Mayor Daniel Lurie this week announced that the sixth season of Illuminate LIVE at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell will begin on Sunday, March 1. The show is among several closing acts for the city’s second annual SF Music Week and launches a new season of free outdoor concerts in Golden Gate Park. Illuminate LIVE draws more than 250,000 attendees annually and continues to rank among the city’s most accessible and well-attended live music series. 

The 2026 season of Illuminate LIVE will include more than 125 free performances running through mid-November, with shows most Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, along with select Saturdays and special events—extending the energy of SF Music Week into a months-long run of free public performances.  

The March 1 opening concert schedule will include performances from Lucky Break, Grooblen, and Gloomy June. Following the afternoon concert, the 2026 season of Crucial Reggae Sundays will open featuring resident DJs Irie Dole, Guid8nce, and DJ Sep. 

Throughout March, Illuminate LIVE will celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women's Day, featuring 14 female-fronted shows and highlighting more than 25 local female artists. For more information, click the link below. 

Mayor Daniel Lurie and First Lady Becca Prowda this week invited San Franciscans to participate in “One City Day,” a citywide day of service. The day of volunteerism will bring together San Francisco residents, city employees, community organizations, nonprofits, and companies in a shared commitment to community and connection. One City Day will take place on Saturday, July 11 with kickoff events at parks in each supervisorial district and service projects hosted throughout the city. 

The day of service builds on Mayor Lurie and First Lady Prowda’s work to bring service, accountability, and change to City Hall, values that have guided both of their personal and professional journeys. The mayor and first lady met while both were working at the Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty in New York City. Their shared commitment to serving others has shaped their lives and public service, with Mayor Lurie founding Tipping Point Community in 2005 to fight poverty in the Bay Area. 

One City Day service opportunities will be coordinated in partnership with city departments and community organizations, including Rec and Park, with options for residents to join existing projects or lead efforts of their own. For more information, click the link below.

Photo Credit: San Francisco Chronicle

Staff were recognized last week at the Rec and Park Commission meeting at City Hall by the commission and San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su for their extraordinary efforts during the city's recent teachers' strike.

When schools closed, recreation staff expanded afterschool programs into full-day programming for nearly 500 children at 19 recreation centers and clubhouses, while also providing space for community partners to serve another 500 students. From serving three daily meals in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families to organizing field trips to the Exploratorium and Lake Merced, the team ensured that a week of disruption felt safe, steady and fun.

Renee Strong, a guiding force in the Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley communities for more than 37 years, was honored at The Hub community center during a special ceremony recognizing her years of service. Known as Miss Renee, she worked as a recreation coordinator in several San Francisco neighborhoods, including at the Herz Playground clubhouse, supporting and mentoring generations of neighborhood children. Mayor Daniel Lurie, who met Miss Renee shortly after the opening of the new Herz Recreation Center last month, attended the ceremony and recognized her lasting contributions to the community. Thank you, Miss Renee, for all you do for our parks and our city.

Check out the San Francisco Chronicle's piece highlighting the new Commission Vault Museum at McLaren Lodge (501 Stanyan Street). With many museums in Golden Gate Park, this is the first about Golden Gate Park. Learn more about it and how to plan a visit at the link below. 

The Greenager program last weekend kicked off its new year with an orientation at the Lake Merced Boathouse for all three crews, Southeast, Northeast and Tenderloin, covering job expectations and distributing uniforms. Returning participants stepped up as peer leaders, helping to welcome new members.

The program is comprised of 40 rising 9th to 12th graders who live in or attend school in the three crew regions of San Francisco. It offers teens a chance to take a leadership role in the community by improving the city’s green spaces, creating place-based projects, and addressing important local issues. We look forward to these youths' professional growth and contributions of their communities. Learn more about the program at the link below. 

Thank you to all the applicants for the Community Opportunity Fund (COF), a Rec and Park initiative that supports community-driven park improvement projects across the city.

This month, Rec and Park hosted workshops to meet with interested COF applicants, representing 55 different project ideas at parks across the city. Staff offered guidance to the applicants on how to make their proposals more feasible, better fit maintenance capacity, and better address the needs of the park and its users.

In April, an independent scoring committee will evaluate all submitted applications. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission will hear the committee’s recommendations, with award announcements for project proposals expected this summer.

Implementation of selected project proposals will begin shortly thereafter, with the goal of having all selected projects completed and open to the public within the next three years.

Learn more about the COF program at the link below.

Join the San Francisco Orchid Society for its 73rd Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition Show and Plant Sale, Orchid Obscura, from February 26 to March 1 at the County Fair Building (1199 9th Avenue) in Golden Gate Park. There will be a preview on Thursday, February 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. Grab some orchids to spruce up your place ahead of spring! For more information and to buy tickets, click the link below. 

Head out to Mission Creek Park North (401 Berry Street) for Outdoor Recreation Day on Saturday, February 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy free activities for the whole family including a climbing wall, archery, skateboarding, disc golf, cornhole and more. For more information, click the link below. 

Hoof it over to the annual Basketball Jamboree at Betty Ann Ong Recreation Center (1199 Mason Street) on Saturday, February 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Chinese New Year tradition in San Francisco and part of the Alaska Airlines Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, come out to the court to see which players from the community take the reins, silence the neigh-sayers, and catch fire in the Year of the Horse! For more information, click the link below.

Rec and Park's spring class registration begins on Saturday, March 7 at 10 a.m. Explore a wide range of offerings, including Bayfront Biking and Pedal the Park rides for youth and adults, teen programming including vision board workshops and Camp Whisk and Flame, a cooking camp, at Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center. To view all spring offerings, click the link below. 

Our Video of the Week comes from Mayor Daniel Lurie as he announces the return of the sixth season of Illuminate LIVE at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell beginning Sunday, March 1.

Now in its sixth year, Illuminate LIVE has transformed the historic Golden Gate Bandshell, also known as the Spreckels Temple of Music, into one of the Bay Area’s most vibrant and accessible outdoor venues. Since 2020, the series has presented more than 700 free concerts, welcoming nearly 1 million music lovers. See the full concert schedule for the season at the link below.

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