Great Lawn, Yerba Buena Gardens

Mission St. between 3rd & 4th Sts.
San Francisco, CA 94103 United States Get Directions

(415) 543-1718

https://ybgfestival.org/

The Great Lawn (formerly Esplanade) in the Yerba Buena Gardens is a lush and grassy 5.5 acre expanse complete with evergreen and deciduous trees, seasonal flora and cascading waterfalls. Located within the Great Lawn are the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Waterfall, the Stone Stage, the Butterfly Garden, and the Reflection Pond.

Programs at this venue

June 2026

A Native dancer dressed in colorful traditional regalia, demonstrating a dance outdoors, a line of other dancers and the YBG Festival stage behing them.

Sat, Jun 20, 12:00pm – 3:00pm

Native Contemporary Arts Festival

Members of Orquesta La Moderna Tradición playing instruments and singing into microphones on a stage.

Thu, Jun 25, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición

Performers of Circus Bella standing across an outdoor stage, wearing colorful costumes, smiling and taking a bow in front of a large audience seated on the grass

Fri, Jun 26, 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Circus Bella’s AH HA! (World Premiere – All-Ages Show)

Performers of Circus Bella standing across an outdoor stage, wearing colorful costumes, smiling and taking a bow in front of a large audience seated on the grass

Sat, Jun 27, 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Circus Bella’s AH HA! (World Premiere – All-Ages Show)

Performers of Circus Bella standing across an outdoor stage, wearing colorful costumes, smiling and taking a bow in front of a large audience seated on the grass

Sat, Jun 27, 2:15pm – 3:15pm

Circus Bella’s AH HA! (World Premiere – All-Ages Show)

July 2026

Destiny in a Victorian Era dress, sitting beside her brown floor harp

Thu, Jul 2, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Destiny Muhammad Trio

Ukulenny, Cynthia Lin and Steven Espaniola all wearing hats, playing ukuleles and singing into microphones on an outdoor stage.

Sat, Jul 4, 12:00pm – 4:00pm

SF Uke Jam’s Summer Uke-splosion: Peace, Love and Ukulele

Two actors smiling and holding hands, arms stretched out on a sunny outdoor stage.

Sun, Jul 5, 2:00pm – 4:00pm

San Francisco Mime Troupe: Wreckage

Mae in a white top under a tan blazer, holding up a bunch of white flowers on each side of her head

Thu, Jul 9, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Mae Powell

Lady Wray with bright yellow hair, wide diamond necklace and ruffled red and black top in front of a black background

Sat, Jul 11, 2:00pm – 4:30pm

Lady Wray

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Sun, Jul 12, 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Honoring Our Relatives: A Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Gathering

a group of 6 musicians wearing white, smiling shoulder to shoulder with a crowd in the background

Thu, Jul 16, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

LA GENTE SF

Graphic of a cartoon person wearing a soccer outfit, a big soccer ball, maracas, music notes and other shapes floating around, all in shades of green.

Sun, Jul 19, 11:00am – 4:00pm

Finals Watch Party @ Yerba Buena! / ¡Fiesta Futbolera en Yerba Buena Gardens!

four taiko drummers performing on stage

Thu, Jul 23, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Iwa Daiko

B&B–YBC-GARDENS-FESTIVAL-WEBSITE-BANNER–SEASON

Fri, Jul 24, 4:00pm – 9:00pm

Bhangra & Beats Night Market

Two dancers in satin red and green costume, dancing outdoors on a brick path on a lawn, a brick building behind them

Sat, Jul 25, 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest (Day One)

Musical band Mare performing on an outdoor cement stage, covered by a white tent that says "Yerba Buena Gardens Festival"

Thu, Jul 30, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

WAM Presents: Local Sirens

August 2026

Nia looking up at the sky with her notebook and pen in hand, sitting in front of her students

Sat, Aug 1, 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Poetry Workshop with Nia Pearl

Two dancers in satin red and green costume, dancing outdoors on a brick path on a lawn, a brick building behind them

Sat, Aug 1, 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest (Day Two)

Collage photo of Sruti Sarathy, Siddique Ahmed, Suhail Yusuf Khan

Sun, Aug 2, 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Color Your Mind

Fely in a white gown posing in front of the Palace of Fine Arts

Thu, Aug 6, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

AfroSolo Presents: Fely Tchaco

4 people on a stage taking a selfie photo with a large crowd of audiences behind them off-stage

Sat, Aug 8, 11:00am – 5:00pm

Pistahan

4 people on a stage taking a selfie photo with a large crowd of audiences behind them off-stage

Sun, Aug 9, 11:00am – 5:00pm

Pistahan

A collage of the musician's portraits: to the left, Allesandro playing his 7-string guitar; to the right, Alexandre posing with his clarinet

Thu, Aug 13, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Brazil in the Gardens: Alexandre Ribeiro and Alessandro Penezzi

Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical facing up, arms raised up and partially obscuring their faces, in front of a bright blue backdrop

Sat, Aug 15, 2:00pm – 4:30pm

Helado Tropical

September 2026

A large audience seated on an outdoor lawn in the dark evening light, watching a movie projected on a large screen, a brightly lit cityscape behind the screen and a line of trees.

Sat, Sep 5, 7:00pm – 9:30pm

Yerba Buena Movie Night

October 2026

Drummers in colorful African regalia, smiling and performing on an outdoor stage

Sat, Oct 3, 11:00am – 4:00pm

African Arts Festival

Sun, Oct 4, 11:00am – 4:00pm

Litquake Out Loud + Book Fair

5 members of Quinteto Latino, front-facing, each smiling, some holding an instrument, standing in front of a white backdrop

Thu, Oct 8, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Quinteto Latino

Members of Oakland Rising performing on dark stage under magenta colored lights.

Sat, Oct 10, 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Follow the Music

An instructor leading a dance class behind them in an outdoor court

Sun, Oct 11, 10:00am – 3:00pm

YBG Dance Day

A large group of people dancing in a friendship circle in the middle of the Yerba Buena Gardens esplanade lawn.

Mon, Oct 12, 12:00pm – 4:00pm

San Francisco Indigenous Peoples Day with special performance by Jeremy Dutcher

a close-up of Richard playing his saxophone

Thu, Oct 15, 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Richard Howell’s John Coltrane Tribute

Joe Bataan wearing a black hat and white shirt, smiling

Sat, Oct 17, 2:00pm – 4:30pm

Joe Bataan

Sat, Oct 24, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Afro-Filipino Jazz Project

November 2026

B&B–YBC-GARDENS-FESTIVAL-WEBSITE-BANNER–SEASON

Fri, Nov 13, 4:00pm – 9:00pm

Bhangra & Beats Night Market