Bay Area Book Festival runs Saturday and Sunday in Downtown Berkeley (BART: Downtown Berkeley). Free to attend the outdoor portions; some author talks require tickets grabbed in advance at baybookfest.org. If the Reddit thread recommending Imperial San Francisco as pre-reading context means anything, the history and urban studies tables will be worth a slow walk.

Margaret Cho performs — check her current tour dates and the venue directly for times and ticket tiers, as prices vary by section. She's doing stand-up, not a hybrid show, which matters if you've seen her in mixed-format runs before.

SF Porchfest is the neighborhood acoustic-and-amplified crawl where local musicians play actual porches across a defined district. Free, outdoors, no wristband. Bring cash for whatever food trucks park nearby; card readers at street fests are unreliable.

Brewfest is ticketed and 21+. Designated driver tickets are usually available at a discount — worth calling ahead if your group is mixed.

New Sam Wo is an opening, not an event, but if you want to be in the first wave through the doors of the relaunched Chinatown institution, this is the week.

If you've got two hours: Porchfest in the morning, then walk to whatever neighborhood dim sum you've been putting off. The book fest is a full-day commitment — don't pretend otherwise.