SF’s Free New Year’s Day Street Party

San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco plans to host its first free New Year’s Day street party on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, with organizers expecting more than 20,000 people along Second Street between Market and Howard from 5 to 10 p.m., rain or shine.

New Year’s Day in San Francisco is usually a quieter kind of celebration: a morning plunge into the Pacific, a slow walk through Golden Gate Park, the last glow of holiday lights in Union Square.

But this year, downtown organizers are betting on something bigger — and louder.

San Francisco plans to host its first free New Year’s Day street party on Thursday, Jan. 1, with organizers making accommodations for a crowd of more than 20,000 people along Second Street between Market and Howard from 5 to 10 p.m., rain or shine.

The event is a special New Year’s Day Edition of Downtown First Thursdays, the monthly block party that began in 2024 as an effort to pull people — and spending — back into the city’s commercial core.

The party is being produced by Into the Streets and the Civic Joy Fund, with support from the San Francisco Downtown Development Corp. and major funders including Chris Larsen, Bob and Randi Fisher, and Salesforce.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.