If Alcatraz is already on your San Francisco itinerary this fall, there is one important date change to know before you finalize your plans. Alcatraz Island is expected to temporarily close beginning October 26, 2026, while crews complete repairs to the ferry dock system. The work is currently scheduled to continue through about November 18, which means visitors will not be able to take the usual ferry to the island during the closure period. For many first-time visitors, Alc

If the words “sandcastle competition” make you picture kids with plastic buckets and tiny shovels, the LEAP Sandcastle Classic at Ocean Beach is operating on a completely different scale. Architects, designers, engineers, contractors, and local elementary school students team up to transform a stretch of beach into a temporary outdoor art exhibition, building everything from giant creatures and city-inspired structures to ambitious sculptural forms that look much more like pu

If you still have no idea what to wear for Halloween this year — and you are not especially excited about buying another mass-produced costume you will probably wear once — there is a much more interesting option coming up in October. On October 17 and 18, 2026, the San Francisco Opera is bringing back its in-person Costume Sale for the first time in more than a decade. The event will take place not at the War Memorial Opera House, but at the San Francisco Opera Scene Shop in

Most people know RM through BTS. Music, lyrics, tours, and performances are the most visible parts of his public life. But anyone who has followed him closely over the past few years has probably noticed another recurring interest: museums. RM has spent years visiting exhibitions, collecting art, and talking openly about the works that stay with him. Now, that private side of his life is moving into a major museum setting. RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me opens at the San Fran

October is a great time to slow down and spend a few hours inside a museum in San Francisco. The weather is usually still pleasant, the city’s fall exhibition calendar is in full swing, and there are enough new shows opening this month to make a museum day feel like more than just an indoor backup plan. This October, the range is especially wide. You can see works from BTS leader RM’s private collection, step into a multimedia installation by Pulitzer Prize–winning artist Rav

If your usual movie routine means opening Netflix or choosing the latest studio release at the multiplex, October is a good time to switch things up. For 11 days, theaters across Mill Valley, San Rafael, Larkspur, and Berkeley will screen new independent films, international titles, documentaries, animation, and shorts—many of them before they reach wider audiences. The 2026 Mill Valley Film Festival runs from October 1 through 11 and marks the festival’s 49th year. This year

Fall is one of the best times of year for a date in San Francisco. The days are comfortable, the evenings are just cool enough for a light jacket, and the city feels especially inviting for a slow dinner, a walk through the neighborhood, and one activity that makes the night feel a little different from the usual routine. If dinner and a movie has started to feel repetitive, fall is a good excuse to stretch the evening out and build a date around a few simple stops. Hayes Val

There are always plenty of ways to spend a weekend in the Bay Area. Dinner with friends, a movie, a new restaurant, a gallery, drinks somewhere in the city — all of those are easy, familiar choices. But if you have been wanting to do something a little different, there is another kind of night out that often gets overlooked: going to hear a live symphony. For people who do not regularly listen to classical music, the idea can sound more intimidating than it actually is. Do yo

October is a great month to make room for live music in San Francisco. The summer rush starts to ease, the weather is often still comfortable, and the city’s concert calendar shifts fully into fall mode. This year, the lineup is especially varied: world-class vocalists, legendary singer-songwriters, film composers, orchestral premieres, country favorites, and performances that move well beyond the usual definition of a “classical concert.” Whether you are planning a date nigh

October is one of the best months to get out and explore the Bay Area. San Francisco often enjoys some of its most comfortable weather of the year, fall festivals begin filling up the weekends, and there is no shortage of things to do—from concerts and food events to family-friendly festivals and waterfront celebrations. This year’s Bay Area October calendar is especially packed. Lang Lang returns to San Francisco for a solo piano recital, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass takes over