This Week's Top Stories

Haight-Ashbury

Six Haight Street Shops Push Back Against KEXP Music Hub Plan That Would Displace Them

Merchants occupying the ground floor of the historic Doolan-Larson Building say SF Heritage's partnership with Seattle radio station KEXP would erase the small businesses that define the corner.

A week after SF Heritage announced its partnership with Seattle public broadcaster KEXP and nonprofit music school Blue Bear to transform the Doolan-Larson Building at Haight and Ashbury into a music and cultural center, the plan is drawing fierce opposition from the merchants it would displace. A story published by the SF Standard on September 24 reports that the six small storefronts on the building's ground floor — home to gift shops, a salon, and a jewelry store — would be combined into a broadcast studio, cafe, and "neighborhood living…

Cole Valley

Cole Valley Fair Returns This Sunday for Its 23rd Year

The neighborhood's beloved annual street fair takes over Cole Street and Parnassus Avenue on September 27, with over 90 vendors, live music, children's activities, and a display of resident-owned vintage automobiles.

The Cole Valley Fair — back for its 23rd year — takes place this Sunday, September 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Cole Street between Frederick and Grattan streets, and on Parnassus Avenue between Shrader and Belvedere. The fair is one of the most compact and community-minded street events in San Francisco, filling just a few blocks with local artists, handmade crafts, food, children's activities, and live music.

Golden Gate Park

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Returns to Golden Gate Park Next Weekend With a Deep Free Lineup

The 26th annual festival runs October 2–4 in Golden Gate Park, featuring Emmylou Harris, My Morning Jacket, Mavis Staples, Los Lobos, Punch Brothers, and dozens more acts at no charge.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass returns to Golden Gate Park for its 26th year on October 2–4, and the full day-by-day schedule is now posted at hardlystrictlybluegrass.com. The three-day event is free to attend and typically draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the meadows just west of these neighborhoods — making it one of the most significant annual events for residents of Haight-Ashbury, the Panhandle, and Cole Valley, all of which border the park. The confirmed lineup spans country, folk, bluegrass, Americana, soul, and roots music.

Upcoming Events

Sunday, September 27

Cole Valley Fair

📍 Cole St between Frederick & Grattan; Parnassus Ave between Shrader & Belvedere, Cole Valley · 10:00 AM–5:00 PM · Verify · Eventbrite / Sunset Mercantile

Thursday, October 1

An Evening Honoring Steve Earle (Hardly Strictly Benefit Concert)

📍 The Masonic, 1111 California St, San Francisco · Various times · Verify · Funcheap SF

Friday–Sunday, October 2–4

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2026

📍 Hellman Hollow and multiple stages, Golden Gate Park · 1:00 PM–7:00 PM (Fri); 11:00 AM–7:00 PM (Sat & Sun) · Verify · Funcheap SF

Sunday, October 11

SF Bicycle Coalition Fell & Oak Member Committee Meeting

📍 Oasis Cafe, 901 Divisadero St (at McAllister St), Panhandle area · 6:00 PM–7:00 PM · Verify · SF Bicycle Coalition

More from the Community

The DeLuxe Reopened on Haight Street in June With Live Music Seven Nights a Week

Club DeLuxe — the storied Haight Street jazz bar that closed in April 2023 after a lease dispute — reopened on June 18 under a slightly updated name: The DeLuxe, at 1511…

Haight & Masonic Spot The Mellow Added Live Music in August

The Mellow — the cafe, plant store, and barbershop at the corner of Haight and Masonic that has operated since 2021 — began hosting live music in early August after owners Lorena…

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