Brand New
SF to Host Pokémon’s 1st Ever Official Fan Fest in 2026
Brand New, Celebrations, Fun & Games, Geeks San Francisco will host Pokémon XP, a new official fan event running alongside the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, at the Moscone Center from Aug. 28-30, 2026. The event will offer panels, workshops, special guests, and a pop-up Pokémon Center store with exclusive merchandise. Pokémon XP will replace some of the typical more...
SF Unveils 4 Brand New Pickleball Courts (w/ Free RSVPs Before October)
Brand New, Fun & Games San Francisco just added four shiny new pickleball courts at Crocker Amazon Playground which open on Friday, August 22, 2025. The space used to be a volleyball court, but with pickleball fever sweeping the city, SF Rec & Park turned it into dedicated courts for dinking, smashing, and all-around fun. Right now, more...
BART Finally Goes Contactless: Pay With Your Credit Card Starting Aug. 20
Bay Area Updates, Brand New, Transportation After nearly two years in the making, BART commuters will finally be able to ditch the Clipper card and tap a credit or debit card directly at the gate starting Wednesday, August 20, 2025. BART is the first Bay Area transit agency to offer this long-awaited convenience, with other Clipper-using systems more...
SF’s Iconic 88-Year Old Restaurant “Original Joe’s” Opens in East Bay
Brand New, East Bay, Eat & Drink After nearly three years of planning, construction, and delays, Original Joe’s opens its first East Bay location on Thursday, August 14, 2025 at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek. The nearly 90-year-old San Francisco institution is moving into the prominent corner at 1300 S. Main St., in the former Stanford’s space. It’s more...
SF Getting a 2nd Boozy Late-Night Taco Bell “Cantina”
Bars, Brand New, Eat & Drink, San Francisco San Francisco is getting a second Taco Bell Cantina, this time landing at Fisherman’s Wharf in the heart of Anchorage Square. The new spot is set to take over the old Auntie Anne’s and Chipotle spaces at 333 Jefferson Street and will serve alcohol late into the night. Unlike your typical more...
New Rooftop Concert Venue Coming to Downtown SF?
Bay Area Updates, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Wow Empire, the independent SF-based record label behind artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B, is planning a rooftop concert venue on top of its new headquarters in the Financial District. The label bought the historic One Montgomery building (at Post Street) for $22.5 million and just filed a proposal with more...
Alamo Square “Painted Lady” Hosts Rare Pop-up Museum
Artsy Fartsy, Bay Area Favorites, Brand New, Get Out: Events, Museums / Cultural Institutions, Only in San Francisco, San Francisco For the first time ever, one of San Francisco’s iconic “Painted Ladies” on Alamo Square is opening its doors to the public – and it’s housing a rare pop-up art museum from local street artist fnnch. Inside you’ll find street artist fnnch’s Honey Bear paintings over the last 10 years. There more...
New 120-Foot Glass Artwork Just Debuted at SF’s Chinatown Muni Station
Artsy Fartsy, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Transportation A new glass art installation is now on view at San Francisco’s Chinatown-Rose Pak Muni Station. Created by New York-based artist Tomie Arai, the 700-square-foot piece called Arrival spans the station’s parapet façade along Stockton and Washington streets. The large-scale glass mural blends historical and contemporary imagery tied to Chinatown’s past, more...
Golden Gate Park’s New Huge Tire Art Sculptures
Artsy Fartsy, Brand New A new public art installation has been added to Golden Gate Park’s JFK Promenade, bringing a fresh set of large-scale sculptures to the popular pedestrian space. Six sculptures by acclaimed Mexican artist Betsabeé Romero are now on display along the car-free stretch of JFK, between Conservatory Drive East and West. The more...
SF’s Brand New Outdoor Movie Nights in Union Square
Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Free Movie Screenings, Outdoorsy, San Francisco Free outdoor movies are back in Union Square for 2025, but with a new name. Starting August 16, 2025, a new series called Cinema on the Square will bring three nights of outdoor films to the plaza, filling the gap left by Sundown Cinema (which ended its 20-year run and won’t more...
China’s Biggest Hot Pot Chain “Haidilao” is Coming to Daly City
Brand New, Eat & Drink The Peninsula is getting a major new spot for hot pot. Haidilao, the largest hot pot chain in China, is opening its first Peninsula location inside Daly City’s Serramonte Center. The restaurant is known not just for its build-your-own hot pot experience and ultra-efficient service, but also for a quirky secret more...
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Unveils First of 2025 Lineup
Brand New, Fairs & Festivals, Festival Updates, Only in San Francisco, Parks & Beaches Hold onto your banjos! Hardly Strictly Bluegrass just dropped the first part of its 2025 lineup. The beloved (and completely free) San Francisco festival returns to Golden Gate Park, October 3-5, 2025, and they’ve got some real headliners to kick off the excitement. And in true Hardly Strictly fashion, this is more...
SF Unveils New Dead-Inspired Psychedelic Buses
Brand New, San Francisco, Transportation, Wow Muni is rolling out some serious Summer of Love vibes. Just in time for the Dead & Company shows in Golden Gate Park (August 1-3, 2025), SFMTA has wrapped two buses and one train in vibrant, psychedelic designs. The colorful vehicles – dubbed the “Psychedeli-bus” and the “Trippy Train” – are more...
Pop Mart’s Viral “Labubu” Toy Store Coming to SF’s Union Square
Brand New, San Francisco Hyped Chinese toy shop Pop Mart store is heading to Union Square later this year, bringing one of the world’s fastest-growing toy brands to the heart of downtown San Francisco. Best known for its collectible vinyl figures like Labubu and Skullpanda, Pop Mart is a Chinese toy company that’s made a more...
Brand New Hello Kitty Cafe Opens in Bay Area
Brand New, Eat & Drink The Bay Area’s very first Hello Kitty Cafe has officially opened at Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, bringing a burst of pink and nostalgia to one of the region’s busiest malls. The themed cafe is part of the shopping center’s ongoing $1.1 billion expansion and is located near Bloomingdale’s, drawing more...
