San Francisco Things to Do: Top Annual Events in San Francisco

If you will visit San Francisco in 2020, chances are you’re planning on spending some time enjoying the wonderful sights, shopping and enjoying great food and the many great restaurants. But there are also some fantastic events taking place throughout the year that you will want to plan a visit.   

Hotel Union Square is in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square, a vibrant hub of entertainment, shopping and dining. Our hotel is also close to many of the best events taking place in San Francisco in 2020!  

Our latest San Francisco Travel Blog article; 'San Francisco Things to Do: Top Annual Events in San Francisco' – highlights some of the biggest, best and most popular, conventions, festivals, events and parades that you will enjoy during your visit to San Francisco.  

Let’s get to the list!

PCMA Convention
Dates: January 5 to 8, 2020 
Where: Moscone Center - 747 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 
Website
Distance from Hotel Union Square: 7 Blocks

PCMA 2020 brings together the world’s largest network of Event Strategist and industry leaders. See the Event Website link above for show details, registration and event information.

San Francisco Restaurant Week
Dates: January 22 - 31, 2020 
Where: Various locations
Website
Distance from Hotel Union Square:

Let’s eat San Francisco! Attention all ‘food lovers’ and ‘Foodies!’ San Francisco Restaurant Week is coming and it’s better than ever in 2020! Restaurant Week is a fantastic way to find out about new restaurants and perhaps rediscover some of your favorites. For San Francisco Restaurant Week, there are 130 participating restaurants, offering great deals on 2 course and 3 course meals and special Prix-Fixe menus.  

Bay Brew Festival & San Francisco Wine Festival
Dates: January 25 & 26, 2020 
Where: Festival Pavilion - 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 
Beer Brew Website | Wine Festival Website  
Distance from our Union Square Hotel: 3 Miles

Two Events. Two Days. Beer & Wine. Perfect. Bay Beer Festival and Wine Festival is a popular 2-day event created for Beer & Wine lovers. The Bay Brew Festival takes place on January 25th and includes over 70 local, national and international breweries, food, music and more.  On January 26th the San Francisco Wine Festival takes place in the same location overlooking San Francisco Bay.  Plan on attending the Bay Beer Festival and Wine Festival to enjoy great Beers and Wines, music, food trucks, and more.

Chinese New Year Parade & Celebration
Dates: February 8, 2020 
Where: Various locations
Website
Distance from Hotel Union Square: Various locations

The Chinese New Year Parade & Celebration is one of the most popular events of the year in San Francisco. The celebration includes recognizing the Year of the Rat as well as other celebrations including Miss Chinatown USA Pageant, New Year Fair, the Chinatown Community Street Fair and more. The Chinese New Year Parade takes place from Market Street to Columbus Avenue. Attendees will enjoy fantastic music, costumed dancers, Dancing Dragons, and of course the wonderful food! See the Event Website link above for a schedule of all the activities and event updates.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Dates: March 14, 2020 
Where: Various locations
Website  
Distance from Union Square Hotel: Various locations

It’s that time of year to celebrate that we all are a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! The festivities around St. Patrick’s Day include the fantastic Parade that features dancers, marching bands, Bagpipe players, wonderful costumes and the Grand Marshall which is an honored position. There will other celebrations on and around St. Patrick’s Day including Pub Crawls, festivals and parades.

Cherry Blossom Festival
Dates: April 11-12 & 8-19, 2020
Where: Various locations
Website  
Distance from Hotel Union Square: Various locations

April is a weather perfect month in San Francisco for the Cherry Blossom Festival. This festival is the largest celebration of Asian culture and traditions on the West coast. The festival takes place over two weekends that will include parade, crafts, martial arts exhibitions, music and fantastic food! Don’t forget the FOOD! It is estimated that over 220,000 attendees will enjoy the festivities that span from the Civic Center to Japan town and along the way. See the Event Website link above for a schedule of all the activities, parade and event updates.

Bay to Breakers Race
Dates: May 31, 2020
Where: Various locations
Website
Distance from Hotel Union Square: Various locations

Are you up for joining a crowd of 70,000+ costume clad runners and walkers who will travel from San Francisco Bay to the Great Highway where the surf crashes onto the Pacific Coast’s Ocean Beach. This fun and very popular race encourages rowdy costume wearing participants to run in groups and have loads of fun while they run! See the Event Website link above for the race schedule of all the activities and event updates.

San Francisco Pride Festival
Dates: June 29 - 30, 2020
Where: Various locations
Website  
Distance from Hotel Union Square: Various locations

San Francisco Pride is celebration of the LBGTQ community with inspirational speeches, lectures, entertainers, concerts, parties and of course and amazing parade! Of course, other than the parade the city comes alive with celebrations at local bars, restaurants and other venues. See the Event Website link above for the race schedule of all the activities and event updates.

4th of July Celebration
Dates: July 4, 2020
Where: Various locations
Website

Everyone loves a great party and what better to celebrate than the countries independence? San Francisco is a great city to celebrate the 4th of July with parties, parades, and of course the amazing fireworks display on the San Francisco Bay. See the Website link above for information on just a few of the July 4th celebrations taking place in San Francisco. 

San Francisco Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk
Dates: July 26, 2020
Where: Various locations
Website  
Distance from Hotel Union Square: Various locations

One of the biggest and most popular marathons in the United States, the San Francisco Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk is a great event with something for everyone from beginning runners, novice to expert runners. This marathon is a USATF certified event that has taken place every year since 1977, except for 1988. The event will also include a collection of vendors offering running related products and services, food items and entertainment.  See the Event Website link above for the latest updates, schedules, route map, and registration information.

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
Dates: August 7 - 9, 2020
Where: Golden Gate Park 
Website
Distance from Hotel Union Square: 3.4 Miles

This is one of the most anticipated outdoor music festivals in all of California and the largest independently owned Music Festival in the U.S.  The Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival takes place over 3 days at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The festival includes musical performances from popular local, regional and national bands and musical artists. Part of the festival includes an Arts Festival element with hand crafted items, clothing items, food items and more. See the Event Website link above for the latest festival updates, tickets, artist line up, schedules and festival information.

Fleet Week San Francisco
Dates: October 3 - 14, 2020
Where: Various locations
Website
Distance from Hotel Union Square: Various locations

Fleet Week San Francisco began in 1981 to recognize the U.S. Armed forces and to highlight the armed forces to the civilian community with demonstrations by the U.S. Blue Angels and maneuvers by other aircraft and military ships in and above San Francisco Bay. The public can also enjoy tours of various military ships as well. See the Event Website link above for the latest updates, tickets, schedules and event information.

Union Square Christmas Tree Lighting
Dates: November 2020 (exact date to be announced)
Where: Union Square
Website
Distance from Union Square Hotel: 2 Blocks

It’s the Holiday Season and this event is the celebration and lighting of San Francisco's most popular Christmas tree in Union Square just 2 blocks from our hotel. Macy’s sponsors the placement and lighting of the Christmas Tree which takes place each year right after Thanksgiving. The actual lighting of the Union Square Christmas Tree is a festive celebration with Holiday music, food vendors and costumed entertainers. See the Event Website link above for the event schedules and information.

New Year’s Eve San Francisco – 2020
Dates: December 31, 2020
Location: Various locations

As the year comes to an end and we celebrate the coming New Year! There are many fantastic ways to ring in the New Year in San Francisco with a variety of parties, nightclub events, romantic dinners and of course the wonderful fireworks that launch at midnight to ring in the New Year. 

This latest San Francisco Travel Blog article, ‘San Francisco Things to Do: Top Annual Events in San Francisco’ presents just a few of the best Annual Events taking place in San Francisco throughout 2020.

If you have any questions about these or other Events taking place in San Francisco, just ask our Concierge, they will be happy to assist.  

Visit our San Francisco Visitor’s Guide for more recommendations for all there is to do, see and experience when visiting San Francisco.

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