The Bay Area is a hub of artistic expression, attracting artists, writers and musicians from around the globe to live, work and create. We highlight some of the offerings here.
• Frameline: This year’s edition of the impressive annual LGBTQ film festival features more than 170 films, from silly queer vampire comedies to poignant dramas to documentaries like “Changing the Game,” which chronicles the courageous efforts of five high school transgender athletes. The festival runs June 20-30 at theaters in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley; most screenings run $15-$20; www.frameline.org.
• Cal Shakes concerts: Seeing a play at California Shakespeare Theater’s lovely Bruns Amphitheatre in Orinda tends to be a magical experience. Now they’re hosting concerts there, too. On June 22, the terrific Bay Area alt-rock/folk singer Thao Nguyen and her band The Get Down Stay Down headline a night of music and DJ dancing at the venue. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m. and there will be plenty of wine, beer and good food to keep you energized. Tickets are $35-$125; www.calshakes.org.
• Goin’ to the chapel, and we’re gonna hear music: Here comes the summer solstice on June 21 — that delightful time of year when the day is long(est) and the sun is at its highest point in the sky. And that occasion brings back, as it has every year since 1996, the amazing “Garden of Memory” concert in Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes. The event offers simultaneous, evening-long performances of contemporary music by Bay Area musicians holding court in all the nooks, crannies, chambers, alcoves, chapels and columbaria of the historic multilevel mausoleum on Piedmont Avenue, partially designed by Julia Morgan. This year’s musicians include pianist/composer Sarah Cahill, the Lightbulb Ensemble and the Friction Quartet and dozens of others — and there will be a large “shrine” constructed of piano harps for attendees to climb in and out of, playing with hundreds of strings. It all takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. at 4499 Piedmont Ave; tickets, $5-$12, available at the door and at brownpapertickets.com. Find more info at www.gardenofmemory.com.
• Choral Project: It’s not everyday a chorus devotes a concert program to a topic like human trafficking, but that is exactly what this South Bay vocal group will be doibng this weekend. With a program touching on music from around the world, the concert, titled “Earthsongs: New Days,” is meant to bring attention to the efforts of the Bay Area Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. Performances are 8 p.m. Saturday at Peace United Church of Christ, Santa Cruz and 5 p.m. Sunday at Mission Santa Clara. Tickets are $10-$25 (active military personnel, police and veterans are invited free of charge); www.choralproject.org.
• “Rhinoceros”: Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist satire about a world descending into a rumbling, snorting sort of madness — with seemingly no one inclined to stop it — might seem a little too real for our times. But the show is also funny as heck, and American Conservatory Theater’s revival of the play has generated favorable reviews. But time is running out. “Rhinoceros” runs through June 23 at the Geary Theater in San Francisco; tickets are $15-$110 at www.act-sf.org.