As San Francisco gears up to be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there has been a host of cool new happenings and experiences taking shape throughout 2025.
This year has seen a host of new attractions, one-off cultural happenings, and new culinary experiences launch for the first time.
The Counterculture Museum opened this spring at the famous corner of Haight and Ashbury streets; this new museum explores San Francisco’s legacy as the heart of cultural movements, from the Beat Generation and Summer of Love to LGBTQ+ rights.
Tyler Florence’s Wayfare Tavern this year debuted its highly anticipated and expansive new location.
The historic Castro Theatre is targeting a late 2025 opening following a multi-million-dollar renovation of the century-old Spanish Baroque theater, which opened way back in 1922.
This year marked the 25th Anniversary of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Held annually in Golden Gate Park, Hardly Strictly is one of the largest free music festivals in the US.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD). The museum closed in March for interior upgrades and just recently reopened to celebrate its anniversary.
San Francisco also hosted another once-in-a-generation musical celebration in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, with Dead & Company performing a three-day commemorative concert in Golden Gate Park. The Grateful Dead emerged from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the mid-1960s, becoming a defining band of the “Summer of Love” era.
