The San Francisco Botanical Garden is a beautiful, relaxing green space that provides refuge in the city for tourists and long-time residents alike. If the Garden’s 8,000+ plants across 55 acres weren’t enough, they are bringing in an extra-special addition in September. That’s right, Flower Piano is back for another year from starting this weekend on Friday, September 13. You have over a week to catch the wonderful performances, with shows scheduled until the Sunday, September 22.
Multiple public pianos will be placed around the gardens so you can enjoy lovely music in an even lovelier setting. The event is free for SF residents but you’ll still need to reserve ahead of time as it’s one of the garden’s most popular events of the year.
This year, the event has doubled in length, spanning two weekends. That means you have more time to catch one of the dazzling performances in the garden. There will also be a special opening night event on September 12, featuring the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición in the Celebration Garden.
As usual, the rest of the days are stacked with additional performances throughout the gardens from morning through evening.
Check out the 2024 schedule:
- Opening Night September 12: Orquesta La Moderna Tradición.
- September 13: The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
- September 14: Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers
- September 15: The San Francisco Symphony
- September 20: Jill Tracy and the Sixth Station Trio
- September 21: Kitten on the Keys and the Sumi Lee Tango Collective
- September 22: Mr. Lucky and the Cocktail Party
Flower Piano has had 8 successful years at San Francisco Botanical Garden despite a break in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Garden usually puts up 12 beautiful pianos around the area, which are free for the anyone to play during the week, and reserved for professional performances at select times. The Botanical Garden works in collaboration with Sunset Piano, a local artist duo known for placing beautiful, sculptural pianos around the Bay Area.
Golden Gate Park already has some public pianos available, thanks to the Golden Mile Project. The pianos are along JFK Promenade and are open to the public. Tickets are on sale now for this exciting, beautiful event, and you don’t want to miss it.
By Jamie Ferrell and Dana Flynn