Our City by the Bay hosts a range of street fairs, music festivals, cultural and sporting events all summer long. Check out our guide to the best of San Francisco’s summer activities, that will keep you and your family’s weekends packed with fun all summer long!
Off The Grid
Date: Every Friday Night 5pm-10pm March 24 - June 23
Location: Fort Mason Center (2 Marina Blvd, SF)
California’s largest nighttime street food festival is back in San Francisco every Friday beginning March 24! Off the Grid: Fort Mason Center returns for its 13th season celebrating the variety, diversity and passion of the Bay Area food truck scene and beyond. With over 50 food creators throughout the season, you can find your favorite treats while also discovering new and delicious dishes. Along with a diverse selection of food options, each Friday will also feature the Kivelstadt Cellars WineGarten, full cocktail bar, live music, and more!
Giant's Games
Date: Check the Schedule
Location: Oracle Park
Enjoy a ball game, hot dog, and a beer (or two) with your local giants fans at Oracle Park! The San Francisco Giants play over a dozen times in May, June, July, and August. Traffic can be backed up, arrive early or take public transit to avoid pre and post game traffic.
Bay to Breakers
Date: May 21st
Location: Runs west through the city and finishes at the Great Highway
This historic 12k fun run party through the streets of San Francisco is over 100 years in the making. It’s a race made for everyone, so dress up, bring your friends and be cheered on every step of the way by SF’s finest crowds. Pushing boundaries and breaking records since 1912 – it’s your turn to join the party. You can run, walk, and drink!
Carnaval Festival & Parade
Date: 2-Day Festival May 27th - 28th, Grand Parade May 28th
Location: Starts on 24th and Bryant and ends at 15th and Mission
Description: Carnaval is the start of Summer as far as I’m concerned and is one of the largest San Francisco Summer festival. This 2-day event features 8 blocks of fun to celebrate the Latin and Caribbean cultures. There are numerous bands, and DJs, during the festival to get you dancing in the streets. There are many food and drink choices if you want to eat and drink too.
In addition, on Sunday there is a massive parade. It includes many people in authentic native dress, dancers, floats and low rider cars, bring a very lively, and socially conscious start to the season.
The parade is always packed with people so make sure to plan. It starts at 9:30 am and lasts until 2 pm.
Festa Coloniale Italiana
Date: June 3rd - 4th (11am-6pm)
Location: Stockton St between Union and Filbert
The Festa Coloniale Italiana hosted by the SFIAC Foundation is such a fun day to experience all things Italian. San Francisco’s only authentic Italian street festival features live music, a pizza toss, tarantella dancing, face painting, crafts, Italian cuisine and wine tasting, and various local vendors. Don't miss the 102nd Statuto Race!
Union Street Festival
Date: June 3rd-4th (11am-7pm)
Location: Cow Hollow: Union Street from Fillmore St. to Octavia St
This two-day festival is known as one the best San Francisco Summer festivals. It occurs over 2 days in June and Union Street is packed with food and drink, arts and craft vendors, and a few stages for the musicians to rock out on and for you to get out on and dance.
The event will feature non-stop live music all weekend, craft food and drinks, high-end local artists selling a wide range of products, and featured attractions like a collaborative paint temple.
This festival is free to enter, and you can understand why so many people love this festival and make sure to enjoy it every year they visit San Francisco.
Juneteenth
Date: June 17th (11am-6pm)
Location: Fillmore Street between Post and Turk
Celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth is celebrating the abolition of slavery and pride in African American culture and how it has influenced the US. Enjoy games, rides, a classic car show, hair and fashion show, and live performances.
This 8-block event has many live bands playing music as diverse as rock, soul, Latin, and reggae throughout the day. There is more food than you could imagine, and it is all mouthwatering. It might be spicy, so make sure to buy a beverage to help if your taste buds get hot.
This is an all age events so, on top of car shows, job fair, and the music, there are activities for kids like carnival rides and pony rides! The is one of the free San Francisco Summer festivals and it runs from 11 am to 6 pm.
North Beach Festival
Date: June 17th-18th 10am-6pm
Location: Columbus and Grant Ave, and numerous adjacent streets in North Beach
The North Beach Festival has been going strong for over 60 years and is still free to enjoy. The event lasts from 10 am to 6 pm and includes more than 20 food vendors, several stages of live music and loads of arts and crafts vendors. This festival also has Italian chalk artists and a kid’s area in case you bring the family.
A special event at the festival is the Blessing of the Animals. Occurring both days, you are welcome to bring your pet along with you. Each year a different animal advocacy group is selected to help support their cause, and if you want to participate with your furry friend, make sure to bring them along and let them enjoy the festival as well.
Stern Grove Concerts in the Park
Dates: June 18th - August 20th
Location: Stern Grove in Golden Gate Park
Although the Stern Grove isn’t technically a festival, I list it here because it is close enough to one, and the attitude of everyone attending has a festival feel to it. The Stern Grove Concert Series has now been running for over 80 years and there is no end in sight.
Stern Grove has many musicians that play during the summer. They start at 2 pm on Sundays but the grove fills up well before that with people picnicking and getting ready for the music. Make sure to get there in advance and grab a place to sit.
This free event runs every Sunday from late June to late August. The shows usually last about 2 to 3 hours. They are always well attended, and the people are usually dancing and having a great time in the summer sun.
Pride Parade & Festival
Date: June 24th-25th (12-4pm)
Location: Parade goes down Market Street from Embarcadero to the Celebration at Civic Center
This free event celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexed people in their community and gives them the freedom to be out and proud. Before the party starts, a famous event happens as a huge pink triangle is installed on a mountain near the area. Then a special ceremony to pay respects to LGTBQI people who lost their lives in the concentration camps.
After these two events, the festival (or should I say party) starts. It runs from noon and goes until 6 pm on Saturday and 11 am to 6 pm on Sunday.
The parade is always on Sunday morning. It starts at 10:30 at Beale and Market Street and ends at 8th and Market Street in Downtown San Francisco. This is a can’t miss part of the festival since so many people come out and are dressed in wonderful outfits and having fun. Make sure to get there early as it can get very busy.
As for the actual festival, it is a party like you’ll never forget. There are over 20 stages, 300 vendors and dancers and other entertainers. It’s another one of the San Francisco Summer festivals where you will find loads of food and drink available all weekend long.
Fillmore Jazz Festival
Date: July 1st-2nd (10am-6pm)
Location: Pacific Heights neighborhood
If you are looking for more jazz than you could imagine, at a free event, then the Fillmore Jazz Festival is going to be your dream festival. The 2-day festival has four different stages, with two main ones, and there is music from 10 am to 6 pm both days.
Not only is there incredible jazz music all day long, but there are many arts & crafts vendors selling their products, people selling gourmet food, and even a beer garden. Make sure to bring you ID as you can’t enter the beer garden if you don’t have one. This means if your friends go in, and you forget yours, you can’t go in with them.
If you are looking to check out the neighborhood and relax, there are many bars and restaurants lining the event that have excellent food and drinks options as well.
Fourth of July Fireworks & Waterfront Festival
Date: July 4th (Fireworks @ 9:30pm)
Location: SF’s Fisherman’s Wharf waterfront and other locations around SF
The Fourth of July Waterfront Festival is a full day of activities and live entertainment in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf District. It includes fun events at Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, and the Municipal Pier.
Many of the events are free and family friendly. All of these activities will keep you busy as you wait for the grand finale of the day–the fireworks show.
Every year, the fireworks draw in thousands. There are two sets fired off at the same time. Both of them are over the waterfront in Fisherman’s Wharf at dark.
In addition to this festival, you will also find plenty of other fun things to do every Fourth of July in San Francisco.
San Francisco Beer Week
Date: July 21-30
Location: Various Locations
This year's celebration of the Bay Area's craft beer scene — its special releases, producers and purveyors — was a blast, feeling nearly like old times.
San Francisco Marathon
Date: July 23rd
Location: Starts at Embarcadero at Mission
Run a full marathon through the incredible scenes of San Francisco. With breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge, routes through iconic parks and neighborhood, and the famous Fishermans Wharf. Run through Marina Green, Crissy Field, Sausalito, Presidio, Haight St, and the Mission District with a close-up view of the major league sports stadiums including the homes of the Golden State warrirors and the San Francisco Giants.
Outside Lands Music Festival
Date: August 11th-12th
Location: Golden Gate Park
Simply stated, Outside Land’s is the best music festival in San Francisco. It is situated in the gorgeous Golden Gate Park. Unlike most of these San Francisco Summer festivals, this three-day festival is jam packed with truly world-famous headliners, while also showcasing up and coming and local bands at the same time.
This year Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monae, Zedd, Foo Fighters, Lana Del Rey, Odesza, and Megan the Stallion are performing, just to name a few. The festival makes sure to have different styles of music so every person that attends can hear the music, and see the bands, that they want to experience.
This three-day festival is so popular that tickets sell out quickly so make sure to buy them as soon as possible. Doors open at 11 am each day and music starts at noon and continues until 10 pm. Parking is incredibly limited so using mass transit or Lyft and Uber is your best bet.
Haight-Ashbury Street Fair
Date: September 17th (11am-5:30pm)
Location: Haight Street between Masonic & Stanyan
HASF has earned local, national & international recognition as one of the most highly anticipated event during the San Francisco Summer Events Season. This event provides everyone with an opportunity to stroll & dance on a sunny afternoon down Haight Street. The two stages hosts a variety of musical presentations.
Aloha Poly Fest
Date: TBD
Location: TBD
Bring your good vibe and safely join us for a special family-friendly 11th Annual Pacific Islands multi-cultural summertime event in San Francisco, California, with FREE Entry & Parking.
Celebrate and learn about Polynesian (Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Cook Islands and New Zealand), Melanesian (Fiji), and Micronesian (Guam) islands in the South Pacific through cultural dances, songs, crafts, games, merchandise vendors, food, exhibitions, workshops, and more.
So come have fun, reunite with others, make new friends, and leave with feeling like part of one big happy family!
Other Events & Recurring Activities
Free Museum Day @ Asian Art Museum
When: First Sundays of the Month
Free Weekends @ California Academy of Sciences
When: Varies by Neighborhood
Free Admission @ Conservatory of Flowers
When: Everyday!
Free Museum Day @ Contemporary Jewish Museum
When: First Fridays of the Month
Free Museum Day @ the de Young Museum
When: Every Saturday
Free Hour @ Japanese Tea Garden
When: MWF 9am-10am (Free for SF Residents Everyday)
Free Days @ San Francisco Botanical Gardens
When: Second Tuesday of the Month, Daily 7:30am-9am (Free for SF Residents Everyday)
Free Days @ San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
When: First Thursdays of the Month
Fort Mason Centers' Events
When: Multiple Events Every Week
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market
When: Saturday (8am-2pm), Tuesday and Thursday (10am-2pm)
Where: Ferry Building, Embarcadero and Market Streets, San Francisco
Fillmore's Farmers' Market
When: Saturday (9am-1pm)
Where: 1700 O'Farrell St
Heart of the City Farmers' Market
When: Wednesday (7am-5:30pm) and Sunday (7am-5pm)
Where: 1 United Nations Plaza
Divisadero Farmers' Market
When: Sunday (9am-1pm)
Where: San Francisco DMV
Fort Mason Center Farmers' Market
When: Sunday (9:30am-1:30pm)
Where: Marina Blvd
Alemany Farmers' Market
When: Saturday (6am-2:30pm)
Where: 100 Alemany Blvd
Noe Valley Farmers' Market
When: Saturday (8am-1pm)
Where: Noe Valley Town Square
Inner Sunset Farmers' Market
When: Sunday (9am-1pm)
Where: 1315 8th Ave
North Beach Farmers' Market
When: Saturday (9am-1pm)
Where: 725 Greenwich St
Mission Community Market
When: Thursday (3pm-7pm)
Where: 84 Bartlett St
