The Ocean Beach Music and Art Festival is a like a big block party spanning a couple avenues of…read moreNoriega in the Outer Sunset! It's awesome to see the neighborhood celebrated, bringing in the community of residents, local vendors, food trucks, and local artists/musicians. Fun for the family with the jumpers, pumpkin patch, and weird puppet show (haha). But also fun for adults as there's beer, cocktails and booze available to enjoy with the music. There are two main music stages at opposite ends of the festival. Really liked the set up of the Bandwagon SF Stage. Snazzy set up. Shout out to Hibbity Dibbity for putting on a good set, as well as DJ Platinum Patton for keeping the good dance vibes goin'. From what I've learned, the event has expanded from last year. I hope that it continues to grow and garner support. All in all, enjoyable and chill time with friends, over drinks, food, and music. Helpful tip. Make sure to bring cash. Some of the vendors only accept cash, so to avoid paying a fee at the ATM in the local taqueria, come prepared!

Love all the local vendors and food trucks. Gus's put out a small pumpkin patch with hay that was…read moregreat for play and photos. There was a great variety of food trucks from coffee to poke to falafel to beer gardens in addition to local restaurants in those 3 blocks being open (Devil's Teeth, Papa Mak's, pizza place, etc). They had two stages with bands playing. There were lots of people without it being overly crowded. The only disappointment was that it advertised a bouncy house but there wasn't one there!

Attending the San Francisco Aloha Festival last week, which is now held in the San Mateo…read moreFairgrounds, a vendor informed us about this event happening this weekend in Golden Gate Park. Wanting to purchase something from last week's event, I came here to get more for a friend. With the Outer Lands concert this weekend, I feared that parking would be a nightmare so I took a chance by stopping at the public parking lot on 7th Avenue near Irving and scored a space with a broken meter (life is good!). Walking about three blocks to the SF County Fair Building, I heard the island music filling the air while entering the park. This is a small event, not surprising considering its only the 2nd annual one. There are only two food vendors in the courtyard area, a local non-profit serving plates and snacks and a shave ice stand to the right. Entering the building, there is a small performance area to the far left with chairs and a variety of mostly t-shirts and snack vendors in the hall. While waiting for my purchase, I picked up a chili and rice bowl for breakfast (note: it is homemade chili made with a nice twist); there are plate lunches and musubis available too. Think of this as the Aloha Festival's little 'bruddah'. If you are in the neighborhood or have some time, stop by and check this out. Nice to have a Hawaiian/Polynesian event actually in the City!

Let's start with the good - there were some cool shops selling snacks, clothing, artwork and more;…read morethe dancing and music performances were all excellent; and everyone was super friendly. But the food situation was one of the worst experiences ever. I love festivals, so whenever there is one in the City or Oakland, I try to attend. Pistahan, Carnaval, Haight-Ashbury, etc. So when I heard about a Polynesian festival I was intrigued. Florida doesn't exactly have a large Polynesian population. And of course I love food and trying authentic food. You started inside the main hall to ORDER the food. This process took close to 30 minutes but the menu sounded great - kalua pork, coconut shrimp, burgers, chicken strips, and tons of sides. Figuring this would be fresh/home made I ordered a coconut shrimp platter, a cheeseburger platter, and lumpia. As I saw they were out of singles I even ordered $4 worth of raffle tickets to round out my order to $30 even. Look, I like to support local organizations and groups so willing to shell out more if it is worth while... Similar to Mercy - after getting my order ticket I had to walk outside the main hall and wait in another line. And wait I did. Almost two hours. People in front and behind did the smart thing and left to get a refund. Fortunately there were spots to sit or lean while we waited, but at this point I was committed. Also fortunate were the people around me being nice and sharing conversation. After far too long I got to the counter to give them my ticket. I was told they were out of lumpia, so I requested extra coconut shrimp instead. After a few more minutes, I finally got my order. Burger with cheese Expectation: handmade burger with maybe some hawaiian seasoning, and a slice of cheese melted. Reality: you know those super cheap frozen burger patties that can't be considered beef? Yeah, imagine that with a slice of cheese thrown on top. The spaghetti was the highlight. Coconut shrimp: homemade recipe freshly fried, with homemade mac salad, like someone's favorite recipe. Reality: frozen coconut shrimp, mac salad literally scooped out of a giant wholesale box marked "Macaroni Salad" Again, I am happy to support local organizations, but $10/item and waiting almost two hours for wholesale quality items is insulting. They should have let people know this wasn't homemade stuff. I am not opposed to supporting this even in the future, but hopefully they either get professional catering, buy a couple of pigs and have a huge bbq, or bring in food trucks.

First time going to Outside Lands and I absolutely loved every part of it. The environment of being…read moreoutside with trees, nature and well thought out venue did it for me. The clean and crisp air was refreshing compared to festivals in Southern California. Only downside of it being in this environment it was a little dusty and hard to navigate the venue because the stages were decently far apart from each other. I'm assuming I will get used to it the next time I attend. We shuttled from the Cow Palace to Golden Gate Park and it was well worth having no stress of finding parking or using a rideshare app. It did feel like a far drive though. Check in process was easy through security. Once arriving inside we saw a plethera of delicious food spots. We ended up getting some bulgogi fries and a pretzel which both were pretty bad. I ideally just like EDM, house music so we enjoyed VNSSA + NALA= Girl Math to start it off, I really liked the vibes of this stage, wish I stayed for Walker and Royce later. Would have also been cool if they had a screen to see the artists mixing too for this stage. We then went to see the Wallows, Royel Otis which were amazing, my girlfriend loves these bands. Finished it off buying a blanket for merch and floated from Gesselfstein and Tyler the Creator. It was a bit pricey but I look forward to coming back again.

First time going to Outside Lands this year and had a great time! Super chill vibes. We shuttled to…read morethe festival from Cow Palace (would recommend if you're a commuter who doesn't wanna get stuck in traffic leaving)! I only went Friday, but the artists we saw were great! (Marina, ARMNHMR, Doja Cat) I loved seeing the fog roll in, as you only see in SF. There were so many vendors/booths and photo ops to visit! Also, the food here is definitely way better than food I've eaten at other music festivals. One of my fav parts this year was the customizable hoodies at the Gap booth! Would love to come back to OSL again next year!

First off, parking was an absolute disaster. Even nearby parking lots were either full or closed…read more Took about half an hour to find street parking about a mile away. Also this event needs WAY better crowd control. There were so many people blocking the entirety of the walkways to watch the lackluster parade. For those of us who were not interested in the parade, couldn't even get from point A to B. They need to section off the sidewalk. I can't even imagine if someone were to get trampled or if EMT needed to get by... The food choices were so sad. I was expecting way more traditional Japanese flavors but instead there were hamburgers, hot dogs and beer... I cannot emphasize how disappointing this event was.

Attended the festival yesterday and it was quite a disappointment after years of attending. There…read morewere so many people it was card to move during the parade. The construction between the 2 parts of the mall made a big difference, made it hard to navigate around. We watched about 10 minutes of the parade and were stuck in the crowd trying to move the rest of the time. That tuckered us out. We finally made it to drinks and food and found a spot at the tables. We were so tired we left soon after, we missed out on a lot of good vendors I am sure but it was really hard to navigate.

Orchids in the Park is an annual orchid/plant convention in the SF County Fair Building in Golden…read moreGate Park. They have a gorgeous showroom of orchids and other plants. They also hold classes on orchid care and more too. Then they there was another wing that had so many plants for sale. There were so many gorgeous orchids, a mix of common and rare ones and many other types of indoor house plants. You can purchase tickets at the door. This year it was $10. Great event to attend for plant lovers!

You're invited to Orchids in the Park sponsored by San Francisco Orchid Society on July 21 & 22,…read more2018 * 10 am - 5 pm at San Francisco County Fair Building (Hall of Flowers) 1199 9th Ave. San Francisco CA 94122 (9th Ave. & Lincoln Way), Golden Gate Park - San Francisco - California Admission: $5, under 16 free Information at: www.orchidsanfrancisco.org Tickets are on sale at: http://www.orchidsanfrancisco.org/orchid-events/orchids-in-the-park/ http://sforchidsinthepark.org/tickets/orchids-in-the-park-online-ticket-sales/ * Local and International Vendors * Orchids Companion Plants (Bromeliad, Epiphyllum, Carnivorous Plants... ) * Artworks, Materials, potting mix, books... * Display * Prizes * Demonstrations * Orchid Doctor & many more... Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SFOrchidSociety/ https://www.facebook.com/PacificOrchidExpo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sforchidsociety Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sforchidsociety/

Believe it or not, this is their 7th annual. It's only 3 blocks long with a mix of community…read moreChinese bilingual outreach programs and local retail booths with a couple of food booths too. There's a stage on Irving & 25th Av. for the stage performers and the MC and several rows of folding chairs where spectators can sit, listen, and observe. You'll learn the significance of the festival and what moon cakes symbolizes. We were there early and got to see the lion dance performance. Dress warm cuz you're in the Sunset where there's always fog. Attendance comprised mostly of local residents.

I finally made it to Stern Grove! Thank you Yuri! It is…read morebeautiful, tranquil & chilly! Huge space, wonderful staff members & really nice venue. We saw the Pointer Sisters. Although, only one sister is still living. Ruth is 79 & her daughter & granddaughter are now representing/performing as The Pointer Sisters. They were fabulous!

We arrived at 10am to wait in line for Bomba Estereo. You would think that arriving 5 hours before…read morethe show (set to start at 3:15) would be enough time to get a decent seat. Getting in is like the hunger games. People push eachother, yell at eachother and I was pushed out of two spots before I finally almost got in a fistfight with someone over an uncomfortable, dusty narrow spot of hillside where my party couldn't even sit next to eachother - we were basically in line down the hillside. There were so many VIP tables blocked off and the entire front grassy area was blocked off for dancing which I suppose is good except the dancing was so crowded that you really couldn't even maneuver. It was an absolutely miserable day of sitting in the dirt with a partial view - and I am still incredulous that I arrived at 10am for that. I will never go back. But two stars because it is free, which is nice... but you get what you pay for.

My favorite part of the weekend is going to this market. Vendors are awesome, samples galore, and…read morequality products/produce/etc. Check it out and you won't regret it!

Great neighborhood farmers market near APG middle school and St. Ignatius! Perfect place to get…read morebreakfast or lunch on a Sunday and checkout some local vendors. It's on from 9am to 2pm and they have ton of food options, craft vendors, and some produce. There's also tables and seating around too, along with some port a potties. It's also a family friendly market with some activities for kids. I have a few favorite vendors that I like to visit. - Driftwood Bread co for their amazing sourdough - Sakura Soup Company has delicious and easy to use soup bases for noodle soup. I like their beef pho soup bases, tastes just like the pho in restaurants - Maillards has great smash burgers! They usually always have a line

I've lived in San Francisco for seven years, and this was my first Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. I…read morecan't believe it took me this long to go! The entrance was smooth and well organized, though I wish there had been more signage pointing to the different stages. We ended up wandering a bit before finally finding the Afro-Cuban band we came to see. The overall vibe was relaxed, friendly, and mixed ages. I loved that you can bring your own food and drinks, but there were also plenty of amazing local vendors. The weather couldn't have been better this year, and I'm already hoping to make Hardly Strictly a new annual tradition. A must for good vibes and a fun thing to do for free!!

It's been some years since I last came to this festival. It's just as fantastic as I remembered…read more I came midafternoon on Saturday to see both Jeff Tweedy and Courtney Barnett. Both shows were all you could wish for. In addition, the weather was amazing! Sunny and perfect temperature. Next year I need to remember to bring a few cans of beer/wine, as they don't sell at the festival (I'd forgotten this). Fortunately, there was a cool little market on Balboa that had a great selection and was doing a brisk business.