Come on out April 16-22, 2016 to co-create the best possible version of the panhandle community for one extraordinary week during the NOW Spring Festival taking over the neighborhoods around San Francisco’s iconic Panhandle (plus a few all over the city).

Experience some of their 50+ events featuring silent discos, music, games, yoga, discussions, and more. Most of the events are free, however some events ask for donations or have a low cover.

Now Festival
April 16-22, 2016
Panhandle and surrounding neighborhoods
Most events are FREE or request a nominal donation

> View Full Spring 2016 Schedule

2016 Now Festival Featured Events

4/16, 1 pm – USF Marching Band Parade
Panhandle
FREE
Members of USF’s marching band will strike up the band for the NOW Festival! They will parade down from USF’s campus, into and through the panhandle, and up onto Haight St.

4/16, 1 pm – Uncovering: an Open Floor Class
The Center
FREE
“During this Open Floor workshop series we will move to music, inquire within, use reflection, and simple awareness meditation practices to uncover our authentic expression. Open Floor is a healing practice of movement, dance and the arts. We learn to track thoughts, stories and patterns that hold us back and turn them into creative fuel. Using universal movement principles, such as breath, grounding and centering, our aim is to become more embodied or at home, for this beautiful ride of life, present for anything and everything – loving, losing, learning, creating, colliding, connecting.”

4/16, 2 pm – Sketchboard Figure Drawing
The Red Vic
Entry is a $10-25 sliding scale donation, no one turned away for lack of funds. Reserve your spot online.
Come play, doodle, sketch, paint, and draw. Sketchboard is a figure drawing class created to bring people together around art, expression & creativity. The class is hosted in a beautiful victorian-style living room/events space, with 2 models, and accompanied by live musicians. New to figure drawing or want to sharpen up your skills? The first 15 minutes will be an opt-in lesson on the basics of drawing from life. Some art supplies provided for drop-ins and those in need, please plan on bringing your own if you’re able.

4/17, 11 am – Funcercise
Panhandle
FREE
Remember when you were a kid and you can run around all day in the playground? Remember how much fun you had? Think of how many calories this kind of play will help you sweat off. Let’s play tag, hopscotch, foursquare, jumprope, hula hoop and just generally run around like children. It’ll be amazingly fun and it’ll be great for your health.

4/17, 2 pm – Silent Disco
Panhandle
FREE
No Sunday during the NOW festival is complete without Silent Disco in the Panhandle. Groovewell is set to keep the panhandle bumpin’, but only in your headset. Come get your dance on.

4/18, 7 pm – Empathy Practice Group
The Center,
FREE
How would your relationship with your spouse, children, family, loved ones or friends change if you could vastly strengthen your ability to connect compassionately with yourself and others, as well as resolve differences peacefully? This group is a facilitated and request driven. bring what is alive for you to change in your life and we will bring those changes to life using the practices of Somatic Empathy grounded in the shared values of Kindness, Authenticity, and Connection.

4/19, 5:30 pm – Pop-up Yoga
Panhandle
FREE
Enjoy yoga in the Panhandle with Erin Mariani who leads a Vinyasa Flow class for Middle Circle twice monthly.

4/19, 6 pm – Clothing Swap
McKinley Statue
FREE
Have some clothes you don’t need anymore? Want to snag some free new digs? Meet at the McKinley Statue for a neighborhood clothing swap.

4/19, 7 pm – Utopian Urbanism Lecture
The Red Vic
FREE
Tuesdays at Red Vic mean cool lectures by interesting people. This week historian of utopian urbanism Simon Sadler–author of such books as ‘The Situationist City’ and ‘Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture’–will be speaking about new horizons for living in and changing the city and the way that we live in it, drawing from past moments in which people came together to produce visions of how urban life might be different.

4/20, 5 pm – 4/20 Clean Up
Hippie Hill, GG Park
FREE
We all know how easy it is to forget your trash when you’ve had a few hits. this is especially true of hippy hill on 4/20 after 4:20. Let’s do our part to keep the park gorgeous.

4/20, 7 pm – Wisdom Hackers Salon: Fishbowl Edition
Hotel Zorba, 1554 Fulton St.
FREE
In an effort to bring more raw and unformed narratives to the world – so that we might better witness not just the output of thought, but it’s beta process – we invite you to a Wisdom Hackers Salon for peers to share and discuss burning questions. the format this time will be a fishbowl style group conversation to facilitate a more cohesive and yet intimate dialogue.

4/21, 7 am – Bike Religion
McKinley Statue
FREE
Journey on two wheels to where the sand meets the sea and sky. We touch the water and renew our connection to the shores of life and love. This weekly ride to Ocean Beach begins at the McKinley Statue at 7 am.

4/21, 4 pm – Dance with the Heart Man on the 101 Overpass?
101 overpass at 18th street
FREE
If you’ve ever commuted on 101 around rush hour, you probably saw a man hanging out on the overpass with a heart on his hand. His name is La Vonne and he’s always there to cheer people up and share love with the world! Let’s go dance with him on the overpass on Thursday and have lots of fun.

4/21, 6 pm – Pop-Up Yoga Among Stained Glass
St. Cyprian’s
Suggested donation is $10. However, no one is ever turned away due to a lack of funds.
Engage in an ancient practice in a sacred space–a church sanctuary. People of all faiths, perspectives, age, and yoga experience are invited to join teacher Erin Mariani for vinyasa flow yoga. Afterwards stick around to connect with new friends and neighbors. This is a donation-based yoga class. Please bring your own mat if you have one.

4/21, 7:30 pm – Space Night & Paper Airplane Contest
St. Cyprian’s
FREE
Play space games (including Space Team), DIY Rockets, Aliens and Spacecraft crafting, Spacey Mocktails, DIY Dippin’ Dots, Tang Tang and more Tang, paper airplane contest, and so much more. Come celebrate the amazingness that is space. Take part in the Paper Airplane Contest. Test your folding, aerodynamics and flying skills with our paper airplane contest, held during space night. Or try DIY Dippin’ Dots. Learn how easy it is to make fun and yummy Dippin Dots at Space Night. Test your creativity and see if you can make the best and most amazing aliens, robots and spacecraft out of all kind of random materials.

4/21, 11:45 am to 4 pm – USF Community Garden Workday
USF Community Garden
FREE
Come get your hands dirty at the USF Community Garden workdays, every Thursday. Everyone is welcome.

4/22, 4 pm – Disco In-Bern-O
Panhandle
FREE
Does Bernie makes you dance with joy? His supporters will have a Bernin’ playlist pumping throughout silent disco equipment while they hand out Bernie swag and talk about his stances.

4/22, 5 pm – Free Condoms and Endangered Species
Basketball Court in the Panhandle
FREE
The NOW Festival cares about Endangered Species and Safe Sex and this Earth day they are going to get their sexual health and their Endangered species awareness on by handing on as many Endangered Species emblazoned condoms as they can. They will start at the Basketball court and spread the word from there.