Beaming down for UFO fest

McMinnville, Ore.

May 19-20: The seventh annual UFO Festival descends on the McMenamins Hotel Oregon, about 30 miles from Portland. The keynote speaker is Jesse Marcel Jr., author of “Roswell: It Really Happened” and son of the first official at the Roswell, N.M., site of what some believe was the crash of a UFO in 1947. Marcel will speak at 7 p.m. May 19 at the Mack Theater and sign books at 9 p.m. at the hotel. On May 20, the festival invades Main Street with exhibitors’ tents and a costume parade; the Mack hosts a ufology workshop and a live performance of the radio drama “War of the Worlds.” The evening features an alien costume ball (21 and older free) at the hotel. Skeptics welcome.

Marcel lecture and ufology workshop, $7 each or $12 for both. Mack Theater, 510 N.E. 3rd St. Hotel Oregon, 310 N.E. Evans St.; (888) 472-8427, www.ufofest.com.

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San Francisco

May 21: More than 70,000 runners are expected at the Bay to Breakers 12K course -- about 7 1/2 miles from the Embarcadero to Ocean Beach -- some in elaborate costumes, some in little more than yellow hats. Others tie themselves together and race as a “centipede.” Competitors, eccentrics and nudists start running at 8 a.m. After the race, there is the official party, Footstock.

Registration $22-$37, includes T-shirt and admission to the post-race festival. (415) 359-2800, www.ingbaytobreakers.com.

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Ojai

June 8-11: For the 60th anniversary of the acclaimed Ojai Music Festival, music director Robert Spano will lead a celebration of composer Osvaldo Golijov’s work at the Libbey Bowl on June 9 and 11. Other featured works include John Cage’s “Lecture on Nothing,” Conlon Nancarrow’s “Selected Studies for Player Piano” (both June 8), and Bach’s unfinished “Contrapunctus XIX” (June 11). Performers include soprano Dawn Upshaw (June 9 and 11), Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza (June 10), new-music group eighth blackbird, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (June 9-11). Golijov will speak at the festival’s symposium June 9 at the Ojai Arts Center. The Ojai Valley Museum will host a retrospective exhibition on the festival, including an interactive installation from “sound sculptor” Trimpin called “Conloninpurple,” which invites visitors to play 84 tuned wooden bars with metal resonators.

The Libbey Bowl is in the center of downtown Ojai, off California 150. Tickets $35-$85 reserved, $15-$20 lawn. Packages available. (805) 646-2094, www.ojaifestival.org. Ojai Valley Museum, 130 W. Ojai Ave.; (805) 640-1390. Ojai Arts Center, 113 S. Montgomery St.; (805) 646-0117. Symposium $25.

-- Blake Hennon