Best SF Bay Area
Events, Weekends & Festivals 2019

We limit our picks to ONLY the best events in the SF Bay area in 2019, personally handpicked for local insiders to enjoy. Many are unique world-class affairs. A few are just a lot of fun. The events below are organized by month & regularly updated including local Pacific Coast time. Also see regular weekly events at the end of each month below and recently past events.

JULY 2019 — SF Bay Area Events & Weekends

Flower Pianos, SF Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park
12 straight days Thursday-Monday, 7/11/19-7/22/19, different times on different days
Free for SF residents, $8 Botanical Garden admission for non-residents.
12 pianos are set up around the garden for 12 straight days turning it into an outdoor concert hall.  It’s a good excuse to visit this beautiful place and hear some nice piano performances as well, some by professionals and some by talented visitors depending on when you go.  We went a couple of years ago and afterwards walked over to the de Young museum nearby to enjoy the Golden Gate Park Band.   See the full flower piano schedule.

Hillsborough Concourse D’Elegance, Crystal Springs Golf Course (just off Hwy 280), Burlingame
Sunday, 7/21/19, 10 am-4 pm.  $50 Admission
A nice way to spend a Sunday if you like cars.  It’s very close & not too crowded, the venue is quite pleasant and weather summer warm.  See more details.    For something even better, but much less convenient and more expensive ($375), try going to the Pebble Beach Concourse  on 8/26/18.

Sunday Streets, Sundays, Free at different locations
These Sunday events close neighborhood streets to cars so people can enjoy a large, temporary, public space where they can freely bike, walk, run, dance, skate, yoga & meet neighbors.  In our experience they do not get busy until later in the afternoon so there is no need to get there right on time.

• Sunday Streets Mission #2 (Sunday 7/14/19, 11 am-4 pm)
• Every Sunday at Golden Gate Park and Canada Road (off Hwys 280 & 92, Belmont) – Main roads are closed to cars every Sunday year round subject to weather for bicyclists & skaters of all levels to enjoy.
• For more details see Sunday Streets.

Amazon Prime Day 2019
Monday-Tuesday 7/15/19-7/16/19
Good discounts but for Amazon Prime members only. Like Black Friday after Thanksgiving, you get discounts from regular Amazon prices on over 100,000 products, especially Amazon brand products.   

National Ice Cream Month
July is national ice cream month and the third Sunday, 7/21/19, is national ice cream day.  Check out our San Francisco Ice Cream Page and Map for some of the best ice cream in the world any time of year.

Gilroy Garlic Festival, Gilroy
Friday-Sunday, 7/26/19-7/28/19, admission
If you like garlic-flavored food this event is big and unique.  They even have free garlic ice cream to help you handle the heat (bring a sun hat & sun lotion too).  There is also a Garlic Train from San Jose (charter train tickets must be purchased online in advance) to help avoid the driving & parking hassle.  See more details.  Also see our page on things to do in nearby Morgan Hill.

Berkeley Kite Festival, Berkeley Marina (Caesar Chavez Park)
Sat-Sun 7/27/19-7/28/19, Free (however parking costs $15)
Over 25,000 kite fanatics attend this event every year. Features great winds, spectacular views, live music and a three-ring circle of kiting craziness. See details.   It’s crowded but parking ($15) and shuttles can be found at a variety of spots including Golden Gate Fields.

Women’s Professional Tennis Tournament,  San Jose State University, San Jose
Monday-Sunday, 7/29/19-8/4/19, Admission (note: it’s usually on TV ESPN2 and ESPN3 too)
This tournament has been played since 1971.  In the past it has featured some of the top professional women’s players including Maria Sharapova and other Grand Slam Champions.

Fun & Free WEEKLY Events & Activities
Here are some good things to do that happen regularly every week in July.

• Yerba Buena Gardens Festival – Over 90 different events (music & shows) held various days of each week. (6/1/19-10/27/19)
• Off The Grid at Fort Mason Center – Friday Nights through October, This is the largest food truck event in the U.S. with over 30 independent food vendors, music and considerable action.  See details.
• Picnic at the Presidio, Main Parade Ground –  Sundays, 11 am-4 pm.  Off the Grid’s food vendors gather in this great venue.  March – October.  See details.
• Golden Gate Park Band – Sundays, 1 pm-2:45 pm.  4/28/19-10/6/19.  Located at the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park.  See more details.
• Swing Dancing in the Park – Sundays, 11 am-2 pm, year round.  Free dancing & beginners lesson in Golden Gate Park.
• Free Shakespeare In The Park, As You Like It – Free Shakespeare by talented actors appear in various venues around the Bay Area such as Pleasanton (June-July), Cupertino (July), Redwood City (August), SF Presidio (September), SF McClaren Park (September).  See calendar.
• Bicycle Sundays – Open Sundays round subject to weather.  Main roads are closed to cars on Sundays at both Golden Gate Park and Canada Road (off Hwys 280 & 92, Belmont) for bicyclists & skaters of all levels to enjoy.

Month of July – Other

• Pro Sports:  See San Francisco Giants .
• College Sports:  In the Bay Area you can see a variety of interesting collegiate sports up close and at low cost. E.g., the sunken diamond at Stanford is one of the best places to watch college baseball in the country. Check Stanford’s schedules for baseball or all sports.  Also see the Cal Berkeley, San Jose State and San Mateo Jr. College event schedules.
• FREE Monthly Museum Days:
  Typically the first Tue/Wed/Thu, every month at many Bay Area locations
  Many San Francisco Bay Area museums have free admission days once a month. See dates & links. Often these events are quite crowded but if you arrive early enough this is a way to see the best museums for free.