A great hike
Bald is beautiful: The north side of Mount Tam is home to five sparkling lakes, all of which have lovely hiking trails. Trails from Phoenix Lake rise to a brilliant vista known as Bald Hill. From the parking lot, a quick 0.25-mile jaunt leads to Phoenix Lake. Keep going a few hundred feet and take a right on the unsigned Worn Springs Fire Road, which winds up and up. Bald Hill’s spacious plateau is currently marked by a cairn, which looks tiny in comparison to the view surrounding it. [Visit WeekendSherpa.com for details and other local adventures]
Friday
Send in the clowns: The Pi Clowns troupe, which combines mime, acrobatics, juggling and more, is performing as part of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. [11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., Yerba Buena Gardens, 799 Howard St., S.F.]
Art fundraiser: Southern Exposure’s annual Monster Drawing Rally, which invites artists to publicly create new works for immediate sale, benefits the arts nonprofits’ programming. [6-10 p.m., Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa St., S.F.]
Stand-up comedy: Jon Lovitz, best known for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Critic,” is performing. [8 p.m., Cobb’s Comedy Club, 915 Columbus Ave., S.F.]
Rock show: Alt-pop group Veruca Salt, which recently reformed after a nasty breakup in the late 1990s, is promoting its new album, “Ghost Notes.” [9 p.m., Slim’s, 333 11th St., S.F.]
Saturday
Music festival: The Phono Del Sol Music and Food Festival includes musicians such h as Tanginess, King Tuff and Generationals, as well as food from the Bacon Bacon truck, Post Street Creamery stand and more. [Noon-7 p.m., Potrero Del Sol Park, San Bruno Avenue and 25th St., S.F.]
Mexican street food: Mexico City resident Lesley Téllez shares the bustling city’s tastiest treats in “Eat Mexico: Recipes from Mexico City’s Streets, Markets and Fondas.” [3 p.m., Omnivore Books on Food, 3885a Cesar Chavez St., S.F.]
Comedy show: Brent Weinbach, who has appeared on “Conan” and “Lopez Tonight,” is a winner of the Andy Kaufman Award for innovative stand-up comedy. [7 p.m., Doc’s Lab, 124 Columbus Ave., S.F.]
Funny fundraiser: “Lost in Translation,” featuring Asian-American comedians Walter Hong, Nancy Lee, Irene Tu and Jenny Yang, is a fundraiser for the Chinese Historical Society of America. [8 p.m., Chinese Historical Society of America Museum, 965 Clay St., S.F.]
Big sound: Dopapod combines electronic, soul, jam and prog influences on its new album, “Never Odd or Even.” [8 p.m., Independent, 628 Divisadero St., S.F.]
Sunday
Sunday Streets: This month’s edition of Sunday Streets, which opens streets to people by closing them off to cars, is in the Tenderloin. Expect family activities like a bike-riding workshop and a bike swap for kids. [11 a.m.-4 p.m., various streets, S.F.; sundaystreetssf.com]activitiesthings to do
Find out more at www.sfexaminer.com/join/