Despite things becoming a bit more squishy with Covid-19, there’s still a lot going on this month, as everyone is eager to enjoy the last days of summer. Here are a few happenings and events to look forward to and attend (safely):
Featured Event: Sound Summit
Sept 11
Lukas Nelson and Father John Misty headline a full day of performances that includes Mill Valley’s own Teal Collins in an epic event at the Mountain Theater on Mount Tamalpais. The show is a homecoming for Collins, who grew up in Mount Tam’s shadow and will debut her new band and play all original material at her ‘beloved magic spot.’ Garage rock from LA’s Allah-Lahs, Mardi Gras Indian funk from New Orleans-based Cha Wa and San Francisco DJ Andy Cabic (of Vetiver) round out the day. Hometown favorite Brian Murphy with KNBR partner, Paul McCaffrey bring their Murph & Mac act to the Master of Ceremonies role. “Mill Valley has changed over the years,” says Mill Valley resident Murphy, “but everything about Sound Summit–the appreciation of music, the appreciation of the mountain, the love and good vibes in the air — is the best of what a lot of us ‘Millbillies’ like to think of as true Mill Valley. Thank goodness it’s back!” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Sept 2 After Dark
Thursday evenings at the Exploratorium are set aside for adult members only with enhanced programming, such as Holographic Panoptics for the Mind and Art for Action, aimed at grown-ups’ aged brains.
Sept 3 Celine Dion
The five-time Grammy winner and pop sensation spends an evening at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Sept 4 Art Auction
Featuring a range of artwork from coastal Marin and Bay Area artists, the Bolinas Museum benefit returns with events at the gallery and online, through September 12.
Sept 5 Crazy Funny Asians
The weekly show, featuring local Asian comics riffing on what they find humorous about their community, culture and heritage, is back in San Francisco.
Sept 6 Twelfth Night
Mill Valley’s Old Mill Park Amphitheatre hosts the return of Curtain Theater to live performance with William Shakespeare’s holiday season romantic comedy and tonight is the last night to see it.
Sept 7 Fort Phooey
A show designed to bring visitors inside the studio of the late Bay Area art legend William T. Wiley turns the studio into the art with archival objects on loan from the artist’s estate, at DiRosa, through October 31.
Sept 8 Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini
Mill Valley’s Sweetwater is back, baby, and tonight’s show with trombonist and singer Natalie Cressman and guitarist Ian Faquini presents their new duo project highlighting an intimate blend of impressionism, jazz, and the great Brazilian songwriting tradition.
Sept 9 The Sound Inside
The West Coast premiere of Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp’s new American play centers on a brilliant Ivy League writing professor, a talented yet mysterious student and an unthinkable favor, through October 3.
Sept 10 The Gala
Transcendence Theatre honors the Sonoma community for supporting it and its 10th year with tribute performances over two weekends, through September 19.
Sept 11 Concerts in the Plaza
With the support of the Mill Valley Arts Commission, a weekend-spanning concert comes to Mill Valley’s Depot Plaza with musical performances by Cubed, Dirty Cello and The Well Known Strangers, among others, through September 12.
Sept 12 EV & Classic Car Show
The Village at Corte Madera acts as host to an event that benefits local charities while allowing automotive aficionados to take a gander at some of the newest and oldest technologies available on four wheels.
Sept 13 It’s Raining Cats and Dogs
In partnership with Marin Humane, Cedars created an art exhibit inspired by America’s favorite domestic animals, available online and in-person at Artist Within, a Cedars gallery in San Anselmo.
Sept 14 Comedy Night
Grab a seat and a bite to eat at socially-distanced outdoor tables at San Francisco’s Local Brewing Co. while enjoying the work of comedians from “Sketchfest,” “Late Night,” and more.
Sept 15 Italian American Icons
Works by young artists of the internationally-known Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli in Northern Italy utilizing a mix of found materials and age-old mosaic art techniques to create portraits of Italian-American cultural icons of our age, including Sylvester Stallone and Alicia Keys, are on display at Marin MOCA, through November 7.
Sept 16 Michael Levitin
The author of Disposable Man and the co-founder of The Occupied Wall Street Journal discusses his latest book, Generation Occupy, in an online event.
Sept 17 Cars
Bring a blanket and a picnic to enjoy an evening with Lightning McQueen, Mater and the four-wheeled crew on the wide lawn behind Mill Valley’s Community Center once the sun goes down.
Sept 18 Fall Arts Festival
Set amidst the redwoods of Old Mill Park, the 64th year of a non-commercial, weekend-long event goes a step further than years’ past with puppeteers, storytellers and a reimagining of art forms and visions, through September 19.
Sept 19 TreasureFest
After nine years on Treasure Island, the hundreds of local artists, musicians and vendors decamp to the Marin Center with the same senses-stimulating vibe and eyebrow-raising spirit.
Sept 20 Echo Location
As part of YBCA’s reopening celebration, The Cultural Geopolitics in South of Market, an exhibition centered on the heritage of SoMa’s Filipinx and LGBTQIA+ communities, includes visual arts, film, and theatre, through October 3.
Sept 21 The Enduring Mark
Highlighting a major new gift, “Six Centuries of Drawing from the Gray Collection” showcases 80 drawings spanning multiple centuries of Western art of the human figure, including works by Paul Klee, Juan Gris, and Joan Miro, now on view at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, through November 28.
Sept 22 Dear San Francisco
The essence and the myth of San Francisco are played out with acrobatics, spoken word, shadow play and other circus arts in a show that opens tonight, through December 30.
Sept 23 The Immortal Reckoning
A fully immersive, haunted experience from the minds behind The Terror Vault updates performance for the spooky season with a supernatural adventure, through October 31.
Sept 24 The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
Fifty years after his premiere in the 1971 screen adaptation of Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice,” actor Björn Andrésen reveals his journey from unwitting film star to international artist in a film at Smith Rafael Film Center.
Sept 25 Sonoma Art Trails
Wind your way through Sonoma’s scenic by-ways on a self-guided tour that gives participants the opportunity to meet the artists first hand, get inspired by their works and share in the quiet joys of art and craft.
Sept 26 Fall for Art
ODC dancers descend on McEvoy Ranch for a site-specific performance while you enjoy lunch or a stroll in the gardens, celebrate ODC’s 50th year and raise funds for young dancers.
Sept 27 Motown on Mondays
Dance the night away with DJ Gordo Cabeza spinning originals, remixes and other interpretations of Detroit’s most iconic musical style at San Francisco’s Madrona Art Bar.
Sept 28 Gold Over America
Simone Biles headlines a crew of powerful gymnasts and Olympians including Jordan Chiles, Laurie Hernandez and Katelyn Ohashi, sharing stories of their personal journey and moves on the mat to inspire us all, at Chase Center.
Sept 29 Bacchae Before
With a dance theater project inspired by the tragedies of gender reveal parties and Anne Carson’s Bakkhai, Hope Mohr Dance returns to live performance with an ancient story of the murder of Pentheus, King of Thebes, at the hands of his own mother, through October 2.
Sept 30 My Park Moment
An outdoor photo show at The Presidio with over 400 images featuring people from all backgrounds loving their favorite parks, invites users to experience the park by walking between four showcases, through August, 2022.
For more on Better:
- Santa Barbara’s Unexpected Hospitality History — Plus, Where to Stay on America’s Riviera
- Summer in Breckenridge: What to Do, Where to Eat and Where to Stay
- Napa and Sonoma Are Open Again: The Top New Destinations for Tastings, Dining and Wellness
Christina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Sunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her child’s school, and supports the Marin Audubon Society, PEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.s the Assistant Editor at Marin Magazine and a graduate of Elon University where she studied Professional Writing and Fine Art. Born and raised in San Francisco/Marin, she loves traveling just as much as coming home to the Bay Area. She has curated a sophisticated palate for food, travel and culture and uses her travels as an outlet to develop her photography portfolio and hone her writing craft.
