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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Here are a few free activities happening on the Peninsula for Independence Day, July 4th, 2010. I’m sure there’s more fun to be had for free or on the cheap but this list will get you started. (Have something to add? Please share): Redwood City: Redwood City Parade & Festival – Sunday, July 4, 2010, [...]

Looking for free 2010 Fourth of July activities and fireworks in Napa Valley or Marin? Here’s a list of North Bay festivities. (This isn’t a complete list — let me know if you’d like to add something): American Canyon: 4th of July Parade and Celebration – Sunday, July 4, 2010. Festival 10:30am – 6pm at [...]

[San Francisco Bay Area Festivals 2010] The 2010 Fillmore Street Jazz Festival in San Francisco (July 3 & 4, 2010), billed as the “largest free jazz festival on the west coast,” will draw crowds of more than 90,000 to celebrate jazz, culture and great food and drinks over the the Fourth of July weekend. The [...]

[San Francisco Bay Area Festivals 2010] San Francisco’s Union Street Eco-Urban Festival — one of the city’s biggest free festival, will take place June 5-6, 2010.  The Festival will showcase 150 arts & crafts booths, 25 gourmet food booths, two stages of live entertainment and bistro style cafes. The Union Street festival also features dozens [...]

[San Francisco Bay Area Festivals 2010] San Francisco’s Carnaval Parade and Festival will saturate the city’s Mission District with “Colors Of Sound, Splashes Of Culture” over Memorial Day weekend (May 29-30, 2010). The free festival and grand parade, billed as the West Coast’s largest annual multi-cultural celebration, draws hundreds of thousands of people for a [...]

Berkeley is the place to be this weekend as world music artists, many from the Bay Area, gather for The 7th Annual Berkeley World Music Festival, a free event on Saturday, June 5, 2010. A continuous schedule of performances will take place in Telegraph Avenue cafes and shops, near UC campus, and in People’s Park, [...]

[San Francisco Bay Area Festivals 2010] The San Ramon Art & Wind Festival takes place on Sunday May 30 and Monday May 31 (Memorial Day), 2010, in San Ramon Central Park. The festival will feature a Hot Air Balloon Launch on Monday at dawn, and professional kite flying demos on both Sunday and Monday. The [...]

The Tiburon Art Festival (August 28 – 29) showcases hand-crafted goods from more than 60 fine artists from all over the country. For a donation of $5, you’ll enjoy the festival’s quaint location near the San Francisco Bay, complete with live music, youth art and entertainment, gourmet food and wine. Check out the waterfront shops, [...]