It is that time of year my friends, when we think of giving unique gifts and boom, craft fairs pop up every weekend. The Renegade Craft fair returns to Fort Mason and what will you discover?  A lighting art installation wows at Villa Montalvo – based on The Chronicles of Narnia. Chocolate and art combine to bring a very sweet exhibition. And fellow NPR nerds rejoice as Peter Sagal will be sharing his unique brand of wisdom at the Nourse theatre. Looking for a laugh this season, check out Kung Pao Kosert Comedy. Let the season of giving, feasting and joy continue.

Nov. 10-11. Renegade Crafts

Calling all you renegade Tomatoes for a weekend of exceptional craft and design. This weekend at Fort Mason center Renegade SF has brought together the expansive Bay Area creative community. Fort Mason Center’s sun-drenched digs offer an inspired marketplace for attendees to discover new artists, shop innovative design, and enjoy immersive features. You can find hand crafted joint holders – hey it’s legal now, a special bath elixir called Moon Bath Detox, candles – of course – specialty items for coffee and tea lovers and hundreds of items that will delight you and your giftees.

Mucho delicious feeding and drinking stations will be there to feed your parched and hungry self so you can keep on shopping! If you want to get your craft on, there are hands-on workshops by Workshop SF, and great tunes as well to help you move along while you shop. Admission is FREE!  www.fortmason.org

Now to March 2019. Stories in Light

A most unique and enlightening exhibit can now be found at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga where you can witness the 10 astonishing light-based works created by artist Bruce Monro. The works range in scale from immersive to intimate. Stories in Light utilizes multi-hued waves, clusters, cascades, seas of illumination, transforming Montalvo’s historic Villa into a breathtaking spectacle of light.

Munro blends the highly personal with the poignantly universal and invites viewers to contemplate a world larger and more mysterious than their own. The works on view are inspired by Munro’s experiences reading C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia as a child. Maybe take a few moments to re-read one of the classic tales before you visit and compare your own visions to Munro’s. Ticket’s from $20. www.munromontalvo.org

Nov. 15-16. Chocolate and Art

Any Tomatoes out there who don’t like art and don’t appreciate chocolate? Didn’t think so. These are clearly two things that will never go out of style. The Chocolate and Art Show at SOMArts Cultural center will stimulate all of your senses. The show is a celebration and gathering that showcases the talents of local artists, vendors and musicians complimented by artisan chocolatiers.

Chocolate fountains will tempt you to dip, drop, drip and drizzle your way to enjoying the art with the help of the endorphin rush from the chocolate.  You will find emerging and established artists working in all mediums. We love that portion of the proceeds will go to Artists for Trauma( AFT) non-profit organization is dedicated to enriching the lives of both civilian and military trauma survivors by pairing recovering patients with established artists from various creative disciplines. So indulge in a weekend of heightened senses and know you are helping these folks. www.chocolateandartshow.com

Tonight. See Peter Sagal – Don’t “Wait Wait”

I’m a huge fan of the NPR show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, and if you are like me, you will want to head to the Nourse Theatre tonight at 7:30 to hear this entertaining host. Michael Krazny, the host of KQED’s Forum will be in conversation with Sagal. The beloved Sagal has had a varied career, including stints as a playwright, screenwriter, actor, extra in a Michael Jackson video, essayist and author.

His most recent book, The Incomplete Book of Running, explores body image, the similarities between endurance sports and sadomasochism, and the odd by extraordinary bonds created between strangers and friends. http://www.cityarts.net

Dec. 23-25. Kung Pao Kosher Comedy

What do you do if you are Jewish and don’t celebrate Christmas? History (and my friends from Miami Beach) say, you go out for a Chinese Meal. For three nights only, you can feast on a 6-course Chinese meal AND hear hilarious quips by famous Jewish comedians. All ethnicities enjoy this legendary Jewish-comedy-on-Chrismas-in-a-Chinese –Restaurant extravaganza.

December 23 – 25^th only – with two shows a night and lots of soy sauce and laughs along with Yiddish proverbs in the fortune cookies, make for a hilarious holiday outing. The 5 p.m. show is a 6-course family style Chinese feast while the 8:30 p.m. show features a light vegetarian dim sum. Tickets sell out as fast as you can say oy vey, thus the early notice. http://www.koshercomedy.com

Two Books from The Three Tomatoes

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