San Francisco - Alison Bing [2]
LUNAR NEW YEAR PARADE
415-986-1370; www.chineseparade.com
Chase through town the 200ft dragon, lion dancers, toddler kung-fu classes and frozen-smile runners-up for the Miss Chinatown title, as lucky red envelopes and fireworks fall from the sky like a February drizzle.
March
ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
415-661-2700; www.sfstpatricksdayparade.com
Since 1851, the luck and libations of the Irish have been liberally enjoyed in SF in mid-March. Renegade paraders ditch the official route and leap on booze trolleys with revelers whose entire vocabulary seems suddenly reduced to ‘Erin Go Bragh!’ and ‘Woo-hoo!’
ANARCHIST BOOK FAIR
http://sfbookfair.wordpress.com
Rise up and read freely at Golden Gate Park’s County Fair Building on the third weekend in March. Meet radical comic book artists, swap DIY tips for organic farming and web design, and find inspiration for your own manifesto.
ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
415-863-0814; www.asianamericanmedia.org
Two-hundred filmmakers debut features and documentaries at Sundance Kabuki Cinema during the third week in March.
April
PERPETUAL INDULGENCE IN THE PARK
415-820-9697; www.thesisters.org
Easter Sunday is all indulgence, all day in Mission Dolores Park: there’s an Easter-egg hunt in the morning for the kiddies, followed by a bitchin’ Bonnet Contest and the Hunky Jesus Contest, for those who prefer their messiahs with some muscle tone.
CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
415-563-2313; www.nccbf.org
Japantown blooms and booms with taiko drums, homegrown hip-hop, shrines and sunshine in mid-April. Foodies are drawn here from a 10-block radius by April breezes carrying the scent of food-stall yakitori, tempura, and gyoza (dumplings).
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
415-561-5000; www.sffs.org
The nation’s oldest film festival is still looking stellar after more than 50 years, with two weeks of star-studded premieres from the end of April to early May. Get tickets early and pace yourself: the longest-running film fest in the country is a marathon event, with 325 films (from countries as disparate as Denmark and Iran), 200 directors, and sundry actors and cinephile crowds subsisting almost entirely on popcorn at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema HQ Click here.
May
CINCO DE MAYO
415-256-3005; www.sfcincodemayo.com
On the first weekend of May, Mexican independence and Chicano pride come to Civic Center and Mission Dolores Park, complete with fantastic Aztec feather headdresses, gleaming lowriders, revolutionary speeches, chipotle chili beer and much more. ¡Que viva!
KABOOM!
www.kfog.com/kaboom; Pier 30/32
KFOG radio station gets the jump on July 4, with fireworks choreographed to the Ramones, kids’ activities and headliners like Los Lonely Boys supported by Scottish singer-songwriter sensation KT Tunstall. Take public transit to avoid traffic before and after the fireworks, which attract crowds up to 350,000 on the second Saturday of May. Tickets cost $20.
BAY TO BREAKERS
415-359-2800; www.baytobreakers.com
Many run costumed, others naked, some scared from Embarcadero to Ocean Beach on the third Sunday in May. Around 65,000 people run the race – though a few runners dressed as salmon run upstream from the finish line to the beginning. Race registration costs $44 to $48.
CARNAVAL
415-826-1401; www.carnavalsf.com
Brazilian, or just faking it with a wax and a tan? Get head-dressed to impress and shake your tail feathers in the Mission on the last weekend of May, and brave the inevitable fog – you might be surprised where it’s possible to get goose bumps.
June
NORTH BEACH STREET FAIR
415-989-6426; http://sfnorthbeach.org/nbfestival
Swing dancing, pizza-tossing and sidewalk drawings worthy of Leonardo have taken over the streets of North Beach mid-June for 50 years and counting. Get your pets blessed by a priest and sample juicy Italian sausages hot off the grill – che bella.
HAIGHT ASHBURY