31 of the Best Things to Do in the Bay Area This March

While we still need to all be cautious, heading out and about is more feasible than ever. The weather is getting warmer and things are slowly opening up. From oysters to Picasso, here are a few of the best things to do this March.

We understand that after months of being cooped up most of us are excited to see the county and businesses begin to open. However, Covid-19 is still present in the community and we urge you to exercise best practices — maintain at least 6 feet of distance, wear a mask (or 2), wash your hands properly and frequently — when going out.

March Her to Here

Eleven LGBTQ+ contemporary artists and art collectives explore queer and feminist spaces in the Asian diaspora in a new group exhibition at the Chinese Culture Center. From Her to Here is an art exhibition and series of public programs that explores agency and belonging in queer and feminist communities. (available for online viewing; check their website for updates on reopening in-person admission)

 

Mar 1 M. Louise Stanley: No Regrets

Schedule a virtual visit to view the artist’s 50 Years of Art and Activism which brings together never-before exhibited paintings, drawings, and a of her art journals and protest signs, through April 18.

Mar 2 The Case for Keto 

 

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Investigative Science and Health Journalist Gary Taubes puts the ketogenic diet movement in the necessary historical and scientific perspective as he sets out to revolutionize how we think about eating healthy, debunking diet misconceptions along the way. (live stream 3 p.m. PT)

Mar 3–4 Brouwer & Janachowski’s “Live Well”

This series presents back-to-back mornings of virtual events on holistic wellness for women with speakers on topics like motivation, stress, meditation, yoga, nutrition, financial fitness and more.

Mar 4 Cedars Heroes and Heroines Artwork Exhibit

A Marin County based non-profit dedicated to supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1919, announces its first collaboration with high school art students at The Branson School in Ross to create an new art exhibit, Heroes and Heroines.

Mar 5 Alex Hong

A rising star on the San Francisco restaurant scene, the chef at Presidio Heights’ Sorrel makes gnochetti during a livestream.

Mar 6 Jean Shinoda Bolen

Join her in conversation with Terry Tempest Williams as they discuss Like a Tree, a look at Bolen’s mourning of a neighborhood Monterey pine that fuses ecological issues and global gender politics.

Mar 7 Brett Alan Judson

 

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The organist at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral demonstrates the chops of the 7,466-pipe Aeolian-Skinner instrument, the Charles B. Alexander Memorial Organ (1934).

Mar 8 Secrets of the Illuminati

Decoded A free, virtual escape room designed for teens and young adults who will have to use their spy skills to decode hidden clues and solve puzzles to unravel the room’s mystery.

Mar 9 Soul Kitchen

Take a trip with Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist as he unearths hip hop, reggae, soul, house and plenty more to get your feet moving in a virtual dance party.

Mar 10 Max Von Sydow

 

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A tribute to the career of the Swedish actor, who died a year ago, features an array of his films, some with Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal and The Passion of Anna), and online conversations, through April 30.

Mar 11 19th Century New Orleans Free Black Brotherhood

Join Fatima Shaik as she reconstructs the city’s Economy Hall culture by following Ludger Boguille and his family and friends through landmark events—from the Haitian Revolution to the birth of jazz—that helped shape New Orleans and the United States.

Mar 12 Abstract Nature at the Marin Art and Garden Center

Abstract Nature Monotype prints from San Anselmo’s Katherine Warinner and sculptures from Nick Taylor bring capture the light, space and beauty of Northern California in a new exhibition to be enjoyed virtually or in-person. Through April 25.

Mar 12 The Sky this Month


Join Chabot Space and Science Center’s astronomers for a short tour of March’s celestial alignments plus tips to recognize many constellations and bright stars visible in the Bay Area’s skies now.

Mar 13 – 14 The Snail and the Whale

Inspired by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved picture book, a tiny sea snail longing to see the world hitches a lift on the tail of a great big, grey-blue humpback whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, brought vividly to life through live music, storytelling and lots of laughs — but when the whale gets beached, how will the snail save him? This heart-warming adventure is for everyone ages 4 and up.

Mar 14 Julia Turshen


The bestselling cookbook author has published her first collection of recipes, Simply Julia: 110 Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food. Fellow food writer Ruth Reichl joins her for a live conversation (live stream 4 p.m. PT)

Mar 15 Consider the Oyster: Art, Science + Culture


Stop by this exhibition outside of the Levy Art + Architecture building for an expansive interpretation of oysters that considers forests as viewed through oyster shell pinhole cameras, native oyster restoration at the Presidio, and oyster farming and feasting in Tomales Bay, through April 30.

Mar 16 Calder and Picasso

 

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Conceived and curated by the grandsons of two of the most innovative artists of the 20th century, an exhibit juxtaposes and draws parallels between their visions, through May 23.

Mar 17 St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Though the parade, organized by the United Irish Society of San Francisco, will be held virtually again this year, the celebration of all things Irish and the Green Isle’s favorite saint means everyone is Irish today.

Mar 18 Shotgun Wads

 

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If you are already aware of the danges of plastic bag and 6-pack ring pollution in the oceans, this discussion, lead by Surfrider Foundation member, Anna Kauffman, will discuss how volunteers around the world collect data on plastic pollution.

Mar 19 A Spirit of Disruption


Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the San Francisco Art Institute’s exhibition reflects the school’s extraordinary legacy and its profound and sustained influence on contemporary art, shedding light on some of the seminal, but often overlooked, figures of the Bay Area arts scene.

Mar 20 Black Laughs Matter

Hosted by the Bay Area’s Terry Dorsey, guests like Mike E. Winfiled (NBC’s The Office) and PX from San Jose’s improv scene are featured.

Mar 21 It’s a Small World


Do you remember the premiere of the futuristic “It’s a Small World” exhibit that premiered at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York? This virtual exhibit updates that notion with current, modern ideas shared by the museum’s global community for a just and equitable present.

Mar 22 Singing Saturdays


Resurrection Amateurs of all levels can join San Francisco Symphony Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin who leads an online choral workshop from his home in Sweden, including interludes of singing together through parts and movements of Mahler’s Symphony #2 and selections from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

Mar 23 Mindfulness and Medicine

 

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Clinical psychologist and trained Buddhist monk Jack Kornfield chats with the philanthropist and author of Something Brilliant, Larry Brilliant.

Mar 24 Vendela Vida

The Marin resident discusses her latest, We Run the Tides, in a livestream format.

Mar 25 Nathaniel Rich

Join a live conversation with the author and essayist on the subject of his latest book, Second Natur,e which explores whether our species, with the power to destroy nature, will use the same tools to remake it.

Mar 26 Sonoma Film Festival

Sonoma Film Festival

Running March 24-28 in an all-virtual format, the annual showcase for independent films that celebrate the diversity of Sonoma is back with over 100 films to choose from.

Mar 27 Lisa Scottoline


In discussion with Lisa See, the Edgar Award–winning author of 35 novels discusses her latest, Eternal, a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events in Rome in the creeping shadow of fascism.

Mar 28 MoAD Book Club

This ongoing book club meets this month to discuss Véronique Tadjo’s In the Company of Men, which draws on real accounts of the Ebola outbreak that devastated West Africa.

Mar 29 Dr. Steven Hassan

 

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The author and mental health professional discusses via livestream the cult-like behavior in extreme Trump followers with an expansive discussion of cult-like behavior in the political world.

Mar 30 Feminism and the Ring

 

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A month of virtual events dedicated to Richard Wagner’s epic opera The Ring, winds down with a discussion amongst Director Francesca Zambello, mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller, and Naomi André, professor in Women’s Studies at Michigan University, of the strong female characters in the Ring.

Mar 31 Trouble In the Mind

 

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New performances for A.C.T’s Act Out Loud series kicks off with new performances of great plays, acted as readings for digital audiences. Alice Childress’s masterpiece, directed by Awoye Timpo, digs in on the mores and authentic truths of six actors assembled to rehearse an anti-lynching Broadway play, through April 4.


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Christina MuellerChristina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract PublishingSunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her child’s school, and supports the Marin Audubon SocietyPEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.s the Assistant Editor at Marin Magazine and a graduate of Elon University where she studied Professional Writing and Fine Art. Born and raised in San Francisco/Marin, she loves traveling just as much as coming home to the Bay Area. She has curated a sophisticated palate for food, travel and culture and uses her travels as an outlet to develop her photography portfolio and hone her writing craft.