ART

LOCAL: Browse Jessica Sikora’s original acrylic and mixed media paintings, hand-embellished giclée prints on canvas and watercolor paper and note cards, and enjoy a complimentary wine tasting while you browse, 10 am-6 pm, Wed.-Thurs., Sept. 29-30; 10 am-7 pm, Fri.-Sat., Oct. 1-2 & Wed., Oct. 6. Free. Windsor Vineyards Tasting Room, 72 Main St., Tiburon. Info: 435-3113

FOUND: Check out Flotsam & Jetsam, an astonishing assortment of found objects from the Bay’s shoreline recreated into art of surprising transcendence by Peter Tonningsen and Mark Oliver, with a secondary message of the spoiling of our marine environment, 9 am-4 pm, Wed.-Fri., Sept. 29-Oct. 1; 10 am-5 pm, Sat.-Sun., Oct. 2-3 & 9 am-4 pm, Tues.-Wed., Oct. 5-6. Free. Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito. Info: 332-3871

LATINO: View the works of Marin’s Latino artists, including one from Tiburon, at Las Expresiones, 9 am-5 pm, Wed.-Fri., Sept. 29-Oct. 1 & Mon.-Wed., Oct. 4-6. Free. Marin Community Foundation, 5 Hamilton Landing #200, Novato. Info: 666-2442

OPEN STUDIO: Come on the first Sunday of every month for the First Sunday Open Studios of the Artists of the Novato Arts Center, featuring fine paintings and sculpture by 40 working artists, 11 am-4 pm, Sun., Oct. 3. Free. Novato Arts Center, 500 Palm Dr., 501 Palm Dr. & 781 Hamilton Pkwy, Novato. Info: 506-0137

ART WALK: Check online or stop at The Depot to pick up a gallery guide before strolling through the downtown area to view the wide range of art exhibited under the auspices of Mill Valley’s First Tuesday Artwalk, with several shows offering complimentary food and wine, 6-8 pm, Tues., Oct. 5. Free. The Depot Bookstore & Café, 87 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. Info: 383-2665

FREE DAYS: Take advantage of First Tuesday Free Days (surcharge still required for premiere exhibits), at a variety of museums, all in San Francisco, all on Tues., Oct. 5, and all free, with times as follows: 9 am-5:15 pm, de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr. Info: 750-3600; 9 am-5 pm, Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Dr. Info: 831-2090; 9:30 am-5:15 pm, Legion of Honor, 24th Ave. & Clement St. Info: 750-3600; 11 am-5:45 pm, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St. Info: 357-4000 and 12-8 pm, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. Info: 978-2700

FILM

PRESENTING: Hear director Pepita Ferrari talk about her documentary, Capturing Reality: The Art of the Documentary, 7 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30; filmmaker Christopher Felver and invited guest director Lawrence Ferlinghetti discuss Film Portraits: Ferlinghetti, 6:30 pm, Sun., Oct. 3; and Christopher Felver and Al Young talk about Cecil Taylor: All the Notes, 7 pm, Wed., Oct. 6. $10.25. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. Info: 454-1222

FESTIVAL: Check out Lunafest, the national traveling short film festival by, for and about women, with optional 6 pm reception, featuring honorary host, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and Q&A with filmmakers following the screening, 7:30 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30. $10-75. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Info: 392-4400

FAMILY: Bring the kids to the Lark’s Family Film Series and enjoy the 1938 classic, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, starring Shirley Temple, 3 pm, Fri.-Sat., Oct. 1-2; and Little Princess (1998) followed by a Mother and Daughter Holiday Fashion Show, 3 pm, Sat., Nov. 6. $5-6.75. The Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur. Info: 924-5111

MUSIC

VARIETY: Head to “The Throck” for improvised Dutch Gypsy jazz by Paulus Schäfer Gipsy Band, opening with the all-female close harmony gypsy jazz trio, Zazi, 8 pm, Wed., Sept. 29, $20-23; improvised chamber music for the new millennium by master musicians Manring Kassin Darter, 8 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30, $12-21; and great dance beats by one of the most popular British ska bands, The English Beat, 8 pm, Sat., Oct. 2, $18-21. 142 Throckmorton Theatre, downtown Mill Valley. Info: 383-9600

SYMPHONY: Hear Michael Tilson Thomas lead the San Francisco Symphony in Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole, Debussy’s Première Rapsodie and Fantasie and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette, preceded by a one hour Inside Music talk and informal post-concert CD signing, 8 pm, Wed & Sat., Sept. 29 & Oct. 2 and 2 pm, Sun., Oct. 3. $15-140. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Info: 864-6000

DOWNTOWN: Be there for jazz philosophy by Nayam Sataya, 7-10 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30; jazz guitar by Nick Rossi, 8-11 pm, Fri., Oct. 1; and Grammy nominated singer and songwriter Roberta Donnay, 8-11 pm, Sat., Oct. 2. No cover. Servino Ristorante, 9 Main St., Tiburon. Info: 435-4079

FUSION: Come early for the limited seating (outside chairs and food are welcome) at Friday Night Fusion Concerts, featuring music by Liza Silva and an optional special wine tasting by Landmark Vineyards, including a local artisan cheese plate, 5:30-7:30 pm, Fri., Oct. 1. Free, $15 tasting. Center Court, The Village at Corte Madera, 1618 Redwood Hwy, Corte Madera. Info: 924-8588

SING ALONG: Sing some of Broadway’s biggest hits from Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music, hear guest performers and make ice cream sundaes, 7-8:30 pm, Fri., Oct. 1. Donations accepted. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 240 Tiburon Blvd., Tiburon. Info: 383-5272 x16

PARTY: Take a break at the Corte Madera Town Center Summer Music Series, featuring a 60s dance party band, the New Rising Sons with Boudeeka, 2-4 pm, Sun., Oct. 3. Free. Elephant Fountain Area, Town Center, Hwy. 101 and Tamalpais Dr., Corte Madera. Info: 924-2961

STAGE

CLASSIC: Enjoy the well-regarded Conservatory Theatre Ensemble production of Our Town, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning play based on American life, 7 pm, Wed.-Sat., Sept. 29-Oct. 2. $5-12. Caldwell Theatre, Tamalpais High School, 700 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Info: 380-3535

OPERA: Be mesmerized by the San Francisco Opera performing Verdi’s masterpiece, Aida, a tale of conflicting loyalties and forbidden passions, 7:30 pm, Wed., Sept. 29; 8 pm, Sat., Oct. 2 & 7:30 pm, Wed., Oct. 6; Mozart’s eternally popular comedy about a philanderer, The Marriage of Figaro, 7:30 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30 & 2 pm; Sat., Oct. 2 & 7:30 pm, Tues., Oct. 5 and Massenet’s French opera Werther, based on Goethe’s novel about a poet who cannot bear the pain of unrequited love, 8 pm, Fri., Oct. 1. $20-360. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco. Info: 864-3330

TRILOGY: Get caught up in the currents of In the Red and Brown Water, Part One of Tarell McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays Trilogy, wildly celebrated as a major new voice in American theater, 1 & 8 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30; 8 pm, Fri.-Sat., Oct. 1-2; 2 & 7 pm, Sun., Oct. 3; 8 pm, Tues., Oct. 5 & 7:30 pm, Wed., Oct. 6. $42-53. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Info: 388-5208

BLUES: Get into the history of the blues at Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, an explosive play about the colorful Ma Rainey, “The Mother of the Blues,” arriving in Chicago in 1927 to be the first woman to record the blues, but producing much more than a record, 8 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30 (Pay What You Will Preview) & 8 pm, Fri.-Sat., Oct. 1-2. $15-20. Fine Arts Theatre, College of Marin, 835 College Ave., Kentfield. Info: 485-9555

COMEDY: Let the Ross Valley Players capture your vote with Mamet’s November, a political comedy about bad behavior in high places, 7:30 pm, Thurs., Sept. 30; 8 pm, Fri.-Sat., Oct. 1-2 & 2 pm, Sun., Oct. 3. $20-25. The Barn Theatre, Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Info: 456-9555

DANCE: Catch the Mark Morris Dance Group performing Satie’s Socrates, Gann’s Looky and Morris’ Behemoth, 8 pm, Thurs.-Sat., Sept. 30-Oct. 2 & 2 pm, Sun., Oct. 3. $34-72. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. Info: 510-642-9988