{"id":396953,"date":"2026-07-13T20:16:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/396953\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:16:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:16:26","slug":"a-115-year-old-hayes-valley-tradition-brings-free-circus-performances-to-the-neighborhood-this-saturday-heres-how-to-attend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/396953\/","title":{"rendered":"A 115-year-old Hayes Valley tradition brings free circus performances to the neighborhood this Saturday \u2014 here’s how to attend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Circus<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotos by Nix Guirre and Emil Alex, courtesy of Circus Bella<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed by:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u2013\u00a0
\n\t\t\t\tSenior Staff Writer\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0
\n\t\t\tJuly 13, 2026<\/p>\n

This Saturday, July 18th, 2026, the 115-year-old Hayes Valley Carnival will transform the neighborhood into a high-energy, open-air jamboree packed with Circus Bella performances, street games, prizes, and delicious food from local favorites. <\/p>\n

First launched in 1911 as a symbol of resilience after the 1906 earthquake and revived in 2022, this free, family-friendly celebration is a beloved summer tradition<\/a> drawing crowds to Hayes Street<\/a>, Patricia\u2019s Green, and the PROXY space.<\/p>\n

Things to do at the Hayes Street Carnival<\/p>\n

The Hayes Street Carnival is like an old-school carnival with a distinctly San Francisco twist, featuring world-class circus acts performing alongside a live band. <\/p>\n

Circus entertainment is provided by the legendary Circus Bella<\/a>, a traveling one-ring circus that brings high-flying acrobats, jugglers, clowns, and live music to the PROXY stage at Hayes and Octavia. Circus Bella is led by director and ringmaster Abigail Munn, with dazzling costumes designed in collaboration with Hayes Valley\u2019s own Autumn Adamme and brought to life by the team at Dark Garden Unique Corsetry. <\/p>\n

Beyond the circus performances, the streets fill up with classic carnival games, prizes, and family activities hosted by neighborhood shop Fiddlesticks and other local partners. Kids can try their luck at game booths while adults explore nearby merchants, snap photos, and enjoy the Shared Streets areas and around Patricia\u2019s Green.<\/p>\n

Food is a major part of the experience, so make sure you arrive hungry. You\u2019ll find mouthwatering options from local restaurants and pop-ups, including hot dogs from Hayz Dog and bites from Hayes Valley favorites like Teakwood by Burma Love and more. <\/p>\n

Event details at a glance<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccd Location: Hayes Street and Octavia Street, Hayes Valley, San Francisco<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc5 Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026<\/p>\n

\u23f0 Time: 12pm-4pm<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f Admission: Free and open to the public<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude87 Getting there: Easily accessible via MUNI to Van Ness Station, BART to Civic Center\/UN Plaza, and more; limited parking available<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf10 Learn more: Explore Hayes Valley<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photos by Nix Guirre and Emil Alex, courtesy of Circus Bella Reviewed by:\u00a0 \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Senior Staff Writer \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-396953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}