Enjoyable, free, low cost: What to do in San Francisco this week

By Johnny Funcheap

Special to The Examiner

2022 Mardi Gras Parklet Crawl

San Francisco’s Carnaval festival and grand parade doesn’t happen for another few months (May 28-29), but that doesn’t stop the organizers from celebrating early and bringing a bit of Carnaval to Fat Tuesday. Samba your way through the Mission to the beat of Brazilian drummers, Aztec dance troupes and bands playing lively soca, cubmia and rumba during the free Mardi Gras Parklet Crawl. Performances take place throughout the historic “Calle 24” Latino Cultural District at 10 different parklets clustered around 24th St. BART and along Valencia and Mission Streets. Tuesday, March 1, 5-9 pm, Multiple parklets throughout The Mission (view map), SF, Free. carnavalsanfrancisco.org

(Courtesy The Village Project)

Mardi Gras Second Line Parade & Fillmore Fat Tuesday Festival

If you see a bunch of people wearing beads and colorful costumes following a brass band pumping out New Orleans style jams through the streets of The Fillmore, then you’ve just found Mardi Gras San Francisco Style. The 16th annual festival kicks off Tuesday at 5 pm with a free outdoor community concert performed by Grammy-nominated Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic and blues diva Tia Carroll. Sandwiched between the concerts the Gumbo Band gets things moving, brassing out blues, jazz and dixieland to kick off the traditional second line processional starting at Golden Gate Ave., letting their good times roll all over Fillmore Street. Tuesday, March 1, 5-10 pm, Fillmore Center Plaza, 1475 Fillmore at O’Farrell, SF, Free but RSVP required. funcheap.com

(Courtesy Great Star Theater)

The Rocky Horror Circus Show

This definitely isn’t your parents’ Rocky Horror Picture Show. Normally when you see this cult classic film you get a “shadow cast” of performers acting out scenes in front of the movie screen and prompting the crowd to join in. But the Rocky Horror Circus Show doesn’t just settle for traditional group singalongs and throwing rice. Instead, you’ll be treated to a full-on naughty circus show with a tight-wire Time Warp, contortionists, pole dancing and aerial acrobatics at this historic 1925 Chinatown theater. Come ready for a wild high-flying night filled with sweet transvestites and virgins being sacrificed. Note, masks are required, but pants may not be. Thursdays to Saturdays, March 3-7, 9 pm, Great Star Theater, 636 Jackson St., SF, $25. greatstartheater.org

(Courtesy Garden Media)

100,000 free “Pick-Your-Own” Tulips coming to Union Square

March 5 is National Sock Monkey Day, along with Absinthe Day and Cheese Doodle Day. But thankfully it’s also Flower Bulb Day, and so San Francisco’s Union Square is getting covered with a massive colorful garden of about 100,000 tulips that are yours for the picking. As part of a promotion to celebrate International Women’s Day — and to advertise flower bulbs from the European Union that are grown in the US — you’re invited to pick a free bouquet as a gift to a woman that has inspired you. Why can’t there be 100,000 free sock monkeys, too? Saturday, March 5, 1-4:30pm, Union Square, SF, Free. funcheap.com

(Courtesy de Young Museum)

Free Saturdays: de Youngsters day out

If your kid thinks museums that feature 17th-century paintings are basic, this might change their mind. This week the de Young is adding in tons of family-friendly and hands-on activities, so that kids will have to try extra hard to seem bored. Play an “I Spy” game of historical hints, learn how to create hip-hop beats and write your own rap song, or make art you can eat with “The Great Tortilla Conspiracy.” Yup, here’s a chance to put art directly on tortillas! Plus, the inspirational ’80s fashion design exhibition “Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love” will be free this Saturday, with tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. Saturday, March 5, 9:30 am – 5:15 pm, de Young Museum: Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., SF, Free for Bay Area residents, but tickets required, deyoung.famsf.org

Visit Funcheap.com for a hand-picked list of more fun, free and cheap things to do in San Francisco.