The tour was created for the Oakland Pride celebration earlier this month and will be offered again on 9/28.

The history of the gay rights movement in the Bay Area and throughout the state of California will be explored on a special docent led tour at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) on Friday, September 28 at 7 p.m.  A selection of artifacts from the museum’s permanent collection will be spotlighted in a program that will trace from the early 20th Century to today, touching upon the emergence of sexual identity politics, the overlap of gay liberation with the hippie and beatnik movements, the rise of Harvey Milk and the LGBT community as a political force, and the current drive for gay marriage equality. The tour is included with admission, only $6 after 5pm.

Dedicated to the art, history, and culture of our state, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), is often overshadowed by San Francisco’s powerhouse DeYoung, MOMA, Academy of Sciences and other museums. But—in addition to permanent collections focused art, history, and nature as seen through a distinctively Californian lens—OMCA steadfastly mounts some of the Bay Area’s most intriguing temporaryexhibitions and special programs, such as this month’s LGBT tour.

Come early on tour night to check out the recently extended The 1968 Exhibit, which spotlights that watershed year of Vietnam, the assasinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, feminist protests at the Miss America pageant, Black Power demonstrations at the Olympics, and more.

Throughout 2012, OMCA has presented shows at once provocative and crowd-pleasing, including a retrospective of internationally acclaimed Oakland graphic novelist and cartoonist Daniel Clowes; an eye-popping, mindbending collection of social justice posters; and a installation featuring thematically interwoven video interviews of 1500 black men throughout the United States.

There’s more to come in 2013…so keep posted on their programs and make sure that OMCA gets out from under your radar.

One of the favorite topics of San Francisco’s sometimes snobby food freaks (We love ‘em, we ridicule ‘em, we confess to being them) is the local proliferation of so-called “Third Wave” coffee houses and roasters. Starbucks and Peet’s—once viewed as premium, relative to standard-issue diner Joe—have been downgraded in the minds of javaficionados who now opt for Blue Bottle, Four Barrel, and their kin.

But coffee is not the only bean demeaned and esteemed by the elites. (Say that three times fast.) Witness the evolution of San Francisco’s cocoa business and choco-tourism, from Ghirardelli to Tcho:

Old school

Ghirardelli Chocolate has long been the candy brand associated with our city. Ghirardelli perambulated from factory to factory around town from its founding in 1852 until settling until its landmark headquarters near Fisherman’s Wharf in 1895. In the early 1960s, Ghirardelli left the hands of its namesake family ownership, purchased by another Italian immigrant family business—the Golden Grain Macaroni Company, creators of Rice-a-Roni—at which point the bayside factory was shut down, with production moving to suburban San Leandro, south of Oakland. (Today, Rice-a-Roni is owned by PepsiCo., and Ghirardelli is an American subsidy of Swiss mega-choclatier Lindt and Sprungli).

Ghirardelli Square, long a lure for choco-tourists, is a triumph of marketing, not manufacturing. Opened in 1964 on the former site of the SF chocolate factory, it’s an early example of the sort of urban renewal project later mimicked by the likes of Boston’s Faneuil Hall, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and nearby Monterey’s Cannery Row—basically a mall built on the bones of an old industrial site. The Ghirardelli Chocolate brand still throws a cocoa halo over the place, its flagship retail operation complete with faux manufacturing display—and pretty damn good hot fudge sundaes—anchoring an otherwise unexceptional collection of shops and restaurants. And next weekend (September 8 and 9), the Square salutes its past with the 17th Annual Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival, featuring ample samples along with a bake-off, an ice cream eating contest, and a talk on chocolate manufacturing from a Ghirardelli honey.

New wave

To move from old school to new wave in San Francisco chocolate, walk just a mile and a half east along the waterfront from Ghirardelli Square to the Tcho chocolate factory. Founded in 2005 (making it over 150 years junior to Ghirardelli) and owned by the original publishers of Wired magazine and a NASA space shuttle engineer along with a chocolate business veteran, Tcho’s vision of chocolate is less influenced by Willy Wonka than by wine-tasting (and the third wave coffee business). Organic single-sourced cocoa beans; close relationships with farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; complex flavor profiles; hushed white production facilities, and high-end contemporary packaging are hallmarks of this boutique brand. Its a stark, contemporary contrast to the Ye Olde Fudge Factory imagery and brass fixturing at Ghirardelli’s sundae and candy shop. In fact “candy” is not a word you’ll hear on the fascinating—if more than a morsel self-serious—Tcho factory tours, offered for free a couple times daily (Reservations required). Much of the one-hour “tour” time of is spent in a slide show presentation and tasting session rather than on the plant floor, but its reasonably educational in regard to chocolate production and an utterly compelling demonstration of branded corporate storytelling.

Later this year, another fancypants chocolate manufacturer is slated to open its doors to the San Francisco public:  Dandelion Chocolate‘s “bean to bar” facility in the Mission. Watch for coverage here on the San Francisco Agenda.

On the Tcho tour: Free chocolate tasting and hygienic headgear

Believe it or not, there’s now a good reason to venture into the vicinity of Pier 39, that  frightful morass of touristic kitsch. (Hard Rock Cafe—check! 24 flavors of fudge—check! Retailer of only hats—check! Retailer of only sunglasses—check!).

Sartre said Hell is other people. I say, Hell is those other people who choose to eat at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory.

Wandering through the dreckscape of Pier 39—on my recent visit the pier was hosting an Idol-style “Star Spangled Banner” singing contest—one feels as though he’s wandered out of San Francisco and into the fat, thick middle of America.

Still, the stench of lazy sea lions and the digital jangling of dated arcade games is all worth braving now that Pier 39 serves as the departure point for the RocketBoat, a 70 foot-long speedboat that rips through the Bay at 50 miles an hour, careening from side-to-side, rearing up in the nautical equivalent of a wheelie, and sending adrenaline rushing through the gang of gleefully screaming passengers that piles aboard once an hour (11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) between May and October.

In addition to the thrills, Rocketboat offers views that even locals rarely experience—including a full-length street-to-sky perspective on the Transamerica Pyramid and a view of the underside of the Bay Bridge. The 30 minute trip theoretically costs $24, but an internet search for discounts will generally yield tickets for $12-$16. My partner and I took our nieces and nephew last Saturday because we thought it would be fun for the kids——We’ve been recommending it to all our grown-up local friends all week long!

The blocks of Valencia Street between 14th and 24th constitute one of America’s finest strolling, shopping, eating, and people watching zones. It’s a boutiquey slightly freaky wonderland that no visitor to the city should miss. But I’ll admit to being slightly shocked when, on a post-prandial stroll last week, it dawned on me that people actual live in the midst of this scene. Sweet people, it turns out, people interested in contributing the the giddiness of their immediate surroundings and concerned about the larger environment. People with a topiary dinosaur named Trixie. Learn all about it, here.

Trixie, the mascot of ‘Deepistan

Jim Provenzano

Writer Jim Provenzano‘s latest novel, Every Time I Think of You, won a 2011 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance. It’s a coming of age/coming out story that also addresses the challenges of physical disability, without ever feeling didactic or issue-oriented. Former sportswriter Provenzano—perhaps best known for his wrestling novel, PINS—is also the editor of BARtab, the Bay Area Reporter‘s glossy monthly guide to GLBT arts and nightlife, making him an ideal addition to our rogues gallery of Insider Tipsters.

Given his recent fictional focus on a character with disabilities, Provenzano suggested that, in addition to his personal favorite spots in San Francisco, he’d like to share some useful websites for travelers with disabilities. We couldn’t be happier to facilitate that:

• The San Francisco Access Guide:  A resource hub from The San Francisco Travel Association                            
• San Francisco On the Level: Wheelchair accessible tours of the city with no grades of more than 8%
• Ability Trip: San Francisco:  SF section of a trusted global guide to accessible travel

And now, on with Provenzano’s picks…

What’s your favorite SF cultural institution?

Aside from the GLBT Historical Society, which Michelle Tea previously spotlighted in your blog, I’d have to say The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, at least the foyer— it’s architect Mario Botta’s masterpiece, and word is that it’s going to be smashed apart to make way for, I dunno, something else. Really a shame. See it while you can, the way it is now.

Treasure Island with a hot Army guy before Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was abolished, on July 4, while holding hands. Sorry, that’s sharing a bit too much. Seriously, I’d recommend taking in the skyline while kayaking outside a Giants game in McCovey Cove; or from Angel Island; or from across the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands.

Provenzano’s tips continue, after the jump

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Whether or not you’re a regular art museum attendee, and whether or not you’re a fashionista, if you’re in San Francisco over the next two weeks make sure not to miss the enormous—and enormously entertaining—exhibition “John Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk,” which will end its run at the de Young museum on Sunday, August 19.

Fashion exhibits have become something of a cash cow for fine arts museums in recent years: the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met in New York and last year’s Balenciaga show here at the de Young have drawn enormous crowds, including many infrequent gallery-goers. Given the popularity of Project Runway, red carpet coverage, and other clothing-focused television programming, it’s easy to see how these museum shows have proven to be a mass-market lure. With any luck, new visitors to the museums have wandered astray of these travelling blockbusters and discovered some of the institutions’ own collections as well. It’s debatable.

It’s also debatable whether these exhibitions are having much influence on the opinion of more frequent museum-goers: Are more connoisseurs of painting and sculpture coming to feel that fashion is a “fine art”? Does the old-money old guard secretly sniff that couture belongs at the galas, not in the galleries? Quite possible.

But the tension between high art and pop culture is one of the things that makes the Gaultier show so exciting—and so much fun to talk about after a visit. And the exhibit itself: Wow! It’s one of the most theatrically presented museum exhibitions you’ve ever seen, with a conveyor belt “runway show,” talking mannequins, and stunning lighting design. There are 140 costumes on display—from punked out tartan plaids to Catholic saint pastiches to Madonna’s conical bras—along with sketches, video, and other archival ephemera.

But perhaps the most eclectic collection on offer is the crowd the show is attracting: An energizing mix of old and young, tourists and locals, those who find Gaultier’s designs inspirational and those who find them ridiculous. It is a paradise of people-watching and eavesdropping.

Check out John Paul Gaultier’s foray into dance music (Video after the jump)

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This time of year is high season for free public movie screenings in the Bay Area, with terrific al fresco films series running as late as October in venues including:

• Union Square, every Thursday this month (Citizen Kane on the 30th is the highlight)
• Dolores Park, the second Thursday of August, September, and October (The Cove, Chinatown, Adaptation)
• Washington Square, Saturday, September 29 (Midnight in Paris)
• Jack London Square in Oakland, Sunday, Thursdays through September 20 (Highlights are hometown story Moneyball on August 9, and The Devil Wears Prada on closing night)

Dislocation: It’s about LA’s Chinatown, and it’ll play in Dolores Park

So, on a recent reporting trip for PASSPORT magazine’s upcoming October spa issue, I totally counteracted a visit to The Spa at the Healdsburg Hotel  in Sonoma County with a walk across the Healdsburg town square to Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, where I sacrificed my newly health-infused body to a $100,000 Bar and a licorice whip or seven (Damn nostalgia!)

Powell’s feels as much like a museum as a retail outlet, with brilliantly curated and displayed confections that will tickle your sweet tooth and your memory bank. There’s also a great display of  CandyLand boxes and game boards from the early 20th Century to the present, showcasing a fascinating evolution in kid-friendly graphic design. The quality and attention to detail at Powell’s is so top-notch I was genuinely surprised to learn that it’s part of a small California-based chain (Other Bay Area locations include Berkeley, San Jose, and Petaluma). Whether you’re 20 or 80, you’re likely to come across a favorite candy from your childhood that you haven’t seen in years (Just read through Powell’s Candy by Decade  list to get your synapses firing and your mouth watering).

You can also cobble together some cool candygrams to text home to the hubby:

 Check out Powell’s promo video, after the jump…

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Folks around the country are always making light of San Franciscans’ fetishistic foodies. And while its true we have our share of proselytizing vegans, strident locavores, gluten demonizers, and the like, its also true that, on the whole, we seem to truly enjoy food—eating it, cooking it, talking about it, building community around it—than any other American city I can think of. The Bay Area offers top-quality farmers’ markets every day, enough restaurants to eat in a different one every night for more than five years (for real!), educational institutions like the San Francisco Cheese School, and edifying celebrations like the annual Freestone Fermentation Festival.

Perhaps the spot that most positively captures the Bay Area’s love of all things edible is 18 Reasons, a welcoming storefront non-profit in the the Mission District, on the same block as the famed Bi-Rite Creamery and Bi-Rite Market, whose owners operate the food-centric community center.

18 Reasons hosts a remarkable range of programming: Knife skills lessons, chocolate and wine pairings, pickle-making classes, food-related book groups, local farmers’ lectures, drop-in suppers, introductions to various ethnic cuisines with lectures and tastings, culinary art exhibits. Virtually all are open to the general public, and offered at discounted fees to members. Beyond the specific topic at hand, 18 Reasons’ events provide an opportunity to meet folks who share a passion for food:  For locals, its a great way to expand one’s social circle; and for out-of-towners with a hunger for culinary experience its an opportunity to access a vortex of voluble local food folk. Stop in on the first day of a vacation and you can probably get tips on a whole week’s worth of under-the-radar foodie experiences.

For a small, community-based operation, 18 Reasons does a remarkable job of planning ahead: listings of classes and events are posted several months in advance, so its realistic for travelers to include a visit in their San Francisco itineraries.

And if you can’t make it to town, you can always daydream over a new series of 18 Reasons videos.  Find the premier after the jump

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