Things to Do in Orinda

Independent and perennial craft distilleries take center stage during the San Francisco Craft Spirits Carnival. Across two days, more than 80 producers—including Great Lakes Distillery, Bulleit Bourbon, and St. Germain—pour samples for aficionados and curious customers alike to highlight the taste and texture of handcrafted whiskeys, gins, vodkas, mescals, absinthes, and spiked grape juice. The festival also works to expand knowledge of the alcohol arts through industry and consumer educational forums, dinners with spirits pairings at well-known local restaurants, and a culminating two-day tasting event at the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion. In keeping with its vaudeville-style carnival theme, the festival will also feature live performances by fire-eaters, trapeze artists, and contortionists, who keep any self-proclaimed Twister champions from bragging all day long.

Monte Carlo Night combines the indulgent pleasures of gambling and carousing with a wholesome investment in the health of the community. This year's event is a fundraiser for the City of Dreams organization to help San Francisco's youth in low-income housing achieve success through education and mentorship programs. The VIP pass allows guests to mingle at the mezzanine level alongside an open bar kept flowing by Jaqk Cellars and innovative sushi from Yoshi's executive chef. Throw money around like a child millionaire in a candy store with $1,500 in 21 Fun gambling money, 10 Casino Prize coupons, 10 Ace in the Hole coupons, and 10 Lucky Buck coupons, all good for competitive play around high-limit blackjack and craps tables.

Within the Winery Collective's multi-winery tasting room, grape savants uncork the flavorful nuances of liquid harvests hailing from more than 2 dozen of California's boutique wineries from Santa Barbara to Napa Valley. Winemakers and enthusiasts guide palates through wine-flight menus, which are culled from the more than 100 vinos that line the tasting room's walls and, like the political views of a housecat, change daily. The Winery Collective also hosts private and semiprivate parties and corporate events, during which guests mingle and sip in a lofted earth-toned lounge outfitted with crisscrossing wooden shelves that display colorful wine bottles and shapely decanters.

A pianist's ivory tickling underscores Big City Improv’s heralded cast of joke tellers during one-of-a-kind improvised comedy shows. Crowds lob laughs and suggestions toward the performers who incorporate shouted-out ideas into scenes, games, and skits. The entertainers also invite audience members onstage to participate in bits and get the spotlight to stop staring at them.

With the blood of the Stevens family—an American sailing dynasty that included America Cup pioneer John C. Stevens—coursing through his veins, captain Steve Hocking was destined for greatness aboard the open sea. As the owner of Ohana Sailing, he's armed with a US Coast Guard license and racing chops that earned him an invitation to the prestigious Rolex Invitational Big Boat series. Steve indulges a passion for sailing that began when he bought his first boat in Canada and steered it straight to San Francisco. At the helm of his 45-foot Beneteau, the Ohana, Steve pilots moonlit or daytime cruises during which passengers can lounge between the wood panels of a luxurious master stateroom and two guest rooms.

Steve also holds three-month racing courses aboard the Ohana, enabling hands-on learning by including participation in three or four races each month. At individual sailing lessons, pupils board the Roadrunner, a 23-foot Ranger boat, and master techniques for navigating the diminutive vessel through open waters and between the sentient statues that guard them.

With a proud fleet of schooners, performance catamarans, vintage and contemporary luxury yachts, and tall ships, SF Bay Adventures has vessels to suit any occasion. The friendly, USCG-certified crews have experience helming ships for special events, marine filming, corporate team-building events, and educational programs. They also embark on adventure excursions such as shark- and whale-watching tours, eco tours, floating wine tastings, and special cruises for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Blackbeard’s mother’s birthday. After rigging the sails, they lead tours of the Golden Gate Bridge, sunset cruises, and pirate-themed parties aboard their various sailing ships.