Once the clock strikes "weekend" tomorrow, all are invited down to UN Plaza for an evening of food and drinks, live music and family-friendly activities.
Friday Night Market is a collaboration between San Francisco Public Works, Lefty O’Doul’s Foundation for Kids and the Market Street Association. As part of the city's Make Your Market initiative, the admission-free events aim to showcase UN Plaza's potential as vital public space.
It started as an eight-week experiment in 2013 and with its success, it was revived last fall with a 12-week run. This year, however, the market is being held on the fourth Friday of every month through October.
"Because it was a prototype, we've been trying to figure out what would work best," said Ken Grieb, Night Market organizer and director of food and beverage for Union Square destination Lefty O’Doul’s. Hosting weekly events was costly and this year's series started earlier in the season, so the team is interested in seeing what kind of participation monthly events will garner.
The turnout for the first monthly event in June was "pretty decent," Grieb said, although there were fewer vendors than they would have liked. But expectations are high for tomorrow night.
"This particular one that's coming up, in our opinion, is going to be the most organized and best one of all of them," Grieb said. "We're going to have a total of six food trucks with different food vendors, about 15 local vendors and artists, a lot of community involvement booths, and then we'll also have a kid's pavilion this time with a lot of different activities for kids."
Other highlights: "There won't be a moment without music." A traditional Chinese dance troupe will kick things off, Oakland's DJ Twelvz will be spinning beats and the Bay Area rock band No Exit will perform a mix of originals and classic covers.
And of course, there will be alcohol. Proceeds from Lefty O’Doul’s full bar (featuring $5 cocktails) go to the Lefty O’Doul’s Foundation for Kids, which provides sporting events and equipment for the city's underprivileged youth.
Depending on the turnout for the Friday Night Markets currently planned, there's a chance the series will return to weekly or bi-monthly later this year. That means that if you're a big fan of these UN Plaza festivals, get on out there between 5pm-9pm tomorrow evening.
