Hundreds gather to eat, dance, and shop in downtown San Francisco’s Financial District for Bhangra & Beats Night Market on May 10, 2024. San Francisco is expanding night markets to the Mission, Fillmore and Visitacion Valley.
Camille Cohen/Special to the Chronicle
San Francisco’s push to turn streets into outdoor gathering spaces is expanding this year, with a second season of Valencia Live! in the Mission, a new Fillmore night market series and a proposed first-time event in Visitacion Valley.
The three announcements offer the latest sign that city leaders, merchants and private funders are leaning even harder on free street festivals to bring people back to neighborhood business corridors.
Mission District’s Valencia Live! returns with expanded footprint
Kids slide down the bounce house slide at the Night Market in the Sunset District of San Francisco on Sept. 15th, 2023. San Francisco is expanding night markets to the Mission, Fillmore and Visitacion Valley.
Felix Uribe/Special to The Chronicle
The most established of the three is Valencia Live!, the monthly Mission District street party that debuted last year and returns May 14. The free event will run from 5-10 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month through October, shifting its footprint along Valencia Street over the course of the season.
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Organizers said the event will start on Valencia between 16th and 19th streets in May and June, move to 17th through 20th streets in July and August, and then to 18th through 21st streets in September and October.
The series will include live music, DJs, salsa lessons, art vendors, outdoor dining, family activities and cocktails to go, according to organizers. Carnaval San Francisco will program the main stage at Valencia and 18th Street, with Mariachi Jalisciense Sandra Alvarez Hernandez, Cuicacalli Escuela de Danza and Los Peludos scheduled for the May 14 kickoff.
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Organizers said Valencia Live! drew about 45,000 attendees across six events in 2025.
“Valencia Street has always been independent, creative, and diverse — that’s what makes it special. Valencia Live! builds on that spirit while bringing the foot traffic our small businesses need to thrive,” Ron Elder, president of the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association, said in a statement.
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Fillmore After Dark expands into year-round night market series
People converge at the Chinatown night market in San Francisco on Apr. 12th, 2024. San Francisco is expanding night markets to the Mission, Fillmore and Visitacion Valley.
Felix Uribe/Special to The Chronicle
The Fillmore is also getting a broader year-round series built from a familiar holiday event.
Fillmore After Dark Night Markets began May 22 and is scheduled to return Aug. 21, Oct. 16 and Dec. 11 on the 1400 block of Fillmore Street at O’Farrell Street. Organizers said the free event runs from 4-9 p.m. and will feature food vendors, live music, artisan booths, community spaces and a kids zone.
The series is being presented by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Civic Joy Fund, Livable City, Citizen Film and Burge LLC. Organizers said it is meant to highlight the Fillmore’s cultural history while supporting local businesses and artists.
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“This market aims to honor the culture and history of the Fillmore and create new opportunities for local businesses and artists to thrive,” Civic Joy Fund Executive Director Luke Spray said in a statement. “This is a chance for the Fillmore community to celebrate what makes this neighborhood so special, and an invitation for surrounding neighborhoods to come and explore.”
Visitacion Valley plans its first neighborhood night market
In Visitacion Valley, organizers are planning what they describe as the neighborhood’s first night market. The Leland Night Market, organized by All My Usos with funding from the Civic Joy Fund, is proposed for Aug. 28 and Sept. 25 on Leland Avenue between Bayshore Boulevard and Peabody Street. Organizers said the event would run from 4-8 p.m. and include food, music, vendors and community resources.
They said the project is being developed with neighborhood groups, schools and local partners, with funding intended to support local hiring as well as stipends for youth, artists and cultural performers.
“Visitacion Valley has always been a culturally rich neighborhood, it just hasn’t always had the investment to match,” Spray said in a statement. “We’re really excited to be doing this market with All My Usos. They’re deeply connected to this community, and are well-suited to combine everything people love about night markets with a full slate of neighborhood resources.”
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Civic Joy Fund’s growing role draws scrutiny from artists
Main stage on Grant Avenue at Jackson Street during the Chinatown night market on January 8, 2025. San Francisco is expanding night markets to the Mission, Fillmore and Visitacion Valley.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
All three events have some level of support from the Civic Joy Fund, whose growing role in San Francisco street festivals has drawn criticism from some artists and organizers.
In recent weeks, that criticism has escalated into calls for boycotts, as first reported by Coyote Media.
Performance artist and organizer Mama Ganuush, in a widely circulated email and social media posts, urged recipients to “boycott the events listed below” and argued that attending Civic Joy–backed programming amounts to “providing free PR for a political machine,” citing tax filings and donor records.
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The messages question how the events are funded and who ultimately benefits, raising concerns about transparency and the influence of private wealth in shaping public-facing cultural programming. They also encourage voters not to support certain political candidates tied to the network.
In the Mission, Valencia Live! is being produced with Into The Streets and the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association, while in the Fillmore, the series is backed by a coalition of city and nonprofit partners that includes the Civic Joy Fund. In Visitacion Valley, the proposed night market is being launched by All My Usos with Civic Joy funding.