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Celebrate
the city.

A day of music, culture, creativity and community for the grand opening of UNIQLO Market Street, with local entertainment, special activations, giveaways and opening-week exclusives. Free and family-friendly.

Friday October 9, 2026
11AM – 6PM 801 Market StEnter Ellis St. at Stockton or Powell

RSVP to attend See the lineup
UNIQLO Opening Weekend Exclusives

Lineup

The festival brings together more than 30 Bay Area artists, musicians, cultural institutions and neighborhood businesses across Market, Ellis and Powell streets, turning downtown into a showcase of local art, music, food and community.

Art

Six large-scale sculptural art cubes line Market Street as the festival's visual centerpiece. The festival team fabricated each cube in the shape of UNIQLO's logo block, then supported a Bay Area artist in building their vision within it. Inspired by the idea of building blocks as seeds of change, the cubes explore themes of regeneration, potential and community, offering a hopeful vision of downtown's next chapter. Their work spans psychedelic graphic abstraction, narrative surrealism, architectural form and darkroom photography, bringing pedestrians face to face with contemporary San Francisco art.

Market Street Art Cubes

Free all weekend

Oct 9 & 10: 10AM – 8PM

Oct 11: 10AM – 7PM

Preview renders of the artwork below. See the completed artworks unveiled on the main festival day, and meet the artists on Friday, October 9, from 11AM to 6PM at the cubes.

Passport stamp for Zen Treehouse, drawn in red: a blossoming tree with small houses in its branches and birds in flight, rising from a garden bed. Concept render of Zen Treehouse on Market Street: a tree with a teal trunk and pink blossoms, small blue houses and birds in its branches, rising from a raked sand garden.
Zen Treehouse
Serge Gay Jr.
Passport stamp for Water Torus, drawn in red: a cube framed by carved trees under a lattice canopy, with hanging crystals over a flowing river floor. Concept render of Water Torus: a red cube framing carved wooden trees under a lattice canopy, hung with crystals over a swirling blue river floor, lit at dusk.
Water Torus
CreatingAs1
Passport stamp for Silver Lining, drawn in red: a cube lined with op-art flower and stripe patterns around a glossy sphere at its centre. Concept render of Silver Lining: a cube lined with black and white op-art flower patterns and mirrored walls around a glossy red sphere at its centre.
Silver Lining
Nico Corona + Rewina Beshue
Passport stamp for Ray of Light, drawn in red: rays and dotted lines radiating from a sun at the centre of a cube. Concept render of Ray of Light: a pale wood cube with amber and pink glass rays fanning out from a sun, casting coloured light across the floor.
Ray of Light
Raylene Gorum
Passport stamp for Rorschach Butterflies, drawn in red: butterflies suspended above plants and flowers inside a cube. Concept render of Rorschach Butterflies: a white cube lined with butterfly wallpaper, with butterflies suspended over a mossy mound.
Rorschach Butterflies
Robert Malmberg
Passport stamp for Community Tree, drawn in red: a branching tree whose blossoms are small cubes. Concept render of Community Tree on Market Street: white trees growing up out of a red cube, with small red cubes hanging from their branches above a bed of ferns.
Community Tree
Musepop

Activities

Beyond the music on both stages and the art cubes on Market Street, our community partners fill Ellis Street with things to play, make and collect.

  • Free · Come & Go, 11AM – 6PM
  • On Ellis Street, Powell to Stockton

Play.

Street Soccer

Street Soccer USA activates two pop-up street soccer pitches with community games and open play that promote social inclusion through sport.

Please wear appropriate shoes for street soccer on asphalt.

Special giveaways and prizes are available for participating here.

Make.

Free Workshops and Interactive Art

  • Hands-on art + science demos from the Exploratorium
  • Origami making with historic Japantown shop Paper Tree
  • Interactive art presented by Gray Area, the Internet Archive, Gooism, and Ramona Sharples
  • Books and games with the SF Public Library's Bookmobile
  • Block printing with Root Division
  • Collage making with SOMArts
  • Custom buttons with ArtSpan
  • Japanese brush calligraphy with master calligrapher Yayoi Sengoku
  • Upcycled bag charms with SCRAP
  • Photobooth keepsake from UNIQLO

Collect.

Festival Passport and Art Prints

The Festival Passport invites visitors to explore the festival and downtown's dining institutions. Guests collect stamps across the festival footprint.

Completed passports can be redeemed at the Art Print Pickup station for an exclusive 11x14 print by festival artists Rewina Beshue and Robert Malmberg, while supplies last.

Passports are available at the Ellis Street Activity Station.

Everyone taking part

Schedule

Festival Day is Friday, Oct 9 from 11AM – 6PM, featuring music on the Ellis and Powell stages, along with activities on Ellis Street. The UNIQLO store and Market Street Art Cubes share the same hours: Friday, Oct 9 and Saturday, Oct 10 from 10AM – 8PM, and Sunday, Oct 11 from 10AM – 7PM.

  • UNIQLO Market Street StoreFri 10/9, 10AM – 8PMSat 10/10, 10AM – 8PMSun 10/11, 10AM – 7PM
  • Music on Ellis Stage and Powell StageFri 10/9, 11AM – 6PM
  • Activities on Ellis, come & go anytimeFri 10/9, 11AM – 6PM
  • Art cubes on Market StreetFri 10/9, 10AM – 8PMSat 10/10, 10AM – 8PMSun 10/11, 10AM – 7PM

Friday, October 9 Set times

Map

Festival entry is at Ellis St. & Powell or Ellis St. & Stockton, one block from Powell Street BART and the cable car turnaround.

Festival site map Ellis Street is closed to traffic between Powell and Stockton, with entries at both ends. From the Powell end: two street-soccer pitches, then giveaways and activations on both sides of the street, the Parachute Bakery pop-up, and the Ellis Stage at the Market end, facing Powell with its back angled along Market Street. Neighborhood restaurants: Tad's Steakhouse on the north side of Ellis and John's Grill on the south, and Ippudo and Delarosa facing each other across Yerba Buena Lane. The Powell Stage is on Powell Street at Market. Six art cubes stand along Market Street between Powell and Stockton, three on each side of the street. The UNIQLO store is at 801 Market Street, on the corner of 4th, and Powell Street BART is on Market at Powell.

Key

  • UNIQLO Market Street
  • Block Party
  • Ellis + Powell stages
  • Street soccer
  • Giveaways + activations
  • Art cubes
  • Food & drink
  • Restaurants

Getting here

We recommend taking public transportation or a rideshare.

  • EntryEllis St. & Powell or Ellis St. & Stockton
  • BART + Muni MetroPowell St Station, two-minute walk
  • Muni busLines on Market, Mission, and Stockton
  • DrivingIf you're driving, the nearest parking garages are at 5th & Mission, Union Square, and Ellis-O'Farrell.

Good to know.

Do I need a ticket?
No. The festival is free and open to the public. RSVP if you'd like a reminder and the final schedule the week before — it also helps us plan how many passports to print.
Is it accessible?
Ellis Street is flat and fully closed to traffic, with a level path from Powell to Stockton. Accessible restrooms are near the Powell Street entrance. The art cubes sit on public sidewalks with a clear path of travel maintained at all times.
Can I bring my kids? My dog?
Kids yes, and much of the programming is built for them. Well behaved and leashed dogs are welcome on the block, though the stage area may be too loud for some.
What if it rains?
The festival runs rain or shine. If the city calls for a weather cancellation we'll post it here and email everyone who RSVP'd by 7am that morning.
How do I get an Event Passport?
Pick one up at the Ellis Street Activity Station. Collect stamps, then redeem your passport for art at the Art Print Pickup station, while supplies last. Last redemption is 5:30pm.
Is there food and drink?
Food and drinks are available from our neighborhood restaurants and participating vendors. No alcohol is served at this event.

Connect with
Community.

Friday October 9, 2026
11AM – 6PM 801 Market St

RSVP to attend