JUNE 1
BAY AREA DISCOVERY MUSEUM: FREE ADMISSION DAY — The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a one-of-a-kind indoor and outdoor children’s museum near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is known both for its emphasis on creativity through play and for programs featuring hands-on art, science and environmental exhibitions, performances, special events, cultural festivals, and more. www.baykidsmuseum.org
JUNE 2-5
SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL — The San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents silent films accompanied by live music, promoting silent film as an artistic and historical record. Castro Theatre. (415) 777-4908. www.silentfilm.org
JUNE 2-16
SAN FRANCISCO DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL (SF DOCFEST) — These documentaries, while often exploring a lighthearted subject matter, often uncover fundamental truths. Produced by the SF IndieFest. Shown at the Roxie, Brava, and Vogue Theaters. (415) 662-FEST (-3378). www.sfindie.com
JUNE 2-25
“LORD OF THE THRONES”: JRR & GEORGE RR TRIBUTE ART SHOW — This art exhibition pays tribute to two great fantasy epics in recent generations: Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. It features original paintings and limited edition prints by a wide and international range of artists. Spoke Art Gallery, 816 Sutter St. Reception June 2, 2016, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. (415) 796-3774. www.spoke-art.com
JUNE 3-19 (Three Weekends)
ETHNIC DANCE FESTIVAL — Various ethnic dance associations, from the Chinese Hui Tama Nui to the Samba de Coracao, showcase the City’s cultural diversity. The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival returns to the Palace of Fine Arts and San Francisco City Hall for three weekends of awe-inspiring dance and music performances from more than 20 world cultures. Each weekend’s program is unique and features different Bay Area dance companies, along with innovative cross-cultural collaborations. Call (415) 563-6504 for more information. www.worldartswest.org0
JUNE 4-5
Union Street (Eco-Urban) Festival — On the first weekend in June, San Francisco hosts one of the largest art fairs in the country, where hundreds of artists, gourmet food booths, live entertainers on two stages and hands-on art activities for kids of all ages are arrayed along Union Street between Gough and Steiner in the Cow Hollow neighborhood.
This rain-or-shine weekend street fair draws big crowds each June to Union Street. The festival offers gourmet booze and food pairings (for a price), bands and artists’ stands–plus it would be a shame to miss Sunday’s waiters race, when the City’s best servers run up and down a hill trying not to spill a tray loaded with wine glasses. Call (800) 310-6563 for more information. www.unionstreetfestival.com
JUNE 5
FREE ADMISSION DAY: ASIAN ART MUSEUM, SAN FRANCISCO ZOO, CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
JUNE 7
FREE ADMISSION DAY: LEGION OF HONOR MUSEUM, DeYOUNG MUSEUM, CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS, CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM
JUNE 7-10
SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL — For more than 30 years SFJAZZ presented the San Francisco Jazz Festival in venues around the Bay Area. With the opening of the SFJAZZ Center in 2013, the festival is now concentrated in the Center and the surrounding neighborhood and offers more than 30 shows. This is San Francisco’s biggest jazz event of the year, featuring more than 40 big-name shows in just under two weeks. Past acts have included Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, and Juan De Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All Stars. SFJAZZ Center, 201 Franklin St. (866) 920-5299. www.sfjazz.org
JUNE 11
ANNUAL WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE, SAN FRANCISCO EDITION — This event starts off across from Justin Herman Plaza, northwest of the Ferry Building. It’s part of a global environmental protest against dependency on oil. Since 2004 these brave Bay Area riders have been forgoing various articles of clothing for body paints and watercolors, joining forces with fellow naked bike riders in 70 cities and 20 countries around the world. Their motto is “be as bare as you dare.” Well, good for them. Starts at 11 am. www.sfwnbr.org
JUNE 11-12
North Beach Festival — In mid-June, the North Beach district (in the vicinity of Washington Square Park) hosts the City’s oldest street fair featuring juried arts and crafts, gourmet food, live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, and a children’s zone. Take your furred and feathered friends to this festival for the traditional blessing by a local priest in the “Little Italy” neighborhood shrine of St. Francis Assisi. Other elements that harken back to the area’s European roots include elaborate Italian street art done in chalk or pastels, a wine and beer garden, and, of course, tempting cannoli everywhere you look. Call (800) 310-6563 for more information. www.sresproductions.com/north_beach_festival_entertainment.html
JUNE 12
Haight Ashbury Street Fair — On the second Sunday of every June, the Summer of Love is resurrected in the Haight-Ashbury area, as thousands of people fill the streets (Haight between Masonic and Stanyan, to be precise). The fair features more than 200 vendors of food, bongs, and creative craftwork. Live music is courtesy of local acts. Call (415) 661-8025 for more information. www.haightashburystreetfair.org
JUNE 16-19
San Francisco Black Film Festival — This celebration of African American cinema and the African cultural diaspora showcases a diverse collection of films from emerging and established filmmakers. More than 10,000 films have been shown from around the world since the inaugural festival in 1998. Screened at African American Art and Culture Center, Jazz Heritage Center, and other Bay Area Venues. Call (415) 771-9271 for more information. www.sfbff.org
JUNE 16-26
Frameline 39, San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival — This is the famous showcase of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender cinema that screens groundbreaking documentaries, feature films, short films, as well as cinematic classics. Said to be the largest, oldest event of its kind in the world, the festival will screen more than 250 films. Castro Theater. Call (415) 703-8650 for more information. www.frameline.org
JUNE 19-AUGUST 21
STERN GROVE FESTIVAL — Thanks to the generosity of Rosalie Meyer Stern, who in 1931 donated a eucalyptus grove to the City for the performance of music, dance, and theater, the Stern Grove Festival fills a small wooded valley with free performances—everything from ballet to hip-hop to opera—on Sundays from mid-June to mid-August. Stern Grove, 19th Ave. and Sloat Blvd. (415) 252-6252 www.sterngrove.org
JUNE 25-26
SF Gay Pride Parade — Scheduled for the last Sunday in June, the 46th Annual San Francisco Gay Pride Parade (plus a host of other celebratory activities) begins at Market and Beale Streets. San Francisco was one of the first cities in the country to pass a gay rights ordinance back in the ’70s. This is The Day that drag queens, leather daddies, dykes on bikes, and lots of other folks happily strut their stuff. There’s a Pink Saturday block party the night before the parade, when most of the Castro is closed off for one of the City’s largest after-dark street parties. Call (415) 864-3733 for more information. www.sfpride.org