If your New Year’s resolution is to try new things and you’ve already fallen back into your work/Netflix/sleep routine, then get off your ass and check out the list below. Regardless of location, cost or time, the below to-do’s will have you seeing the good, the bad and the naked of the Bay Area.
1) Off the Grid
No, don’t delete your Facebook account and throw your phone into the ocean. Off the Grid is a group of food trucks that travel throughout the Bay Area — almost all of it ranging from San Francisco to Pleasant Hill to Larkspur. If you haven’t been yet, go. There’s frequently live music, beer and wine, and the food the trucks serve ranges from adobo to lumpia to lobster rolls.
2) Free Museum Days
The Bay is home to some big-league museums, and that can mean big-league prices — except on days when admission is free. The Exploratorium, the Conservatory of Flowers and the Legion of Honor, among others, all offer free-admission days a few times a year. Be sure to keep tabs and plan ahead. You’ll want to show up early to get in line so you don’t spend the entirety of the day waiting to get in.
3) Palace of Fine Arts
You live in a place that has leftovers from the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition 100 years ago. Go do something about it. The Palace of Fine Arts is free and open to the public so long as the sun is up, Sunday through Saturday.
4) World Dog-Surfing Championships
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. How could you not want to watch dogs surf in a cute little competition? It’s at Linda Mar Beach on August 2 and completely free to the public.
5) Carnaval
Sort of like a Brazilian Mardi Gras, the Carnaval celebration and parade is on May 26 and 27. Go for the fabulous costumes and food, and stay for the culture lessons — the festival claims to be the largest multicultural celebration on the West Coast.
6) Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival
While we’re educating you about the rest of the world, pop through San Francisco’s Japantown in April for the Sakura Blossom Festival. For 50 years, the festival “serves to cultivate the continued alliance between Japan and United States, using culture as its bridge.” We all know you want to go to satisfy your inner weeaboo, which you just can’t seem to kill—and that’s all right too.
7) Folsom Street Fair
Ever thought to yourself, “Man, I know I have a fetish, but I wish there were an open and accepting street fair where I could try a few things out and ask a bunch of otherwise humiliating questions?” Did you then get a little turned on by your own humiliation? The Folsom Street Fair takes place on September 30 on Folsom Street between 8th and 13th Streets. The fair offers several blocks of suspension demonstrations, paddle sales, lube samples and garlic noodles. All very sexy, and all very cheap — admission is only $10 at the gate, and that includes a sticker for discounted drinks. But be prepared — you’re gonna see some dicks. Literally.
8) “The Wave Organ”
Speaking of dicks, why not go and find San Francisco’s hidden organ? Kidding — this is actually an acoustic sculpture funded by the Exploratorium in the ’80s. It’s on a jetty in the Marina district, and you can experience the wave-activated pipes in all their eerie glory for free.
9) Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze
OK, yes, this is at Pier 39. But just throw your elbows at the tourists because this one is worth it. It’s open seven days a week, and for just $5, you can wander through a labyrinth of mirrors lit up in funky black-light displays. It’s worth it for the “trip” and the Instagram photo.
10) “Beach Blanket Babylon”
The world’s longest-running musical revue is uniquely San Francisco. Beach Blanket Babylon takes on pop culture, current events and local satire in the form of a Snow White fairy-tale spoof. And you can swing through North Beach for dinner afterward, which makes this a better date night than your Thai food and the latest Marvel blockbuster.
11) Stargazing on Mount Diablo
You know what else you can do this year? Leave the city. I KNOW. I know. But just trust me—there’s a whole world out there. A universe, even! You can catch a glimpse of the latter by attending one of the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society stargazing nights on Mount Diablo. The event is free, but you just have to make sure you’re at the lower-summit parking lot before the park closes so that you can catch the shuttle up to the telescopes. When was the last time you saw the stars, anyway?
12) Renaissance Faire
You know those sitcom episodes in which all your favorite characters dress up in medieval outfits and eat turkey legs? Re-create your favorite and attend the Northern California Renaissance Faire in Hollister, California. The Faire opens on September 16 and runs on every weekend until October 15. There’s jousting and an artisan marketplace, and each weekend has a different theme — including pirates and fairies.
13) Cupid’s Undie Run
In case you’re one of those freaks who enjoys running but doesn’t want to deal with the 24 hour shit-fest that is Bay to Breakers, then why not try the San Francisco Cupid’s Undie Run on February 17 instead? You can jog in your tighty-whities with just about everyone else you would never want to see jogging in their tighty-whities while raising money for neurofibromatosis research.
14) Pillow Fight
It may be that 2018 is the year you break down all those walls you built against randomly hitting strangers and join the world’s biggest pillow fight right on the Embarcadero. The bonus here is that it’s on Valentine’s Day, so you can really get out those heartbreak frustrations with thousands of other strangers.
15) Grizzly Peak
Even if you’re not much of a hiker, the view from the top of Grizzly Peak can’t be beat. If you’ve ever wondered what all of the Bay laid out at once looks like, you’ll need to swing through this East Bay landmark. If you go at the right time of day, it’s a quick drive over to the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley, where you can snag a spot at the best place to watch the sunset in the Bay — all for free.
16) Oakland First Fridays
On every first Friday of the month, weather and circumstance permitting, Telegraph Avenue from West Grand to 27th shuts down to traffic and fills with art, music and food. Some months have themes — February, for example, is Black Arts for Black History Month — so the events are always changing. First Fridays in the summer are especially fun. You can’t beat street performers, warm weather and a cold drink in the middle of July.
17) Berkeley Kite Festival
Synchronized kite dancing is real, y’all. It’s exactly as mesmerizing as it sounds, and the Berkeley Kite Festival is one of the only places where you can see it. The festival is free and makes for a fun, family-friendly jaunt out to the Berkeley Marina, where you can indulge in all the regular-fair food while trying your hand at some high-flying artistry.
18) The Good Ol’ Standbys
If you’ve made it to the end of this list and nothing leapt out at you for your 2018, then fear not — all your regular favorites will still be happening this year. San Francisco Pride, Bay to Breakers, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Outside Lands — among many, many others — will all take place at their usual time and place. So get out there and enjoy the Bay.
