San Francisco celebrated its first Juneteenth Parade on Sunday, kicking off a week of festivities honoring the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans. The Bay Area continues its commemoration of the historic day—which became a federal holiday in 2021—with concerts, performances, festivals and more.
BlaCOEUR: A Juneteenth Disruption
🗓️ Friday
🕔 5-10 p.m.
📍 Chorus Hall, 30 Otis St., SF
🔗 coeur415.com/blacoeur-2023
🎟️ $45+
This 21+ event brings together the talents of San Francisco chef and Cutthroat Kitchen alum Yaku Moton-Spruill, vintner Paula Harrell, Emmy-award-winning singer-songwriter SoLauren Adams and artist Andrew Wilson for a sumptuous evening of food, wine, music and art spotlighting local Black creatives.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir
🗓️ Friday
🕔 8 p.m.
📍 Freight & Salvage, Berkeley
🔗 thefreight.org
🎟️ $26+
This lauded singing group lifts its range of voices and showcases its stirring gospel repertoire for a celebratory musical concert honoring Juneteenth.
SF Freedom Celebration
🗓️ Saturday
🕔 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
📍 Fillmore St. at Geary to Fulton, SF
🔗 eventbrite.com
🎟️ Free with RSVP
This mega block party in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District—once known as the Harlem of the West—will feature free carnival rides, a classic car show, a games and sports arena, an array of gospel and R&B artists, a beer-and-wine garden and dozens of retailers and soul food vendors commemorating Freedom Day.
Afrocentric Oakland’s Fam Bam
🗓️ Saturday
🕔 Noon-8 p.m.
📍 Lake Merritt Amphitheatre, Oakland
🔗 afrooak.com
🎟️ $25+
Afrocentric Oakland hosts a celebratory day of reflection, education, unity and pride that also pays tribute to Father’s Day. Peruse art installations, chill in a cabana or take part in wellness workshops on the shore of Lake Merritt. Congressional candidate Lateefah Simon gives the keynote address and musical artist LaRussell headlines.
San Francisco Black Film Festival
🗓️ Thursday-Saturday
🕔 Various times
📍 African American Arts & Culture Complex, SF
🔗 sfbff.org
🎟️ $0-$20
For 25 years, the San Francisco Black Film Festival has centered Black filmmakers and stories. Celebrate the milestone and Black cinema at this indie film festival, which screens a range of features, documentaries and shorts from across the African diaspora. Opening night on June 15 features “Adversity,” the story of San Jose State’s first African American track and field director as he’s tasked with rebuilding this athletic program from scratch.
Flying to Freedom Performance
🗓️ Friday-Saturday
🕔 8 p.m.
📍 Bayview Memorial Opera House, SF
🔗 zaacho.org
🎟️ Free
Joanna Haigood is known for creating dazzling aerial works in architecturally significant places, such as Grace Cathedral. Haigood’s Zaccho Studio, San Francisco’s oldest Black-run dance company, reflects on the definition of liberation with a mix of music, theater and high-flying aerial artistry at this free performance.
MoAD Free Community Day
🗓️ Saturday
🕔 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
📍 Museum of the African Diaspora, SF
🔗 moadsf.org
🎟️ Free with RSVP
Head to the Museum of the African Diaspora for a special Juneteenth edition of the museum’s free monthly community day. Family art activities will take over the lobby from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Rightnowish podcast host Pendarvis Harshaw discusses Dorothy Lazard’s memoir What You Don't Know Will Make a Whole New World, and the Curtis Family C-Notes play a collage of genres from their musical suite A Song of Triumph II.
It’s also an excellent opportunity to check out the museum’s current exhibition, Black Venus, which surveys the legacy of Black women in visual culture from 1793 to today.