Things to Do in San Francisco Bay Area with Kids — Family Events & Weekend Planner
1263 family events from official San Francisco Bay Area library, park, and museum calendars, plus 1499 kid-friendly spots and ready-made weekend plans.
FamHop tracks 1499 kid-friendly spots and 1263 upcoming family events across 46 San Francisco Bay Area cities and towns. Most events come straight from official library, parks, and museum calendars like San Francisco Public Library, Solano County Library, Santa Cruz Public Libraries — real dates, times, and official links, refreshed every week. Biggest coverage: San Francisco (890 spots · 963 events), Stanford (2 spots · 316 events), Berkeley (72 spots · 170 events). Pick a few stops, build a 3-stop weekend plan, and share a link so co-parents and friends can vote.
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Storytimes & weekly kids programs in San Francisco Bay Area
Nihonmachi Street Fair — August, San Francisco Japantown. San Francisco Japantown's free community street fair, held the first weekend of August continuously since 1974. Two days of taiko drumming, cultural performances, food booths, and a kids' area celebrate Japanese American heritage across the Japantown blocks.
Fremont Festival of the Arts — August, Downtown Fremont. One of the largest free street festivals in the western United States, run by the Fremont Chamber of Commerce on the first weekend of August: hundreds of artisan booths, a kids' zone with rides and activities, live music stages, and festival food across downtown Fremont.
Jerry Day — August, Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren Park. San Francisco's free annual tribute to Excelsior-born Jerry Garcia at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park, held around his August 1 birthday since 2003. An afternoon of live Grateful Dead-inspired music that draws families across the natural grass bowl.
Watsonville Strawberry Festival — August, Downtown Watsonville. Watsonville's cherished downtown celebration of the Pajaro Valley strawberry harvest: free admission, carnival rides, a kids' fun zone, live entertainment, and every strawberry treat imaginable, on the first weekend of August.
Bay Area Aloha Festival — August, San Mateo County Event Center. The Pacific Islanders' Cultural Association's annual celebration of Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Pacific Islander cultures at the San Mateo County Event Center: hula and Tahitian dance on the main stage, live music, arts and craft vendors, 'Ono food, and the Ohana Keiki Korner children's activity area. Free with a suggested donation; children 12 and under free. Held the second weekend of August since the 1990s.
Gravenstein Apple Fair — August, Ragle Ranch Regional Park. Sonoma County's beloved harvest fair under the oaks of Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol, held every August since 1973 to celebrate the Gravenstein apple: local farms, live music, a children's corral, and apple everything from fritters to fresh press.
Sonoma County Fair — August, Sonoma County Fairgrounds. The classic August county fair at the Santa Rosa fairgrounds: carnival rides, farm animals and 4-H exhibits, horse racing, nightly entertainment, and the famous flower show. A multi-week Sonoma County tradition for generations of families.
Laurel StreetFair World Music Festival — August, MacArthur Blvd, Laurel District. Oakland's Laurel District shuts down MacArthur Boulevard for a free day of world music on two stages, a Kid's Carnival, roller skating, and an artisan marketplace. A neighborhood fundraiser that has drawn tens of thousands of East Bay families for a quarter century.
Santa Clara County Fair — August, Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. The 82-year-old South Bay tradition at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds: carnival rides, livestock and 4-H exhibits, food, and live entertainment. Since 2026 it runs the third full week of August.
Gizdich Ranch Apple Picking — September, Gizdich Ranch. A fourth-generation family ranch in the core of Watsonville's apple country, originally purchased by Croatian immigrant Vincent John Gizdich in 1937. Apple U-Pick, which the ranch calls Pik-Yor-Self, opens in September. The Eata Nita Pie Shop, open since 1980, bakes 16 varieties of pie plus dumplings and puff pastries, and the ranch presses its own award-winning apple juice.
Sausalito Art Festival — September, Marinship Park. One of the West Coast's premier outdoor art shows, held Labor Day weekend on the Sausalito waterfront: hundreds of fine artists, live music, kids' art activities, and bay views.
Monterey County Fair — September, Monterey County Fairgrounds. The classic Central Coast fair at the Monterey County Fairgrounds: carnival rides, livestock exhibits, food, and entertainment, traditionally the first week of September.
Arata Pumpkin Farm — October, Arata Pumpkin Farm. Pumpkins have been a way of life at the Arata family farm on Verde Road in Half Moon Bay since 1932. The fall season brings the two-acre Minotaur's Labyrinth hay maze, a six-acre corn field with the Pumpkin River, hay rides, a train ride, guided pony rides, and a petting zoo. A haunted barn with live actors runs on weekend nights, and the farm keeps picnic areas open through the season.
Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival — October, Main Street, Half Moon Bay. A free two-day street festival on Main Street between Miramontes and Spruce, started in 1971 by the Main Street Beautification Committee and now the coastside's signature harvest weekend. The schedule includes the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, the Great Pumpkin Parade at noon on Saturday, four music stages, a costume contest, pie-eating contests, and pumpkin carving demonstrations by Farmer Mike. More than 250 artisans sell handcrafted work alongside food vendors.
Christmas in the Park — December, Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Downtown San Jose's free holiday tradition, produced with the City of San Jose since 1980: hundreds of decorated trees, animated musical exhibits, the Lima Train, and free Santa photos on Plaza de Cesar Chavez from late November through December.
Glowfari at Oakland Zoo — December, Oakland Zoo. Oakland Zoo's holiday-season lantern festival, a family-friendly evening walk among hundreds of larger-than-life glowing animal lanterns and light displays, returning each November through December.
Hillsborough Memorial Day Parade — May, Downtown Hillsborough. Hillsborough's hometown Memorial Day parade and remembrance ceremony — a family-scale Peninsula tradition with local schools, scouts, and veterans' groups marching.
Hayes Valley Carnival — July, Patricia's Green & PROXY. A free neighborhood carnival that has run for over a century in Hayes Valley: games and prizes along Hayes Street, food, and a one-ring circus performance on the PROXY stage. One of San Francisco's oldest continuous community traditions.
Bastille Day SF Festival — July, Embarcadero Plaza. The Bay Area's largest celebration of France's national day: French food, music, petanque games, a waiters' race, and family activities on Embarcadero Plaza, held the weekend closest to July 14.
Japan Day — July, SF Japantown. Japantown's summer cultural festival from GenRyu Arts: taiko drumming, awa odori street dance, karate demonstrations, and hands-on origami and calligraphy workshops around the outdoor stage at Post and Laguna.
Teddy Bear Picnic Day at Fairyland — July, Children's Fairyland. Children's Fairyland invites every kid to bring their favorite stuffed animal for a day of rides, storytimes, live shows, and the fluffiest picnic in Oakland — a mid-summer Fairyland tradition.
Milpitas Red, White & Boom — July, Milpitas Sports Center. Milpitas' city-run Fourth of July celebration at the Milpitas Sports Center: an evening of live music and food vendors capped by the city's fireworks show.
Healdsburg Independence Day Fireworks — July, Healdsburg High School. Healdsburg's hometown Fourth of July fireworks, launched from the Healdsburg High School area — Sonoma County families picnic nearby and watch the display over town.
Marin County Fair — July, Marin County Fairgrounds. The Marin County Fair at the Marin Civic Center fairgrounds, held over the July Fourth holiday: carnival rides, live music, exhibits, food, and a famous Friday night fireworks show.
Alameda County Fair — June–July, Alameda County Fairgrounds. One of the Bay Area's biggest county fairs: carnival rides, livestock barns, horse racing, concerts, and fair food across several weeks at the Pleasanton fairgrounds.
Stern Grove Festival — June–August, Sigmund Stern Grove. San Francisco's admission-free summer concert series in the eucalyptus grove at Sigmund Stern Grove: big-name acts on Sunday afternoons, picnic blankets on the lawn, and no ticket required — a Sunday tradition since 1938.
Recurring & returning programs in San Francisco Bay Area
Hillsborough Memorial Day Parade — Downtown Hillsborough, last held May 2026. Hillsborough's hometown Memorial Day parade and remembrance ceremony — a family-scale Peninsula tradition with local schools, scouts, and veterans' groups marching.
Milpitas Red, White & Boom — Milpitas Sports Center, last held July 2026. Milpitas' city-run Fourth of July celebration at the Milpitas Sports Center: an evening of live music and food vendors capped by the city's fireworks show.
Healdsburg Independence Day Fireworks — Healdsburg High School, last held July 2026. Healdsburg's hometown Fourth of July fireworks show, launched from the Healdsburg High School area — Sonoma County families picnic nearby and watch the display over town.
Friday Chess Lessons @ Union Square — Union Square, last held July 2026. SF Recreation & Parks' Friday chess lessons at Union Square: free drop-in chess in the heart of San Francisco, part of the park's daily programming series.
Friday Chess Lessons @ Union Square — Union Square, last held July 2026. SF Recreation & Parks' Friday chess lessons at Union Square: free drop-in chess in the heart of San Francisco, part of the park's daily programming series.
Family Storytime — Bayview Branch, Richmond Public Library, last held July 2026. Family Storytime — a recurring family program at Bayview Branch, Richmond Public Library in Richmond.
Mandarin-Cantonese Storytime — Millbrae Library, last held July 2026. Mandarin-Cantonese Storytime — a recurring family program at Millbrae Library in Millbrae.
Family Storytime — West Side Branch Library, last held July 2026. Family Storytime — a recurring family program at West Side Branch Library in Richmond.
Teen Super Smash Bros. Tournament — Library Program Room, last held July 2026. Teen Super Smash Bros. Tournament — a recurring family program at Library Program Room in Bay Area.
Free Summer Lunch — Newark Library, last held July 2026. Free Summer Lunch — a recurring family program at Newark Library in Newark.
Central Park Music Series — Central Park, last held July 2026. Central Park Music Series — a recurring family program at Central Park in Bay Area.