This weekend it’s coming up orchids… for the 67th year in a row.

Detail from the beautiful Kunstformen der Natur, by Ernst Haeckel, c. 1899-1904 [public domain, source].

COMING UP THIS WEEK:

Nerd Nite SF #105: Hidden Programmers, Breaking Materials, & Sex Science
This week’s Nerd Nite features stories of unsung women programmers and the contributions they’ve made to computer science and beyond, the science of breaking things in order to make them stronger, and and a look at the mechanisms of sexytime across the animal kingdom.
FEB 20, WED, Doors at 7 pm, show at 8. Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco. $10

Typography & Neon: Tenderloin Historical Ephemera Project
Typography expert Shelley Gruendler explores the curious connection between match book artwork and the historic neon signs of San Francisco, giving an unusual peek into the city’s lost evening landscapes.
FEB 21, THURS, 7:00pm. Tenderloin Museum, San Francisco. $10

swissnex LifeCycle: Creation: DIY Biology & The Future of Life
swissnex hosts an evening of conversations and questions about the the rise of amateur hands-on science and hackerspace bio tech in the Bay Area as part of the LifeCycle series, exploring the future of human health and biology.
FEB 21, THURS, 6:30 pm. swissnex San Francisco. $10-15

Speechless Live: Couples
For February, the improv-only Powerpoint presentations of Speechless features couples, as in: grab your lover, your partner, your weird co-worker, or the guy you happened to sit next to and get on stage together and wing it, together, as a couple, in front of a live audience. What could possibly go wrong?
FEB 21, THURS, 6:30pm. Public Works, SF. $15 advance / $20 at the door

“Orchids of the Enchanted Forest”: The 67th Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition
For over six decades, orchid lovers have gathered to gape and covet rare and exotic flowers gathered from the ends of the Earth. This year more than 150,000 orchids will be ogled at the Hall of Flowers, hosted by the San Francisco Orchid Society. For enthusiasts, there’s a preview gala on Thursday evening, February 21st, 6-9PM.
FEB 22-24, FRI-SUN, Times vary by day, Hall of Flowers at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. $12-60

Pranks Fun-Raiser: John Law
Local Cacophonist, explorer, and neon artist John Law is spinning tales from his decades of pranks and shenanigans with the Suicide Club, Cacophony Society, Burning Man, and Survival Research Labs, as well as urban explorations beneath and above the city streets. He’s joined by Other Cinema’s presentations on culture-jamming and intervention art, and a rare peek at 16mm film of the first Suicide Club billboard alteration.
FEB 23, SAT, 8pm. Other Cinema, San Francisco. $9-20

The Future of Immersive Art: A Conversation on the World to Come
We’re a few years into the immersive arts and theater movement, with no signs of slowing down. Join artists from Epic Immersive, Meow Wolf, Area 15, Onedome, and Two Bit Circus as they look at the state of the arts and the future of augmented experience, and the role of the artists in creating new visions and alternative realities. Part of the Immersive Design Summit, running all weekend. (Details on full summit)
FEB 24, SUN, 4pm. Taube Atrium Theater, San Francisco. $35

Nerd Nite East Bay: AIbany Bulb, Exercise Recovery, Interstellar Objects
Come out to Oakland for drinks, music, and talks on the science of how our bodies do (or don’t) recover from exercise, the wonderful outsider art of the Albany Bulb, and how SETI scans the skies for alien life. (More details on Facebook)
FEB 25, MON, 7 pm. Club 21, Oakland. $8

“Visualizing Ancient Egyptian landscapes and material culture” with Egyptologist Rita Lucarelli
Egyptologist Rita Lucarelli looks into the potential for and challenges to using virtual reality and augmented visual tools in the fields of archaeology, history, and history of art, and the recent 3D modelling of Egyptian artifacts at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology of UC Berkeley.
FEB 26, TUES, 12 pm. Banatao Auditorium, UC Berkeley. FREE