Hamlet has far less food and drink references than Shakespeare’s plays usually do, which makes suggesting menu specials to our café particularly difficult this time around. Help us move beyond funeral meats and poisoned wine by suggesting Hamlet-themed edibles and drinkables, and you could win tickets to San Francisco magazine’s FallFest.

We have two pairs of tickets to give away—each pair valued at $200—to this celebration of the Bay Area’s best in food and wine, taking place Saturday, October 13 from noon to 4pm. Leading restaurateurs, winemakers, bartenders, and epicurean artisans join together for an inspiring day of wine and food tasting, chef demonstrations, cocktail competitions, and panel discussions. It all takes place outdoors at Justin Herman Plaza, which is transformed for the day into a European-style marketplace.

So how do you win? Simply submit your Hamlet-inspired food and drink ideas NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, SEP 13 one of these three ways:

• On Twitter with the hash tag #WWHE
• On our Facebook wall
• Via email at marketing@calshakes.org with the subject header “What would Hamlet eat?”

We will award one pair of tickets to our favorite drink suggestion, one to our favorite food suggestion—and both may end up on the café menu during the run of Hamlet, directed by Liesl Tommy, September 19 through October 14.

Winners notified and announced Monday, September 17. You must be age 21 or older to attend FallFest.

On June 21, National Dump the Pump Day, travelers are encouraged to park their cars and favor public transportation. Cal Shakes and BART are joining the festivities by collaborating on a special contest: Travel to Cal Shakes by BART for our June 21 performance of The Tempest, and you’ll get a sticker saying you “Dumped the Pump” when you board our free BART-to-Bruns shuttle at Orinda station. At the Bruns, roving spies will be looking for sticker-sporting patrons, on whom they’ll bestow $10 BART tickets. Take BART to Cal Shakes on June 21: Save gas, help the environment, and maybe win a free future ride!

Please email marketingintern@calshakes.org by 6/18 if you plan to take BART to Cal Shakes on 6/21, so that we can plan accordingly to accommodate riders on our free shuttle. Thanks!

What do cocktails and The Tempest have in common? You decide! Enter our Cal Shakers Tempest cocktail contest!

Invent a vodka-based drink, name it, and tell us about it no later than Monday, June 4 one of these ways:

• Email marketing@calshakes.org with the subject header “Tempest cocktail contest.”
• Post your recipe on Twitter with the hashtag #tempestcocktail.
• Share on our Facebook wall by June 4.

The creator of the winning cocktail will be rewarded their choice of a Tempest T-shirt or free entry to our June 8 pre-performance Cal Shakers party at the Bruns.

Cal Shakers, start your jiggers and join us where the winning cocktail will be served.  Tickets available now for the pre-show party on Friday, June 8 at 6:30pm.  We’ll be serving up warm and gooey gourmet grilled-cheese sandwiches, sumptuous soup shots, luscious desserts, and our Tempestuous drink winner, compliments of Stockholm Krystal Vodka.  Meet our tarot readers and see what the summer has in store for you (besides attending lots of Cal Shakes shows). Tickets for this exclusive event are only $40 per person for Cal Shakers members and $60 for nonmembers.  Price includes one ticket to that evening’s performance. Buy tickets here. Want to become a member of Cal Shakers? Visit our membership page.