#bay-area

#bay-area

It's time for the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, held each year from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. The citizen science tradition dates back to 1900, when an early officer of the society, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, proposed a bird census rather than a hunt over the Christmas holiday. Today, tens of thousands of participants across the Americas participate in one of the longest-running wildlife censuses, which is designed to assess bird populations.

In the world of Bay Area ballet, Michael Smuin's Christmas Ballet is one of the most sought-after events (and tickets) around. Soloist Myles Thatcher challenges rigid ballet gender norms with an unparalleled exuberance, and the fluidity of this seasonal regional gem changes every season with new works by Julia Adam (Dance Director), and Amy Seiwert (Artistic Director) leading the way.

With it's significant Bay Area connection, The Nutcracker has been a mainstay of local dance companies for decades and decades. And why not? The ballet and its iconic score by Tchaikovsky has everything a holiday production could ask for sumptuous choreography, unforgettable music and a Christmas setting. Once again, Bay Area troupes are offering a wide array of versions of the ballet that dominates the winter dance season and which historians estimate accounts for 40 percent of ballet company box office income each year.

Here in the Bay Area, the growth is particularly notable, with mahjong gatherings happening nearly every day of the weeknot to mention frequent pop-ups and community events throughout the region. One of those leading the surge is San Francisco's The Mahjong Movement, an organization born with the hope of promoting empathy and compassion for Asian culture and community and bringing together people from different communities and age groups.

But what the pioneering educator remains most proud of are his nearly four decades taking troubled and at-risk Bay Area youngsters out into the world, mostly into nature for hiking, backpacking, trail-building, and rope-climbing, but also inside an infamous prison, and, carrying meals, into the homes of people dying from AIDS. Kids learned to surmount challenges, survive discomfort, collaborate and mitigate risk. Highest on Taini's goals list were instilling confidence and compassion as foundations for their futures.

Every December, the streets of San Francisco fill up with Santas going bar hopping, celebrating the holiday and having fun. You know it as SantaCon. This year's event is on Dec. 13. And we know it's not just a San Francisco holiday event; here are events nationwide.

Nurse Julianne Vidal takes vitals for Brandon Radford, 80, in his room at Oak Days, a permanent supportive housing program in a former hotel in Oakland, on May 22, 2024. Advocates for people experiencing homelessness fear this kind of housing could lose funding under federal guidelines released this month. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Every month, Comedy Sharks standup night features some of the Bay Area's best comedians. Come on out and enjoy some laughs with your neighbors, hosted by Phil Griffiths & Hop Dogma Brewing Company. The show starts at 7:30 pm; seating is limited, so be sure to get there early, grab a beer or three and find a seat. - Updated 6/4/19 - Event info last checked via website

After I graduated from college, I moved to Maine for a year to start my own company in the supply chain AI space. But after living in the Northeast for a year, shelling out over a thousand dollars each month on renting an apartment I often wasn't at because of the amount I was traveling for work, I decided to move back to my parents' house in the Bay Area. It made sense to move back home temporarily, from a career and financial perspective.

I bought her some roses, some chocolates from See's and a Teddy that said be mine forever," Alvaraz said.

A series of small earthquakes rattled the Bay Area on Sunday morning. According to preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Society, four quakes shook the East Bay between 9:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m.

"Long rest to the dead!" and similar expressions rang out through San Francisco's Mission District, Oakland's Fruitvale, and other locations throughout the Bay Area on November 1 and November 2, 2025, collectively referred to as the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). November 1 honors deceased children, while November 2 is the primary day to celebrate and honor deceased adults.

It breaks my heart to think about these kids going hungry,

The Mycological Society of San Francisco Fungus Fair includes the latest collection of expertly identified fungi collected in various locations in the Bay Area. These annual collections constitute a 50-year record of the early winter fungal diversity in our area. This historical information may become an important contribution to science as climate change affects our local ecosystems. In the San Francisco Bay Area, when the first rains tease up the chanterelles and porcini, fungus lovers head to the Fungus Fair.

When a Super Bowl event comes in, sometimes an individual region or a city will feel like this is theirs versus another and our job is to make the Super Bowl feel like it's everyone's,

According to the Gazetteer, an employee confirmed on Monday that the Noe Valley Tacolicious site at 4063 24th St. has closed for good. Tacolicious, which has locations in San Francisco's Marina and Mission districts as well as one spot in Palo Alto, no longer lists the Noe Valley outpost on its website. It's unclear what led to the store closure. SFGATE reached out to Tacolicious for comment but did not hear back by publication.

Automation, digitalization and geographic shifts are redefining our workforce needs and skill requirements.

Healthy, hot-cooked meals, exercise sessions and other services for older adults are on the chopping block in parts of the Bay Area as service providers feel the squeeze of shrinking government budgets. To save money, the Downtown Oakland Senior Center cut its Friday services and reduced its operations the rest of the work week by two hours a day in April.

Our police department is incredibly effective because they know and are part of the community they serve,

"This fund gives us the flexibility to meet the challenges of today while building the affordable housing systems our region will need tomorrow," said Noni Ramos, chief executive officer of the Housing Trust.

With their blistering, high-octane riffing and superb technical chops, one of the most formidable and resilient is Testament. Despite having enough lineup changes to rival the Fall, cancer scares and the 1990s grunge takeover that edged out cut-off denim for plaid shirts, Testament are still selling out tours, gnashing at the heels of the commercially dominating Big Four metal bands Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax and releasing new records with just as much vigour.

Flood advisories are in effect across the Bay Area as a storm system moves through the region this evening, according to the National Weather Service. The city of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County, including the cities of San Bruno, Pacifica and Millbrae, are under an advisory until 6:45 p.m., the weather service said. An advisory for western Santa Cruz County will run through 7:15 p.m. and includes the cities of Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond, according to the weather service.

The era of baking bread on a weekday morning or wearing pajama bottoms below an ironed shirt for video office meetings appears to be on the wane in the Bay Area. Lockdowns during the early stages of the COVID pandemic wrought seismic, lasting changes to the way people work, with full-time at-home employment leading to widely adopted hybrid mixes of remote and in-office work that remain popular among many workers and employers.