Thursday's Commence au Festival

As Mark Twain Mark Twain famously said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Though historians debate that he actually said it. If you have ever been to San Francisco in the summer, then you know it's true. Despite that summertime is when you will find the most street fairs, parades, and festivals.

Kicking it all off is Carnival in the Mission District. While the rest of the world celebrates Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) in February, we do it around Memorial Day for some reason and it is usually cold and cloudy. Regardless, tens of thousands of people come out for this event every year.

Following that, around the second weekend in June is our century-old foot race, the Bay to Breakers, which literally goes from the bay to the ocean (the breakers). It's only about 12 miles long, so not a marathon, but more of a party. For more than a hundred years, participants wear crazy costumes, run in groups for solidarity, and occasionally drink along the way. Some don't even run at all but just meander along the route.

Juneteenth is held the weekend closest to the date and is our newest holiday. It is only a few years old and already we have incorporated it as one of our regular celebrations in the Fillmore District. This year it will be held on June 14th.

The last week of the June, San Francisco's population nearly doubles with the arrival of Gay Pride Week, culminating with a grand parade the last Sunday of the month. Since the first parade in 1970, the numbers watching and attending have swelled by the hundreds of thousands to 350,000 to 400,000 people by last count.

Despite the false narrative that San Franciscans do not love their country, the numbers beg to differ on July 4th as the city regularly welcomes 150,000+ visitors for the event. Nothing says "America" than seeing fireworks over the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Washington Monument in Washington D.C., and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Seeing the bridge silhouetted by the light of the fireworks would turn any cynic patriotic. If tradition holds, expect low hanging clouds to persist, then open up right before the first firework is launched.

Bring a heavy coat, it is summertime in San Francisco.

That same weekend is the Fillmore Jazz Festival, celebrating the contributions of the African American community and covers dozens of blocks. In its day, "The Fillmore" was lined with locally owned businesses and was called the Harlem of the West because of the copious number of jazz clubs. Sadly, they were mostly lost due to urban renewal of the 1950s and 1960s, but the spirit of the neighborhood lives on with the Fillmore Jazz Festival on July 5th and 6th this year.

Once a predominantly African American neighborhood filled with soul food restaurants and locally owned businesses, the newly gentrified Hayes Valley has had a street festival for as long as I can remember, but I didn't know it is in its 113th year! This year Circus Bella, the little circus that could, will be preforming their acrobatic and juggling routines for the public.

Japantown

Rounding out the street festivities for the summer is the Nihonmachi Street Fair. Now in its 51st year, this perennial Japantown staple honors not only the contribution and culture of Japanese Americans, but other Asian cultures as well. expect to find three stages with music, and many food options.