Garba in the Gardens: Yerba Buena Gardens Festival | SF

Submitted by the Event Organizer

SF’s Yerba Buena Gardens Festival 2023 (May 6 – Oct. 28)

The 2023 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival hosts a full lineup of free outdoor music, theater, circus, dance, poetry, and children’s programs. The Festival opens on Saturday, May 6 at 1:00pm with John Santos Sextet + The Afro-Peruvian Coalition.

Now in its 23rd year, the Festival will run each and every week and weekend until October 28 and is located between Mission and Howard Streets and Third and Fourth Streets in downtown San Francisco.  

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival 2023

May 6 – October 28, 2023
Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission btwn Third and Fourth, SoMa, SF
FREE

Directions & Parking | Admission-Free Seating | Performance Times | See the Full Calendar

Saturday, June 15, 2019
SF’s Yerba Buena Gardens Festival 2023 (May 6 – Oct. 28)

When people in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat want to celebrate, the ecstatic dance tradition known as garba often provides the fuel. An essential component of wedding celebrations and the nine-day fall Hindu festival Navratri, garba is an intoxicating, high-energy folk dance style marked by hand claps and twirls.

Danced in a circle (reflecting the cyclical Hindu conception of time), garba steps can be anything from a simple two-step to intricate movements. Produced by MELA Arts Connect as part of Garba360, Garba in the Gardens opens with a dance workshop by Nirati Gautam and the dancers of Sangeet, teaching garba, sanedo, and other Gujarati folk dances.

The workshop is followed by Bay Area music duo of Madhvi and Asim Mehta with their band, who have released several acclaimed albums focusing on garba, leading the celebration. Feel free to wear a long, flared skirt, kurta top, or other Indian clothing. All are invited to participate and dance!

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.