Welcome September, San Francisco's best weather month, with its full plate of Indian Summer indulgences:
Legend-in-making and four-time defending Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong leads a field of top international cyclists in the San Francisco Grand Prix, a 109-mile power loop around the city. Starting from the Embarcadero, racers charge up Broadway, traverse North Beach and the Marina before hitting the notorious Fillmore Wall. Arrive early tosecure prime vantage points. Race starts 9am sharp. Embarcadero,
North Beach, Marina, Cow Hollow 9/15; (866) 429-2546
Pitch in to help tidy California's beaches and coastline, and discover its rich marine environment during California Coastal Cleanup Day, the "world's largest garbage collection", says Guinness. Statewide, 9/21; 800-COAST4U
Slap on the kinky hotpants and join the 300,000-strong thong, err, throng at the Folsom Street Fair, San Francisco's legendary leather festival/street bacchanal. Anything goes at this bawdy parade and fetish fashion show, with all proceeds benefiting charities including the Harvey Milk Institute and the Tenderloin Aids Resource Center. Folsom Street between 7th and 12th Streets, 9/29; 415-861-3247
Pick your festival: Samba by the Bandshell during Brazil in the Park, a celebration of Brazilian independence and free-spiritedness. Golden Gate Park, 9/7; 415-334-0106
Chocoholics unite for truffles, gelato, banana chocolate crepes, chocolate Grand Marnier cheesecake, pastry chef demonstrations, chocolate art, and an ice-cream sundae eating contest at the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival. Ghirardelli Square, 9/7-8; 415-775-5500
Twenty-plus local artists exhibit sculpture, photography, jewelry and more for Art in the Alley, an ode to North Beach bohemianism held in the aptly named Jack Kerouac Alley, between Vesuvio and City Lights Bookstore. 9/8, 415-362-3370
Documentaries of note at the Red Vic Movie House: A reedited and remastered Blue Wild Angel, which captures Jimi Hendrix live at his Isle of Wight zenith in 1970: 18 songs, 18 days before his death at age 27. 9/19-24. Local filmmaker Kevin Epps chronicles the grit and hardship of his home neighborhood in Straight Outta Hunter's Point, a vivid portrait of San Francisco's neglected East Side, with its turf wars, toxic legacy, hip-hop hopefuls, and persevering community. Mr. Epps will answer questions at evening screenings. 1727 Haight St., 9/25-28; 415-668-3994
Live music aplenty: Wilco plays in support of its genre-busting Yankee Hotel Foxtrot at the Warfield, while Karl Denson's Tiny Universe shakes the Fillmore across town. Both shows 9/6-7; for tickets 415-421-8497
Grammy nominees stack the lineup for RadioAlice's Now and Zen Festival: Aimee Mann, the Wallflowers, India.Aire, and headliners Train. Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park, 9/22; for tickets 415-421-TIXS
The San Francisco Blues Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary with a full lineup - Robert Cray, Otis Rush, Big Time Sarah, Steve Miller's Chicago Blues Reunion - and prime Golden Gate views from its setting, the Great Meadow at Fort Mason. 9/20-21; for tickets 415-421-TIXS
Naturalist-led excursions depart from lower Fort Mason on Farallon Islands Nature Cruises with the Oceanic Society. Head under the Golden Gate Bridge 20 miles out to the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the largest seabird rookery in the eastern Pacific south of Alaska. Building E Fort Mason, Fri-Sun in September; 415-474-3385
Baseball fans can catch a Barry Bonds blast and the thrill of the playoff chase downtown at Pacific Bell Park as the San Francisco Giants storm into the home stretch with games against divisional rivals Arizona, San Diego, and archrival Los Angeles. Pacific Bell Park, Fourth and Townsend, September; for tickets 415-421-TIXS
Finally, in conjunction with museums nationwide, San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMa) will open its doors free of charge on Sept. 11 to anyone seeking solace, inspiration, or simply a quiet place for reflection. 151 Third St., 9/11; 415-474-3385
- Jay Cooke is a San Francisco-based travel, food, and culture writer.
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