July 2012 Fairs & Festivals

Summer may not be warm in San Francisco, but it certainly heats up all of the events, fairs and festivals.

July 2012 brings us a BDSM street fair, boozy bicycle showcase, a brand new Oakland literary festival called, “Beast Crawl,” as well as a series of summer festivals and performances by everyone from the satirical to the jazz-experimental.

Photo credit: prawnpie

Here’s Funcheap’s picks for our Top 10 Fairs & Festivals for July 2012.
Anything we missed? let us know! 

SF Mime Troupe
Join the not-so-silent, Tony Award-winning SF Mime Troupe for a series of free shows in Dolores Park, which are bound to be sharp and full of satire, and an excellent way to sass up your sunny weekend. This year’s show theme is “For the Greater Good, or the Last Election,” which takes on the perspective of the fat cats who bankrupted this country.

Dolores Park (19th St. & Dolores St., SF) | Wed, July 4 , Sat, July 7 & Sun, July 8, 2012| 2p | FREE*
*Donations encouraged 

Beast Crawl
Uptown Oakland’s inaugural literary crawl, Beast Crawl will feature over 125 poets, writers and performance artists spread out over 3 hours and 25 galleries, bars, restaurants and storefronts. Featuring performances by readers from Lyrics & Dirges and Literary Death Match alike, this unique spin on a pub crawl will get you waxing poetic instead of totally wasted.

Uptown, Oakland | Sat, July 7, 2012 | 5-9p | FREE

Fillmore Jazz Festival
Jazz up your weekend with a visit to the two-day Fillmore Street Jazz Festival, which is known as the largest free jazz festival on the West Coast. In addition to the music, you will also be able to enjoy everything from painted pottery to Filipino food at the several blocks of arts & crafts, food and community organization booths.

Fillmore Street (between Jackson St. & Eddy St., SF) | Sat, July 7 & Sun, July 8, 2012 | 10a-6p | FREE

Phono Del Sol
Come out for an entire day of sun and sixties-inspired psych rock at the Bay Bridged’s second annual Phono Del Sol Festival. In addition to co-headliners Unknown Mortal Orchestra and The Fresh & Onlys, as well as upcoming artists like Dominant Legs and Mwahaha, this year the festival will also be bringing in more local food trucks, beer & wine vendors and even a carnival.

Potrero del Sol Park (25th St. & San Bruno Ave., SF) | Sat, July 21, 2012 | 12-6p | $7*
*$7-10 sliding scale 

Renegade Craft Fair
Crafters, creatives and consumers alike will want to check out the 5th Annual Renegade Craft Fair at the Fort Mason Center. Filled with local artisans peddling everything from t-shirts to theremins, you’ll also be able to participate in hands-on workshops, listen to music and much, much more.

Fort Mason Center (Laguna St. & Marina St., SF) | Sat, July 21 & Sun, July 22 | 11a-7p | FREE

1st Annual Vintage Bike Hop
See some of the spiffiest bikes in the Bay, all while indulging in an outdoor bar and listening to music from the likes of The B-Stars Tiki Trio at the inaugural Vintage Bike Hop in Alameda. Awards will be presented to the cruisers and custom bicycles present, which you can enjoy over a couple of drink specials and some DJ sets.

Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge (1304 Lincoln Ave., Alameda) | Sun, July 29, 2012 | 3-8p | FREE*
*Drinks extra 

16th Annual Precita Eyes Urban Youth Art Festival
Skating, stencil-making and spoken word poetry are just a few of the activities available at Precita Eyes’ annual celebration of public art, which brings in 2000 square feet of portable wall space that you can decorate with free paint. The Urban Youth Art Festival will also be bringing in live music, hosting a skating competition and, of course, providing free food for all the starving artists.

Precita Park (Alabama St. & Precita Ave., SF) | Sat, July 21, 2012 | 1-6p | FREE

Berkeley Kite Festival
Kids won’t be the only ones interested in kites at the 27th Annual Berkeley Kite Festival, which will feature everything from giant creature kites to Japanese-style kite battles. So make some kites on the marina, all while enjoying free kite performances, workshops and more at this two-day flying fest.

Berkeley Marina (Marina Blvd. & Spinnaker Way, SF) | Sat, July 28, 2012 | 10a-5p | FREE*
*All day parking is $10, free shuttle to festival 

Up Your Alley Festival
Trade in your lanyards for some leather at this not-so-indie street fair that’s more concerned with hardcore BDSM than handcrafted book-bindings. So if a Sunday street fair filled with all sorts of straps and suspensions seems right up your alley, then head on over to SoMa’s Dore Alley for all of your liquid leather needs.

Dore Alley (Dore Alley at Folsom St., SF) | Sun, July 29, 2012 | 11a-6p | FREE*
*$7 donation heavily encouraged, though the festival is technically free 

Free SF Symphony Concert at Dolores Park
Pack a picnic and plop yourself somewhere sunny in beautiful Dolores Park for the San Francisco Symphony’s annual free concert in the park. This year there will also be some added flair from the Grammy-nominated Cuban group Tiempo Libre, so sit down in the shade and enjoy a relaxing afternoon of music from the likes of West Side Story and Rodeo.

Dolores Park (19th St. & Dolores St., SF) | Sun, July 22, 2012| 2p | FREE