The Real Story is taking this week off. Log on next week for the premiere of our three-part series on backyard cottages.

Memorial Day commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. It’s also the official beginning of the summer barbecue season. Enjoy!

The Real Story will return next week with a series on edible landscaping.

The Real Story is observing Presidents’ Day today. Watch for another podcast tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s some food for thought in a quote from Woodrow Wilson, who was President from 1913 through 1921:

“Some people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know am an American.”

Artifacts of the oldest civilization in America will be spending time in the Bay Area beginning this Saturday. But, party people, you can get a preview on Friday night at the de Young—for free. Plan on stopping by Friday Nights at the de Young from 6 until 8:45 p.m. for a preview of Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico.

Considered the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica and recognized as America’s oldest civilization, the people known today as the Olmec developed an iconic and sophisticated artistic style as early as the second millennium BC. The Olmec are best known for the creation of colossal heads carved from giant boulders that have fascinated the public and archaeologists alike since they were discovered in the mid-19th century. The monumental heads remain among ancient America’s most awe-inspiring and beautiful masterpieces today. Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, featuring over 100 objects drawn primarily from Mexican national collections with additional loans from over twenty-five museums, is presented at the de Young Museum February 19 to May 8, 2011. Included in the exhibition are colossal heads, a large-scale throne in addition to precious small-scale vessels, figures, adornments and masks.

The evening includes a welcome by indigenous peoples leaders, a preview of the exhibition, live music by Orquesta La Moderna Tradición celebrating danzón, which features violins and woodwinds interlocking with driving afro-Cuban rhythms. The Emcee is Chelis Lopez, KPOO radio host.

Activities include hands-on jaguar mask making and a lecture on traditional Mexican music and dance ritual.

For more information, check out the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco web site.

There’s nothing that lifts the mid-winter spirits like something great—for FREE. Because we live in the San Francisco area, this month offers treats for the heart, mind and stomachs—all for free. Get out and take advantage.

HEARTS
Love Stories at the Presidio
Presidio Officers Club

It’s a romance that crosses time and cultural divides: Concepcion Arguello, daughter of the Presidio’s commandante and the Grand Chamberlain to the Russian Czar. Seats fill up quickly for this popular event, so be sure to call for reservations.

MINDS
Free Third Wednesdays
California Academy of Sciences

Admission to this popular museum is totally free on Wednesday 2/16 all day long. That means you can enjoy 40,000 square feet of natural history including a planetarium, aquarium, 4-story rain forest and the living roof planted as a rolling meadow—and escape the $29.95 admission fee.

STOMACHS
Free Vegetable Days
Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market

Farm-fresh vegetables are free to the first 50 people on Tuesdays and Thursdays all month long, courtesy of Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. Handouts begin promptly at 10. Vendors and vegetables are announced through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.

There’s a certain measure of drama in any real estate transaction. But Clybourne Park, the current offering at the American Conservatory Theatre, turns the buying and selling of a home into pure entertainment.

Playing through February 20th at ACT’s Geary Theatre, Clybourne Park is written by Bruce Norris and directed by Jonathan Moscone. This witty and engaging comedy takes close look at the integration of a Chicago neighborhood. The first act is set in 1959, as a white couple sells their home to an African American family, causing uproar among their middle-class neighbors. The second act brings us back to the same house in 2009, when the African American neighbors object a white family’s plans to purchase renovate the home. In the process, hypocrisy is exposed and painful secrets revealed.

This is a provocative and engaging work of theatre that brings NIMBYism, race, gentrification and the universal human connection to home into sharp focus. Don’t look for a lot of physical action, just two hours of masterful acting and fast-moving repartee.

Photo courtesy of American Conservatory Theatre