Enjoyable, free, low-cost: What to do in San Francisco this week
By Johnny Funcheap
Special to The Examiner
The Cliff House moving picture gallery
After the 157-year-old Cliff House closed down in 2020, the historic restaurant’s gift shop was turned into a pop-up museum featuring vintage photographs, souvenirs and artifacts telling the story of the building and the surrounding area. Now, the history continues after the museum closes for the day. Every sundown, the exterior windows of the Cliff House turn into a canvas showing a montage of historic photos (including amateur snapshots), home movies and commercial B-roll of the Cliff House, Sutro Baths and Playland at the Beach. Projections change monthly with the next set of images and films set to debut on March 12. Museum open Thursdays to Sundays, 11 am to 4 pm through mid-April. Free. savethecliffhousecollection.com. Projections nightly through April 8, 5-10 pm, The Cliff House, 1090 Point Lobos Ave., SF Free. eventbrite.com
(Courtesy Portsmouth Square Garage)
2 hours free parking in Chinatown
When the pandemic hit, Chinatown businessed were hit hard, with many tourists and locals staying away. Two years later, the City of San Francisco is aiming to bring more people back and is using free parking as the lure. To that end, the Portsmouth Square Garage, a short walking distance to tons of shops, bars and restaurants, is offering two hours free parking through the rest of February with virtually no restrictions other than that the garage opens at 5 am and closes at midnight . Through Feb. 28, 2022, Portsmouth Square Garage, 733 Kearny St., SF First two hours parking free (regular rates apply after two hours). sfmta.com
(Courtesy Noise Pop Music and Arts Festival)
Noise pop free happy hour concerts
The curators of San Francisco’s annual Noise Pop Music & Arts Festival have quite a track record for picking bands that are just about to become stars. In the past, San Franciscans saw The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie and The Shins on small Noise Pop stages before they broke big. This year, you can check out some of the latest hopeful crop of “I saw them before they were huge” bands at a series of free happy hour concerts at Bender’s in the Mission every night from Tuesday to Saturday this week, plus a special SF Beer Week/Noise Pop mashup kickoff Sunday beer garden concert on Feb. 20 at 2 pm at Zeitgeist. Sunday, Feb. 20, 2 pm, Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia St., SF, Free with RSVP. dothebay.com Tuesday to Saturday, Feb. 22-26, 5:00 pm, Bender’s Bar and Grill, 806 S. Van Ness Ave., SF, Free with RSVP. dothebay.com
(Courtesy Union Square Alliance)
Thing! Thing! A cable car appreciation event
According to the San Francisco Travel Association, tourism spending might not get back to pre-pandemic levels until 2025. So while the visitors are away, locals are being asked to “play tourist for the day” and pitch in to support the bars and restaurants along the cable car route that typically rely heavily on out-of-towners for their survival. On Feb. 26, start at legacy Union Square restaurant John’s Grill for music, drinks and bites. Then flash your RSVP to skip-the-line and hop on the next available cable car over the hill to end up at the Buena Vista for a group “cheers” with an Irish coffee. Just note there are no freebies here. The whole point is to spend money! — food, drinks and cable car rides. Saturday, Feb. 26, 3-5 pm, Meet at John’s Grill, 63 Ellis, SF, food, drinks and cable car tickets ($8) for purchase but RSVP for priority access to cable car and drink food/drink specials. eventbrite.com
(Courtesy of MoAD)
SFJAZZ Black History Month celebration concert with Martin Luther McCoy
Celebrating both Black History Month and the closing of two exhibitions, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) hosts a special SFJAZZ multimedia presentation and performance with Martin Luther McCoy, who rose to international acclaim for his extensive work with The Roots. At this contemporary art museum that celebrates Black cultures, it’s your final weekend to see art exhibits “Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks” and “Billie Zangewa: Thread for a Web Begun.” The soundtrack for the evening is provided by McCoy, who will pair his blues-drenched R&B and storytelling with repurposed found film footage as the backdrop. Saturday, Feb. 26, 4-5 pm, MoAD, 685 Mission St., SF, Free with museum admission ($12 general, $6 student/senior, Free entry for up to four people with EBT card), moadsf.org
Visit Funcheap.com for a hand-picked list of more fun, free and cheap things to do in San Francisco.
