On Sunday, the Holy Virgin Cathedral will host a Kulich Fair and Workshop, a Russian celebration in anticipation of the approaching Easter holiday.

Kulich is a kind of Easter bread, traditional in the Orthodox Christian faith. Traditionally during the Easter service, the kulich, which has been put into a basket and decorated with colourful flowers, is blessed by the priest. Leftover kulich that isn’t blessed is eaten with Paskha for dessert. Blessed kulich is eaten before breakfast each day [Wikipedia].

The fair will include children’s games, piroshki, easter bread, pascha, easter egg coloring, kulich decorating, decorated pussywillows for Palm Sunday, easter baskets and cards, soups and much more. To guarantee your child a kulich to decorate and take home, call Biba at 379-4837.

All proceeds benefit the church’s youth programs. The fair will be held in the downstairs church hall from 9:45am to 3pm at the Holy Virgin Cathedral at 6210 Geary at 26th Avenue.

Sarah B.

Congratulations to the winners in our Dr. Zahi Hawass lecture ticket giveaway. They all correctly provided Dr. Hawass’ birthday (May 28, 1947) and were drawn randomly from all the correct entries.

Edward P.
Joe J.
Cameron S.
Nicholas E.
Brandie P.

They’ll each receive two tickets to Dr. Hawass’ lecture, “Mysteries of Tutankhamun Revealed” at the War Memorial Opera House on Monday, March 8 at 7:30pm.

If you weren’t one of the lucky winners, tickets are still available at Ticketmaster ($15).

Dr. Hawass will present the findings of the recently announced CT scan and DNA study, “Ancestry and Pathology of King Tut’s Family,” published in the recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. A book signing will follow the lecture.

Sarah B.

Do you call yourself a writer and keep your masterpiece manuscript hidden in the closet, hoping one day to be discovered? Or have you thought about writing a book but aren’t sure how to get it published?

Then head over to the Bazaar Cafe on March 10 for “How To Get A Book Published”, the latest in their “How To” workshop series. Whether you’re writing a novel, a memoir or another type of nonfiction, literary agent Ted Weinstein will explain how to navigate the rapidly changing publishing world and find success with your words.

Weinstein represents a wide range of authors, including NPR’s “Math Guy” Keith Devlin, NY Times bestseller Leander Kahney, the 826 Valencia writing centers, Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal, cartoonist and Internet sensation Jessica Hagy, and many more. More info about Weinstein and his clients is at twliterary.com.

The workshop is on Wednesday, March 10 at 7pm at the Bazaar Cafe, 5927 California Street near 21st Avenue. They’ve got great food and drink so sit back, enjoy a meal and absorb all you can about the world of publishing.

Sarah B.

Grab your magic carpet and fly over to Presidio Middle School (450 30th Avenue) next Friday night for their production of “Aladdin”, the story of a little boy and his magic lamp.

The play starts at 7pm and runs for one night only on Friday, March 12. Admission is $5 for adults, $3.50 for seniors and children.

Free parking is available in the schoolyard; enter on 29th Avenue between Clement and Geary.

Sarah B.

Next Tuesday night, join the Richmond District YMCA for their eighth annual Comedy Night, a show of professional comedy to benefit their Strong Communities Campaign.

The show starts at 8pm at the Rockit Room (406 Clement Street). Stay after and enjoy DJ Wej from until midnight.

Tickets are $20 and are available the night of the show or in advance at the front desk of the Richmond District YMCA, 360 18th Avenue. For more information, contact jleonard@ymcasf.org.

Sarah B.

This Sunday night is the grand dame of the award shows and the Balboa Theater is hosting a live Oscars party where you can watch the evening unfold on the big screen. Cheer on your favorite films, jeer at the dresses and oogle the bling along with your Richmond District neighbors.

After a successful run at the Balboa’s Golden Globes event, Reed Kirk Rahlmann will return as the Master of Ceremonies for the night. He’ll help pass the time during commercials and thanks to the Balboa’s DVR, you won’t miss a minute of the ceremony. Reed has this to tell those who are thinking about attending:

“So bring your opinions and all those people who would be cluttering up your sofa and ruining your coffee table when forgetting to put a coaster under their drinks. And if you bring alcohol, bring enough to share with someone sitting next to you. Or me.”

And if you’re really into movies, come dressed as your favorite nominated film (bad puns and outrageous spoofs encouraged) or performer. They’ll have a costume contest, lots of surprises and plenty of prizes to give away including autographed posters of nominated films.

The party begins at 4:30pm and tickets are $10 (get advance tickets here).

Even if you can’t attend, you could still win a free 2010 VIP Pass for two to the Balboa by entering your picks for all the Oscar categories. Only one entry per person. No purchase is necessary and you do not have to be present to win. Ballots must be mailed with postmark no later than March 5, 2010 or dropped off at the Balboa no later than 4:30pm, March 7, 2010. Download the ballot here

Sarah B.

Dr. Zahi Hawass has led Presidents and first ladies on tours of the pyramids and he is arguably the most famous archaeologist in the world. He has a impressively lengthy title – Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities – and he even wears the same hat as Indiana Jones!

On Monday, March 8 at 7:30pm, Dr. Hawass will present “Mysteries of Tutankhamun Revealed” at the War Memorial Opera House. He will present the findings of the recently announced CT scan and DNA study, “Ancestry and Pathology of King Tut’s Family,” published in the recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (findings). A book signing will follow the lecture.

I have three five pairs of tickets to give away to the event, courtesy of the de Young. For a chance to win, find the answer to the trivia question below, then send it in using our contact page. We’ll pick three winners from the correct entries.

What is Dr. Hawass’ birthdate (month, day and year)?

Deadline for entries is midnight, Monday March 1. Tickets for Dr. Hawass’ lecture are also available on Ticketmaster.

And you still have about a month to check the treasures of Tut’s tomb here in San Francisco at the de Young — Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs runs through March 28.

Good luck!

Sarah B.

Supervisor Eric Mar is hosting a public reception at his office this Friday night in celebration of the Year of the Tiger. Stop by for light refreshments and to meet and talk with your local representative.

The reception will run from 5:30-7:30pm in his office at City Hall, room 284.

Sarah B.