From a revered Chinese cantata to the Beach Boys and a house full of artistic Honey Bears, there is a lot to see and hear in the Bay Area this weekend.
Here is a partial rundown.
Classical picks: ‘Yellow River Cantata,’ West Edge, Merola
This week brings the opportunity to experience three special events: a 17th-century opera by Charpentier, a revered Chinese work calling for peace in the world, and the Merola Opera’s finale.
“The Yellow River Cantata”: As 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese War, and the founding of the United Nations, this new work for piano and orchestra pays tribute to the grandeur of the Yellow River and the depth of the Chinese people’s past struggles. Symphony San Jose is presenting the cantata in partnership with several Chinese American organizations, promising a performance of grandeur and a call for peace in the world. Jun Wang conducts, with soprano Manhua Gao, baritone Weiguang Dang, and special guest Shenshen Zhang on pipa, an instrument essential to many Asian works.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16; San Jose Center for the Performing Arts; $35-$125; symphonysanjose.org.
“David and Jonathan”: Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s masterwork is seldom produced, and the West Edge Opera company, which opened its 2025 summer season with “Dolores,” a world premiere based on the life and times of labor leader Dolores Huerta, now turns its sights to this biblical love story featuring one of history’s most famous gay couples. Mark Streshinsky, West Edge’s general director, revives this landmark work; Adam Pearl conducts, and singing the title roles are Derek Chester (David) and Aaron Sheehan (Jonathan).
Details: 2 p.m. Aug. 16; Oakland Scottish Rite Center, Oakland; single tickets $10-$170; westedgeopera.org.
Merola wraps: The Merola Opera’s annual summer training program devoted to young artists always chooses the cream of the crop — this year, from more than 1,300 applicants, 26 rising stars were chosen. On Aug. 16, \those artists bring this year’s program to a starry end with the Merola Grand Finale. Expect thrills: this is a great chance to see and hear these artists as they become the stars of tomorrow.
Details: 7:30 p.m.; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; tickets $18-up; merola.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Of Honey Bears and Painted Ladies
Ever watch “Full House,” with its opening credits showing the famous Painted Ladies houses in San Francisco, and think: “I want to be there”?
Now you can, thanks to a unique show that’s colonized one of these notable domiciles. Bay Area street artist fnnch recently claimed the Pink Painted Lady near Alamo Square park as his own personal gallery, and is using it to showcase more than 100 paintings from the last decade. “The Painted Ladies are a major tourist attraction, but once you get your photo from the hill, there is nothing to do,” he writes. “The fnnch Museum will invite people for free into one of the houses.”
The subject of this retrospective is the humble Honey Bear, that plastic ursine-shaped bottle of honey found in grocery markets all over the world. Why’s fnnch been painting Honey Bears for so long? As he once told a news outlet: “I think it’s a universal symbol of happiness. It’s got nostalgia, it’s got desire because it contained sugar, which is something we deeply wanted as kids, and it’s an all around positive image.”
Details: Exhibit open noon-8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday through summer 2025 at 714 Steiner St., San Francisco; free but reservations required for entry; museum.fnnch.com.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Beach Boys back in Bay Area
The music world is still mourning the loss of the great Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys mastermind who died June 11 at the age of 82 in his native Southern California.
During his amazing lifetime, Wilson was the driving force behind some of the most beloved songs in pop music history — including “I Get Around,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” “Surfer Girl,” “God Only Knows,” “Fun, Fun, Fun” and, of course, “Good Vibrations.”
Fans can count on hearing many (if not all) of those songs in concert when the Beach Boys perform on Aug. 17 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and tickets start at $78.78, mountainwinery.com.
The band, which still features founding member Mike Love, also performs Aug. 22 at the Blue Note Summer Sessions at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa. Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets start at $86, ticketmaster.com.
Sounds like a great way for Beach Boys fans to have some “Fun, Fun, Fun” while enjoying one of the greatest songbooks of all time.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Fun festivals? We know of a few
There’s a jam-packed weekend of Bay Area festivals ahead. Among the highlights:
Festival of India: The 33rd annual FOG (Festival of Globe) celebration of Indian culture features entertainment, food, a Saturday dance competition, a two-day fair (mela) and the big Sunday parade.
Details: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 16-17 (parade at 11 a.m.); $6 fair entrance; 39439 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont; fogsv.com.
Assyrian Food Festival: Highlights include culinary treats from what’s called the cradle of civilization, along with live music, dancing, children’s activities and a Samovar Alley featuring teas, coffees and pastries.
Details: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 16, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 17; Assyrian Church of the East, 680 Minnesota Ave., San Jose; free admission; www.assyrianfoodfestival.org.
Foster City Summer Days: This festival at Leo Ryan Park offers carnival rides, a car show, entertainment, crafts and community booths, food and beverage stands and a Rubber Ducky Scavenger Hunt. Admission is free; tickets required for rides.
Details: Rides open 5 to 10:30 p.m. Aug. 15, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 16 and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 17, but booths and stages close earlier. www.fcsummerdays.com
Scotts Valley Art, Wine and Beer Festival: Featuring fine art, food, live music, kids’ activities, wine and beer. On Aug. 16 there’s a Cops ‘n’ Rodders car show; Aug. 17 is Dog Day.
Details: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday; Skypark, Scotts Valley; free admission; www.svartfestival.com.
— Linda Zavoral, Staff
Freebie of the week
The annual Yerba Buena Gardens Festival in San Francisco is in full swing, offering several free performances a week until its conclusion in early October. The shows range from poetry readings to concerts to kids puppet shows, a popular dance/workout class, movie screenings and more. This weekend sees a return to the series by one of the Bay Area’s most acclaimed musicians and composers, Marcus Shelby, who also happens to be the festival’s resident composer.
Shelby is well-known in the Bay Area music scene for his extended jazz and blues compositions that weave in elements of African American history. On Saturday, he’ll be back at the festival with his 15-member band performing a show titled “Blues and the Pursuit of Freedom,” made up of segments from previous Yerba Buena Gardens Festival commissions. The work will touch on everything from abolitionist Harriet Tubman, to Black history in baseball, the Ohlone tribelets and even the pandemic.
Details: Shelby’s performance takes place 2 to 3:30 p.m.; Yerba Buena Gardens Great Lawn, on Mission Street, between 3rd and 4th streets; free; ybgfestival.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
If know what’s Goode for you
Bay Area choreographer, writer and director Joe Goode is known for creating and presenting highly relatable dance works – ones that capture the pain and passion of everyday life. He is considered a groundbreaking choreographer for his knack for weaving spoken word, text, film and other sonic and visual imagery into his storytelling works, which have included such lauded dance/theater productions as “Body Familiar,” “Gender Heroes,” “Wonderboy” and more.
Goode’s works have been incorporated into site-specific productions in the cavernous Lilienthal-Haas House in Pacific Heights, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the S.F. Mint and other distinctive venues, allowing his surroundings to play a role in the storytelling process. Now Goode and his company — The Joe Goode Performance Group — is back with a new work, titled “Are You Okay?” Something of an urgent variant on the “Why Can’t We All Get Along” theme, Goode’s new work posits that togetherness — he calls it “collaborative creativity” — is more than a lofty notion nowadays, it may be the only blueprint to humankind’s survival in an unstable world. “Are You Okay” will be performed in another site-specific production in San Francisco’s Rincon Center, 83 Mission St., opening 8 p.m. Thursday and running through Aug. 31.
Details: Tickets are $48-$60; joegoode.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Desi Comedy Fest returns
The South Asian diaspora has had a monumental impact on California and particularly the Bay Area. But probably not a lot of people realize that part of impact has been felt at local comedy club stages. You can see for yourself if you venture to San Jose Improv or Cobb’s Comedy Club this weekend. The two clubs will be hosting the 11th annual Desi Comedy Fest, which features about a dozen top South Asian comedians and has its roots in the Bay Area.
The event was co-founded by two Bay Area-based comedians: Samson Koletkar, aka Mahatma Moses, who claims to be the world’s only Indian Jewish stand-up comedian; and Abhay Nadkarni, who might be best known for his comedy special “Brown Jesus,” which is available on Amazon Prime. Other comedians in the 2025 lineup include Ali Mehedi, Aurora Singh, Alisha Dhillon, Bassam Shawl and Bhavya Shah, a Stanford student studying math and computer science (so you know he has to be funny).
Details: Performances are 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at San Jose Improv and 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at Cobb’s Comedy Club, San Francisco; $17-$113.80, go to www.desicomedyfest.com.
— Bay City News Foundation