
This week: the Ballet Folklórico performs Mexican dances in incredible outfits, the Cartoon Art Museum displays pages from
The Punisher, the aquarium holds a Shark Week event for grownups, Glen Hansard sings in Oakland, and a 5-foot-1 actress embodies a 5-foot-10 boxer. As always, check Groupon for more exciting
things to do in San Francisco.
Mex I Am Festival
SoMa | Saturday, August 2–Sunday, August 3
In the final days of the Mex I Am Festival at the
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, performers celebrate their Mexican heritage through theater, music, and dance. The Ballet Folklórico de México concludes the proceedings on Sunday with both contemporary and traditional choreography, starring dancers costumed in almost every color imaginable.
(701 Mission St.; $15–$25; buy tickets here)
Pay What You Wish Day at the Cartoon Art Museum
SoMa | Tuesday, August 5
The first Tuesday of the month means that you can choose your own admission fee at the
Cartoon Art Museum. This week is also your last chance to catch iconic pages from
The Punisher,
Captain America, and
The Amazing Spider-Man as part of
Raw Fury: The Art of Mike Zeck. If you’re excited for the upcoming reboot, check out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles retrospective, which includes comic art as well as relics from the 1980s animated television show.
(655 Mission St.; pay what you wish)
Aquapalooza at Aquarium of the Bay
North Beach | Wednesday, August 6
It’s Shark Week at the
Aquarium of the Bay, and what better way to party than by dancing with the sharks themselves? Guests at Aquapalooza, an after-hours adult event, can wear headphones and boogie down a 300-foot, shark-filled tunnel during a Silent Disco. The event also features a cash bar with cocktails by
Tonic, crafts, and a lab where you can chat up a shark expert.
(2 Beach St.; $15–$20; buy tickets here)
Glen Hansard
Oakland | Thursday, August 7
Didn’t score tickets to Outside Lands or the Bey-Jay On the Run tour? There are still plenty of other shows to see, including this one at the
Fox Theater. The Irish singer-songwriter of
Once fame will most likely showcase soulful covers (Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison are possibilities) and original work from his latest solo album and EP.
(1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; $35; buy tickets here)
Tough
Mission | Saturday, August 2; Thursday, August 7–Saturday, August 9
By portraying the 19th-century foul-mouthed boxer John L. Sullivan, the comparatively petite Chris Black upends conventional definitions of strength in this one-woman show at
Z Space’s Z Below. The plot follows Sullivan’s rise and fall from stardom, all while examining the ties that bind art and athleticism.
(470 Florida St.; $25; buy tickets here)
Image credits: ballet photo courtesy of the Ballet Folklórico de México, Cartoon Art Museum photo by Andrew Nesbitt, shark photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Glen Hansard photo by RealityIntolerant, Tough
photo by Lydia Daniller.