San Francisco's Exploratorium offers free admission to the public on the first Wednesday of every month.

Housed within the walls of the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District, the Exploratorium boasts more than 400 interactive science, art, and human perception exhibits for kids of all ages.

Also offering public presentations such as hands-on workshops, lectures, performances, films, and other special events, the museum aims to create a culture of learning through innovative environments, programs, and tools that help people nurture their curiosity about the world around them.

San Francisco's most visited museums offer FREE admission on the first Tuesday of every month. Take advantage of Free Museum Tuesdays at:

Cartoon Art Museum
The Cartoon Art Museum is the only museum in the western United States dedicated to preserving and exhibiting cartoon art in all its forms. In addition to housing approximately 6,000 pieces of original art, the museum also has an extensive research library and a classroom for cartoon art classes and workshops. As a bonus, the museum has one of the best bookstores in the city with a vast collection of interesting and eclectic coffee table books.

Conservatory of Flowers
Located in Golden Gate Park, the Conservatory of Flowers boasts almost 2,000 plant species in five immersive galleries. From tropical flowers to giant water lilies, the conservatory is a lush and diverse living museum for all ages.

de Young Museum
Founded in 1895 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young boasts a state-of-the-art new facility that integrates art, architecture, and the natural landscape in one multi-faceted destination. The museum showcases collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, and art of the native Americas, Africa, and the Pacific. Admission fees to special exhibits still apply.

Museum of Craft and Folk Art
As the only folk art museum in Northern California, the museum is known for a rich offering of focused and unique exhibitions of traditional and contemporary folk art and craft from around the world, demonstrating how folk art, contemporary craft, and fine art are all part of the same continuum.

Palace of the Legion of Honor
Built to commemorate Californian soldiers who died in World War I, the Legion of Honor is a beautiful Beaux-arts building located in San Francisco's Lincoln Park. Displaying an impressive collection of 4,000 years worth of ancient and European art in an unforgettable setting overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, the Legion is also home to an early cast of Rodin's famous "Thinker" sculpture. Admission fees to special exhibits still apply.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Located in downtown San Francisco, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art. Opened in 1935 to "explore compelling expressions of visual culture," the permanent collection comprises more than 25,000 works of modern and contemporary art, including photography, painting, sculpture, media arts, architecture, and design. Admission fees to special exhibits still apply.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
YBCA presents contemporary art from the Bay Area and around the world that reflects the profound issues and ideas of our time, expands the boundaries of artistic practice, and celebrates the diversity of human experience and expression.

For more than 20 years sea music enthusiasts have gathered at San Francisco's Hyde Street Pier on the historic tall ships C. A. Thayer and Balclutha to sing chanteys and other sea songs.

This free event, which takes place the first Saturday of every month, has garnered a loyal following, drawing 80 to 200 people monthly.

Hear California history come alive with chanteys that describe the perils of San Francisco's Barbary Coast, the dangers of rounding Cape Horn, cruel ship officers, the joys and curse of drink, and hopes for riches during the Gold Rush.

Be sure to bring a mug for complimentary apple cider!

Reservations required; call (415) 561-7171.

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco offers free admission to all visitors on the first Sunday of every month.

One of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian art, the Asian Art Museum collection spans 6,000 years of history and includes 17,000 objects, from tiny jades to monumental sculptures, paintings, porcelains and ceramics, lacquers, textiles, furniture, arms and armor, puppets, and basketry.

The collection galleries are divided into seven geographic regions: South Asia; the Persian World and West Asia; Southeast Asia; the Himalayas and the Tibetan Buddhist World; China; Korea; and Japan. Winding through all the galleries are three major themes: the development of Buddhism; trade and cultural exchange; and local beliefs and practices.

Join your guide Henry for an extensive walk through the streets (and over the hills) of San Francisco.

Enjoy the sights of the city as you wander through neighborhoods such as Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Chinatown, North Beach, and Telegraph Hill. See Lombard Street, Coit Tower, and some of the oldest homes and hidden gardens in the city.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels. Please sign up in advance.

Most Thursday nights, the California Academy of Sciences opens its doors after hours for NightLife.

Adults have a chance to explore the museum at night in a whole new light, as they dance to some of San Francisco's most popular DJs, enjoy food and cocktails, and mingle while perusing the Academy's world-class exhibits and getting up close and personal with aquarium critters.

Take in some knowledge with your libations -- each week features provocative science programming and a few surprises.

Guests at our three San Francisco hostels even get a 15 percent discount on admission to NightLife (as well as general admission) if you order tickets in advance. More info on how to get that discount is found here.

Join your tour guide Joe for an evening excursion to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Located in downtown San Francisco, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art. Opened in 1935 to "explore compelling expressions of visual culture," the permanent collection comprises more than 25,000 works of modern and contemporary art, including photography, painting, sculpture, media arts, architecture, and design.

SFMOMA offers half-price admission and extended hours every Thursday starting at 6 p.m., making this the perfect chance to soak up some culture with your fellow hostellers.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels. Please sign up in advance.

San Francisco City Guides offer free historical and architectural walking tours of San Francisco's most famous (or, in some cases, infamous) districts, as well as some of its more hidden neighborhoods.

Approximately 30 different walks are offered each month, year-round, rain or shine. Walkers meet at the place and time designated in the current tour schedule. No reservations are required.

Open every day, San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace is a foodie mecca, offering fresh organic produce, gourmet treats, and fine dining. With a focus on small, regional food producers -- and many eateries and small businesses owned by well-known top chefs -- you can sample local artisan cheeses, chocolates, breads, and more.

Most Saturday mornings, celebrated Bay Area chefs stop in to demonstrate ways to prepare the sustainable, seasonable goods found in the Farmers' Market. Visitors can watch these experts in action, taste their creations, and leave with recipes to try themselves at home. Programs sometimes include interviews with farmers, food artisans, or other Farmers' Market vendors.

See the CUESA's website for a full event schedule.

On Wednesdays and Sundays, the Heart of the City Farmers Market sets up shop in United Nations Plaza near City Hall, bringing locally grown produce, fresh flowers, and artisan goods to the city's Civic Center.

Stock up on goodies to cook up back at the hostel, or snacks to bring along on your travels.

Join us on Friday evenings to sample California wine and cheeses at the San Francisco Downtown Hostel.

Meet and mingle with fellow travelers, whet your appetite for San Francisco’s nightlife, then hit the town together, or settle in to plan your next day's adventure.

This event is open to all guests (ages 21 and older) at our three San Francisco hostels.

The Fort Mason Center Farmers Market is one of many year-round farmers markets around the city -- but it's the closest to the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hostel, just a short walk away through Fort Mason.

The market features 50 local farm and prepared food stalls, including vendors selling fresh and/or organic produce, farmstead cheese, fish, meat, eggs, and fresh baked goods.

No trip to San Francisco would be complete without tacos! 

Anthony will be dishing up this California Mexican classic in the hostel lobby. They're just $3 while they last!

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco City Center Hostel. Please sign up in advance.

Join us -- and your fellow hostellers -- for a pasta dinner at the San Francisco Downtown hostel. It's $5 but the first two volunteer cooks eat free (so get there early!)

Meet your dorm neighbors and plan your weekend in San Francisco over some tasty pasta. Then head out for our weekly pub crawl! 

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco Downtown Hostel. No signup is required.

Put on your drinking shoes, grab your ID (gotta be 21!), and join Jesse and Erinne for our weekly pub crawl.

Sip some brew (or a cosmo? tequila?) at five of the best bars along Polk Street, near our City Center and Downtown hostels. Meet a bunch of other travelers and enjoy a night out in SF!

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels.

Off the Grid is a regular gathering of San Francisco street food vendors -- or, as they describe it, "a roaming mobile food extravaganza!"

This is a great chance to sample unusual and gourmet foods at cheap prices, and enjoy a little al fresco dining. Korean tacos, jambalaya, empanadas, onigiri, BBQ ribs, dim sum -- you'll be amazed at the tasty treats that can be made and sold from the back of a truck.

Regularly participating vendors include local favorites like Chairman Bao Bun Truck, Creme Brulee Cart, Curry Up Now, Gobba Gobba Hey, Hapa SF, and Kung Fu Tacos.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Off the Grid sets up shop in Civic Center's UN Plaza (next to the Asian Art Museum), just four blocks from the San Francisco City Center Hostel.

Wednesdays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., the trucks visit the intersection of 5th and Minna streets, just south of Market Street and five blocks from the San Francisco Downtown Hostel.

Fridays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., you'll find them in Civic Center Plaza (directly in front of City Hall), also just four blocks from the San Francisco City Center Hostel.

Fridays, 5 - 10 p.m., check out the original Off the Grid event, which happens in Fort Mason near the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hostel. The largest of the Off the Grid events, this night features more than 30 street food trucks and tents each week!

Located in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood, the Haas-Lilienthal House is a beautifully restored Queen Anne-style Victorian built in 1886.

It's the only intact private home of the period that's open regularly as a museum in San Francisco, complete with authentic furniture and artifacts, elaborate wooden gables, a circular corner tower, and detailed ornamentation.

Tours of this house museum are offered year-round on Sundays from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., and on Wednesdays and Saturdays from noon - 3 p.m. Tours leave every 20 to 30 minutes and last about one hour. All visits to the house must be guided. Reservations are not required.

Who doesn't love making ice cream sundaes!?

Come hang out with other travelers on our back patio, and get to know each other over some sweet treats. It's just $1 for ice cream.

Because really -- summer on the patio with ice cream? Yes, please.

Join Erinne and your fellow hostellers for a crawl from Fort Mason through North Beach.

We'll head to the "Off the Grid" street food extravaganza in Fort Mason to pre-game with some food and beer, then head to North Beach (Little Italy) to check out some of San Francisco's best bars and one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels.

Monday afternoons, join Erinne and your fellow hostellers for a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, and a ferry ride back to the city.

The first stop is one of our bike rental partners, where we'll pick up bikes and helmets. Then we'll hit the road for a relaxing ride over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge -- an incredible experience for anyone!

From the bayside town of Sausalito, we'll take the ferry back to the city -- it's a mini bay-cruise past Alcatraz with great views of San Francisco the whole way.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels.

Join us Tuesdays - Saturdays for a free movie screening in our awesome new theater-style TV lounge!

Grab a snack at Cafe Franco upstairs, and come hang with us for the film.

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hostel.

Many San Francisco visitors have a trip to Napa somewhere on their itinerary. Wine Country, after all, is one highlight of the California experience.

But vino isn’t the only beverage to sample around here -- we'd hate to see you leave this fine city without tasting some of the locally brewed beer!

So head to the Downtown Hostel's second-floor lounge on Tuesday evenings, for light snacks and a rotating sampling of beer from local breweries like Lagunitas, Anchor Steam, Trumer Pils, and Speakeasy.

This event is open to all guests (ages 21 and over) at our three San Francisco hostels.

Wednesday afternoons, join Erinne and your fellow hostellers for a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, and a ferry ride back to the city.

The first stop is one of our bike rental partners, where we'll pick up bikes and helmets. Then we'll hit the road for a relaxing ride over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge -- an incredible experience for anyone!

From the bayside town of Sausalito, we'll take the ferry back to the city -- it's a mini bay-cruise past Alcatraz with great views of San Francisco the whole way.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels.

Jesse takes you on a bike ride from Downtown San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and back.

Stops include the Ferry Building, Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, Crissy Field, The Palace of Fine Arts and the Golden Gate Bridge.

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco Downtown Hostel .

Join Anthony, our resident "tea master," as he shares various Chinese teas, explains their health benefits, some fun historical facts, and reveals some of the mysticism in San Francisco tea culture.

This is a great opportunity to meet fellow hostellers, relax, and enjoy the warmth of amazing teas!

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco City Center Hostel .

It's Mardi Gras all year long at the City Center Hostel!

Enjoy a warm and delicious New Orleans-style meal, while listening to jazz and folk tunes from The South! San Francisco has a great history and connection to New Orleans and Her food.

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco City Center Hostel .

Join your fellow hostellers for a trip to one of San Francisco's oldest and most captivating neighborhoods: Chinatown.

Though it's only a few blocks away from our Downtown Hostel, Chinatown is another world unto itself, bustling with shops and buzzing with people. Explore hidden alleyways, sip various Chinese teas, see mysterious historic temples, and visit the famous San Francisco Fortune Cookie Factory.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels. Please sign up in advance.

Our lobby at the City Center Hostel transforms into an old fashioned movie house every week! On Friday nights, zombie-walk down to the hostel cafe for our Midnight Movie Macabre!

Check out this week's campy '70s-'90s horror flick, projected onto a 6-foot-wide screen in Ivy's Place, and pretend to shield your eyes from the cheesy gore of The Lost Boys, Scream, or Tales From the Crypt, to name a few possibilities. Even better, we'll have popcorn, cookies and soda -- all for free!

This event is open only to guests of the San Francisco City Center Hostel.

This fantastic walking tour with our wounder volunteer, Dave, is pretty fast paced so get those walking shoes ready for a historic stroll (or power walk) through San Francisco. Explore the city's most interesting hoods like downtown, nob hill and the financial district at a swift and spritely pace. 

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels.

Experience the Mission district like a true San Francisca local.  Stop at Zeitgeist for a beer, hit up a thrift store where close are sold by the pound, check out the murals, eat at a taqueria, see the oldest building in San Francisco (hint, it's the mission) and end up in the best local park in the city, Dolores Park.

This event is open to all guests at our three San Francisco hostels.

Though today dwarfed by the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point's four tiers of cannon were once the most awesome feature at this narrow entrance to San Francisco Bay.

This mighty fort kept an armed and unwavering vigil over the golden gateway for almost half a century until its original cannons were removed, but no enemy challenged its might.

Discover the fort by the beauty of candlelight on this ranger-led night tour. Seeing the fort by flickering flame, with bright stars overhead, is a special way to take a trip into the shadows of the fort's past.

Our wonderful activities coordinator and North Beach native, Anthony, will guide you through the charming "Little Italy" of San Francisco. Visits to beautiful cathedrals, museums, and the famous Coit Tower are just a few of the highlights from this walking tour. This activity begins with a ride on the San Francisco California Street Cable Car (did you know that they climb halfway to the stars?) and a stop at the Cable Car Museum.

Learn some fun facts about the beatniks, the Italian mafia, and Italian immigration in our beautiful city!

Noise Pop is San Francisco's leading independent music festival, showcasing nationally known indie rock, electronic, punk, and cutting-edge musical artists, as well as the best local bands.

Going 20 years strong, this year's festival boasts more than 60 bands and solo artists at various venues throughout the city. Some of the most widely acclaimed bands in America played Noise Pop as emerging artists early in their careers, including The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, The Donnas, and The Decemberists. 

In addition, Noise Pop features a film festival, screening music documentaries and videos that embrace and reflect independent music and culture.

On March 20, meet up at Public Works in the Mission for our very first Travel Tavern! For our inaugural event, we're bringing you travel-sized tales, written and performed by local storytellers, in honor of World Storytelling Day. 

Featuring:

• Athens in Flip Flops by Ashley Cowan
  Two sisters arriving in Athens are forced to navigate to their hostel with empty stomachs, loud shoes, and a European admirer.

• The Best and Worst Things That Ever Happened, Ever, by Allison Page
  A selfish girl travels to Thailand to entertain locals in a language they don't speak, and raise money for orphans and elephants she doesn't care about, when a single event changes the trajectory of her life.

• Gambatte, by Turner Wright
  Turner volunteers with clean-up efforts in Ofunato, Japan, two months after the deadly earthquake and tsunami that threw the country into disarray.

• The Gratuities, by Bob Scott
  An almost-true story about traveling from Albuquerque to the high desert, with names changed to protect the imposters involved.

• The Kindness of Strangers, by Gigi Hanna
  Little does Gigi know what awaits her as she begins an aimless bus journey up a mountain in Provence.

• Leaving Israel: A Tale of 7 Checkpoints, by Matt Werner
  Battling a crippling stomach virus while staying at the cheapest hostel in Jerusalem, Matt visits Bethlehem for Christmas 2008. The start of the Israel/Gaza War is hours away. Will he get out in time?

• A Monsoon Wedding Without the Monsoon, by Sang S. Kim
  A most peculiar summer wedding in India.

• Why We Travel, by Michael Belitsos
  The true story of an adventure in the Amazon jungle.

After the performance, mix with other globetrotters and swap your own stories from the road, or chat up reps from local travel groups.

Hostelling International members are also welcome to attend the VIP pre-reception and annual member meeting.

Program Schedule

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
VIP Reception and Annual Member Meeting (members only)
All Hostelling International members are welcome to attend the VIP reception and HI-USA Golden Gate Council's annual member meeting, which includes a review of the past year's activities and presentation of the Dorothy Erskine Award for volunteerism.

7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Travel Tavern: Stories from the Road
Enjoy an evening of travel-themed tales presented by Bay Area performers on World Storytelling Day, a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling. Every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, and the first day of autumn in the southern, people gather to tell and listen to stories in dozens of languages across the globe.

8:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Mix 'n' Mingle
Meet fellow travelers, HI members, and reps from local travel groups -- and swap travel tales of your own!

Getting There

Public Works is at 161 Erie Street (off Mission Street, between 14th and Duboce)

BART: To 16th Street station and walk 2 blocks north.
MUNI: 14 or 49 to 14th Street, or 22 or 33 to 16th and Mission.
PARKING: Street parking is free after 6 p.m.; there's a paid lot on 14th between Mission and Valencia.

About the Performers

Michael Belitsos is a writer, magician, musician, and actor who lives in San Francisco. He recently received the audience award at the Marin Fringe Festival, appeared in Counting on Love at the Exit Theater, and will appear at the Exit this fall in a one-man show called The Movies of My Mind. He performs his unique brand of magical storytelling throughout the Bay Area.

Ashley Cowan is originally from Avon, Connecticut, and is a graduate of Roger Williams University where she double majored in Communications and Theatre. After graduating she moved to New York City to pursue the stage, but four years ago she was offered a role in the San Francisco production of Tony 'n' Tina’s Wedding and has been living, teaching, acting, and writing in the Bay Area ever since. Her most recent written work includes Word War, produced by No Nude Men Productions as part of PianoFight's ShortLived Festival, Genie in a BudLight and Occupy the Kids for San Francisco Theater Pub, and Athena and Phaeton for the San Francisco Olympians Festival.

Gigi Hanna is a writer, storyteller, activist, and pursuer of an artful life most of the time. That is, when she’s not making a living as a software geek. Currently living in London, Gigi was born in Cairo, and came to America at the age of ten. She lived in Cairo, New York, and Paris, before making San Francisco her home for 20 years. She also lived for over a decade in Columbus, Ohio, which needs to be stated in a separate sentence for obvious reasons. It is due to this diverse background that Gigi thinks of herself as a Middle Eastern Midwesterner from the Lower Haight. Gigi performs regularly with Spark London, a true-story telling series in the tradition of The Moth, performed at the Canal Cafe Theatre and the Ritzy Picture House in London. Gigi has a Master's degree in French Literature and Film, and is learning to play guitar.

Sang S. Kim has been a writer in his twin homes of New York and San Francisco for the past decade. A graduate of New York University, his work has been seen in the New York Fringe Festival and SF SketchFest. His writing has been featured in the Village Voice, Time Out: New York, SF Weekly, SF Bay Guardian, and the SF Chronicle. He's been a writer at SF Playground at Berkeley Rep, a company member for Thunderbird Theatre Company and Killing My Lobster, and a contributor to the Asian American Theater Company. Outside of theater, he's a practicing immigration and nationality law attorney and was a congressional staff member for former Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Allison Page is a comedian/writer/actor with nice hair. She escaped the frozen tundra to come to San Francisco to make laughs and eat sandwiches, and that's exactly what she's doing. Allison is a proud company member of local sketch comedy monster Killing My Lobster and works frequently with Rooftop Comedy. Recently you may have seen her in SF Sketchfest, The Olympians Festival, in Book of Liz at Custom Made Theatre, in Zoosk web commercials where (as opposed to real life) she always gets her man, or at Angelo's Cafe on Clement Street eating chorizo breakfast burritos and trying to meet four deadlines at once. This one's for the old gang, who are always, always cheering her on from afar.

Bob Scott has written several solo performance pieces, and been a member of several Bay Area bands including his most recent endeavor, Lucky Lew, as well as the award-winning jazz/world music band Rhythm Kitchen and the Dave Marz Group, an all-original instrumental band. His recordings include work as an instrumentalist (guitar and bass) for anti-war activist Lee Goland, and The Belvederes, an American/Australian folk music quartet. His solo play The Jade Pyramid was recently featured at San Francisco's Lost Church performance series and was a semi-finalist in the Harriet Lake Festival of New American Plays.

Matt Werner has been a technical writer at Google since 2010. His technical writing for Google has been translated into 40 languages and quoted in dozens of publications, including the Wall Street Journal. Outside of Google, Matt's editing a book called Oakland in Popular Memory: Interviews with 12 cutting-edge artists from Oakland and beyond, being published by Thought Publishing in April 2012. He received a B.A. in English from UC Berkeley and a Master's in English from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was studying when he took this memorable Christmas trip. Check out his writing at mattswriting.com.

Turner Wright grew up in the suburbs of Dallas and studied aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Desiring a more flexible schedule and a better perspective on the world, he left the U.S. in 2006 and began working his way around Asia. From teaching English and working at a biomedical firm in Japan, to taking care of the grounds of a Buddhist monastery in New Zealand, he tends to be comfortable no matter where he is. Turner's experience as a travel writer and in social media began in Japan after he shattered his wrist and started reporting on the Japanese medical system to fellow expatriates. He currently writes for several online travel publications, including The Matador Network and his own expatriate blogs, Once a Traveler and Keeping Pace in Japan. He volunteered with relief efforts following the Japanese tsunami, gave his time as an English teacher in underfunded government schools in Thailand, and helped build temporary housing in Haiti. When not on one his jaunts out of the country, he enjoys training for marathons and eating everything American culture can provide.

Co-presented by our friends at Meet Plan Go and Tripping!

Now in its 30th year, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) showcases a dynamic and forward-looking selection of the best in new Asian and Asian American cinema from around the globe.

Ranging from locally produced documentaries to Asian blockbusters that have been lauded on the international film festival circuit, the festival’s program is the largest showcase of its kind in the world.

Download a mini guide or check out the festival website for a full lineup of films and other events and presentations throughout the festival.

The annual St. Patrick's Day celebration in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza showcases Irish culture with colorful festivities throughout the day.

The "largest St. Patrick's Day event west of the Mississippi" features live performances, cultural competitions, games, arts and crafts, and food and beverage vendors, as well as children's activities. At 11:30 a.m., the St. Patrick's Day Parade -- 5,000 marchers strong and celebrating its 160th anniversary as a San Francisco tradition -- starts from the intersection of Market and 2nd Streets and proceeds down Market to Civic Center Plaza.

San Francisco's Sunday Streets is modeled after the Colombian tradition of Ciclovia, which means "bike path" in Spanish. Every Sunday in that country, more than 70 miles of roads are closed to cars and 1.5 million runners, walkers, skaters, and cyclists hit the streets.

In 2008, San Francisco brought Ciclovia to the city, closing off selected roads on two Sundays. The events were a big success, drawing 30,000 people. This year, varying streets will be closed every one Sunday a month from March through October. (Usually the 2nd Sunday.)

March 11, this year's festivities kick off along the Embarcadero from Fisherman's Wharf to Mission Bay.

April 15, it runs along the Great Highway and Golden Gate Park, introducing a new route through the park. 

May 6, it's in the Mission, centered at Valencia and 24th streets.

June 3, the Mission. 

July 1, the Mission.

July 22, Bayview. 

August 5, the Mission.

August TBD, Chinatown. 

September 9, streets are closed in the Western Addition/North of the Panhandle/Alamo Square.

October 21, Outer Mission/Excelsoir District.

See the website for more details on each date -- maps outlining the closed streets are usually posted a few weeks before each event.

No matter which Sunday Street you attend, expect plenty of fun activities. Some of the highlights from previous Sunday Streets include skate dance demos inspired by Slumdog Millionaire, bike rentals, live bands and street performers, yoga and tai chi, as well as kid-friendly activities like carnival games, slides, and a climbing wall. Sunday Streets are also just a great chance to explore San Francisco neighborhoods in a relaxed, car-free atmosphere.