Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Announces Special Summer 2026 Programming
/ Ronnie SharpeAPRIL
Nurtured in church, selected by Missy Elliott to launch her new label and now soaring into new musical realms, Lady Wray is a soul powerhouse making music on her own terms.
More than a celebration of indigeneity, Honoring Our Relatives seeks to bridge shared struggles across communities while centering the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people here on Turtle Island.
Sharing works that delight, provoke, inspire and rouse, the Poetic Tuesdays series turns lunchtime into a sumptuous literary repast.
As his band’s name suggests, Rafael Bustamante Sarria created LA GENTE SF as a vehicle to bring a cosmopolitan array of grooves to the people.
In Chinese culture, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom and superiority, and when the lion arrives you know it’s a special occasion.
The Sacramento-based taiko collective Iwa Daiko builds community through the thunderous power of percussion.
Spanning three generations and an array of celebratory Latin American musical traditions, René y Familia is the latest gift from an iconic San Francisco musical clan.
Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, a mini-festival of site-specific work, turns the Gardens’ various open spaces into a showcase for the extravagant creativity, diversity and vibrancy of the Bay Area dance scene.
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and Women’s Audio Mission bring Local Sirens to the Gardens for an afternoon of dynamic music.
A beloved Bay Area institution, Unique Derique is a prince among clowns, an internationally esteemed performer who has honed a singular blend of physical comedy and hambone body percussion.
In trying times, poetry and music bring people together. Join Nia Pearl for one-of-a-kind outdoor poetry workshops inspired by the physical environs of Yerba Buena Gardens.
Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, a mini-festival of site-specific work, turns the Gardens’ various open spaces into a showcase for the extravagant creativity, diversity and vibrancy of the Bay Area dance scene.
Curated by visionary East Bay percussionist Sameer Gupta of Rootstock Arts, Color Your Mind is a gathering of musicians dedicated to expanding the boundaries of classical Indian music and related traditions into exciting new territory.
Born in Côte d’Ivoire and long based in the Bay Area, Fely Tchaco seamlessly blends traditional Ivorian sounds with Afro-pop, jazz and world music, delivering mesmerizing performances that combine cultural celebration, storytelling and visions of social change.
A dancer, singer, teacher, playwright and filmmaker, Eddie Madril specializes in the dance and culture of the United States Plains Indian tribes from southern Canada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Celebrating Filipino and Filipino-American arts and culture, the annual Pistahan features 2 days of art pavilions and stages highlighting contemporary and traditional music, dance, art, crafts, cuisine and artifacts.
Sharing works that delight, provoke, inspire and rouse, the Poetic Tuesdays series turns lunchtime into a sumptuous literary repast.
Every summer some of Brazil’s greatest musicians gather in the redwoods of Cazadero for California Brazil Camp, and every season several faculty members venture down to the Gardens to share their mesmerizing music.
Joe Leon’s Caterpillar Puppets don’t just entertain kids and parents. His eccentric menagerie draws audiences of all ages into seemingly familiar stories that take unexpected turns.
The son of Ecuadoran immigrants, Roberto Carlos Lange is a producer and singer-songwriter who has created an expansive, intoxicating body of music as Helado Negro. Known for crafting compassionate, atmospheric, and experimental pop music, he joins forces with Reyna Tropical, a decade-long project led by Fabi Reyna, the Mexican-born, Texas-raised activist, and guitarist who also founded She Shreds Magazine – the world’s first and only print publication dedicated to women guitarists and bassists.
Movie Night returns to Yerba Buena Gardens! Enjoy San Francisco summer in September, and cozy up with family and friends on a cinematic journey.
The 7th Annual African Arts Festival celebrates the glorious diversity and extraordinary creativity of the continent’s peoples.
In a city built on tall tales, hard-boiled prose, revelatory memoirs, and penetrating reportage, Litquake is the soul of San Francisco’s cultural life.
A wind quintet with an imperative mission, Quinteto Latino is a singular Bay Area-based chamber ensemble devoted to breaking down the racial and social barriers that have long plagued the classical music world.
Since launching in 2023 Follow the Music has been at the forefront of a rising movement promoting arts education around the Bay Area.
A party, a workout, a meditation and a communal celebration, Yerba Buena Gardens Dance Day is a portal to a joyous dance-filled world! Presented by YBG Festival and Rhythm & Motion, YBG Dance Day transforms the Gardens into an outdoor dance heaven where participants can sample dance in a variety of forms and flavors with some of the Bay Area’s most talented teachers.
Join us in celebration of San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day with a magnificent profusion of Native American art, music and vendors.
The 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birthday has inspired dozens of performances across the Bay Area this year, but no artist is better equipped to evoke the legacy of the saxophone titan and spiritual seeker than Richard Howell.
Festival favorite Joe Bataan, a Latin music legend since the mid-1960s, returns to the Gardens for his third performance in the past four years.
Few artists have appeared at the Festival more frequently than flutist, percussionist and arranger John Calloway.
MAY
JUNE
JULY
Nurtured in church, selected by Missy Elliott to launch her new label and now soaring into new musical realms, Lady Wray is a soul powerhouse making music on her own terms.
More than a celebration of indigeneity, Honoring Our Relatives seeks to bridge shared struggles across communities while centering the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people here on Turtle Island.
Sharing works that delight, provoke, inspire and rouse, the Poetic Tuesdays series turns lunchtime into a sumptuous literary repast.
As his band’s name suggests, Rafael Bustamante Sarria created LA GENTE SF as a vehicle to bring a cosmopolitan array of grooves to the people.
In Chinese culture, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom and superiority, and when the lion arrives you know it’s a special occasion.
The Sacramento-based taiko collective Iwa Daiko builds community through the thunderous power of percussion.
Spanning three generations and an array of celebratory Latin American musical traditions, René y Familia is the latest gift from an iconic San Francisco musical clan.
Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, a mini-festival of site-specific work, turns the Gardens’ various open spaces into a showcase for the extravagant creativity, diversity and vibrancy of the Bay Area dance scene.
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and Women’s Audio Mission bring Local Sirens to the Gardens for an afternoon of dynamic music.
A beloved Bay Area institution, Unique Derique is a prince among clowns, an internationally esteemed performer who has honed a singular blend of physical comedy and hambone body percussion.
AUGUST
Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, a mini-festival of site-specific work, turns the Gardens’ various open spaces into a showcase for the extravagant creativity, diversity and vibrancy of the Bay Area dance scene.
In trying times, poetry and music bring people together. Join Nia Pearl for one-of-a-kind outdoor poetry workshops inspired by the physical environs of Yerba Buena Gardens.
Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, a mini-festival of site-specific work, turns the Gardens’ various open spaces into a showcase for the extravagant creativity, diversity and vibrancy of the Bay Area dance scene.
Curated by visionary East Bay percussionist Sameer Gupta of Rootstock Arts, Color Your Mind is a gathering of musicians dedicated to expanding the boundaries of classical Indian music and related traditions into exciting new territory.
Born in Côte d’Ivoire and long based in the Bay Area, Fely Tchaco seamlessly blends traditional Ivorian sounds with Afro-pop, jazz and world music, delivering mesmerizing performances that combine cultural celebration, storytelling and visions of social change.
A dancer, singer, teacher, playwright and filmmaker, Eddie Madril specializes in the dance and culture of the United States Plains Indian tribes from southern Canada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Celebrating Filipino and Filipino-American arts and culture, the annual Pistahan features 2 days of art pavilions and stages highlighting contemporary and traditional music, dance, art, crafts, cuisine and artifacts.
Sharing works that delight, provoke, inspire and rouse, the Poetic Tuesdays series turns lunchtime into a sumptuous literary repast.
Every summer some of Brazil’s greatest musicians gather in the redwoods of Cazadero for California Brazil Camp, and every season several faculty members venture down to the Gardens to share their mesmerizing music.
Joe Leon’s Caterpillar Puppets don’t just entertain kids and parents. His eccentric menagerie draws audiences of all ages into seemingly familiar stories that take unexpected turns.
The son of Ecuadoran immigrants, Roberto Carlos Lange is a producer and singer-songwriter who has created an expansive, intoxicating body of music as Helado Negro. Known for crafting compassionate, atmospheric, and experimental pop music, he joins forces with Reyna Tropical, a decade-long project led by Fabi Reyna, the Mexican-born, Texas-raised activist, and guitarist who also founded She Shreds Magazine – the world’s first and only print publication dedicated to women guitarists and bassists.
The 7th Annual African Arts Festival celebrates the glorious diversity and extraordinary creativity of the continent’s peoples.
SEPTEMBER
Movie Night returns to Yerba Buena Gardens! Enjoy San Francisco summer in September, and cozy up with family and friends on a cinematic journey.
OCTOBER
In a city built on tall tales, hard-boiled prose, revelatory memoirs, and penetrating reportage, Litquake is the soul of San Francisco’s cultural life.
A wind quintet with an imperative mission, Quinteto Latino is a singular Bay Area-based chamber ensemble devoted to breaking down the racial and social barriers that have long plagued the classical music world.
Since launching in 2023 Follow the Music has been at the forefront of a rising movement promoting arts education around the Bay Area.
A party, a workout, a meditation and a communal celebration, Yerba Buena Gardens Dance Day is a portal to a joyous dance-filled world! Presented by YBG Festival and Rhythm & Motion, YBG Dance Day transforms the Gardens into an outdoor dance heaven where participants can sample dance in a variety of forms and flavors with some of the Bay Area’s most talented teachers.
Join us in celebration of San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day with a magnificent profusion of Native American art, music and vendors.
The 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birthday has inspired dozens of performances across the Bay Area this year, but no artist is better equipped to evoke the legacy of the saxophone titan and spiritual seeker than Richard Howell.
Festival favorite Joe Bataan, a Latin music legend since the mid-1960s, returns to the Gardens for his third performance in the past four years.
Few artists have appeared at the Festival more frequently than flutist, percussionist and arranger John Calloway.
The 25th annual Halloween Hoopla is back with family-friendly frights and delights for kids under 10 and their adults!
