San Francisco… land of the free. Here’s just the free stuff in SF and the Bay Area. Keep your wallet in your pocket and enjoy!
Friday, October 9
SF’s “Chinatown Night Market” 2026 (Every Second Friday)
Friday, October 9 – 5:00 pm - Ends at 9:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | San Francisco Chinatown (Grant Ave.)
Chinatown Night Market returns for 2026, bringing monthly street festivals, food vendors, shopping, and live entertainment back to the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Recently voted the #1 night market in the country for the second year in a row, the free event takes over ...Monthly
“Union Square Dances” Free Outdoor Friday Night Dance Party (SF)
Friday, October 9 – 5:00 pm - Ends at 8:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Union Square Park
Come out to Union Square Park every Friday from 5 pm to 8 pm through October 16 for our free Union Square Dances. Enjoy rotating styles of live music and dancing, including Salsa, Country Western, Swing, Bollywood, and Tango. Each event starts with a lesson followed by ...Every Friday
$1 Drink Fridays: “Battle of the Decades” DJ Party (North Beach)
Fridays are now a little bit more awesome. Did someone say $1 drinks? Monroe in North Beach hosts “Battle of the Decades” DJ party and happy hour every Friday with a DJ spinning progressive tunes. Every hour is a different decade – with drink prices ...Every Friday
USAF Golden West Brass at Ghirardelli Square
Friday, October 9 – 5:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Ghirardelli Square
Join us at Ghirardelli Square as San Francisco celebrates Fleet Week with live music, waterfront events, and more.
Service members can also enjoy 15% off at participating retailers with valid ID. Here’s who’s participating:
Ghirardelli Chocolate
Gigi Rose
Gigi + Rosie
Broad Street Oyster Co.
Cultivar
Hardware Coffee Co.
Lola
Palette Tea House
San Francisco ...
Remains a Memory
Friday, October 9 – 5:00 pm - Ends at 9:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Autonomous Gallery
Remains a Memory is a still photo collection from Gaza City, encapsulating a placethat holds stories of the land and the sea. Within the frames, serene moments unfold against a backdrop that longs for genuine peace—a rarity in the artist’s hometown.
In this show, Lara Aburamadan ...
Free Live Ghost Stories + SF’s Deadly Past (Paxton Gate)
Are you into spooky ghost stories, learning that your neighborhood is most likely haunted, and hanging out with other fans of the paranormal? We are too, which is why we’re super excited to announce that the Dead Reckoning Podcast is coming to Paxton Gate San ...
SF’s Fleet Fest 2026: Brass Band Concert (Ghirardelli Square)
Friday, October 9 – 6:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Chinatown (Commercial St.)
Look up in the sky when you hear the roaring of jet engines and head down to SF’s northern waterfront for San Francisco’s annual Fleet Week air show and festival. San Francisco Fleet Week returns October 4-12, 2026, bringing more than a full week of ...
“Humans Only” Music Showcase in the Park (Berkeley)
Get away from your screen every 2nd Friday at the Humans Only music showcase at Live Oak Park in Berkeley (Google Maps: Live Oak Area 2). Come meet a new artist. Come meet a new person. All ages, free admission, in a beautiful park in ...
SF’s Free Mission Rock Fall Friday Night Movies “Inside Out” (China Basin Park)
Friday, October 9 – 6:30 pm - Ends at 9:30 pm |
Cost: FREE | China Basin Park
Movie nights are back at China Basin Park! Gather your friends and family and join us Friday nights this October for four cozy evenings of movies under the stars. Bring a blanket to the Great Lawn, grab your favorite movie-night snacks, and settle in for ...
SF State’s Free Public Rooftop Stargazing Nights w/ Huge Telescope (October 2026)
San Francisco State University Observatory hosts a free public open night with family-friendly astronomy talks, updates on astronomy research, and rooftop telescope observing. Programming is offered in English and Spanish, weather permitting. Located at SFSU Thornton Hall top floor Upcoming Weekly Schedule Through Dec. 4, ...
Yerba Buena Illuminated: Free 95-Ft Art Projection on Market Street
Friday, October 9 – 7:00 pm - Ends at 10:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Humboldt Bank Building
San Francisco has officially turned a downtown building into a giant art projector. Yerba Buena Illuminated launched Tuesday, August 25, 2026 projecting giant digital artworks onto the historic Humboldt Bank Building at 785 Market St., at the top of Yerba Buena Lane. The massive projection ...
Free ‘I Love Boosters’ Outdoor Movie Night (Proxy SF)
Friday, October 9 – 7:15 pm - Ends at 9:15 pm |
Cost: FREE | Proxy SF
FREE and open to all!
Join us at PROXY for a fashion forward, mayhem extravaganza in I Love Boosters!
A crew of professional shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven. It’s like community service.
* We recommend bringing seating, blankets, warm layers, and a few friends for ...
Free “Adventure” Symphony: Indiana Jones + Lord of the Rings Music (Oct. 9-10)
Temple Hill Symphony Orchestra Concert October 10 @ 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM PDT On October 9th and October 10th, celebrate your favorite adventurers with a night of new and old music dedicated to swashbuckling stories and heroic pursuits! Come hear the exciting music of ...
East Bay Bike Party (Every Second Friday)
Friday, October 9 – 7:30 pm |
Cost: FREE | Secret Location (East Bay)
The East Bay Bike Party is a monthly mobile party for riders of all ages, experience levels, and bike types, to meet, ride, and play together in the streets on the second Friday of the month with upwards of 400 riders usually meeting near an East ...Monthly
Kangaroo Court
Welcome to Kangaroo Court: a fully-improvised courtroom comedy where you, the jury, decide the verdict.
Share your past slights, pet peeves, or personal grievances, and we’ll put them on trial. No case is too trivial, and the pettier the “crime,” the better the drama. We’ll take ...
Saturday, October 10
Second Saturdays ‘Round the World at Union Square: Bollywood Garba (SF)
Join us for our final Second Saturdays ‘Round the World event this year at Union Square! Get ready to twirl in an unforgettable Bollywood Garba at the heart of San Francisco — a vibrant celebration of rhythm, joy, and community in the festive season of ...
Live on Larkin: Free Street Fest 2026 (Tenderloin)
Saturday, October 10 – 12:00 pm - Ends at 5:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Larkin St (between Eliis & Eddy)
Live on Larkin – a new series of free street events on Larkin Street. Come out and celebrate in the Tenderloin, one of San Francisco’s most vibrant cultural crossroads, and discover why it’s one of the best destinations for amazing food, art, and history. Live ...
Oakland Rising “Follow the Music” Live (Yerba Buena Gardens Festival 2026)
Saturday, October 10 – 1:00 pm - Ends at 4:00 pm |
Cost: FREE | Great Lawn, Yerba Buena Gardens
Sat, Oct 10 | 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Great Lawn, Yerba Buena Gardens
Mission St. between 3rd & 4th Sts.
San Francisco, CA
FREE | RSVP
Since launching in 2023 Follow the Music has been at the forefront of a rising movement promoting arts education around the Bay Area. The nonprofit organization introduces ...
FREE: Oakland Comedy Saturday Night @ Secret Speakeasy (7p + 9p Shows)
Get ready for our “HellaSecret” speakeasy comedy show in Oakland. A series of pop-up live comedy shows at unique spots all across the bay. We’ll take over a venue and you’ll get an email with the secret location. This HellaSecret comedy show takes place in a ...
“Crazy Funny Asians” Free Comedy Showcase (SF)
Inspired by the blockbuster movie, see some of the Bay Area’s top comedians at San Francisco’s Crazy Funny Asians comedy showcase, presented by Funcheap and HellaFunny. Let’s celebrate the Bay’s Asian-American culture and heritage with laughs at SF’s brand new comedy club on Market St – ...Every Saturday
