A decade old, San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival is back with even more stuff to see, hear, taste, imbibe, play, devour and laugh at. We’ve rounded up the best of the event’s non-musical offerings that we think you should check out in the park this weekend.
1) Midnight Moon at Cheese Lands
“Oh, going a music festival? What kinda artisanal cheese plates they got on offer?” The answer is many. Yes, somewhere in the woods of Golden Gate Park, far from the the thudding bass of The Weeknd’s set, is Cheese Lands. The cheese experience is hosted by Cypress Grove, winner of the silver medal at the World Cheese Awards for their scrumptious Midnight Moon goat cheese.
2) James Acaster in the Comedy Tent
The Barbary Tent, co-curated with SF Sketchfest, is back with an impressive lineup of comics. Chelsea Peretti, Michelle Wolf and Phoebe Robinson are all headlining, but we’re particularly excited about seeing James Acaster, a weird, clever, goofy English kid who looks like a cross between Jarvis Cocker and Michael Caine. His recent four-part Netflix special, Repertoire, is glorious.
3) Brut Rosé from Scharffenberger Cellars at Wine Lands
Going to a music festival as a teen, I was satisfied with drinking cheap warm wine straight from a box before collapsing in a bush as Oasis played a few fields away. Now I need 120 local curated wines to be happy. Fortunately, that’s exactly what’s on offer in the festival’s Wine Lands tent. Festival-goers are encouraged to pass through to find some pink bubbles for their next show or linger to chat with winemakers about everything from harvest practices to biodynamics to wine pairings. Rock. And. Roll.
4) Get a Makeover, and Make Out
Show the folks at the DTFeel Fabulous tent your Ok Cupid profile, and they’ll fix your hair and makeup and send you off into the park to make some love connections. Even if you don’t find love, there are corporate-branded freebies!It’s like the Summer of Love all over again, but with apps.
5) Gavin Newsom at D.A.V.E.
D.A.V.E. — Discussions about Virtually Everything — is debuting this year. An interesting group of speakers will be talking in the Barbary Tent, including the lieutenant governor of California, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Josh Clark of Stuff You Should Know, who will all be taking the stage throughout the weekend.
Who knows? Maybe Newsom will announce his 2020 run for president in Golden Gate Park this weekend. You could be there.
Hey! The Bold Italic recently launched a podcast, This Is Your Life in Silicon Valley. Check out the full season or listen to the episode below featuring Eileen Rinaldi, CEO and founder of Ritual Coffee. More coming soon, so stay tuned!
