Musician and human rights activist Michael Franti will host the 2010 Power To The Peaceful Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Speedway Meadow and The Fillmore (September 10, 11, and 12, 2010). The Saturday 9/11 events are FREE all day, with the nighttime afterparty an affordable $10. PTTP is one of the largest free [...]

The Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival in San Francisco (September 11-12, 2010) is a delicious event that’s free to attend, but the tasting ticket is available today only for half price — $10 (reg. $20) from one of the Daily Deals sites cropping up everywhere. With or without the tasting ticket you can enjoy the festival [...]

Here’s a Labor Day weekend event (Saturday, September 4, 2010) that looks like fun, and you can get tickets for half price. the Day of Discovery Festival at Wente Vineyards in Livermore (about 35 minutes east of San Francisco). The good news is you can get tickets for only $14 (regular price is $29 to [...]

The 2010 Biketoberfest-Marin (Saturday, October 16, 2010) features bikes, beer, and food in Fairfax, birthplace of the mountain bike. Does it get any better? The free event includes a bike expo, vintage bike show, live music, more than dozen handcrafted beers from Northern California brewers, and plenty of activities for kids and families. While the [...]

DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK 2010, a free family-friendly Bay Area BBQ in McClaren Park, San Francisco, is a great way to spend a Sunday (September 5) on Labor Day weekend. You’ll find plenty of fun stuff to do, including an all-star DJ line up that will have you dancing all day long. They’re handing [...]

Belle & Sebastian will headline San Francisco’s Treasure Island Music Festival (October 16 – 17, 2010). Advance tickets are available at a discount straight from the Treasure Island website, while supplies last. You can also get service charges waived if you buy tickets at the box offices: More discounts may appear later through other sources. [...]

The 2010 Mountain View Art & Wine Festival (September 11-12, 2010) is a free event expected to draw more than 200,000 arts lovers to Silicon Valley’s epicenter. The multicultural celebration features the work of 600 professional artists and craft makers, live music, festival food and premium wines, microbrews and margaritas, an organic and green products [...]

The 2010 Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival (September 18-19, 2010), at Santa Clara’s 52-acre Central Park, will feature local artists, fine wines and mico-brews, international foods, and live entertainment on three stages. More than 50,000 people are expected to attend this free annual event. Central Park offers a spectacular setting for the community festival, [...]

FallFest 2010 (October 9) celebrates local Bay Area food, wine, and cocktails outdoors along the waterfront at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. The event is hosted by San Francisco magazine, and they’re rewarding their ItListers with a sweet discount if you get your tickets by next Monday, August 31. To get the promo code, [...]

Art in Carnegie Park, Livermore (September 18, 2010) is a fun end-of-summer event that draws thousands of visitors to Carnegie Park to view art demonstrations, buy arts and crafts directly from local artists, listen to live music, and enjoy local wine and food. Visitors can also browse LAA’s art gallery, a co-op run by the [...]

The Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival (September 25-26, 2010) is a fine opportunity to experience Beautiful Art in the Redwoods of Historic Old Mill Park. The highly competitive juried art festival, put on by local artist volunteers, features 140 local and national artists and attracts thousands of art lovers come from all over the Bay [...]

The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, in San Francisco, celebrates it’s 10th season, May 1 through October 10, 2010. The free fun includes no less than 100 events, from classical and jazz concerts, to opera and international music, to theater, dance, family programs, visual art exhibits, educational programs and cultural events. WHAT’S THE DEAL: 2010 Yerba [...]

The Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival (October 16-17, 2010), in the little town of Half Moon Bay, will draw the usual huge crowds of Bay Area folks willing to fight the terrible traffic just to see the giant pumpkins parade down Main Street. Or maybe it’s the pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, and [...]

SFJAZZ Summerfest 2010 features dozens of free outdoor concerts from June 10 through October 13, 2010. The concerts showcase local musicians and a range of musical styles, from straight-ahead jazz, to Latin rhythms, swing, blues, and vocals. WHAT’S THE DEAL: SFJAZZ Summerfest concerts are free. WHEN/WHERE: Various times and two locations. STANFORD SHOPPING CENTER 180 [...]

[San Francisco Bay Area Festivals 2010] Stern Grove Festival 2010–San Francisco’s annual admission-free outdoor concert series has announced an eclectic line-up of world-class performers for summer, June 20 to August 22, 2010. June 20 – Angélique Kidjo, Sarazino June 27 – HAPA, Academy of Hawaiian Arts July 4 – SF Opera, SF Opera Chorus & [...]

At the 2010 Berkeley Kite Festival (July 31 – August 1) you can watch high-flying kite activities of all kinds, like Team Kite Ballet, Japanese-Style Rokkaku Kite Battle for the Skies, the Worlds Largest Octopus Kite, and 20,000 sq. ft. of Giant Creature Kites from New Zealand. You’ll also find arts and crafts, festival food [...]

Eat Real Festival (August 27-29) in Oakland’s Jack London Square, is all about free and cheap street food, fresh summer fruits and veggies, live music, handcrafted local beers, and ice cream sold from the back of a bicycle. Grab some grub from your favorite street food vendors, pick up a ticket for the Beer Shed [...]

The Bicycle Music Festival in San Francisco (July 31, 2010) is a 100% bicycle-powered musical celebration. The free all-day event takes place annually on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice. To get the vibe of the festival, watch the video from a previous Bicycle Music Festival. The Bicycle Music Festival features a 2000 watt [...]

Looking for FREE Fourth of July fireworks, parades, and family celebrations in the East Bay? Me too. I looked around and found the following info for 2010. This is not a comprehensive list. If you know of another (or a correction), I’d be happy to post it here, as long as it’s free. Alameda: 4th [...]

Here’s the schedule of events I was able to find for you for free South Bay Fourth of July 2010 activities. Disclaimer: not all the events around the Bay are well publicized, so I do my best to dig up the information wherever I can find it. (Send me a link if I left anything [...]