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Grecian Formula How much moussaka does it take to build a cathedral? Eight years' worth, in the case of the Annunciation Cathedral, which was the spiritual home of 12,000 Bay Area Greeks until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake left its irreparable mark. Since then, parishioners have prepared platters of savory souvlakia and tangy, lemony dolmathes; the spicy baked macaroni dish pastitsio; cheese-filled tiropites triangles and spinach-stuffed spanakopita; and the Greek variation on doughnuts, loukoumathes -- all of these sold at the annual Greek Food Festival. Guests can settle into their plates of food and cups of wine as Greek musicians and dancers entertain, or stroll through the bazaar, perusing the Greek crafts and jewelry for sale. The festival begins at 11 a.m. (also 11 a.m. Saturday, noon Sunday) in the Community Center at the Annunciation Cathedral, 245 Valencia (at 14th Street), S.F. Admission is a $3 donation; call 864-8000.
saturday
october 11
Gone to Look for America Anti-Columbus Day feeling far outweighs pro-Columbus sentiment around here, although most Americans tend to commemorate this national holiday by sleeping in. North Beach goes traditional with carnival booths, a parade, a sports memorabilia auction, and Italian, Chinese, and barbecue food booths. The Columbus Day Festival begins at noon today and Sunday (with the parade on Sunday) at Saints Peter and Paul Church & School, Columbus & Filbert, S.F. Admission is free; call 421-0809. Indigenous Peoples Day, a powwow and Indian market with drumming, intertribal dancing, arts and crafts, and food, begins at 10 a.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, MLK Way between Center and Allston, Berkeley. Admission is free; call (510) 615-0603. The San Francisco Mime Troupe and Aztec dancers are among the performers at Rediscovering Our Roots, a cultural fair beginning at 10 a.m. on Hampshire between 17th and 18th streets, S.F. Admission is free; call 487-6700. Immigrant Pride Day '97/Indigenous Peoples Day/Dia de la Raza bolsters the collective strength of communities with information booths, performances, and a health fair beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday on 24th Street between Mission and South Van Ness, S.F. Admission is free; call 641-0289. And finally, the National Writers Union hosts I, Too, Am America/Yo Tambien, Soy America, a reading with author Piri Thomas, rapper A.K. Black, Nation correspondent John Ross, and several others Sunday at 6 p.m. at New College, 766 Valencia (at 19th Street), S.F. Admission is a $3-8 donation; call (510) 601-1762.
sunday
october 12
Show Me the Funny Robin Williams was one of the five finalists at the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition in 1976. So was Dana Carvey, in 1977 and 1979. So was Ellen DeGeneres, in 1985, when she competed against Sinbad. Roseanne Barr placed a distant 16th in 1987, since, according to organizer Jack Lodico, "her routine was so foulmouthed people didn't dig it." Live 105 morning show host Johnny Steele, a finalist in 1992, will be hosting this year's "Laff-Off" round, where five comics, whittled down from an original pool of around 500 after three rounds of competition, will each do a 20-minute set. The outgoing champion, Seattle's David Crowe, will do a special guest set and hand over the crown and the $10,000 prize to the winner. No subject is taboo, according to the rule sheet, but judges frown on cheap shots and look for a variety of techniques, including lampoon and the double entendre. The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Maritime Hall, 450 Harrison (at First Street), S.F. Admission is $20; call 974-0634.
monday
october 13
Hi-Ho Bitter humor marks Kurt Vonnegut's treatment of violence, stupidity, and other human folly in his novels Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle, and over a dozen others; now, he signs off with Timequake, a book about the tribulations of his own life, including the untimely deaths of several members of his family. Alternating between his own voice and that of his alter ego, Kilgore Trout, the sci-fi-writing protagonist of Breakfast of Champions and other works, Vonnegut continues in the absurdist semi-autobiographical vein that transformed his own World War II experience as a prisoner of war in Dresden into Slaughterhouse. Besides revealing more of himself in Timequake, Vonnegut offers some tongue-in-cheek suggestions for the rest of us, including proposals for a few new constitutional amendments. KQED's Michael Krasny interviews Vonnegut onstage at 8 p.m. at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 North San Pedro, San Rafael. Admission is $8-16; call 479-2000.
The Healer Bluesman John Lee Hooker takes time out from the demands of launching his new club, the Boom Boom Room, to play a tribute to late blues guitarist Luther Allison, who succumbed to cancer Aug. 12. Hooker, who toured Europe with Allison in '83 and joined him onstage at the '95 San Francisco Blues Festival, said in a statement, "He was a gentleman I've known for almost 20 years, and he was a kind and warm person. His passing was a big loss to the blues world." Hooker will play with Joe Louis Walker, Mitch Woods, Ritchie Hayward, Coco Montoya, Sistah Monica, and Lady Bianca; proceeds benefit the Luther Allison Medical Fund. The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell (at Polk), S.F. Admission is $40; call 885-0750.
tuesday
october 14
How About a Nice English Punch? Maybe nobody told British master puppeteer John Styles that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month here in the States, or maybe Styles knows and is counting on local audiences recognizing that Punch & Judy is a very old act. Styles, whose handiwork gained recognition on our side of the Atlantic in films like Time Bandits and The Avengers, does a Punch & Judy puppet and magic show with hand-painted wooden puppets and a candy-striped stage reminiscent of the Victorian era, when the Italian-based commedia dell'arte character Pulcinella was remade to reflect the medieval English fool. Kids, to whom cruelty comes naturally, have since enjoyed the story of the mean, hunchbacked, hook-nosed husband and his nagging wife. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, Marina & Buchanan, S.F. Admission is $5-10; call 621-7797.
