When Emily Dreblow started working with flowers, she thought it would just be for fun. “I thought of it as a wonderful hobby,” says Dreblow, a social worker-turned-floral designer commissioned to create a piece for Macy’s Flower Show, which starts Sunday and runs through April 7 at the Union Square store. Dreblow, founder of Soulflower Design Studio in the Dogpatch neighborhood, plans to use orchids, tropical leaves, natural textural elements and seasonal blooms such as tulips and ranunculus in her Bouquet of the Day, scheduled to be on view April 2-4. Read More

If Garry Winogrand has been criticized for being indiscriminate, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s new exhibition of his work proves the reverse. At the very least, Winogrand was consistent in his obsession with people. “Garry Winogrand,” the first retrospective of the photography giant in 25 years, is a joyous, witty celebration of human life. Read More

Flagellant songs and the “dancing plague” don’t exactly sound like a good time, but Bay Area early music group Cançonièr promises otherwise. “Choreomania: Music for the Dancing Plagues of Medieval and Renaissance Europe” opens Thursday in Palo Alto, and added shows are in Berkeley on Saturday and The City on Sunday. “Many people think the medieval period was depressing and full of religious guilt,” says Tim Rayborn, a Cançonièr co-founder. “But there was also a lot of joy. There’s a tremendous amount of fun in this music.” Read More

Notable among the 180 films from 40 countries screening in San Jose at Cinequest Film Festival 23 is the world premiere of director Thomas Farone’s “Aftermath” starring the late Chris Penn — it was the last film Penn made before he died in 2006. Read More

The late Diana Vreeland, the visionary editor who transformed Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, is being celebrated this week in an event appropriately featuring San Francisco’s own favorite fashionista, philanthropist Joy Venturini Bianchi. “For me, fashion is more of a spiritual philosophy, and I think it was true for Vreeland, too,” says Bianchi, who appears at the Castro Theatre on Wednesday for a special screening of the 2012 documentary “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel.” Read More

Shame on local ballet fans who don’t get to the War Memorial Opera House by Tuesday to see Hamburg Ballet perform John Neumeier's sumptuous, riveting “Nijinsky” on San Francisco Ballet’s Program 2. Neumeier takes a layered approach to communicate Nijinsky's life (1890-1950), which, sadly, seemed to be the stereotype of the tortured artist. Roles that rocketed him to stardom with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes are performed by various dancers (easily discernable with costumes inspired by Leon Bakst originals), often onstage simultaneously. Read More

With just 48 hours until Valentine’s Day, here are a few ways to celebrate. Unless noted otherwise, all of the events indeed take place Thursday — Feb. 14 to be exact. Read More