15 SF Bay Area Labor Day Weekend Events

This weekend is Labor Day – the official end of summer. With hordes of people fleeing the city for Burning Man, take advantage of the limited crowds and enjoy a last hurrah before closeting your white shoes and pants.

Here are 15 SF Bay Area Labor Day weekend events including art fairs; festivals; live music of every genre; free museums,; zines; lit; drama; mime; and more.

Most events have little or no admission costs.

Friendly reminder: there is no BART train service between San Francisco and East Bay the entire Labor Day Weekend so consider an event on your side of the Bay or use these tips courtesy of BART.

15 Bay Area Labor Day 2015 Weekend Events:

SAN FRANCISCO:

• Museums on Us – Bank of America Free Museum Weekend. Aptly named “Museums On Us”, anyone with a Bank of America (or Merrill Lynch) credit or debit card can visit participating museums admission free on September 5 + 6, 2015. One hundred fifty cultural institutions across the United States are in the program including nine in the wider Bay Area. Special exhibitions and ticketed shows are not covered by this deal but you still save the cost of admission making this a great deal. Click here for participating museums.

• Free First Sunday Asian Art Museum Enjoy free admission to San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum on Sunday September 6, 2015. The Asian Art Museum is one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian Art, with over 17,000 artworks spanning 6,000 years of history. 200 Larkin Street San Francisco

• The Golden Gate Park Band,  Head to the Golden Gate Park music concourse where the Golden Gate Park Band will play rousing American and patriotic music. Monday, September 7, 2015 @ at 1:00pm (Ninth Ave. and Lincoln Way) . FREE admission.

•  Shakespeare in the Park.  The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival presents Romeo & Juliet at the Presidio’s Main Post and Parade Grounds. Shows September 5-7 @ 2 pm (the show runs about 100 minutes.) Bring a blanket to sit on and a picnic.  FREE admission.

• 14th annual San Francisco Zine Fest has over 150 exhibitors from small-press publishing houses to first time self-publishers as well as DIY creators (writers, artists, cartoonists, crafters, illustrators, printmakers) are selling, trading, and sharing their work at this annual event. Plus enjoy two not to miss workshops/discussions. The SFZF Reading Room & Zine Library will also return. This collection of over 200 comics and zines showcases some of the finest creators in the Bay Area & beyond. Sunday, September 6, 2015  11am – 5pm @ the San Francisco County Fair Building 1199 9th Ave and Lincoln Way (in Golden Gate Park.) FREE admission.
  

•  SF Mime Troupe in Dolores Park – See the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe perform FREEDOMLAND, a thought-provoking piece which asks the questions we all have thought:  Are the police out of control? What happened to “innocent until proven guilty”? Is a young Black soldier safer in Afghanistan than walking down the streets of his neighborhood?  Shows in Dolores Park (19th St. & Dolores Street, San Francisco ) on Sunday, September 6, 2015 @ 2:00 PM (music 1:30) with a post-show discussion and September 7th @ 2:00 PM (music 1:30). NOTE: Also see the Mime Troop perform in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, September 5th @ 2:00 PM (music 1:30 )JFK Drive & Peacock Meadow, San Francisco(between the Panhandle and Conservatory of Flowers. All shows FREE ( but donations happily accepted.)
  

• Yerba Buena Gardens Festival – Hear the epic new work, Asian American Orchestra: 1945 A Year of Infamy –  commemorating the 70th anniversary of the atomic devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Created by percussionist/composer Dr. Anthony Brown and performed with the Grammy-nominated Asian American Orchestra, award-winning poet/performance artist Genny Lim and Voices Of A Dream vocal ensemble. Sunday, September 6, 2015, 1-2:30 pm @ Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. FREE. Yerba Buena Gardens’ esplanade, Mission and 4th streets, San Francisco 94103. Picnics welcome, blankets and low lawn chairs are encouraged. .

NORTH BAY:

• 62nd Sausalito Art Festival. Over 260 artists from around the world will exhibit paintings, sculpture, drawings, jewelry, ceramic, glass, fiber arts, woodwork, photography, mixed media and more. Plus enjoy top-name entertainers each day of the festival at two music stages; good eats; California wines and micro-brews. Admission $25/adults, $20/seniors (62+ yrs.), $5/children (6-12 years), children 5 years and under are free. Click here for information on transportation and parking + maps. Note: Outside food and drink are not allowed (grouchy.) No pets allowed. September 5-7, 2015, Saturday and Sunday 10:00am to 7:00pm, Monday 10:00am to 5:00pm @ Marinship Park, Sausalito.
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  • Sausalito Artists Open Studios

  Watch and meet about 15 artists at work as you tour their studios. All the ICB Art Studios are in the same 3-story building, with handicap access on the east side. Bonus: ICB Studios are within walking distance of the Sausalito Art Festival. September 5-7, 2015, at 11 am–6 pm @Industrial Center Building Art Studios, 480 Gate Five Rd., Sausalito. Free Admission.

  PENINSULA:

• Kings Mountain Air Festival. Set in a redwood forest the Kings Mountain Art Fair is an enchanting outdoor gallery showcasing 135+ juried fine artists and craftspeople across different mediums, including painting, photography, jewelry, woodwork, textiles, sculpture, toys, and furniture. Many children’s’ activities plus food, wine, beer, and live music. September 5, 6 & 7, 2015 @ 13889 Skyline Boulevard, Woodside.  FREE admission.

• 45th Millbrae Art & Wine Festival.  This Mardi Gras-style feast features two days of live music; a juried art show; food and drinks (including a microbrew tasting tent); an organic and green product showcase; home and garden exhibits; health and wellness displays; the “Classically Cool Car Show”; and tons of fun for kids. September 5 +6, 2015, 10 am to 5 pm. @ Broadway between Victoria and Meadow Glen, Millbrae.  FREE admission.

EAST BAY:

• Free First Sunday @ Oakland Museum of California. The Oakland Museum of California brings together collections of art, history and natural science to tell the story of California and its people from many angles. View the museum’s collection including: 70,000 examples of California art and design, created from the mid-1800s to the present; 1.8 million items representing California’s history and cultures from the era before Europeans arrived, to the 21st century; and 25,000 square feet dedicated to California’s unique and diverse climate, geology, ecosystems and wildlife.  FREE admission Sunday September 6, 2015. 1000 Oak Street Oakland 94607
• Shakespeare In The Park with Berkeley’s Inferno Theater. Inferno Theatre and Actors Ensemble of Berkeley perform King Lear. This version of the seminal family tragedy has striking visuals, physicality and live music. And because this is Berkeley in 2015, gender is fluid with many male roles presented as female. September 5-7, 2015 @ 4pm. John Hinkel Park Amphitheatre, 41 Somerset Place, Berkeley, CA. The amphitheater will open at 3 p.m. for picnicking. FREE Admission.

• Hiero Day 2015 . This all day music festival features multiple stages with local and internationally renowned artists and DJs providing continuous entertainment from Hip-Hop, Jazz, Electronic, Alternative and R&B. There is also a children’s area  Monday, September 7, 2015 (Labor Day) from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm 3rd Street, Oakland (between Chestnut and Market.) General admission is $19.93. Be sure to get your ticket in advance. Entrance will be $35.00 at the door!

• Ardenwood Rail Fair. The 15th annual Rail Fair returns to the Ardenwood Historic Farm (34600 Ardenwood Blvd.,Fremont) September 5, 6 and 7, 2015 10 am to 4 pm. The centerpiece of this year’s event is the 1890 steam porter engine‚ Ann Marie. Enjoy steam train rides, hand car rides, displays of garden railroads, model railroads, rail yard equipment displays, Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor displays, food, the children’s Hobo game, music and much more. Admission: $10/adults, $6/seniors (62+ yrs.), $5/children (4-17 yrs.), children 3 years and under are free. Free parking.

Put on those white shoes and pants for a last hurrah in 2015 and have a very Happy Labor Day!

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