Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
swing-dancing venue, and
arte di
gesso
(sidewalk chalk art). It usually
takes place on Father's Day weekend
in mid-June, but call to confirm.
y
415/989-2220.
Free concerts take
place every Sunday at 2pm between
mid-June and late August at the
annual
Stern Grove Midsummer
Music Festival,
in the Sunset Dis-
trict. Head out early to join the thou-
sands who come here to lie in the
grass and enjoy classical, jazz, and
ethnic music and dance. Bring warm
clothes—the Sunset District can be
one of the coldest parts of the city.
y
415/252-6252.
Usually the third
or last weekend of June, the
San
Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender Pride Parade & Cel-
ebration
draws up to half a million
participants who celebrate all of the
above—and then some. The parade
proceeds west on Market Street to
Market and 8th streets.
y
415/864-
3733, www.sfpride.org.
The first
weekend in July starts with a bang,
when the upscale portion of Fill-
more closes to traffic and several
blocks of arts and crafts, gourmet
food, and live jazz fill the street for
the
Fillmore Street Jazz Festival
in Pacific Heights. Call for more
information.
y
510/970-3217.
The
Fourth of July Celebration & Fire-
works
at Fisherman's Wharf can be
something of a joke—more often
than not, fog rolls into the city.
Sometimes it's almost impossible to
view the million-dollar pyrotechnics
from PIER 39 on the northern water-
front. Still, it's a party, and if the skies
are clear, it's a darn good show. The
San Francisco Marathon
(usually
the second or third weekend in July)
is one of the largest marathons in
the world. For entry information,
contact West End Management, the
event organizer.
y
800/698-8699 or
415/284-9653; www.runsfm.com.
AUTUMN.
You probably won't get to
visit all the restaurants you'd like to,
but you can get a good sampling at
the annual Labor Day weekend (first
Monday in Sept)
A La Carte, A La
Park,
at Sharon Meadow in Golden
Gate Park. Restaurants, microbrew-
eries, and wineries offer tastings.
Call for prices.
y
415/458-1988.
Also on Labor Day weekend is the
Sausalito Art Festival
, a juried
exhibit of more than 180 artists
which includes music and interna-
tional cuisine, enhanced by local
wine. Parking is impossible; take the
Blue & Gold Fleet ferry
y
415/705-
5555; www.blueandgoldfleet.com
from Fisherman's Wharf or the
Golden Gate Ferry Service
y
415/
923-2000; www.goldengateferry.org
from downtown at the SF Ferry
Building to the festival site.
y
415/
332-3555, www.sausalitoartfestival.
org.
Each year in early September,
the San Francisco Opera launches its
season with
Opera in the Park
(usually in Sharon Meadow, Golden
Gate Park), a free concert featuring a
selection of arias.
y
415/861-4008.
The largest outdoor blues music
event on the West Coast is the late-
September
San Francisco Blues
Festival
(on the grounds of Fort
Mason, the Marina) featuring local
and national musicians performing
back-to-back during the 3-day extrav-
aganza.
y
415/826-6837, www.
sfblues.com.
At the end of Septem-
ber, the
Folsom Street Fair
in
SoMa is a local favorite for its kinky,
outrageous, leather-and-skin gay-
centric blowout celebration. It's
hard-core, so only open-minded and
adventurous types need head this
way.
y
415/861-3247, www.folsom
streetfair.com.
During
Fleet Week
in October, residents gather along
the bay front to watch aerial perform-
ances by the Blue Angels, flown in
tribute to the U.S. Marines.
y
415/
705-5500, www.fleetweek.com.
On
the first Sunday in October, the
Castro Street Fair
celebrates life
in the city's most famous gay neigh-
borhood.
y
415/841-1824,
