Please note event date change to November 23, 2008 (previously it was scheduled for November 16th) - A multi-cultural celebration, Pier 39’s Holiday Tree Lighting will feature Bay Area groups performing seasonal favorites from around the world. The enchanting entertainment will include holiday traditions from Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. PIER 39’s majestic tree, adorned with 400 glistening ornaments, 500 bows and 2,000 twinkling lights will be lit at 5:30 p.m. in the Entrance Plaza.

Watch the unveiling of a new art installation in the heart of North Beach. The Language of the Birds consists of solar-powered, lit-up plastic books suspended by wire above the intersection, and words that appear to have fallen out of them and onto the ground. The words are taken from local literary lights, of course: Gary Snyder, Jade Snow Wong, Armistead Maupin. Source: SF Weekly

Free Campari tasting and architecture talk “Fumihiko Maki: Architecture at the Global Crossroads”; hosted by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and House of Campari. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is designed by international star architect Fumihiko Maki who has designed venues worldwide for the visual arts since the 1990s. Dr. Ken Tadashi Oshima, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will lecture about Maki’s design evolution and his unique ability to create public spaces for the visual arts and other civic buildings. His lecture will deepen our understanding of Maki’s contribution to architecture for the production and presentation of art, and place YBCA’s building within a larger context of Maki’s important contribution. Free, but RSVP Required.

Nicola Luisotti, San Francisco Opera’s music director designate and a master of the Italian repertoire, conducts Puccini’s most beloved opera. This heartwarming story of starving artists falling in and out of love in 19th-century Paris is a seamless mix of romantic passion, poignant tragedy and high-spirited fun. There are 200 standing room tickets available for each performance at the War Memorial Opera House at $10 each, cash only. Tickets go on sale at 10 am on the day of each performance at the Box Office. 50 tickets are retained for sale two hours before each performance. Standees will be admitted according to their ticket numbers.

Come out at “Pley” at the 4th annual Yelp Holiday Party from 9 to 11pm on Wednesday December 3rd at the Exploratorium in the Marina District. The event is free but RSVPs are required. Deadline to RSVP is November 26th - send your Yelp Profile URL and full name to pley@yelp.com. They’ll have a full open bar, beer from Firestone, yummy bites from local restaurants including Bissap Baobob, Baraka, Pacific Catch, Samovar Tea Lounge, access to the museums exhibit, along with entertainment from the Bay Area Derby Girls, Double Dutch, Hoop Girl and more. Limited designated driver rides home by Zipcar.

Thanksgiving dodge ball at the tennis courts at Dolores Park is back again for the fourth year. Bring friends and balls out to the park after Thanksgiving dinner. Dodge ball after dinner with a bunch of jolly people who have just stuffed their faces with great food. We are going to meet on the single tennis court at Dolores Park at 8pm sharp so we can enjoy the lights before they are turned off at 10. Games will still go on past 10, it’s fun in the dark. Balls are very necessary, so bring as many as you have.

Popscene, San Francisco’s direct connection to britpop music and dance, presents their 9th annual thanksgiving night concert and dance party. This Charming Band performs all your favorite Smiths and Morrissey classics, plus a DJ dance party with Nako and Aaron (extra helpings of Smiths and Moz tunes of course)

  This will be the 29th Annual Parade of Lights in Downtown San Rafael (Friday at 5:30p), and the 19th straight year of free snow sledding on A Street between Fourth & Fifth Streets (Friday Noon to 4p, 6p to 8p; Saturday 9a-2p). The Holiday Market will be held from 4pm to 8pm on Friday. It will be located on Fourth Street between Lootens Place and B Street. There will be Holiday Entertainment and musical performances at different locations on Fourth Street between Lootens and “A”. (more…)

The Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) hosts a free launch party of sorts for the new Adobe CS4 software package with brand new updates to Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. The event features free demos, product giveaways, drinks and the Tamale Lady, plus mingle with other profession mediamakers, artists and media geeks.

Set amidst one of the San Francisco’s most dramatic historical landmark buildings, Mission Bazaar is a unique craft and performance expo that will showcase some of the Bay Area’s most vibrant creative talent at The Mission Armory, a 200,000 square foot reproduction Moorish Castle. The Bazaar will showcase a diverse collection of artisans exhibiting their creative works, products, fashion and accessories. There will be over 20 hours of live performances on three stages featuring live music, circus and dance acts, performance artists and DJs, including gypsy jazz, bellydance, spoken word, beatbox, choral ensembles, fashion shows, puppetry, flamenco guitar, and more.

“Wachovia Wednesdays” is the third Wednesday of every month and gives you free admission (normally it’s $24.95 per adult) to the California Academy of Scineces in Golden Gate Park. The California Academy of Sciences, which reopened in Golden Gate Park in September 2008, is home to Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, Kimball Natural History Museum, and world-class research and education programs—all under one living roof.