Around the Bay: What’s Worth Doing in August
August is the best month to be here. The fog clears out, the calendar fills up, and there’s something happening almost every weekend. Most of it is outside, & there’s a lot that’s free. Outside Lands takes over the park. Japantown throws a street fair that’s older than most of us. There’s a flea market on an old airfield with eight hundred dealers.
Here’s what we’d actually go to.
Nihonmachi Street Fair
August 1 and 2 · Japantown · Free
Japantown’s street fair turns fifty-two this year, and it still runs the same way it always has. Two stages, & food booths fill up Post and Buchanan, and there’s even a doggie parade that draws its own crowd.
It’s one of the largest AAPI festivals on the West Coast, 11am to 6pm both days, & no ticket needed. Fillmore and Webster get busy by midday, so take the 38 or the 22 if you’re coming from across town.
This is the first weekend of the month, which is also Alameda weekend. Both are doable if you plan it right.
Alameda Point Antiques Faire
August 2 · Alameda · $5 to $20 depending on arrival
Every first Sunday, more than 800 dealers set up on a former naval runway with the San Francisco skyline sitting across the water. Everything for sale has to be at least twenty years old. That one rule is why this isn’t like the other flea markets around here, which means there are no reproduction imports in the vintage bins.
Admission drops as the day goes on: $20 at 6am, $15 at 7:30, $10 at 9, and $5 from noon to 3pm. The serious hunters go early. If you’re browsing, go late and save the money. Kids under 12 are free.
Parking is free and there’s a shuttle. Bring cash, wear real shoes, and know that most dealers don’t deliver, so a car helps if you’re buying furniture. It’s also in a wildlife sanctuary, so no dogs unless they’re service animals.
Downtown First Thursdays
August 6 · Downtown · Free
Downtown fills up the first Thursday of every month with music, & food trucks spread across a few blocks. Eric Rhodes is playing this month. Come in after work, grab something to eat, see where the night goes.
Everything is outside and free to walk through, so there’s no commitment. Show up whenever.
Outside Lands
August 7 to 9 · Golden Gate Park · Resale tickets only
The biggest weekend of the Bay Area summer takes over Golden Gate Park for three days, with Charli XCX, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and The Strokes at the top of a seven-stage lineup. Single-day tickets are sold out, you must now purchase through reselling platforms.
Worth knowing even if you’re not going: if you live near the park, expect road closures and packed trains through the Inner Sunset and Richmond all weekend. Plan your Saturday errands around it.
Free movie in the park: The Parent Trap
August 21 · Marina Green · Free
Sundown Cinema returns to a full season this year, and August’s screening is the 1998 Parent Trap on Marina Green. Bring a blanket and get there before the light goes for a good spot on the grass.
Gates open around 6, movie at sunset, food trucks on site. It gets cold by the water after dark, so bring a real jacket. Walking, biking, or Muni beats trying to park in the Marina on a Friday night.
Pokémon World Championships
August 28 to 30 · Moscone Center · Some free events
The best Pokémon players in the world take over downtown for the weekend, and there’s plenty to do even if you’re not competing. There’s a free outdoor screening of Detective Pikachu on the 29th, plus hands-on activities and Pokémon Center pop-ups.
Bring a blanket and a layer for the evening. August nights here are colder than August has any right to be.
Two teams, ten minutes apart
Giants · Oracle Park Valkyries · Chase Center
The Giants play sixteen at home this month, and the upper deck is still one of the cheapest ways to spend three hours outside in this city. Get there early and walk the promenade behind right field, where you can watch a few innings over the fence without a ticket at all.
Ten minutes up the road, the Valkyries are having a season nobody expected. In their first year as an expansion team they’re 19-7, second in the Western Conference and one of the best records in the league. Nosebleeds run around $70, the building gets loud, and a first-year team playing this well is not a thing you get to see often.
More around the Bay in August
Stern Grove Festival · Oakland First Fridays · Dahlia Show · Yerba Buena Gardens Festival · Pistahan Festival · Oakland Pride · Gravenstein Apple Fair · Free National Parks Day
Every month, not just August
Three of these run on a schedule, so they’re worth knowing about past August:
Alameda Point Antiques Faire — First Sunday, every month.
Downtown First Thursdays — First Thursday, every month.
Oakland First Fridays — First Friday, every month. Telegraph Ave in Uptown Oakland, art and food and music.
We manage apartments across San Francisco, Berkeley, and Parkmerced. If you’re thinking about where in the Bay to land, our neighborhood guides cover Pacific Heights, the Marina, Cow Hollow, North Beach, Russian Hill and Nob Hill, and Parkmerced. Or start with How to Rent an Apartment in San Francisco.
Around the Bay goes out monthly. Sign up and it lands in your inbox before the month starts.
