Future of Us Fest: Pop-Ups, Art + Civic Labs for America’s 250th (SF)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

The Plenary, Co.

Future of Us today is hosting its inaugural festival, a 10-day citywide event running July 4–12, 2026, across San Francisco, timed to the nation’s 250th anniversary. The festival will feature a signature showcase at The Pearl in Dogpatch, partner-led programming from 20+ collaborating organizations, including SFMOMA, the American Indian Cultural District, and the San Francisco Environment Department, and 50+ events designed and led by 30+ Future Culture Fellows (grassroots civic visionaries drawn from neighborhoods across the city’s Supervisorial and Cultural Districts).

Future of Us Festival will feature:

• Signature programming, anchored by a 10-day showcase at The Pearl in Dogpatch (July 4–12), produced by The Plenary, Co. and Nothin But Hits, featuring art exhibitions translating community visions into immersive form, daily programming, and musical performances. There will also be a citywide scavenger hunt exploring local ecosystems and biodiversity, created with Emerging Creatives of Science (ECOS) and an event at Pier 70.
• Fellow-led activations: 50+ events featuring nearly 30 types of activations, designed and led by the inaugural cohort of Future Culture Fellows. Highlights include a pop-up floral labyrinth for civic contemplation, a speculative civic assembly on natural disaster readiness, food storytelling dinners, and themed dance parties. Venue partners include The Faight, Gray Area, and others.
• Partner programming from 20+ collaborating organizations, including a Regenerative Hub led by Bay Area candlemaker Casita Michi, family-friendly activations hosted by Art of San Francisco (presented by Drawbridge) at One Embarcadero, mixers and hack-a-thons hosted by YesSF, and additional programming in partnership with Institute for the Future, SFMOMA and the American Indian Cultural District.
• Neighborhood Pop-Ups, including civic conversation kits distributed by coalition partner Good Neighbor Lab to neighborhood third spaces and neighborhood hubs citywide, supporting decentralized, hyperlocal engagement.

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.