Get ready for a wild summer of festivals and street fairs in San Francisco

Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer 2023 festival season—and in San Francisco, that means it’s time to get to the Mission for Carnaval.

June brings a blockbuster lineup of big parties filling every weekend of the month, including Union Street, North Beach, Juneteenth and Pride.

The great news? In San Francisco, the festivities don’t stop until well into the fall. 

Check out the 2023 dates below and mark your calendar for all the most popular street fairs and festivals coming to the city this year. 

The 45th annual Carnaval takes place Saturday and Sunday. It is the largest two-day multicultural event on the West Coast celebrating and showcasing the diasporic traditions of Latino, Caribbean and African communities. The Grand Parade up Mission Street takes place on Sunday, and you can catch the action from 2022 on The Standard.

Celebrating a 45-year tradition, Union Street Festival is a five-block party on Union Street between Gough and Fillmore. Find food, crafts, live entertainment and kids’ activities aplenty throughout the weekend. The historic Octagon House will be open to visitors from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both days.

SF’s Little Italy will host its 66th annual festival this June. Among the highlights of this 125-booth arts-and-crafts event will be the chance to catch a glimpse of the world’s largest salami. Fill your cup and belly with gourmet Italian offerings from food trucks and beverage gardens.

San Francisco will be celebrating its 71st Juneteenth during the week of June 14-20, 2023. The City by the Bay hosts Northern California’s largest celebration of the emancipation of African Americans thanks, in large part, to a tradition that began when Wesley F. Johnson Sr. opened up his Texas Playhouse on Fillmore to all Bay Area African Americans in celebration on Juneteenth in the 1950s.

Kicked off by the Gay Liberation March of 1970, the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade have been the largest in the nation, supporting the LGBTQ+ community and its allies for 53 years. The parade on June 25 travels down Market Street from the Embarcadero to the celebration at the Civic Center. Get a glimpse of last year’s party on The Standard. 

The West Coast’s largest free jazz festival consists of 12 full blocks of fine arts and crafts to peruse while filling your ears with soulful live music. 

This “leather and kink” block party, Up Your Alley, takes place on Dore Alley between Folsom and Howard streets. It’s a smaller production by the Folsom Street Fair that features DJs and artisan vendors.

Nihonmachi Street Fair builds community and provides leadership and mentorship for J-Town youth in SF. Join in and celebrate AAPI culture with food, music, dance and other attractions onstage.

The 15th annual Outside Lands is coming in hot with headliners like Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and Odesza. There might be a shortage of tickets, but there will be no shortage of talent at one of the biggest events of the year in Golden Gate Park. Check out scenes from last year’s event on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 as documented on The Standard.

Pistahan is a free two-day celebration of Filipino culture, community and cuisine at Yerba Buena Gardens. This outdoor event will feature eight pavilions featuring art, culinary traditions, dance, health and sports.

The 44th Haight Street Fair will be a day of music, merriment, arts and displays by local merchants. Check back near the end of summer for more specific details about this San Francisco open-air tradition.

The 15th day of the eighth moon of the Chinese calendar is the autumn moon. San Francisco’s Autumn Moon Festival celebrates a time of family gathering and thanks for a good harvest with lion dancing, food, music and—of course, mooncakes.

An annual celebration of support, community and sexual liberation, the Folsom Street Fair provides a safe and inclusive space of equity for BIPOC and LGBTQ2+ adults. See photos from the 2022 celebration of pleasure, pain and leather. 

Skrillex will headline the second annual Portola Festival of EDM musicians and fans. Check out the list of acts and grab tickets now.

Head out to Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park to enjoy this free live music tradition. Packing a picnic is encouraged, and remember to BYOB, as alcohol will not be sold at this event. If you can’t be bothered, delicacies from more than 50 gourmet vendors will be on-site. 

Founded in 1974 by Harvey Milk, the Castro Street Fair celebrates its 49th year this fall. It’s located in the heart of Castro at the intersection of Castro and Market Streets on the first Sunday of October. The fair celebrates diversity in the community. Donations of $5-$10 are appreciated but not required.

San Francisco Fleet Week kicks off two weekends of exhilarating sights and sounds. Don’t miss the headline waterfront show performed by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels—and here’s hoping SF’s own Blue Angel will make another few loops above his hometown.

The San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade is the longest-running Italian Heritage Parade in the United States. The inaugural parade of 1868 took place downtown and featured the bands and marching units of Italian fraternal organizations, including the Garibaldi Guard, Swiss Guards and Lafayette Guards. Today, the parade is a gathering place for the Italian communities in the Bay Area.

Find your fill of trance, techno and more EDM acts on the Howard Street stages of this outdoor rave in October. Check Facebook for more details later this summer.

Stretching four full blocks along 20th Street, the Potrero Hill Festival is a family-friendly celebration of pony rides, music, magic and food with proceeds benefiting Potrero Hill Neighborhood House.