish. Hundreds of thousands of people line the parade route to watch. If you want a good spot, arrive two hours before the 10AM start, and set up closer to Beale St than the Civic Center. Be careful about climbing on bus shelters, scaffolding, or light poles to get a better view: people do fall and injure themselves. The only thing better than watching the parade is marching in it. If you can make contact in advance, you likely can find some contingent with affinity which will welcome you.

Celebrate New Year's Vietnamese style at this festival. It attracts almost 30,000 each year to the area. It's mostly Vietnamese-Americans in attendance, but everyone is welcome and it's a great opportunity to sample some of the delicious Vietnamese dishes that they have in the Tenderloin, and of course to throw around some "lucky-money."

San Francisco LovEvolution formerly San Francisco LoveFest is a technoparade and festival that occurs annually in San Francisco in late September and early October. The parade includes 28 floats and starts at San Francisco's 2nd and Market Streets. The parade continues all the way to San Francisco Civic Center Plaza for a giant outdoor dance club with famous DJs. The 2008 parade drew over 120,000 people. San Francisco's LovEvolution is also followed by an official after-party known as LovEvolution After Party.

Herbst Theater, next to the Opera house in the similarly-styled War Memorial Veteran's building is host to a wide variety of activities. One can find plays, readings by well-known authors, chamber music, jazz performances, etc throughout the year. The monthly Friday evening talks of the Long-now Foundation (http://www.longnow.org), projecting the far future, are presented here or in the Fort Mason Center. Inside the theater it has impressive foyer, chandeliers, beaux-arts murals symbolism for the different aspects of mankind, and over 900 seats. The UN Charter was signed here in 1945.

Warfield Theater

This historic theater on Market St has a balcony and approximately 2,700 seats. Built in the 1920s, it was renovated in 1969 and today it is as popular as ever hosting some major acts like Velvet Revolver and Bill Maher.

EXIT Theatre is a no-frills experimental/alternative theater in the Tenderloin. There are two performance spaces inside: Exit Theatre and Exit Stage Left; they have another theater "EXIT on Taylor" which is located at 277 Taylor St. They host productions like "Waiting for FEMA" and "Babylon Heights" by Irvine Welsh. They also host the Fringe Festival listed under Events and festivals below, which is the largest grass roots theater festival in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reputed to be the city's oldest nightclub, this ornate 600 capacity music venue presents hip music acts, some well-known among the cognoscenti, some so cutting edge that there's blood on the pavement. In the 1930s, this was fan-dancer Sally Rand's "Music Box." The interior, which was designed by a French architect, is known for its ornate balconies and columns.

Over 80 years old, this official historical landmark theater received a another facelift in 1998; it now has over 2,400 seats. The theater has hosted everything from silent films to Broadway theater, and special shows such as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." It is modeled in the style of a 12th century Spanish Cathedral, being heavily influenced by both "Spanish Moorish" and "Spanish Baroque" architecture. It has ornate architectural detailing inside and was designed by architect Benjamin Marcus Priteca.

The three small New Conservatory theaters present novel, musical, comic, and educational plays.

The Phoenix is a small theater that showcases the work of local and international playwrights.

This 7.5 acre complex comprises the War Memorial Opera House, Memorial Court, the War Memorial Veterans Building including Herbst Theatre and the Green Room, which is a classically styled reception hall, the Harold L. Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall, and Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The opera house and the veterans buildings which are for the most part identical, along with the court, were intended to be appreciated in unison, and to compliment the surrounding architecture of the Civic Center. Their "Beaux-Arts" structures employ the Roman Doric Order and were designed by architect Arthur Brown, Jr. Both buildings were completed in 1932. Guided tours of the buildings are available.

This four-story tall, "Beaux-Arts" style building occupies an entire city block in the heart of the Civic Center and has 7,000 seats inside. Large and small bands, exhibits, concerts, and galas are all hosted at the Civic Auditorium. Check Ticketmaster to see what's playing (http://www.ticketmaster.c...).

The repertory season begins in January and continues through May.

There are Fall, Spring, and Summer seasons. The summer season focuses on lighter and popular operas. Performances are in the War Memorial Opera House on Van Ness Ave which has over 3,000 seats. The interior has a grandiose entrance hall with marble floors and a 38 foot high barrel vaulted ceiling. Two wide marble stairways at either end of the foyer, take you up to the main floor. The proscenium arch inside the theater is ornately decorated with gilded sculptures. In December and late spring the Opera House is used by the San Francisco Ballet.

San Francisco has an excellent symphony orchestra, with Michael Tilson Thomas MTT as the principal conductor. The Season goes from September to April, with a break in the middle of December and January. When the San Francisco Symphony is on tour, other orchestras visit to fill the void. In July there is a "Summer in the City" program of light music; August is quiet. Opened in 1980, the building's sweeping wraparound architecture was elegantly designed to compliment the other buildings in the War Memorial complex. Inside, the building was designed to maximize acoustical tones with the exterior glass wall being used as a backdrop to capture sound. To further enhance and refine the sound it has adjustable acrylic acoustical panels around the stage area. There are circa 2,700 seats inside.

SHN runs three theaters in the area that focus on the usual Broadway classics like A Chorus Line, Grease, and of course The Phantom of the Opera.

Built in 1922, this theater was designed by architect Alfred Henry Jacobs. It has a very ornate and well-maintained interior featuring chandeliers and an intricately hand-painted ceilings.

Built in 1920 and influenced by the "Art Deco" and "Gothic Revival" styles, this theater has over 2,800 seats. It was designed by architect Gustave Albert Lansburgh.