February 2026 in San Francisco brings plenty of special events and activities, including Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and the Super Bowl right nearby in Santa Clara.
Not sure how you’ll keep track of it all? Read on to discover some awesome activities for a fun and refreshing February in San Francisco.
1. Sunset Night MarketÂ
The popular Sunset Night Market is back after a brief hiatus in 2025, this time as a Lunar New Year celebration. The popular night market will include plenty of great food and live music, and is a great way to support small businesses in the Sunset.
🗓️ Date: Feb. 27 from 5-10pm
2. Magnolias at SF Botanical Garden
Every year, the San Francisco Botanical Garden explodes into a beautiful spectrum of deep magentas and bright pinks. The “Magnificent Magnolias” event occurs in late January through March, so be sure to find a day soon to see these spectacular blossoms at their best.
Magnolias are ancient flowering trees native to Asia and the New World. The SF Botanical Garden cultivates species from dozens of different climates, including the forests of the Himalayas and Mesoamerica. Find hundreds of blossoms, many of them rare and exotic, in the Great Meadow and the Camellia Garden.
🗓️ Dates: Late January through March
3. Lunar New Year festivities
Lunar New Year brings some of the most iconic events on San Francisco’s cultural calendar. While Chinatown’s famous parade doesn’t happen until March 7th, other Lunar New Year festivities kick off in February, including the following…
- Jan. 31 – Mar. 15: Zodiac on Parade (horse statue installations)
- Feb. 14-15: Flower Market Fair
- Feb. 17: Chinese New Year’s Day Opening Ceremony
- Feb. 28: Basketball Jamboree.
4. Black History Month events and activities
Museum of the African Diaspora
San Francisco’s extraordinary Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) has served as a vital Bay Area institution since 2005. Be sure to visit the current exhibitions, Continuum: MoAD Over Time and UNBOUND: Art, Blackness & the Universe; as well as ongoing events and performances.
More Than a Month at SF Public Library
Each year, the San Francisco Public Library hosts More Than A Month, a celebration of Black history that spotlights Black creators. This year, the library will emphasize the work and contributions of Black people to our societies with free meditation, film screenings, musical performances, panels, craft programs, and more.
Martin Luther King Jr. memorial
Yerba Buena Gardens is home to the country’s second-largest memorial to Martin Luther King Jr., an enormous sculptural waterfall fountain. Water cascades over a granite walkway, blocking out the city sounds and creating a tunnel in which visitors can contemplate inscribed quotations from Dr. King’s speeches. When was the last time you visited this profound monument?
Black Joy Parade
Oakland’s massive parade and festival will celebrate the Black experience in epic form. With tons of fantastic vendors, plenty of performances, and a lively parade route, this is the largest free event of its kind in California.
🗓️ Date: Feb. 22, 2026
5. Candlelight Concerts
The immensely popular Candlelight concert series is turning heads right now in San Francisco! Hear your favorite songs on strings, including Cold Play and romantic classics for Valentine’s Day. The Bay Area’s top musicians perform in an intimate setting surrounded by thousands of flickering candles, making for an unforgettable musical experience. Get tickets now!
6. Mix and Mingle NightLife at California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences regularly hosts after-hours parties, called NightLife, on Thursday evenings. The events typically have different themes, and on February 12, the museum is hosting a special Valentine’s Day party perfect for singles to mingle. The party will include a Date My Friend portion where you can pitch your friend to an audience. Plus, attendees can expect tarot readings, fun games, and desserts at the event.
🗓️ Date: Feb. 12, 2026
7. Super Bowl LX
As we all know by now, the San Francisco Bay Area is preparing to host the Super Bowl for the third time. In advance of the event, the 49ers have invested in major upgrades to Levi’s Stadium, including cutting-edge video boards, upgraded LED displays, a new field lighting system, renovated luxury suites, and improved Wi-Fi connectivity.
As the game approaches, additional plans for Super Bowl week have been unveiled. Fans can expect pre-game concerts featuring Sting and The Killers, a free performance by Post Malone, and a Super Bowl Fan Experience running from February 4–7, 2026, at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.
🗓️ Date: Feb. 8, 2026
8. Attend a concert during Super Bowl weekend
Super Bowl weekend is packed with exciting concerts, drawing major artists like Sting, The Killers, and many more. For dance music fans, you can expect Martin Garrix, Calvin Harris, and Diplo to play massive shows in San Francisco as well. For the full list of concerts during Super Bowl week, check out our guide here.
9. Valentine’s Day activities
Happy Valentine’s Day, San Francisco! Make it a day to remember with these memorable activities, concerts, events, and restaurants in the Bay Area. Read on to get inspired, whether you’re spending the day with your partner, friends, family, or yourself.
🗓️ Date: Feb. 14, 2025
10. February free admission days
This list shows the SF museums and gardens that are currently offering free admission days to the general public. Many museums, including the Exploratorium and Academy of Sciences, also take part in Museums for All, which gives free or reduced admission to low-income visitors, or Discover and Go, which gives free admission to visitors with an SF Public Library card.
11. Explore a free exhibit featuring historic SF photos
The San Francisco Arts Commission has partnered with the SFMTA Photography Department for a free photo exhibit at San Francisco City Hall. The exhibit, Moving San Francisco: Views from the SFMTA Photo Archive 1903 – Now, features a selection of photos through SF’s history, focusing on transportation.
🗓️ Dates: On view now through June
12. Ballet of Lights
Ballet of Lights will present a captivating new take on Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty at San Francisco’s Brava Theater Center. Audiences can enjoy the timeless ballet transformed through graceful classical choreography and stunning LED-illuminated costumes.
13. Wildlife watching
Elephant seals
It’s elephant seal breeding season on the coast of California, an exciting natural phenomenon that’s iconic to our state. Northern elephant seals inhabit the waters from Baja, California, Mexico to the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. They generally breed from December to March at Point Reyes, Año Nuevo, the Channel Islands, and Piedras Blancas.
Whale watching
15,000 gray whales are currently migrating along the California coast through April, and NorCal is full of countless epic viewing spots where you can see this phenomenon for yourself. Even from land, you’re likely to see them spouting, slapping their tails (known as “lobtailing”) or even breaching. If you want to see them up close, a whale-watching tour will do the trick.
14. Dear San Francisco
Dear San Francisco is a beautiful tribute to the city, exploring the history and culture of SF with a captivating performance that includes aerialists, acrobatics, and more. Plus, you can get food and drinks during the 90-minute show in one of SF’s most historic venues.
15. Noise Pop Festival
Noise Pop is back for another year, bringing music to venues across the city. This year’s acts include Tortoise, Clipping., Vs Self, and Beats Antique. Shannon Shaw, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Devotchka.
🗓️ Date: Feb. 19 – Mar. 1, 2026
16. February museum exhibitions
Installation view of “Manet & Morisot” at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, 2025. Photograph by Gary Sexton. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
As we enter a new month in San Francisco, many local museums are refreshing and replacing their temporary exhibitions. Now’s a great time to take stock and plan ahead to see some of these wonderful displays before they’re gone, such as Unbound at the Museum of the African Diaspora and Manet & Morisot at the Legion of Honor.
17. SF Beer Week
San Francisco Beer Week arrives this month, and it’s a special opportunity to explore some of the best craft beers the Bay Area has to offer. Plenty of local breweries will be putting on special promotions and events, including tap takeovers, blind-tasting challenges, parties, games, and beer releases.
🗓️ Dates: Feb. 20 – Mar. 1, 2026
18. The Jazz Room
The Palace Theatre in San Francisco hosts a live musical journey through the history of jazz, combining iconic classics with inventive improvisation performed by talented musicians and vocalists.
19. Spring flower blooms
As we head into February, it’s time to keep our eyes peeled for the beginnings of even more spring flower blooms! In addition to the magnolias and calla lilies, this month may also bring us almond blossoms in Tracy, wild mustard in Half Moon Bay, and perhaps a few cherry blossoms in the Japanese Tea Garden.
It’s always exciting in the spring with the possibility of seeing superblooms, and now’s a time to take stock of prime wildflower viewing in the Bay Area so you can catch them at the right time.
20. “Firefall” in Yosemite
Every year from mid to late February, for a few fleeting moments, if the conditions are exactly right, Yosemite’s Horsetail waterfalls illuminate into a spectacular orange spectrum as the water reflects the setting sun. For this to happen, though, the temperatures need to be within a certain range so that there’s a sufficient amount of snow and water flowing.
🗓️ Dates: Mid-to-late February
21. Ferry Building events
San Francisco’s Ferry Building is one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, serving as a hotspot for tourists and locals alike. It’s a center for events, pop-ups, a farmers’ market, and countless excellent merchants who sell their wares daily in the building’s many stalls. This February, check out the annual Hearts in SF display, free Monday yoga classes, Mahjong meetups, and a Lunar New Year Calligraphy workshop.
22. Napa Lighted Art Festival
The annual Napa Lighted Art Festival features ten beautiful glowing sculptures throughout Downtown Napa. It’s a free experience that you can enjoy on foot in Downtown Napa every single night.
🗓️ Dates: Jan. 17 – Feb. 15, 2026
