The Mercury News

Jeff and his peeved puppets

- — Randy McMullen, Staff

Jeff Dunham continues to make a killing by taking an classic comedic staple — ventriloqu­ism — and giving it a contempora­ry (read: nasty) attitude. His wooden alteregos are a foul-tempered, combative, unpresenta­ble and deranged lot who are quick with a hilarious insult or inappropri­ate remark. Let’s face it, when you tote around a dead Middle Eastern terrorist, you are not going to score points for sensitivit­y.

Dunham, whose latest comedy special, “Relative Disaster,” was released on Netflix last fall, is said to be one of most in-demand live acts in comedic history and his YouTube account has more than 1 million followers. In other words, it’d be a good idea if you didn’t wait around to score tickets for Dunham’s Passively Aggressive tour, which lands at SAP Center on Wednesday.

Details: 7:30 p.m.; $50.50; www.ticketmast­er.com.

Family fun: History and Quidditch on tap

Families looking for free fun have two events to consider this weekend:

History: If you’re a local history buff — and by history, we mean everything from the early Ohlone settlement­s to the Gold Rush to the heyday of the Doggie Diners — head to the Old U.S. Mint on Saturday and Sunday for SanFrancis­coHistoryD­ays.

The free family event in San Francisco will feature living history re-enactors, genealogis­ts, authors, and talks and exhibits on the great 1906 earthquake and fire, cable car history, Playland at the Beach and more. About 80 groups will be on hand representi­ng ethnic communitie­s that settled in the city, architectu­ral societies, even 1960s rock poster aficionado­s. Details: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; full schedule and more informatio­n: www.sfhistoryd­ays.org.

Quidditch: Dublin will play host to the U.S. Quidditch 2018 West Regional Championsh­ip this weekend, and the public is invited to watch matches for free — and even try their hand at the sport.

The full-contact, mixed-gender sport, inspired by the “Harry Potter” series, is now played by more than 300 colleges, high schools and community teams nationwide using bristleles­s PVC “brooms.” Details: Games start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday at Fallon Sports Park. Youth Quidditch, a non-contact version, will be played both days; those interested must have a signed parental waiver (available on site). Details: www.usquidditc­h.org.

 ?? JEFF DUNHAM ??
JEFF DUNHAM
 ?? PAULINA M. PASCUAL — U.S. QUIDDITCH ??
PAULINA M. PASCUAL — U.S. QUIDDITCH

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