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 [...]

The 2010 Fremont Festival of the Arts (July 31 – August 1) is not only free, they call the east Bay event “the largest free street festival west of the Mississippi River.” The Fremont Festival features two full days of the usual festival food, music, artists, booths, kids activities, a gourmet marketplace, a wine garden, [...]

Barnum & Bailey Presents Barnum’s FUNundrum – The circus is coming to the South Bay (August 18 – 22, 2010). Here’s a special offer for Bay Area On The Cheap readers, from HP Pavilion at San Jose: $5 off tickets, and no Ticketmaster fees, (although some fees apply). They’ll give you the best seats available [...]

San Jose Jazz Festival 2010 — whether you join the Salsa Flash Mob or go to the festival on multiple days, you’ll have fun saving as much as $5 on admission to this year’s Jazz Festival (August 13 – 15, 2010), or get in free if you volunteer at the event. With more than 1,000 [...]

The annual San Francisco Theater Festival (Sunday, August 8, 2010) is the largest theater event of the year. The event is a free indoor / outdoor massive celebration of live theater by the Yerba Buena Cultural Center in downtown San Francisco. The festival, presented in partnership with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, includes over 100 [...]

I almost forgot to tell you about this FREE summer music festival (July 24 – Aug 1), sponsored by Target with media support provided by San Jose Mercury News & KDFC. Pack a picnic basket and a blanket and sit on the University lawn. “Warm summer evenings, picnics on the grass and the music we [...]

I am so excited to announce a brand new California Academy special offer: 20% Off general admission tickets — and no fees added! Use our unique promo code 900047 at CalAcademy.org during the month of July 2010, and you’ll get 20% off tickets that are valid any day for a full year. (So they make [...]

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 [...]

You probably already know about the fun activities (and cool ride discounts) at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and the Friday night “Bands On The Beach” concerts that take place at the Boardwalk during the summer. But did you know you can catch free performances of Circo Brazil twice daily? The schedule includes two free shows [...]

LastSundaysFest (July 25 and August 29, 2010) will bring the best indie-pop/rock music, mixed with crafts, exhibitors and vendors, to the four blocks closest to the University of California on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. The city’s merchants will offer thousands of dollars in gift certificates as prizes for each festival. The fairs showcase the best [...]

Santa Rosa’s 2010 free summer concert series “Live At Julliard” (Sundays, July 11 through August 15) offers a fun way to visit with friends and local families while listening to live music. Bring your own wine, picnic dinner, lawn chair, Frisbees, even your dog. Wine, food and coffee are also sold at the event. Concert [...]

Nix the Netflix and hop on board the historic ship Eureka (built in 1890) at Hyde Street Pier for Floating Films. For a $5 donation, San Francisco Maritime Park is showing maritime movies, like Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat, the original Jaws, and Pirates of the Carribean: The Black Pearl. Refreshments are available for purchase. Catch two [...]

Of all the beautiful cycling tours in the Bay Area, these Wine Country tours are among the most popular. The emphasis here is on wine country and beauty rather than hardcore cycling, so don’t worry if you’re not fit for the Tour de France. Each of the following Napa Valley bicycle tours provide a relaxing [...]

CHEAP MOVIE TIP: Get movie tickets for only $4 at any AMC Movie Theater anytime  — that’s up to a $12.50 value. In the Bay Area that includes San Francisco, Emeryville, Santa Clara, San Jose, Cupertino. [Find Out More] The AMC 2010 Summer MovieCamp will play  kids movies for only $1 admission. You can also [...]

[San Francisco Bay Area Festivals 2010] The 2010 Mountain View Art & Wine Festival (September 11-12, 2010) is 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 [...]

Summer in the Bay Area means music in the park at various Bay Area locations. I just found out about this one in Pleasanton, at Lions Wayside Park. Bands are scheduled on most Fridays all summer through September 4, 2010. Is there another weekly Bay Area summer concert in the park that I should mention? [...]

The 2010 free summer concert series called “Live From the Middle Reach” runs on Sundays, June 27 through October 10, 2010 at C. Donatiello Winery, a boutique winery in the Middle Reach of the Russian River in Sonoma County. The music series features 16 acoustic performances by singer/songwriter bands, including returning favorites and new acts. [...]

San Francisco Sunday Streets is back, with several upcoming dates for 2010. SF Sunday Streets, San Francisco is a fun and safe car-free way for families to explore different SF neighborhoods and participate in a wide variety of activities — most of them free. You can walk, bike or skate with family, and friends, enjoy free [...]

The Town of Windsor’s Summer Nights on the Green 2010 offers a fun line-up free summer concerts on Thursday Nights, and free kids movies on Tuesday nights. For more information, see the Town of Windsor website. Starry Movie Nights Tuesdays, June 1 – August 10, 2010 (start 15 minutes after sunset) June 1, 2010 – [...]

If you’ve ever thought about riding a bike around San Francisco, but didn’t want to pedal up all the hills, get a deal on an Electric Bike Tour that lets you ride around the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, with a return by ferry. You can book this tour for $10 [...]