Stern Grove Festival Association

The Stern Grove Festival Association presents a diverse lineup of free family-friendly performances at the outdoor Sigmund Stern Grove amphitheater. Each year, the festival draws up to 70,000 audience members. In addition, the organization’s outreach and education programs serve San Francisco Unified School District students. Support for Stern Grove Festival Association aligns with the Performing Arts Program’s former Continuity and Engagement strategy through the Innovative Works substrategy.

The Stern Grove Festival Association presents the longest-running free outdoor performing arts festival in the United States in Sigmund Stern Grove, a unique natural amphitheater surrounded by redwood trees. On average, 100,000 people participate each year in this San Francisco summer tradition, which features performances ranging from classical and world music to dance, pop, and jazz, as well as hands-on family activities. Looking to expand and deepen its audiences, the Festival is developing a Kids’ Camp with Out of Site Center for Arts Education to engage a diverse high school population.

Every Sunday afternoon throughout the summer, the Stern Grove Festival Association presents an admission-free performance series, nestled in the redwoods of Sigmund Stern Grove amphitheater in San Francisco. Celebrating its 80th season in 2017, the Stern Grove Festival is the longest running outdoor performing arts festival of its kind in the United States — it attracts more than 50,000 people, and features a diverse lineup of family-friendly performances in dance and a variety music genres, from pop to jazz to classical. Its education programs serve youth from the Excelsior and Western Addition neighborhoods in San Francisco. Renewed funding will support the organization’s free programming, as well as its work with community partners to expand its summer music camps for youth.