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San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area summer 2025: Beat the heat with cool events and activities
Though the temps in the city and areas prone to routine seasonal fog are keeping their cool, this summer around the Bay Area is shaping up to be a scorcher. Find relief with foggy local beaches. Hike a favorite trail to a grassy knoll for a picnic lunch, visit a museum or see a movie. Dive into local pools and water parks like Hurricane Harbor in Concord, the Dublin Wave or South Bay Shores at California's Great America. And don't miss the opportunity to go out after sunset, with cool night markets, movies in the park and more offering a welcome respite from the daytime heat. Check out the Chronicle's guide to beating the heat with cool indoor and outdoor events and activities: Enjoy the ocean's cool influence at the weekly after-hours event at the zoo with live music, family-friendly activities, outdoor bars for adults over 21, animal interactions and more. Daytime zoo visitors may stay and attend at no additional charge. 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 18. Through Aug. 29. $14, under 12 free. Playfield Lawn, Sloat Blvd. at the Great Hwy., S.F. Zoo, S.F. 415-753-7080. Summer of Music SF Sponsored by Civic Joy Fund and produced in partnership with Noise Pop, this free series offers a full lineup of live, local bands performing alongside the food, artisan vendors, family-friendly fun and chill energy of San Francisco's monthly Castro, Chinatown, Glen Park, Noe Valley, North Beach, Richmond, Valencia and SOMA neighborhood night market events. 4-8 and 5-10 p.m. on select Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Free. See website for schedule. Various locations throughout San Francisco. San Anselmo Live on the Avenue The small North Bay town goes big every weekend with a downtown event featuring two stages of live music, closed streets, children's activities, late shopping and dining. Scheduled performances include Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Brian Melvin, the Wreckless Strangers, Shana Morrison, Scott Amendola Trio, Sgt. Splendor with Eric McFadden, Sun Ra cellist Kash Killion, Jinx Jones, Pride and Joy, El Radio Fantastique, Super Diamond and others. National Carousel Day: 'A Spin Around the World' Head over to the Creativity Museum (adjacent to Yerba Buena Gardens) to enjoy free rides on the 1906 Le Roy Carousel, carousel-themed workshops from the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Mexican Museum and American Bookbinders Museum, live music from René y Familia, shaved ice, games and more. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, July 19. Free. Le Roy Carousel, Creativity Museum, 221 Fourth St., S.F. 415-820-3320. Blankets & Blockbusters at Thrive City Explore an interactive kids zone or a couples arts and crafts station. Spread out a blanket and get some snacks to enjoy during outdoor screenings of 'Wicked' in July and '10 Things I Hate About You' in August. Enjoy classic boardwalk amusements, then rock out to live music and entertainment as local bands, DJs, magicians and acrobats perform on Saturday-Thursday evenings on the beachfront stage throughout summer. Settle in with fresh saltwater taffy, corn dogs and other boardwalk snacks for family-friendly movies every Friday night on a shoreside big screen in front of the colonnade. Bring a beach blanket or low-back chair for seating. Magicians and Acrobats 8:30-9:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; Live music 8:30 p.m. Thursday; Movies 9 p.m. Friday; DJ dance parties 8:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Through Aug. 7. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz. 831-423-5590. 626 Night Market The sprawling food festival is set to include more than 200 diverse food and merchandise vendors, games, live music and entertainment for all ages. 3-11 p.m. Friday, July 25; 1-11 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 26-27. $5-$25. Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton. Summer Stride at the San Francisco Botanical Garden Celebrate summer with San Francisco Public Library at an afternoon event featuring live drumming and dance workshops with Duniya Drum and Dance Company, storytelling from children's authors Monica Wesolowska and author-illustrator Kenard Pak, hands-on screen-printing with Haight Street Art Center, collaborative art activities, nature play, STEM activities, button-making and an all-ages book giveaway. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, July 26. Free. Terrace Lawn, San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Dr., S.F. 415-661-1316. Oakland Ice Center Indoor skating is available year-round at this rink, owned and operated by the parent company of the San Jose Sharks. $11-$23; see website for daily public skate schedule. 519 18th St., Oakland. 510-268-9000. Summer at Snoopy's Home Ice The cool and spacious ice rink, located in Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's hometown, offers year-round ice skating with campy Swiss chalet vibes. A robust summer schedule includes drop-in classes, camps, public skates, a toddlers-on-ice program, team and pickup hockey games, night skate events and more. The onsite Warm Puppy Cafe offers refreshments. See website for schedule. Free-$20. Snoopy's Home Ice, 1667 W. Steele Lane, Santa Rosa. 707-546-7147. Yerba Buena Skate The downtown skating rink on the Yerba Buena Gardens campus offers daily public skate hours year-round. World Dog Surfing Championships Hang ten with man's best friend. Scheduled activities include a dog surfing competition, informational tents, activities and more. Participants will receive a goodie bag with treats for pups. 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2. Free admission. Linda Mar Beach, 5000 Pacific Coast Hwy., Pacifica. Cat Video Fest 2025 All hail our fuzzy overlords. Cool cats are featured on the big screen in the air-conditioned North Bay theater as part of a curated compilation of short films. A portion of proceeds from the Smith Rafael Film Center screenings will benefit Jake's Place Cat Rescue. 4:15 p.m. Aug. 2; 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 3-4. $14.50. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. 415-454-5813. San Jose Jazz Summer Fest Keep cool at a three-day festival featuring high-caliber jazz performances on multiple indoor and outdoor stages. Proceeds will benefit the music nonprofit's educational programming and year-round concerts and festivals. This year's stellar lineup includes Ghost-Note, Dave Binney Action Trio, Louis Cole, Common, Malo, Carl Allen, Butcher Brown, Mary Stallings, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, John Pizzarelli, Tyreek McDole, Marina Crouse, Lalah Hathaway, Femi Kuti, Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca, Ray Obiedo, Lilan Kane, Mavis Staples, Stella Cole and many others. 4-9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8; 10 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10. $30-$680. Plaza de César Chavez Park, 194 S Market St., San Jose. Blue Muse and the Celestial Voice Sound Bath Experience Release anxiety and chill out while soaking up sympathetic vibrations from crystal singing bowls, gongs, chimes and more, amidst the florid tranquility of the Conservatory of Flowers' Orchid Pavilion. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24. $48. Orchid Pavilion, Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Dr., S.F. 415-661-1316.
Axios
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival announces 2025 line-up
The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with over 100 free performances from May through October in downtown San Francisco. State of play: Programming includes outdoor music, theater, circus, dance, poetry and children's programs that aim to spotlight the Bay Area's rich heritage and creativity. Driving the news: The opening concert will take place May 10 with Grammy-winning La Santa Cecilia headlining and San Francisco's very own La Doña as the opener. Other events include a Storytellers' Showcase with youth-serving nonprofit 826 Valencia, the Native Contemporary Arts Festival, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Vân-Ánh Võ's Blood Moon Orchestra, Parangal Dance Company and more. New this year will be a first Thursday dance night series in the Yerba Buena East Garden. Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers will perform at the first one on July 3. All programs take place outdoors in Yerba Buena's main and children's gardens. The intrigue: The YBGF is also launching a new poet-in-residence program with Nia Pearl as the inaugural participant. Pearl, a poet, writer and environmental justice advocate, will be involved in the Poetic Tuesdays series and help curate interactive writing workshops. The residency will also create site-specific poetry in response to musical performances and the gardens environment throughout the festival. What they're saying:"We are proud of the role Yerba Buena Gardens Festival has played in ... helping make downtown San Francisco a culturally vibrant place for everyone," the festival's executive and artistic director Linda Lucero said in a news release.
