Editor’s Note: Ten years of Kim magic! Hard to believe it’s been a decade since Kim Selby began dazzling us as the editor of our SF newsletter. Her energy? Electric. Her spirit? Unstoppable. Her evolution? Inspiring—now a sought-after 60+ model and podcaster. Kim is living proof that “you’re never too old and it’s never too late.” We love you, Kim. 💖

Cheers Tomatoes! This month marks the 10th anniversary of The SF Edition of The Three Tomatoes—thank you for a decade of support! November invites gratitude, and we’ve rounded up ways to give back this Thanksgiving by helping those in need. It’s also time to embrace the holiday spirit with festive events we’ve curated just for you. Plus, scent is trending—discover local spots where you can craft your own signature fragrance. It’s a fun, personal experience and a perfect gift idea. Here’s to celebrating community, creativity, and connection this season!

San Francisco City Impact

Join us in the heart of the Tenderloin as we serve our neighbors through hot meals, toy distribution, clothing giveaways, and more. If this date doesn’t work, there are 5 special holiday outreach events. Thursday, November 27, 2025, | 8 am to 2 pm | 144 Taylor Street, San Francisco. A $25 registration fee is required. The cost to volunteer helps to cover the outreach supplies, equipment, food, and any permits for the event. VOLUNTEER

Prepare & Serve Meals at GLIDE Church

Put on your apron and go to GLIDE Church to help chop, dice, mix and slice in preparation for their Annual Thanksgiving Day lunch and come serve nearly 2,500 complete Thanksgiving meals with all the fixings to individuals and families (both onsite and throughout the city). Volunteers are needed to deliver home meals as well. Thursday, November 27, 2025, | Various shifts | 330 Ellis St., San Francisco Glide

Project Open Hand

Join them this Thanksgiving in providing meals with love to sick and elderly neighbors. During the week of Thanksgiving, volunteers will help assemble and prepare medically-tailored meals and sort and package groceries.730 Polk St., San Francisco. RSVP

 Make A Difference In An Elder’s Day

Volunteer to bring some joy to Little Brothers: Friends of the Elderly’s older adults. Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities include delivering Thanksgiving meals and in-person visits. Family and friends are welcome to join so long as one person in the group has completed a background check. Full details will follow in a confirmation email. Thursday, November 27, 2025 | Thanksgiving Meal Pickup in Downtown San Francisco. Read more.

Holiday Market Time

Get into the festive spirit with an unforgettable evening of holiday cheer at the Embarcadero Center. Explore a vibrant marketplace filled with local shops, groove to live music, sip festive drinks, play games, and indulge in delicious seasonal bites. As the evening winds down, gather for the dazzling grand finale—watch Embarcadero Center light up the sky with 17,000 sparkling lights. Pro tip: Arrive early! The first 200 attendees will receive a complimentary drink token to redeem at the bar. Wednesday November 19^th 4 – 6 p.m. on the Urban Patio of Three Embarcadero Center (Street level). EMBARCADERO HOLIDAY MARKET

San Jose’s Must-See Holiday Event

From Friday, November 14 to January 4, the San Jose Holiday Lights festival will transform 5+ acres into a winter wonderland of glowing tunnels, larger-than-life sculptures, and themed zones filled with holiday magic. 40+ handcrafted light sculptures.6 immersive holiday zones. Perfect for families, friends, and festive nights out. Make this holiday season unforgettable, get your tickets now at docafestival.com

Sip & Shop

The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel San Francisco is having a luxury  Sip & Shop Pre-Holiday Soirée, a chic two-day shopping event taking place November 14 (3:00–8:00 PM) and November 15 (3:00–8:00 PM). Guests will enjoy a curated showcase of local artists, designers, and upscale vendors, alongside Union Square retailers, creating an elevated holiday shopping experience. Set against the backdrop of The Clift’s legendary Redwood Room, attendees can sip signature cocktails, savor seasonal bites, and discover unique treasures just in time for the holidays. Coinciding with the launch of The Clift’s new Monthly Speaker Series, the Redwood Room will spotlight specialty cocktails inspired by San Francisco’s colorful past and the hotel’s “Making History Fun Again” campaign. Each libation tells a story, blending heritage with modern craft. Get the details.

ARTasting

This is a vibrant celebration of local creativity — bringing together artists, makers, musicians, and culinary artisans from the HUNT & GATHER community and beyond. HUNT & GATHER (H&G) is a Creative Business Incubator and ever-evolving community hub for artists, makers, and creative entrepreneurs. After closing their Irving Street space this fall, they are gathering again to celebrate what makes their community so special: art, connection, and the creative spirit that never stops evolving. Explore local artists and makers from the HUNT & GATHER collective, enjoy live music, seasonal bites, and local flavors, and experience Full Circle — a special group exhibition exploring renewal, reconnection, and creative evolution. Full Circle is a reflection on the cycles and seasons that shape us — moments of change, stillness, and growth that guide us back to ourselves.

Together, these works celebrate resilience, reflection, and the ever-turning nature of creativity — reminding us that even as seasons change, the spirit of art and community always finds its way home. HUNT & GATHER

 Bespoke Fragrance Is In

 Of the five common senses, smell is the one most linked to emotion and memory. It’s never too early to be thinking of gifting those in your life who have it all. Designing your own signature perfume would make a great gift for you and a friend. Immersive sensory experiences are becoming more common and we have wonderful options in the bay area.

Mandy Aftel

It may be a “trend”  but it is nothing new for Mandy Aftel. Her Aftelier Perfumes and Aftel Archive of Curious Scents museum (1518 Walnut St.) in Berkeley are kind of like the Chez Panisse of Bay Area perfumeries, and her influence and name have had a vast ripple effect. Aftel has trained legions of followers through her books and Slow Scent Natural Perfumery method, and many of those she’s mentored have gone off to conduct their own projects. Sniff them out—and find your signature scent—at these classes and workshops.

Perfume Camp

Anyone into scent must be into botanicals, and Libby Patterson has made it her life’s work to create an entire garden of close to 40 rows of raised organic herb and flower beds at her namesake shop in Pescadero. An advocate of the Blue Mind Movement, she captures the Slow Coast mentality in her scents as well as in her approach to her Perfume Camps and private, onsite perfume classes. Patterson leads participants in creating personalized “parfums” and beauty routines, encouraging connection through memory and the layering of serums, flower waters, and soliflore parfums, while sipping home-grown herbal tisanes.  LPO & Perfume Camp, 251 Stage Rd. (Pescadero), libbypatterson.com

Swirl Works

Founded by French-trained perfumer and Atherton local Kori Shaw, the wellness-driven fragrance brand Swirl Works of Menlo Park recently opened its first boutique at Rosewood Sand Hill. Shaw creates custom fragrances as well as her own line of scented products, all with the mind of a woman who was once a mechanical engineer—but also as someone who is drawn to sensory experience. In the pocket-sized, mirror-lined boutique that feels like being inside a beautiful disco ball, Shaw offers a variety of experiences, from personalized fragrance consultations to perfume and cologne date night sessions (with champagne, of course) to hands-on blending workshops. In all these experiences, you create your own signature scent and walk away with a 15-30 ml bottle. Your “recipe” is also documented on beautiful cards that Shaw keeps on file in case you want to order more down the line. Swirl Works, 75 Arbor Rd. (Menlo Park) and Rosewood Sand Hill, 2825 Sand Hill Rd.  swirlworks.com

Florra

In Downtown Campbell you’ll find Florra, a boutique and scent bar that was born out of owner, transpersonal psychologist, and certified aromatherapist Thuy Ha’s own healing journey. The mission for her brand and business is rooted in the mind-body connection, and she hopes to impart that in the Scent Experience at Florra’s Scent Bar. It’s a four-part lesson, beginning with a scent personality quiz. The next step is an introduction to blending and some background on the scent library, which includes only plant-derived essential oils and absolutes that have passed the Credo Clean Standard™, an assessment ensuring fragrances are free of chemicals and toxins. Then you’ll move into playing around with scent strips, finding the combinations that most resonate with you. Finally, you’ll land on your very own custom formula and walk out of the shop with a beautiful, labeled bottle (recorded for reorders) all your own. Ha also offers special classes, workshops, and community mixers at the Campbell boutique. 350 E. Campbell Ave. (Campbell), shopflorra.com