SF Events: Thu June 11 evening + Fri June 12

Coverage: Thursday June 11, 5 PM onward — Friday June 12, 2026, full day.

No tech events on Friday (typical Friday lull — the next cluster hits June 15–18 at Moscone). Make up for it with three free night markets running simultaneously, a Dolores Park movie night with a $1,000 Amazon giveaway, the Pride drag series moving to the Ferry Building waterfront, and the QWOCFF film festival opening at the Presidio. Tonight still has four solid picks if you're heading out Thursday.

Valencia LIVE! Night Market runs 5–10 PM on Valencia Street between 16th and 19th (Mission District) — free, all ages, no RSVP needed. Tonight's edition is curated by Carnaval SF: main stage at 18th & Valencia runs Batuki at 5 PM, Samba Conmigo at 7 PM, and La Gente SF at 8 PM; a separate busking stage at 16th Street features DJ Sal, GG Amos, DJ Marco, and Guajiron. Alongside: the Drawing Table, Maker Marketplace, Elixir After Party, free salsa lessons, Loteria Zone, and a clothing swap. This is the monthly second-Thursday series, running May through October. 1

SF Design Week Studio Crawl Night 1 runs 6–9 PM across 15 design studios, with free registration at sfdesignweek.org. The list grew to 15 this week with the addition of Creative C.O.M.A. (40 Rondel Place) — three artists working through a biomorphic lens. Other studios include Whipsaw (55 Mississippi), NewDealDesign (333 Bryant, "Our Robots Don't Party"), Gamma (350 Rhode Island, requires NDA signing), Vizcom (488 Bryant, closing night), and Studio O+A (452 Tehama). Night 2 is tomorrow, same hours. 2

Late Night Editions: The Etruscans at the Legion of Honor — 6–10 PM, 21+. After-dark access to the Etruscans exhibition (running through September 20), with live DJ sets, Off the Grid food trucks, and a Fiat Lux jewelry pop-up featuring Etruscan-symbol signet rings. GA is $35; VIP at $95 includes a tasting room with Ezeta Wine. Advance booking strongly recommended — capacity is limited and tickets are nonrefundable. 3

Laverne Cox in conversation with Cheryl Dunye — 7:30 PM at Sydney Goldstein Theater. Cox discusses her debut memoir Transcendent, with filmmaker Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman, Queen Sugar) in conversation. SF Pride and City Arts & Lectures are offering free tickets for those for whom cost is a barrier — each includes a complimentary copy of Transcendent. Books are also available for pickup at Marcus Books Oakland (510-652-2344) for up to seven days after the event. KQED will broadcast the conversation July 19, 21, and 22. 4

Belle & Sebastian Night 2 at The Masonic (1111 California St), doors 7 PM, show 8 PM. After Night 1's Tigermilk on Wednesday, tonight's program is If You're Feeling Sinister + Classic Songs — the 1996 album that established the band, followed by a second set of classic material. Secondary-market tickets were showing on StubHub (roughly 122 at last check); primary tickets via Ticketmaster. 5

Drag Me Downtown brings SF's weekly Pride pop-up drag series to the Ferry Building Back Plaza — doors at 4:30 PM, show 5–7 PM.

This is week 2 of 4. Performers: Bobby Friday, King SlayHer, Lisa Frankenstein, and Miss Shugana. Fort Point Beer Co. runs a pop-up bar; El Porteño Empanadas is on-site. Free with Eventbrite RSVP — RSVP snags exclusive drag swag at the door (while supplies last) but does not guarantee entry if the plaza reaches capacity. A $10 donation to The Transgender District is suggested upon registration. Note the SFMTA transit advisory: Ferry Building plaza closes 4:30–7 PM Friday, which affects access routes.

Upcoming weeks: June 19 at The Conservatory at One Sansome; June 26 at Merchant's Exchange, headlined by Jax from RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15.

22nd Annual QWOCFF (Queer Women of Color Film Festival) opens tonight at the Presidio Theatre (99 Moraga Ave) — 6 PM doors, 7 PM first screening. Opening Night is "Queer Black Joy Like Fire," a program celebrating Pride and Juneteenth through queer and trans Black liberation and joy. The festival runs June 12–14 with 34 films across 7 curated screenings. Free and open to the public; book via qwocmap.org/festival/schedule. A free East Bay shuttle departs Oakland at 5 PM and returns at 10 PM (wheelchair accessible). The festival also provides open captions, ASL interpretation, audio description, free childcare, and has crisis counselors on-site. Festival Manager Nace DeSanders: "When you walk into QWOCFF, you experience a room full of people who want you there. The films will move you, and the community around the screenings is the reason people come back." 7 8

Three distinct free night markets run Friday evening — pick by neighborhood, or hit two if you're mobile early.

Sunset Night Market: Dragon Boat Festival — 5–10 PM, Irving Street from 20th to 25th Ave (Sunset District). This is the second of four quarterly markets in 2026. The Dragon Boat Festival theme means food vendors, cultural performances, interactive activities, artisan makers, and community artists along six blocks. Produced by Sunset Mercantile, Wah Mei, Into The Streets, and ASIAN Inc. Free, all ages. 9

Chinatown Night Market — 5–9 PM, Grant Avenue from California to Pacific (SF Chinatown). This is the June installment of the monthly second-Friday series (next: July 10). Five blocks of food, lion dancing, cultural performances, art, and beer & wine gardens — vendors include Good Mong Kok Bakery, Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks, House of Dim Sum, and AA Bakery. Also on Waverly Place simultaneously: the Chinatown Night Market Mahjong Party (Hong Kong and Filipino style, free drop-in, 5–9 PM). Produced by Civic Joy Fund / BeChinatown. Free, all ages. 10

Arts.Co.Lab Community Arts Market — 11 AM–6 PM at Ferry Building Terminal Plaza (runs June 11–14). Part of the FIFA World Cup Cultural Series — free, local artists, walk-in. 11

Sundown Cinema: The Princess Bride at Mission Dolores Park (Dolores St & 19th St) — arrive around 6 PM, film starts at approximately 8:30 PM at sunset. The series returns to full schedule in 2026 after a scaled-back 2025 season; this is the opener. Presented by Amazon and SF Standard. Free, with RSVP recommended at sfstandard.com/sundown-cinema — RSVP enters you into a drawing for a reserved spot near the screen, and one winner per screening receives their Amazon Wish List fulfilled (up to $1,000). Outside food and blankets welcome; low-back chairs per park rules. 12 13

Full 2026 season: June 12 (The Princess Bride), July 24 (Inside Out), Aug 21 (The Parent Trap), Sep 25 (School of Rock), Oct 16 (Beetlejuice).

Also free and outdoors Friday evening: Sister Act at Lafayette Park, 7:30 PM, with free popcorn. 12

The US men's national team plays its opening match at 6 PM Friday. Several options in SF:

PIER 39 — Bay End Stage watch party, 6–8 PM, free and open to the public. The waterfront screen runs for all 13 remaining US matches through the Final (July 19). Giant Bay Area Host City Soccer Ball photo installation at West Park (near Crab Statue). 14

Underdogs Cantina (128 King St, near Oracle Park) — 6–9 PM, free with Eventbrite RSVP, 25+ TVs, first-come-first-served seating. 15

Great American Music Hall (859 O'Farrell St) — FANZONE FIFA 2026 watch party at 6 PM. 16

Beaux (2344 Market St) — Big Gay Watch Party presented by Pride House SF, 5 PM. LGBTQ+ bar + World Cup crossover. 16

Good Medicine: All-Native Comedy Night — 6:30–9:30 PM, Great Lawn at Yerba Buena Gardens (Mission St between 3rd & 4th). Free, RSVP encouraged. Co-founded by Oakland comic Jackie Keliiaa, the show features Gigi Modrich, Ernie Tsosie, and Dash Turner. Pre-show DJ Interval; food from Wahpepah's Kitchen (Oakland-based Native cuisine). Keliiaa: "You won't find any stoic Hollywood tropes in these sets. These comedians are using humor to define Native identity in our own words and on our own terms." Adult language; under-18 welcome with an adult. 17

Helen Hong at Punch Line SF (444 Battery St) — two shows Friday, 7:30 PM and 9:45 PM. Hong is a regular on NPR's Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! and has Netflix credits. 18+. 16

Cobb's Comedy Allstars featuring Mark Smalls — 7 PM and 9:15 PM at Cobb's Comedy Club (915 Columbus Ave). 16

Golden Gate Comedy Night at The Function — 7–10:30 PM, free with RSVP, 21+. Top comics from the Punch Line, Cobb's, and SF Sketchfest circuit. 18

Gryffin at Cow Palace (2600 Geneva Ave, technically Daly City) — doors 8 PM. The DJ/producer plays back-to-back nights with Lost Frequencies; a second show was added for Saturday after Friday sold through quickly. Presented by Another Planet Entertainment. 19

Toadies (The Charmer Tour) at The Fillmore (1805 Geary Blvd) — 8 PM. Texas alt-rock, tickets via Live Nation. 20

Don Carlos at The Chapel (777 Valencia St) — 9 PM. Reggae. 16

Dorian Electra at Rickshaw Stop (155 Fell St) — 9 PM. 16

Yea-Ming and the Rumours (album release show with Silverware and Rhymies) at Kilowatt (3160 16th St) — 6:30 PM, free. 16

Phantom of the Opera (BroadwaySF) at the Orpheum Theatre (1192 Market St) — 7:30 PM. Ticketed. 16

SF Design Week Studio Crawl Night 2 — 6–9 PM, same studios as Thursday, free registration at sfdesignweek.org. Tonight is the 20th annual SF Design Week's final evening. Also closing Saturday: individual studios at CCA and Interior Architects (500 Sansome St) host daytime events 2–4 PM. 21

Morti-Pride 2026: LGBTQ+ Teen Diary Storytelling at DNA Lounge (375 11th St) — 7:30–9:30 PM. Pride edition of Mortified: adults reading their real, embarrassing teenage diaries on stage. $21 with promo code; normally $26 advance. As seen on Netflix's Mortified Nation. 18

The Devil Wears Prada 2 at The Castro Theatre (429 Castro St) — 7 PM doors. Special Pride-month screening at the historic LGBTQ+ landmark. Presented by Another Planet Entertainment. 16

15th Annual Black Health & Healing Summit — 9 AM–4 PM at the Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness (601 Cesar Chavez St). Free, two-day event (continues Saturday). Rafiki Coalition, an SF-based Black community health nonprofit marking its 40th anniversary, hosts this free summit under the theme "Legacy, Healing, & Imagining Our Future." Keynote speakers: Dr. Joy DeGruy (clinical psychologist), Dr. Brenda Wade, and Stunnaman. Features presentations, community dialogues, wellness practices, food, music, and poetry. 22

No confirmed tech or AI meetups in SF on Friday June 12 — Friday is reliably the lightest day for that circuit. The next cluster: Data + AI Summit 2026 runs June 15–18 at Moscone West; Break My AI is June 17; AI Engineer World's Fair is June 30.