The sixth annual African Arts Festival takes over the Great Lawn at Yerba Buena Gardens on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 11am to 4pm. Co-presented by Duniya Dance and Drum Company and the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, it is a free, family-friendly afternoon of music and dance from Bay Area ensembles representing different regions of Africa and the African diaspora.
What to Expect
The lineup includes Emmanuel Nado, Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, Unique Derique, Fua dia Congo, Mulu Senshaw, Duniya Dance and Drum Company, Arenas Dance Company, the Chinyakare Ensemble, Hana Baba and Ahmed Elejail, and Bongo and the TonTons. Between sets there are dance and drum lessons and face painting for children, and vendors sell traditional African food, clothing, jewelry, and hair and skin care products.
Duniya’s artistic director, Bongo Sidibe, says the festival grew from a wish to bring Africans and the diaspora in the Bay Area together as one community.
Details
When: Saturday, October 3, 2026, 11am to 4pm.
Where: Great Lawn, Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission Street between Third and Fourth Streets, SoMa.
Cost: Free. RSVP is optional through the festival’s site.
Getting there: Powell Street and Montgomery Street BART stations are each a short walk away, and the Central Subway’s Yerba Buena/Moscone station is at Fourth and Folsom.
Details from the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival event page. The same weekend brings Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and the Castro Street Fair; see our guide to things to do in San Francisco in October 2026.
Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
