Your Epic Bay Area Summer Events Guide

$1 Summer Movies

• Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse – through August 9th – 14 different Century & Cinemark theaters incl. SF in West Portal, Santana Row, Tanforan – Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 10 am – They’re showing $1 movies, perfect for the whole family.
• Regal Summer Movie Express – $1 movies at 10 am on Tuesday & Wednesdays, but just in Dublin and Fairfield featuring the films Lego Batman Film, Spongebob Movie, Sing, Secret Life of Pets, and more.

Shakespeare & Theater in the Park

• Midsummer Nights’ Dream – Inferno Theater at 4 pm every Sat & Sun through August 13th in Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park Amphitheater
• 34th Shakespeare in the Park – Hamlet – Touring in Cupertino Memorial Park through Aug 6th on Fri, Sat & Sun nights; then Redwood City in late August; The Presidio afternoons in early September and McLaren Park in late September.
• Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park – Titus Andronicus – Just 5 performances – at parks in Vallejo from July 29-30; Martinez Aug 6; and Peralta Hacienda Park in Oakland from August 12-13.
• Shakespeare or Space Wars -Peripatetic Players have a folding mobile stage and couldn’t decide between Romeo and Juliet and Star Wars so this made a ridiculous mash-up parody on tour of Bay Area Parks through August 13th including stops at Franklin Park in Alameda, Precita Park in SF, then San Mateo, Oakland, and Berkeley.
• SF Mime Troupe – Totally different and original; this troupe features live musical comedy and political satire; they’ve been doing it since 1959. This year’s production “Walls” tackles immigration with stops in Yerba Buena Gardens in SF, San Jose, Jack London Square, Petaluma and multiple parks in SF.

Outdoor Summer Concerts & Festivals

• SFJAZZ at Sutro Baths – Sat 7/29 at 1 pm – Unique outdoor music experience by composer John Luther Adams – Inuksuit features anywhere from 9-99 percussionists in a large open-air space situated in Lands End around Sutro Baths. It’s an innovative soundscape experience where the audience can move around and create their own experience and it’s part of 5 day music festival.
• Stern Grove – Every Sunday through August 27 – On July 30, SF Ballet performs their only Bay Area summer appearance; soul singer Mavis Staples closes out the Stern Grove Festival on 8/27 – Volunteer or enter picnic table lottery
• Pier 39 turns 39 – Every Friday, there’s a different event or promotion including free clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl on September 1st, Roller Disco Party on September 8th – capped off with a Fireworks show on Saturday, October 14th
• Presidio Twilight – Every Thursday night – Campfires & food trucks through October
• Presidio Picnic through October 29th
• Golden Gate Park Band – Free Sunday symphony concerts at 1 pm through October 8th with different themes each week like Irish, Hungarian or a Ukranian celebration or tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan – They’ve been doing these free concerts for 135 years.
• People in Plazas Free Music Festival – through October 7th – 120+ free lunchtime concerts at 15 different venues in SF mostly along or near Market Street
• Yerba Buena Gardens Festival – Tons of free concerts & performances at the park through the end of September with lunchtime concerts midweek and weekend festivals like Brazil in the Gardens.

The Biggest Weekend of the Year

• Fleet Week – Oct 2-9 – The Blue Angels typically start buzzing the city and practicing on Thursday with full practices and full shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass – Oct 6-8 – They’ll start hinting at lineups on their Facebook page about a month out.

Cultural Festivals

Dog Events & Festivals

• World Championships for Dog Surfing  – Sat 8/5 at Linda Mar State Beach in Pacifica – This is the cutest surfing competition you’ll ever see. Plus, there will be Frisbee catching contests, ball-fetch-in-water, doggie fashion shows and more. Surf contests include “double dog” surfing and tandem human/dog surfing.
• 22nd Annual National Weiner Dog Races – Sunday 8/6 at Santa Clara County Fairgrounds – See the fastest wieners in the West – Dachshunds will dash. Hosted by Wienerschnitzel. Free w/ $5 parking – which “Wiener” will go on to nationals?
• Corgi Con – Fall 2017 –  Sat 10/21 at Ocean Beach near the Cliff House – This is an insanely popular gathering that features a massive group photo and “corgi ninja warrior” agility courses for dogs with stumpy legs.
• Bark in the Park San Jose – Sat 9/16 – San Jose at William Street Park (just north of Kelly Park past the 280) – This is the largest dog festival in the US with 15,000 humans, 3,500 dogs  & god knows how much poop in a tree lined park with contests & vendors – Free with $5 donation per dog encouraged.

Summer of Love: 50 Years Later

• Summer of Love at Library – Most of the big “Summer of Love” events are over, but the SF Library has tons of free events and art exhibits like a 1967 Fashion Show at the Park branch library in the Haight on August 5th, talks about bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, and discussions on gender revolution
• Art & history shows – Summer of Love and Haight (thru Oct 29 at Jewett Gallery in Main Library with rock posters, grass roots newspapers and flyers, and period photographs, with a separate history exhibit at “The Seen” at Park Branch in the Haight starting August 5th that focuses on the Haight/Ashbury of 1967 and what you would have seen on Haight Street with posters, fashion, and photographs of what the street looked like.
• Jerry Day Concert – Sunday, August 6 – McLaren Park Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre – Jerry grew up in the Excelsior; this is the 15th annual tribute concert to all things Garcia and the Dead.

 Adult Entertainment