The hippies had to give up their hill today as thousands came out for Opera in the Park in Sharon Meadow. The short video below shows performances at today’s event from the opera Il Trovatore, which is currently being performed at the Opera House.

Next weekend, you have a chance to see it for free when Saturday night’s performance is simulcast on the high definition screen in AT&T Park. Go here to get your free tickets to the simulcast, taking place on Saturday, September 19 at 8pm.

Sarah B.

When I look back on my week, I realize I had some form of chocolate every day whether it was a hot chocolate, a Hershey’s kiss, or chocolate ice cream. Apparently, I really like chocolate.

If you do too, then you just might want to check out “A Chocolate Evening” at the Conservatory of Flowers this Thursday night, September 17, from 6 – 7:30pm.

On hand will be Seneca Klassen, the founder and co-owner of Bittersweet Cafe on Fillmore Street. He’ll share information about the botany and cultural history of chocolate. Plus you’ll experience a “behind the scenes” visit to a hidden treasure – a fruiting cacao tree in a Conservatory greenhouse.

Best of all, you’ll get to taste 5 origin chocolates. And the next time you hunker down for your chocolate fix, you’ll know more about where that little bit of heaven came from.

Aside from being a professed chocoholic, Klassen also runs Bittersweet’s outreach and training programs, including guided tastings and public presentations on the natural and cultural history of cacao and chocolate. Yes, this guy knows his chocolate.

Go here to register for this tasty evening or call 415-831-2093 for more information. Tickets are $20 per person or $15 for Jungle Pass members.

Sarah B.

A special wine for the boy king? I’ll drink to that!

Today, the de Young Museum launches a new sparkling wine, Tut Cuvée, to commemorate their Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition. Tut Cuvée is a limited edition sparkling wine produced by Iron Horse Vineyards.

Tut Cuvée retails for $29.99 and one dollar of the purchase price of every bottle will go towards sending school children to see the Tut exhibition for free. The de Young expects over 350 Bay Area school children will benefit from the fundraiser.

Iron Horse Vineyards Winemaker David Munksgard crafted Tut Cuvée from a 2006 vintage Blanc de Noirs made from predominantly Pinot Noir grapes with a splash of Chardonnay. The dosage, or finishing element, for the sparkling wine was selected through a special tasting session conducted at the winery in Sebastopol in August.

The panel consisted of David Munksgard, Fine Arts Museums Director John Buchanan and Spencer Christian, host of KGO-TV’s View from the Bay and a celebrated oenophile. “We crafted Tut Cuvée to embody all the qualities one would ascribe to the boy king – regal, elegant, and very dry!” quips John Buchanan.

Only 500 cases are available for Tut Cuvée. You can buy it by the glass in the de Young Museum Cafe, by the bottle or case at the Iron Horse Vineyards in Sebastopol, online at ironhorsevineyards.com, and at fine wine shops throughout the Bay Area.

Curious how sparking wine is made? Check out the video below in which Iron Horse Winemaker David Munksgard explains the process.

So now Tut has his own gold card and sparkling wine. What’s next?

Sarah B.

This Saturday and Sunday the SF County Fair Building will host “Orchids in the Park”, a show and sale put on by San Francisco’s Orchid Society. Stop by for demonstrations on orchid care or to purchase some beautiful plants.

Local Bay Area vendor and Orchid Society member Dan Newman/Hanging Gardens will also be part of the event. Dan’s selection of rare and unusual cool to intermediate growing species is not to be missed.

The event, formerly known as OrchidFest, will be held September 12 & 13 in the San Francisco County Fair Building (Hall of Flowers); enter at 9th Avenue and Lincoln. Show hours are 10am to 5pm and admission is $3.

Sarah B.

This weekend, Golden Gate Park plays hosts to two free music events that sit at the opposite ends of the audio spectrum.

First up on Saturday is Power to the Peaceful 2009, where you’ll join Michael Franti and friends for a day of music, arts and celebration. Last year, 70,000 people packed Speedway Meadow to listen to the great music.

This year’s lineup includes Michael Franti & Spearhead, Alanis Morissette (acoustic trio), Sly & Robbie and more on the main stage. There will also be an open-air DJ tent and a special kids zone for the wee music fans. See the complete lineup.

Power to the Peaceful runs from 9am to 5pm on Saturday in Golden Gate Park’s Speedway Meadow (map). Admission is free though a $5 donation is “requested and admired”. There are more events happening in the city on Sunday for this festival, so visit their website for more information.

If divas are more your thing, don’t miss Opera in the Park, taking place on Sunday at Sharon Meadow (map). Frisbees will give way to falsettos, blankets will be accompanied by baritones and moms with strollers will hobnob with maestros.

The free concert begins at 1:30pm and is a preview of the upcoming San Francisco Opera season. Artists performing include Sondra Radvanovsky, Ewa PodleÅ›, Marco Berti, Brandon Jovanovich, Quinn Kelsey and Andrea Silvestrelli, and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by new Music Director Nicola Luisotti.

And a note on chairs from their website: “Tall lawn chairs are not permitted in the meadow to ensure that everyone may see the stage comfortably.”

So which will it be, rock or opera?

Sarah B.

I guess science museum lovers and garden lovers are very different since the Academy of Sciences and the SF Botanical Garden are having their pricey, annual galas just two days apart this month.

SF Botanical Garden’s Garden Feast 2009 starts us off during the day on September 23.

Enjoy lunch on the Great Meadow in the very heart of the Botanical Garden, along with a better than ever silent auction of plants and gardening related items, a chance to stay in a luxurious Paris apartment (actually the odds are great on this one), and an outstanding speaker, Nell Newman of Newman’s Own (oh boy do I love their salad dressing!).

Proceeds from the event go towards the Garden’s educational program which brings 10,000 K-5 San Francisco Public School students to the Garden to learn about nature, conservation, and sustainability. Tickets for the event range from $175 for an individual all the way up to $10,000 for a table of 10.

If penguins and rainforests are more your thing, you may want to pony up for the Big Bang Gala at the California Academy of Sciences on September 25.

Explore the museum, dine on fabulous food, dance under the stars, and enjoy live entertainment by Chris Isaak (oh Wicked Game, a true classic!). And like their next-door neighbors, the proceeds from this event also go towards their Academy education programs.

Unlike many evening galas where formal dress is the norm, the Big Bang calls for “green/festive” attire. Miss Manners doesn’t have a definition for that one so I’ll tell you what it says on their site: “In honor of the Academy’s emphasis on sustainability, reuse! Borrowed elegance and vintage finery encouraged!”

Ticket prices and what you get for them range for this event. $125 lets you “enjoy lighter fare and desserts beginning at 9:00 pm”. Shell out $10,000 for a table and you get the works – seated dinner for you and 9 friends, premiere wine, valet parking, and a chance to win exciting prizes. For ten grand, how about they just give me a prize?

But in all seriousness, these two galas are for a good cause. So if you’re a supporter or just a fan of these Golden Gate Park institutions, think about attending. They can always use your support!

Sarah B.

In a post on his blog, SF Rec & Park Department chief Phil Ginsburg writes:

In the afternoon, I visited the “non-fountaining” fountains in the Concourse between the de Young Museum and the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park with my capital staff. The fountains have been dry for a while now but we are on the verge of beginning a repair effort that should have the fountains spraying by spring 2010.

Hooray! I’ve always thought it strange that our fountains had run dry. Especially when I see so many sprinklers running around the park.

Of course this means that the fountains will no longer be usable for hula dances, skateboarding and “hey ma look at me run in the fountain!” moments. But hey, everything good requires some sacrifice.

Sarah B.

Photos 1 & 3 by Flickr member Steve Rhodes | Photo 2 by Flickr member Erik Jaeger

This weekend we’ll host the final Sunday Streets of the year. Like last time, they will close off most of Golden Gate Park and the Great Highway to car traffic from 10am to 2pm (see map). You can stroll, bike, run, dance, even hula hoop down the open streets.

Several thousand turned out for the August 9 Sunday Streets, and it looks like we’ll have better weather this time around. The forecast for Sunday calls for 62° with partly cloudy skies. Yay!

Now onto the sweetest part of this story…

Last week, I saw a post on SFist about the ‘Sweet Cart’ lady, who sells cheesecakes, cupcakes and other gourmet goodies from her food cart. She moves around the city, and Flickr member tshane snapped a great photo of her with her mobile business.

After reading the story, I tweeted to @sweetcart and asked her to come out to sell at the final Sunday Streets. And good news – she tweeted back that she will be there! So while you’re out frolicking with other locals in the streets, keep an eye out for her cart. I promise it will be a delicious stop!

If you haven’t been to Sunday Streets before, check out the video below which I put together after the August 9 event. Hope to see you out there!

Sarah B.