Take one look at this slideshow of frozen cities elsewhere in the US, and thank your lucky stars you live in a place that is basically an occasionally foggy paradise in comparison. After taking a moment to revel in this truth, GO OUTSIDE and consider doing these fun things with your weekend:
White Elephant Sale Preview
Those counting down the days until the biggest and best rummage sale of the year might want to spare themselves the headache and show up for the Preview Sale on Sunday, Jan. 27, at the event’s 96,000-square-foot warehouse. Each year, attendees snag treasures ordinary and extraordinary, including jewelry, clothing, furniture, bric-a-brac, and, one year, a pony. Show up early to get first dibs on all the goods, avoid long lines, and enjoy an all-around painless experience that is guaranteed to make you a preview-sale convert. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., $15-20. 510-536-6800 or WhiteElephantSale.org — Azeen Ghorayshi
Joffrey Ballet
The first dance company to appear on television, first to tour the Soviet Union, and only to appear on the cover of Time, Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet once wielded profound cultural significance. This American treasure is enjoying a contemporary renaissance under the artistic direction of former San Francisco Ballet principal Ashley Wheater. Making its first appearance since 2007, the Joffrey returns to Zellerbach Hall on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27, with a program linking its heritage and its future: Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence, an exploration of sexual repression set to music by Philip Glass and Thomas Newman; Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, with sensual duets on an evocative ArvoPärt score; and The Green Table, an antiwar masterpiece created by Kurt Jooss in 1932 and first presented in the US in 1967 by, you guessed it, the Joffrey. Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m.; $30-$92. 510-642-9988 or CalPerformances.org — Alison Peters
