No need to come up with an excuse to stay in this New Year's Eve—there are plenty of chill, glamorous, smart, and trippy ways to virtually celebrate the end of 2020.
Plus, spend first days of 2021 ordering wine delivery from Ashes & Diamonds, streaming an early morning groove sesh with Tycho, and watching Opera San José's The Parting Glass. Happy New Year, party(-in-place) people.
Indulge in a creamy bowl of umami crab, brisket French onion mac and cheese, or a heaping plate of barbecue at Ayesha Curry and Michael Mina's new popup, Mac 'n' Cue; takeout and delivery daily from 4pm to 9pm. // Order online at bbot.menu.
View Southern Exposure's annual juried show, Ways of Being Free. Curated by Dessane Lopez Cassell, the virtual show complicates the idea of individualism and Western notions of independence through moving images and videos by 12 local BIPOC artists; watch through January 30. // Watch for free on waysofbeingfree.org.
Virtually attend SF Playhouse's performance of Songs for a New World. Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown's first musical, premiered in 1995, highlights the experience of hitting a wall and having to make a strong decision—or go back; stream through Thursday. // Tickets ($15-$100) are available at sfplayhouse.org.
Learn about sculptor Manuel Neri and painter Joan Browan. Both central figures in the 1950s and '60s Bay Area Figurative Movement, the artists' brief marriage had an impact on their works; Monday at 1pm. // sfcommunityliving.org
Watch Margaret Jenkins Dance Company's "Breathing at the Boundaries," created in response to the pandemic. The live stream show will also serve as a preview of collaborators from around the world for the upcoming Global Moves, an evening-length dance that will showcase responses to isolation, turmoil, and disunity in Fall 2021, Tuesday at 6pm (available on-demand through January 6). // RSVP (free with donation option) on mjdc.org.
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment with a virtual viewing of the American Bookbinders Museum's "Suffragists in Print." The exhibit highlights female printers, editors, and publishers that helped create change by printing the Suffragists' messages; through Wednesday. // bookbindersmuseum.org
Celebrate Nia, the fifth day of Kwanzaa. Hosted by Museum of the African Diaspora and the San Francisco Public Library, the event will include poetry readings and appearances by The House of Men author Stewart Shaw;Ayodele Nzinga, founding director of Lower Bottom Playaz; and Bay Area–based activist and educator Karla Brundage; Wednesday from 6pm to 7:30pm. // Register (free) on moadsf.org.
Stream the Cine+Mas San Francisco Latino Film Festival. This year's virtual fest features more than 20 feature-length and 50 short Latin American films from the Americas and Spain, available on-demand, plus filmmaker Q&As; Wednesday through January 10. // Tickets ($10, five-film pass for $42, or full film pass for $125) are available at cinemassf.org.
Pick up some wine from Ashes & Diamonds' Delivery & Drive-Thru. When you buy three bottles, you'll receive focaccia bread and persimmon jam to go with; or ball out with 12 bottles if you want white sturgeon caviar too. Delivery is available in Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties; the drive-thru in Napa is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 11am to 4 pm. // ashesdiamonds.com
Start NYE celebration a few hours early with Chabot Space & Science Center's family-friendly Virtual Balloon Drop, featuring hundreds of bio-degradable festive balloons. Toast to 2021 while you partake in STEM activities; Thursday 11am to noon. // Register ($10) on chabotspace.org.
Celebrate Beethoven's 250th birthday with The Alexander String Quartet. The final performance includes Duet in F Major for Violin and Viola, WoO. 27/2, performed by David Samuels and Yuri Cho, along with String Quartet Op. 131 in C sharp; Thursday at noon. // Stream (free) on sfperformances.org.
Watch Opera San José's The Parting Glass. Start your NYE early with drinking songs inspired by music from across the globe and a story involving a pub piano player, a French wine lover, a British professor, and more. Elevate your experience with VIP extras like a meal from Bird Dog paired with award-winning whiskeys from 10th Street Distillery; Thursday at 6:30pm. // RSVP (free) on operasj.org.
Splurge on a decadent New Year's Eve dinner. It's only fitting that you pair your Champagne with caviar, lobster, steak tartare, and beef wellington—to be enjoyed on your couch, of course. // Recommendations on 7x7.com.
Bid farewell to 2020 by streaming Asian Art Museum's 35th Annual New Year Bell Ringing Ceremony. In addition to a traditional blessing by Reverend Gengo Akibaat at Oakland Zen temple Kojin-an, programming includes insight into the meditative process of cleaning the temple, special seasonal decorations and foods, and 108 rings of a Buddhist temple bell to help leave 2020's ill luck behind; Thursday at 11am. // Register (free with donation options) on asianart.org.
Put on your New Year's best for a glamorous party hosted by Truffle Shuffle, live-streamed from a Prohibition-style nightclub. Make a couple of cocktails; enjoy goodies from a pre-delivered box stuffed with Humboldt Fog goat cheese with brown butter truffle honey, caviar, and Fra Mani charcuterie; pop in and out of breakout rooms with activities like tarot readings and Charleston dancing; and watch a Vaudeville show; Thursday at 7pm or 10pm. // Tickets ($95-$150) are available on truffleshufflesf.com.
Ring in 2021 inside the Virtual Mushroom with Oakland-based electronic group Beats Antique. The show will include groovy music, dance performances, and a midnight countdown within an impressive, vibey virtual performance space by digital artist Android Jones; choose from five performances on Thursday including an SF countdown show at 11:30pm. // Tickets (pay what you can) are available at stageit.com.
Kick off the new year with Tycho Solo Ascent, performed from a wooded NorCal location. Whether or not you've seen Tycho's sunrise set at Burning Man, the virtual show is sure to be inspiring—and worth the early wake-up call; Friday at 7am (available to stream for 48 hours). // Purchase tickets ($20.21) at nocapshows.com.
Set your intentions for 2021 during Left Coast Power Yoga's Yoga-Thon. For three and a half hours, you can partake in as many 30-minute Zoom classes as you like; Friday starting at 8:30am. // Register on leftcoastpoweryoga.com.
Start filling in Gravel & Gold's 2021 calendar. Each month features a detachable, colorful risograph print from Gravel & Gold's archives, by artists including Cassie McGettigan and Stueart Pittman, and it's even printed and assembled in the Bay Area. // Purchase ($58) on gravelandgold.com
Virtually explore 23 drawings by Lenka Clayton in How We Thought It Would Be And How It Was. From the start of the pandemic, Clayton has been using typewriter drawings to record observations of the new normal—think turning tea towels into face masks, kitchen haircuts, and computer screens; viewing extended through January 16. // View the 3D gallery on cclarkgallery.com.
Though August1Five recently announced its permanent closure, you can munch on globally influenced plates from the restaurant's former chef, Manish Tyagi, when you head down the peninsula for takeout from newly opened Aurum. Cleverly named dishes include The Spoiled Generation (pork thepla tacos) and His and Her Highnesses (lamb and chicken Biryani), and more; Tuesday through Sunday from 4pm to 9pm. // 132 State St. (Los Altos), aurumca.com
Pick up a copy of Island Visions to learn more about the Channel Islands. The brother duo behind Berkeley-based Pedal Born Pictures' newest project uses illustrations and maps along with poems and stories to highlight the Channel Islands' diverse voices, history, and wildlife. // Purchase ($40) on maps.com.
Pull up to Mel's Drive-In for car hop service and plenty of retro vibes. Order a burger and shake to go; car hop available at Lombard Street and Geary Boulevard locations. // melsdrive-in.com
