Saturday, May 2, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today.

Rob Nilsson’s CHALK (1996)

Film screening & post-show discussion + Zhan Petrov’s HOW I SEE

Thursday, May 7, 2026 | 6:00-9:00 PM

6:00pm DOORS + HOW I SEE (2025, 15 mins) / 6:30pm CHALK (1996, 140 mins)

at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

TC (Kelvin Han Yee), a Korean pool prodigy, dominates the local talent, but his brother (Johnnie Reese) sets up a match with ruthless, gambling tournament player Dorian James (Don Bajema) that has dire stakes for their family and local hall. Will TC fold?

Maverick filmmaker Rob Nilsson returns to TLM for a revival screening of CHALK, his 1996 pool-hustling film cast from the Tenderloin Action Group, his long-running acting workshop that mingled TL denizens and local performers. Set in 1990s Richmond, CA at the hardscrabble Crabtree pool hall, CHALK marries high-stakes billiards with family drama of Shakespearean scope. 

A post-show discussion will feature Nilsson, longtime production manager Mira Larkin, Tenderloin Action Group co-founders Rand Crook and Ethan Sing, as well as professional pool player Billy Aguero, aka “Billy the Kid,” who designed the pool matches in the movie.  

Click here for more info.

“It is not just one more ‘Hustler’ clone, but a plunge into the hermetic world these characters have created and inhabit.” — Roger Ebert

Thursday May 14, 2026

At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)

Free to attend | No registration required

Sruti Sarathy shares an evening of traditional South Indian melodies on the Carnatic violin and the mridangam, spanning traditional raga, improvisation, and original songs. Live music and local businesses animate the Tenderloin’s Dodge Alley every 2nd Thursday of the month, with support from the TLCBD & SFOEWD.

Tenderloin Museum continues the 2025-2026 season of “Sounds of the Tenderloin” programs with another “2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley in collaboration with the TLCBD. This month, we welcome Sruti Sarathy, a leading Carnatic musician with a soulful, imaginative approach to Indian violin. Born and raised in the Bay Area as a diaspora kid, Sarathy began her training in the South Indian Carnatic music as a prodigious three year old. Her lifelong practice in this classical tradition formed the basis for a decorated career as a performer, composer, researcher, and interpreter. She regularly performs at top Carnatic music gatherings in the Bay Area and across both the United States and India; she is also a prolific collaborator, most frequently as a composer-performer for dance and theater pieces. Now, she splits time between California and Chennai, so we are lucky to have her talents on the streets of the TL!

$15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve!

Saturday, May 16, 2026 | 2:00-4:00 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102 

Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket

Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a monthly walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.

Saturday, June 20, 2026 | 2:00-4:00 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket

Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a monthly walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.