Festival

Litquake 2025’s lineup is here, and it’s stacked like the Bodleian

Sprawling literary fest takes over the city with spicy readings and events in October—here are some of our first round picks.

Lit Marke B. - September 10, 2025

VOTE NOW in the 2025 Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll!

Our 51st installment of the Bay Area classic is 'new and improved' for 2025—and still full of local love.

Best of the Bay Marke B. - September 1, 2025

Ficks’ Picks: Diving into CROSSROADS Fest’s river of experimental celluloid

SF Cinematheque showcases Japanese classics, Day-Glo rock formations, Inuit lichen-based developers.

Movies Jesse Hawthorne Ficks - August 25, 2025

BIG WEEK: Pistahan Parade, SF Fringe Fest, Chinatown Night Market, Outside Lands…

Wayne Thiebaud, Femi Kuti, Black Coffee, Thundercat, Bay Day at the Exploratorium, a crab rangoon atlas, more to do this week!

Big Week Marke B. - August 6, 2025

Music

23 years in, still grateful for free Jerry Day celebration

Mary Carbonara - July 27, 2025

Founder Tom Murphy looks back at the annual Jerry Garcia tribute concert in McLaren Park, and how it's grown over the decades.

Lit

Live Shots: SF Art Book Fair was rad and packed

Marke B. - July 14, 2025

Eighth edition of sprawling showcase featured tiny tomes, big names, 150+ booths, Karl Marx booty shorts.

Movies

Hot-mess bisexuals, Orthodox blackmail, Daveed Diggs: SF Jewish Film Fest dives in

Dennis Harvey - July 13, 2025

45th edition foregrounds comedy and conflict, kicking off with 'Coexistence, My Ass,' and playing throughout SF and East Bay

Food & Drink

Good Taste: An obsessive early guide to the Outside Lands food multiverse

Tamara Palmer - July 9, 2025

Fun bevs, free samples, fries as meals, super splurges, and more: It’s not too soon to plan your festival menu.

Onstage

At Fresh Meat queer arts fest, ‘conformity isn’t an option’

Joshua Rotter - June 16, 2025

Mudd the Two Spirit, more brilliant performers continue to lay annual showcase's transformative groundwork.

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Movies

CAAMFest 2025 spotlights ‘Boat People,’ ‘Yellowface,’ ‘Chinatown Cha Cha’

Dennis Harvey - May 5, 2025

Screen dives also fête the maker of the first ever feature film by and about Asian Americans, and investigate Chinatown evictions.

Music

Attack of the summertime music festivals

John-Paul Shiver - May 3, 2025

Yerba Buena Gardens, Stern Grove, Bliss Fest, Bottlerock, more fill day and night with sweet, wafting sounds.

Movies

Screen Grabs: Let’s run away to Greece

Dennis Harvey - March 11, 2025

Greek Film Fest brings new visions. Plus: Cinequest, Robert Townsend, 'Mickey 17,' Gunvor Nelson, Karel Doing, more movies

Music

Noise Pop wrap-up: Crispy Tater Tots, Nosferatu rap, and more local love

John-Paul Shiver - March 9, 2025

Final thoughts on the giant 32nd fest, which brought out 20,000 indie music-lovers and served up tasty treats.

Music

She runs Noise Pop—but she’s also a fan

Marke B. - February 21, 2025

Noise Pop CEO Michelle Swing talks about this year's sprawling fest, the org's big move, and where you'll find her in the crowd.

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Sports

All-Star Weekend buzzed with the best of San Francisco

Adrian Spinelli - February 18, 2025

NBA showcase brought out diverse crowds, civic spirit, and cultural hustle that make the city great—crispy BBQ brisket included.

Music

Your front-row, backstage, all-around guide to Noise Pop 2025

John-Paul Shiver - February 18, 2025

Soccer Mommy and Flamin' Groovies to Cardboard People and Marika Christine, here are some of the sprawling fest's best bets.

Movies

What we saw at Sundance 2025: 14 great docs, from epic to Pee Wee

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks - February 11, 2025

Unprecedented Paul Reubens, a Deaf rebellion, Leonard Peltier's resistance, and more real life from the 41st film fest.

Culture

10 uplifting ways to honor MLK this weekend

Marke B. - January 16, 2025

Rise above the rancor and speak out, sing out, march, dance, laugh, and create with our vibrant community.

Arts Forecast

Arts Forecast: Are we not Recombinant?

Marke B. - December 5, 2024

Plus: Peter Pan panto, Atsushi Kaga's bunnies, Velveteen Rabbit, 40 years of Lab, DJ Louie Vega, East Bay Zine Fest, more awesome stuff to do.

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Festival

Litquake 2025’s lineup is here, and it’s stacked like the Bodleian

VOTE NOW in the 2025 Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll!

Ficks’ Picks: Diving into CROSSROADS Fest’s river of experimental celluloid

BIG WEEK: Pistahan Parade, SF Fringe Fest, Chinatown Night Market, Outside Lands…

23 years in, still grateful for free Jerry Day celebration

Live Shots: SF Art Book Fair was rad and packed

Hot-mess bisexuals, Orthodox blackmail, Daveed Diggs: SF Jewish Film Fest dives in

Good Taste: An obsessive early guide to the Outside Lands food multiverse

At Fresh Meat queer arts fest, ‘conformity isn’t an option’

CAAMFest 2025 spotlights ‘Boat People,’ ‘Yellowface,’ ‘Chinatown Cha Cha’

Attack of the summertime music festivals

Screen Grabs: Let’s run away to Greece

Noise Pop wrap-up: Crispy Tater Tots, Nosferatu rap, and more local love

She runs Noise Pop—but she’s also a fan

All-Star Weekend buzzed with the best of San Francisco

Your front-row, backstage, all-around guide to Noise Pop 2025

What we saw at Sundance 2025: 14 great docs, from epic to Pee Wee

10 uplifting ways to honor MLK this weekend

Arts Forecast: Are we not Recombinant?

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