Summer may get the festivals, foggy park days, and outdoor concerts, but fall is when the Bay Area's cultural calendar really shows off.
This season, BTS superstar RM is taking over an entire floor of SFMOMA, ancient Egyptian treasures are landing at the de Young, and Azzedine Alaïa is bringing serious fashion drama to the Legion of Honor. Beyond the museums, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant is heading to Golden Gate Park, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter are bound for Monterey, and Robyn and Swedish House Mafia are turning Pier 80 into one giant dance floor. Add ballet from San José to Berkeley and Litquake, which will transform San Francisco into one big book club—with 7x7 joining the Lit Crawl fun.
Throw in Dolly Parton Day, Día de los Muertos celebrations around the Bay, and a final dance beneath R-Evolution, and you’ve got enough to keep your calendar full through November.
Here are 20 fall events worth getting tickets for in advance:
Museums + Art Galleries
One of the 200 works from the collections of BTS' RM and SFMOMA on display this fall
(Wayne Thiebaud, 'Clown and Beast', 2018-2019; collection SFMOMA, gift of the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation in memory of Paul LeBaron Thiebaud (1960-2010); photo by Don Ross)
RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me
RM, global K-pop superstar and member of BTS, is teaming up with SFMOMA for the first museum exhibition drawn from his personal collection, filling the museum’s seventh floor with nearly 200 works. Modern and contemporary Korean artists will mingle with international heavyweights, including pieces never before shown publicly in the U.S. // October 3rd through February 7th, 2027; SFMOMA, 151 3rd St. (SoMa), sfmoma.org
Treasures of the Pharaohs
Gold, gods, monumental statues, and a civilization that still knows how to steal the spotlight after 3,000 years: Ancient Egypt takes over the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park this fall. The exhibition gathers 130 objects from imposing granite sculptures to intricate jewelry, for a sweeping look at pharaohs, royal life, religion, death, and the afterlife. // Now through January 31st, 2027; de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr. (Golden Gate Park), famsf.org
Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion
Long before body-con became a buzzword, Azzedine Alaïa was making clothes that turned the body into architecture. The Tunisian-born, Paris-based designer nicknamed the “King of Cling” gets his first major U.S. retrospective with around 80 looks tracing his obsessive approach to cut, construction, and silhouette. Expect fashion history with plenty of glamour, including designs connected to famous Alaïa women such as Grace Jones, Tina Turner, and Rihanna. // November 21st through April 11th, 2027; Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave. (Outer Richmond), famsf.org
UnSupervised at Queer Arts Featured
A very San Francisco address gets another chapter. Queer Arts Featured, the artist-led gallery occupying the former Castro Camera storefront at 575 Castro St., presents UnSupervised, bringing together queer and trans Bay Area artists examining daily life, community, and visions of the future. Bonus history lesson: yes, this is the very storefront once occupied by Harvey Milk. // October 2nd through November 29th; Queer Arts Featured, 575 Castro St. (Castro), queerartsfeatured.com
Music
The Portola Music Festival is September 26th and 27th at Pier 80 in San Francisco.
(Courtesy of Portola Music Festival)
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
The name still says bluegrass, but the lineup is so much more. Robert Plant, the legendary voice behind Led Zeppelin, joins this year's Hardly Strictly lineup with Saving Grace and Suzi Dian, bringing his latest rootsy chapter (and the possibility of some radically reimagined Zeppelin) to San Francisco's famously free festival. The stacked bill also features Emmylou Harris, Mavis Staples, Los Lobos, My Morning Jacket, Molly Tuttle, Punch Brothers, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Lukas Nelson, Old Crow Medicine Show, and more. Three days, multiple stages, zero admission: still one of the best deals in town. // October 2nd to 4th; Hellman Hollow, Lindley Meadow, and Marx Meadow (Golden Gate Park), hardlystrictlybluegrass.com
Monterey Jazz Festival
Jazz royalty heads to Monterey for the 69th Monterey Jazz Festival in September, and this year the lineup gives the word “legendary” plenty to work with. Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter will reunite for For Miles, a one-time-only performance celebrating Miles Davis' centennial, while Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra join forces with Cécile McLorin Salvant. Also on the bill: Meshell Ndegeocello, Charles Lloyd, Ravi Coltrane, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Shemekia Copeland, Ambrose Akinmusire, Brian Blade, and more. // September 25th to 27th; Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairground Rd. (Monterey), montereyjazz.org
Portola Music Festival
Pier 80 becomes one enormous waterfront dance floor when Portola returns for its fifth round. This year's bill is stacked with artists including Robyn, Swedish House Mafia, Tiësto, Zara Larsson, Dog Blood (Skrillex and Boys Noize), Skepta, Tove Lo, Four Tet, Fatboy Slim, Mochakk, Kelela, Melanie C, DJ Shadow, and enough additional electronic firepower to make comfortable shoes a very smart decision. // September 26th and 27th; Pier 80, 401 Cesar Chavez St. (Dogpatch), portolamusicfestival.com
San Francisco Symphony Fall Highlights
The San Francisco Symphony is making a convincing argument for spending more time at Davies Symphony Hall this fall. Violin superstar Hilary Hahn headlines the Opening Gala on September 24th, Fantastic Negrito joins the orchestra for a one-night-only collaboration on September 26th, and soprano Renée Fleming brings Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs on October 1st, 3rd and 4th. // Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave. (Civic Center), sfsymphony.org
San Francisco Opera Fall Highlights
Why choose one night at the opera when fall brings three very different temptations? While performances are currently paused as the orchestra negotiates for better wages, we’re hoping that Verdi's Simon Boccanegra will be back (originally intended to continue through September 27th with music director Eun Sun Kim on the podium. Thea Musgrave's Mary, Queen of Scots (planned for September 20th to October 4th) brings royal intrigue and a long-awaited company mainstage premiere, while Massenet's deliciously romantic Manon (planned for October 15th to November 1st) stars Amina Edris and Pene Pati in a tale of love, luxury, and terrible decisions. // Select dates, check the website for information about which shows will go on; War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. (Civic Center), sfopera.com
Theater, Film + Literature
The San Francisco Playhouse takes on 'Peter Pan Goes Wrong' from September 26th through November 28th.
(Courtesy of @sfplayhouse)
Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Neverland has seen better days. From the creators of The Play That Goes Wrong comes Peter Pan Goes Wrong, where the Cornley Drama Society attempts J.M. Barrie’s classic as flying rigs fail, scenery rebels, lines disappear, and a crocodile adds to the chaos. Expect two hours of expertly orchestrated theatrical disaster. // September 26th through November 28th; San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St. (Union Square), sfplayhouse.org
Litquake
For three weeks, San Francisco becomes one giant book club—with better parties. Litquake scatters author conversations, readings, performances, screenings, and literary gatherings around the city before building to Lit Crawl on October 24th, when writers and readers take over the Mission. This year, 7x7 joins the fun at Ritual Coffee on Valencia with Dramatic Readings of Not-So-Dramatic Local Stories, digging into 25 years of archives to resurrect poor predictions, ridiculous recommendations, and trends that definitely did not take over San Francisco. // October 4th to 24th; various venues around San Francisco, litquake.org
Mill Valley Film Festival
Awards-season obsessives know the drill: Catch the movie in Marin now, brag that you saw it before everyone else later. The 49th Mill Valley Film Festival brings 11 days of international films, documentaries, shorts, filmmaker appearances, and special events to Marin and Berkeley—plus a decent chance of spotting a future Oscar contender before the hype machine really starts. // October 1st to 11th; various locations, mvff.com
Jean-Baptiste Phou: Identity, Diaspora + Coming Out of My Skin
French-Cambodian writer, filmmaker, and performer Jean-Baptiste Phou comes to the Bay Area as a 2026 Villa Albertine artist-in-residence, researching a new collective book around voices from the Cambodian diaspora. Catch him at City Lights with Isabelle Thuy Pelaud; at Alliance Française Silicon Valley for a screening and workshop; and at the Palo Alto Art Center for a free reading-performance and a screening exploring identity, family, language, and cultural transmission. He wraps up at Litquake with César Cadabes at Telegraph Hill Books. // October 8th through 17th; various locations in the Bay Area, villa-albertine.org
Dance
Smuin Contemporary Ballet opens fall with 'French Kiss', on now through October 18th.
(Courtesy of @smuinballet)
French Kiss
Smuin Contemporary Ballet opens fall with a little French flair—and three reasons to make a date with dance. Amy Seiwert’s French Kiss returns with its playful, colorful take on contemporary ballet joined by Michael Smuin’s moving Stabat Mater. The program also brings a world premiere from My’Kal Stromile, fresh from commissions with the Paris Opera Ballet and Boston Ballet and making his Bay Area debut. // Now through October 18th; various locations in Mountain View, Walnut Creek, and San Francisco, smuinballet.org
The Australian Ballet: Oscar
Oscar Wilde goes en pointe. Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon turns the writer's wit, glamour, love affairs, and downfall into Oscar, a theatrical ballet making its North American premiere in Berkeley with The Australian Ballet. Expect classical technique with considerably more drama than your average tutu. // September 25–27; Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall (Berkeley), calperformances.org
New Ballet Season Preview
Ballet meets museum night in downtown San José when New Ballet, San José’s professional company, gives audiences a free sneak peek of its 10th-anniversary season, with dancers performing selections from the upcoming 2026–27 lineup inside the San José Museum of Art. Artistic and executive director Dalia Rawson adds behind-the-scenes commentary, and because it’s part of SJMA’s First Friday, you can wander the galleries between pirouettes. // October 2nd from 6pm to 9pm; San José Museum of Art, 110 S. Market St. (San José), sjmusart.org
San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest
Breaking, popping, locking, waacking, krump, house—the San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest is basically a world tour without leaving the Palace of Fine Arts. Now in its 28th year, the festival brings dancers and companies from around the world and the Bay Area together for a weekend celebrating hip hop dance in all its glorious forms. // November 14–15; Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St. (Marina), sfhiphopdancefest.com
Festivals + Special Events
On September 25th, Union Square will celebrate Dolly Parton with a free afternoon of live music and sparkle.
(Courtesy of Timothy WIldey/Flickr)
Dolly Day
If there is one country legend San Francisco has always loved, it’s Dolly Parton. The singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and undisputed queen of rhinestones has long held a special place in the city—especially in its LGBTQ+ and drag communities, where her glamour, humor, authenticity, and message of acceptance made her an icon. The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus devoted its Pride concert to Dolly this year, while the Castro turned out to sing and celebrate her life after her death in August. Now, September 25th is Dolly Parton Day, and San Francisco is celebrating with Dolly Day in Union Square: a free afternoon of live music, tributes, rhinestones, remembrance, and plenty of Dolly-style sparkle. // September 25th, 12pm–3pm; Union Square (Union Square), dollyday.org
R-Evolution: One Last Celebration
From the dusty playa to the San Francisco waterfront, Marco Cochrane’s 45-foot R-Evolution has had quite a journey. The monumental sculpture made its debut at Burning Man in 2015 before eventually landing at Embarcadero Plaza as part of the Big Art Loop, where it has towered over the waterfront for more than a year. Now San Francisco’s giant woman is saying goodbye—but not quietly. The final celebration brings live performances, music, a global meditation, and a closing dance party with Opulent Temple beneath the sculpture before it comes down later in October. // October 2nd from 2pm to 8pm; Embarcadero Plaza (Embarcadero), bigartloop.org
SF Restaurant Week
Ten days, dozens of restaurants, and one very good excuse to eat your way across San Francisco. Fall SF Restaurant Week returns with special prix-fixe menus at restaurants across the city, from neighborhood favorites to special-occasion tables. Brunch and lunch menus start at $15, while dinner options range from $30 to $90—making this the week to finally try that restaurant that's been sitting on your list. // October 16th to 25th; various San Francisco locations, sfrestaurantweek.com
Día de los Muertos
Why celebrate in just one city when the marigolds stretch across the Bay? The celebration of life after death begins in San Francisco with SOMArts’ In Their Name, an exhibition of altars and installations honoring family, community, and ancestral memory (October 24–November 20; 934 Brannan St., SoMa). Next up is the San Francisco Symphony’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration with Latin American music, colorful altars, and family activities (November 7th; 201 Van Ness Ave., Civic Center). In San José, the Museum of Art hosts a free Community Day with art-making and live performances (October 24th; 110 S. Market St.), while Oakland goes big with an annual Fruitvale festival that fills the neighborhood with community altars, music, artisans, food, and family festivities (November 1st; Fruitvale Village + International Blvd.).
