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Culture

20 cool things to do this week, from Flower Pianos in the park to a morning chai ‘rave’

What’s worth checking out? We’ll help you choose.

Visitors at Chinatown Night Market event learn about Chinese calligraphy on September 29, 2023.
Learn about calligraphy at the Chinatown night market. | Source: Courtesy Evan and Josh Wong
Culture

20 cool things to do this week, from Flower Pianos in the park to a morning chai ‘rave’

What’s worth checking out? We’ll help you choose.

Outgoers is a weekly column published in partnership with the event newsletter of the same name founded by Josh Constine. Outgoers texts readers a list of San Francisco events and activities worthy of their time. The Standard features those, plus a few extra, every week. Sign up for Outgoers by clicking this link on your phone (a third-party service).

Valencia Live night market

A three-block stretch of Valencia Street showcases live music, artisan vendors, and newly legalized outdoor drinking.

Website
Tickets
Date and time
Thursday, Sept. 11, 5 to 10 p.m.

Art auction at SOMArts

This benefit for the Coalition on Homelessness fills SOMArts with works by 100 local artists, available via live and silent auction, as well as bands, DJs, and a chance to explore the enchanted garden.

Website
Details
Date and time
Thursday, Sept. 11, 5:30 to 10 p.m.

F-Line streetcar bar crawl

People ride a cable car.
Get your drink on along Market Street. | Source: Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

Ride the vintage streetcar up Market Street with a passport for stops at Local Edition, The Mint, Twin Peaks Tavern, and more.

Website
Details
Date and time
Thursday, Sept. 11, 6 to 9 p.m.

Gray Area Festival

The Mission indie museum dives into techno-culture with talks, musical performances, workshops, and exhibitions on biohacking and digital self-reinvention.

Website
Tickets
Date and time
Thursday, Sept. 11, to Sunday, Sept. 14

Chinatown night market

Two vibrant lion dance costumes perform in a bustling street with red lanterns and onlookers.
Lion dancers at the Chinatown night market. | Source: Joel Umanzor/The Standard

Lantern-lined Grant Avenue packs with food stalls, performances, and a ridiculous number of attendees for SF’s biggest night market.

Website
Details
Date and time
Friday, Sept. 12, 5 to 9 p.m.

Flower Piano kicks off at GG Park

Every year, the San Francisco Botanical Garden hides a dozen pianos across its 55 acres for open play and performances.

Website
Details
Date and time
Friday, Sept. 12, to Sunday, Sept. 21

Texture Summit after-hours party with Luca Lozano

International dance music curators Texture Summit bring Klasse Wrecks’ Luca Lozano for an all-nighter of rave revivalist and techno beats.

Website
Tickets
Date and time
Friday, Sept. 12, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Two.AM: Late-night warehouse parties

Doors don’t open till 1, and the techno will thud till dawn for this party at a secret warehouse location.

Website
Details
Date and time
Friday, Sept. 12, 11:59 p.m.

Chai Rave daytime party

This early-morning “rave” at Indian restaurant Rooh will mix chai service, brunch bites, and DJ sets to blend Indian fusion with EDM.

Website
Tickets
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Indigenous art day at the de Young

Golden Gate Park’s fine arts museum hosts a free daylong program of Indigenous artist talks, weaving and art demos, DJ sets, and dance performances.

A modern, illuminated building with a unique design stands beside tall palm trees against a twilight sky, surrounded by bushes and trees.
The museum is opening its reimagined Arts of Indigenous America galleries. | Source: de Young Museum
Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Duboce Park’s 125th birthday party

Celebrate with music, games, arts and crafts, food trucks, a bounce house, a scavenger hunt, and a ceremony with city leaders.

Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fiesta de las Américas

24th Street transforms into a massive cultural festival, featuring dancers in epic costumes, musicians, and food.

Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cityside Park grand opening

Treasure Island’s 6-acre waterfront park debuts with food trucks from Off the Grid, DJs, cocktails, family games, and amazing Bay views.

A coastal residential area with houses and parking lots borders a calm bay, with a distant city skyline and a large suspension bridge across the water.
Take in the city views from Treasure Island. | Source: Getty Images
Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Festival of the Sea: Sandcastles + Sea Shanties

Celebrate SF’s maritime heritage with bands singing shanties, a sandcastle contest, and a boat parade, plus street-fair vendors.

Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Shaboozey free concert

The Empire record label’s 15th anniversary brings a huge show to the steps of City Hall. Get there early to secure a good spot.

Website
RSVP
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 3 to 7 p.m.

Super Flex art fest

Chinatown’s fourth annual contemporary art takeover brings installations, drag-calligraphy mashups, puppet workshops, and animatronic displays.

Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 4 to 10 p.m.

Shakespeare in the Park downtown

New York isn’t the only city with Shakespeare in the Park. Sue Bierman Park across from the Ferry Building hosts free performances of “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” All shows start at 2 p.m.

Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13; Sunday, Sept. 14; Saturday, Sept. 20; Sunday, Sept. 21
Opening hours
Washington and Drumm streets

Rosh Hashanah white party

Value Culture bring SF’s biggest Jewish New Year bash to Mayes for a dress-in-white, Miami-style nightclub party.

Website
Details
Date and time
Saturday, Sept. 13, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Daybreaker Ferry Building morning dance party

The family-friendly sober morning rave returns with yoga followed by DJs with a live horn section, plus free breakfast snacks and drinks.

A bustling indoor market with a high arched ceiling, various shop signs, a crowd of people walking, and a red umbrella-covered stall in the center.
What better place to greet the day with dancing and yoga than the Ferry Building? | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Website
Tickets
Date and time
Sunday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bad Art Club: ‘Scribbling Nonsense & Calling It Poetry’

A playful night at which zero experience is encouraged, and everyone makes intentionally bad art; specifically, turning ramblings into poetry.

Website
Details
Date and time
Monday, Sept. 15, 6 to 9 p.m.