Cultural Celebrations San Francisco

Stories with an Accent: Berkeley Storytelling Open Mic

11/11 — our storytelling open mic, all about wishes and dreams, but stories on any theme are welcome! Everyone is welcome, and ESL speakers are especially encouraged to participate — our host is one of them! Stories are usually 5–7 minutes long, but shorter ones are welcome, too. If you don't feel you have a story to tell, just come! Our friendly atmosphere might inspire you to share one spontaneously or join a storytelling game with the group. ✨ Our next meeting is on 12/12 — same time, same place. :) More info on Instagram: @storieswithanaccent

Bhangra & Beats Night Market-Official City of San Francisco Diwali Celebration

**Bhangra & Beats Night Market** **Official City of San Francisco Diwali Celebration** **Friday\, November 13\, 2026 \| 4–9 PM** **Yerba Buena Gardens + Jessie Square + Yerba Buena Lane** **Family Friendly & All Ages** **Free With RSVP:** [https://bb-diwali-26.eventbrite.com](https://bb-diwali-26.eventbrite.com) Celebrate Diwali in the heart of San Francisco as **[Bhangra & Beats Night Market](https://www.instagram.com/bhangraandbeats/)** returns to [Yerba Buena Gardens ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdagBp2S9LJ/)for the **Official City of San Francisco Diwali Celebration**! The Gardens come alive with the infectious energy of **[Non Stop Bhangra](https://www.instagram.com/nonstopbhangra/)** bringing its signature mix of Bhangra music, dance, live drummers, colorful performances, interactive dance lessons, DJs, and an open dance floor where everyone is invited to join the celebration. Enjoy delicious Indian food, local makers and artisans, henna, family-friendly activities, arts and crafts, community activations, Bollywood music at Jessie Square plaza, plus more throughout Yerba Buena Gardens and Yerba Buena Lane. Inspired by the joy, light, and togetherness of Diwali, Bhangra & Beats transforms the heart of downtown San Francisco into a vibrant celebration of South Asian culture and Bay Area community bringing people of all backgrounds together through music, dance, food, art, and connection. Indian inspired fits encouraged\~come dressed in vibrant colors and your favorite Diwali look as we light up the gardens together! ✨🪔

🎈🎈Language and Cultural Exchange Event! Berkeley! November 14th@ Cellarmaker

Welcome! Participate with us on Saturday for a cultural and language exchange. This event will be hosted by native Spanish speakers, however, all languages are welcome! Spend your Saturday afternoon connecting with international friends and fun interactions. Look for the table with the Red balloons 🎈

Bhangra & Beats

Japanese-English language exchange Berkeley

Make international friends & speak in Japanese and English. Members of all ages, from university students to working adults, are welcome to participate. 現役の大学生から社会人まで幅広い年齢の方が参加します。 どなたでも参加可能です！ 是非お越し下さい！お待ちしております。 There is a sign that says "21 and over only", but this only applies after 6pm. Please order a drink (non-alcoholic drinks are available) after you come downstairs.

Diwali Celebration: Time of Transformation

Step into a vibrant evening of reflection, togetherness, and cultural harmony. Diwali marks the triumph of light over darkness and wisdom over ignorance. In today’s changing world, "Time of Transformation" invites us to awaken our inner light and foster peace across all communities and traditions. **Event Highlights:** * Inspiring reflections and interfaith prayers * **Special Guest: BK Gayatri Naraine**, UN Representative, Brahma Kumaris (NY) * “**The Traveler's Search**” - a Theatrical Performance written and directed by **Dr. Andrei Antokhin** (University of San Francisco) * Artistic Performances and Live Music * Guided Meditation * Vegetarian dinner & warm community connections **Event Details**: * REGISTRATION REQUIRED * Doors open 5:00 PM * Everyone welcome to attend * Festive/Formal attire * No prior meditation experience required Come and celebrate this sacred and joyous evening with us! Voluntary contributions welcome ([Credit Card](https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-brahma-kumaris-san-francisco-for-spiritual-services), [PayPal](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L2FJZ2ZGYSVFG), Venmo @bkwsosf).

DilSe Bollywood Rave Dance Party in SF

Noor: A Gathering in Light

**Noor: A Gathering in Light** **A Musical Mehfil** This Fall, we’d love to bring our community of musicians and singers together for an intimate gathering to celebrate the light that music brings into our lives. We'll gather to share our songs of light: the light within us, the light we find in one another, and the light that guides us through music, poetry, and spirit. Let’s gather with our voices, instruments, and songs to share ghazals, sufi songs/poetry, spiritual music, and melodies that speak to the many meanings of light. Nothing too formal, just a space to listen, sing, improvise, connect, and enjoy the beauty of making music together. I’ll put together a little spread of food and chai for everyone. Please feel free to bring a snack/dessert to share, and we’ll add it all to the table and create a lovely community feast. Looking forward to an evening of music, light, good food, and good company. Musically yours, Divya and Jun

Fall’s Journey, Stop 3: SF Botanical Garden Sunset + Friendsgiving Dinner

**🍁 Fall’s Journey, Stop 3: Thanksgiving Sunset at SF Botanical Garden + Friendsgiving Dinner** Spend Thanksgiving afternoon among the maples, then share a Friendsgiving table with new friends. The San Francisco Botanical Garden has one of the best fall color displays in the city. Its centerpiece is the Moon Viewing Garden, where stepping stones follow a small stream down to a still pond surrounded by Japanese maples. Across the garden’s 55 acres you’ll also see ginkgos turning bright gold, dogwoods going deep red-purple, and vine maples turning orange. Admission is free for everyone on Thanksgiving. Whether you’re new in town, your family is far away, or you just want some fresh air and good company, come spend the holiday with us. This is the third stop of **Fall’s Journey**, TownFlame’s weekly series of foliage socials, at sunset. **📅 Thursday, Nov 26 (Thanksgiving) · 2:45pm–dinner** **Location**: Main Gate, 1199 9th Ave, Golden Gate Park **Schedule** * **2:45** Meet at the Main Gate. Welcome and self-intros, including one thing you’re thankful for this year. * **3:00–4:15** Fall color walk: the Temperate Asia garden, ginkgos, the Redwood Grove and other color across the garden * **4:15–4:40** Golden hour in the Moon Viewing Garden: maples reflected in the pond * **4:40** Closing circle and a group photo in the last light. Sunset is at 4:53, and we walk out together as the garden closes at 5:00. * **\~5:15** 🦃 **Friendsgiving dinner.** We’ll walk to Irving St & 9th Ave, the neighborhood’s restaurant row, and our scouts will find us tables. Pay your own. **💵 Cost:** The garden is free for everyone on Thanksgiving. You pay your own dinner. **⏰ Important:** Last entry to the garden is **4:00pm**, and latecomers can’t get in after that. If you can only make dinner, meet us at the corner of Irving St & 9th Ave around 5:10. **🚇 Getting there:** Parking around Golden Gate Park and the Inner Sunset is tight on holidays, so take transit or carpool if you can. The Muni N-Judah line runs along Irving St nearby. **👟 Bring:** Comfortable shoes, a camera, and a warm layer. San Francisco gets cold fast once the sun goes down. **🍂 Fall’s Journey** 1. Hakone + Montalvo (Nov 15) 2. Golden Ponds of Niles (Nov 22) 3. Thanksgiving Sunset + Friendsgiving (Nov 26) ← you are here 4. Stanford finale *Honorable mention:* a self-organized evening at Filoli Holiday Lights **🔥 Want to help?** We’re looking for a few volunteers to greet people, take photos, and scout restaurants for dinner. Tell us at the closing circle or message the hosts. Hosted by [captain name] · TownFlame stewards **Join [TownFlame](http://www.townflame.org/), Make Life Happen.** **Liability Waiver:** Participation in TownFlame events is voluntary and involves social interaction in public spaces. Activities are designed to be inclusive and respectful. Participants assume all risks and release TownFlame, its organizers, volunteers, and affiliates from liability for injury, illness, or damages, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. By attending, participants acknowledge that photographs, audio, and video recordings may be taken during events, and grant TownFlame the right to use such media for promotional and marketing purposes, in any format or platform, without further consent or compensation.

Holiday decoration in SF

Cranes, Conversations & Golden Hour II: World Tree of Hope, Grace Cathedral

Our world tree of hope event created a record for us, in that over half registered showed up. And the director of the program wants us coming back. So here it is again, episode 2. Image is the director giving us a tour of the Grace Cathedral after our shift. \-\-\-\-\- **🕊️ Cranes, Conversations & Golden Hour Walk on Nob Hill: the World Tree of Hope, at Grace Cathedral** *TownFlame November Saturday Series · Sun, Nov 15, 12 PM–evening* We have a long tradition of decorating the World Tree of Hope, with Grace Cathedral, during the pre-holiday season. One year old actually :), so we are coming back again, in the format of volunteering mixer, socializing after volunteering together. By our experience, volunteering together is a great way to know others, working side by side, with a shared purpose. Grace Cathedral being an iconic place on Nob Hill adds to the context. Every Saturday this month, TownFlame is helping build San Francisco’s World Tree of Hope inside Grace Cathedral. It’s the largest origami holiday tree in the world, decorated with thousands of hand-folded cranes and stars, each carrying a wish for the world. We’re turning the shift into a mixer, then heading out for a sunset walk and dinner. **How it works** We sit at small tables of 5–6 to fold, wire and sort cranes and stars for the tree. Every hour or so, half of each table moves to a new one, so by the end of the afternoon you’ll have worked alongside three or four different groups. Your hands stay busy, there’s always something to talk about, and you get new faces every half hour. No origami experience needed. Someone at your table will show you, and soon you’ll be the one teaching. **Schedule** * **12:00 PM:** Meet on the Grace Cathedral front steps (1100 California St) * **12:00–3:00 PM:** Folding mixer inside the cathedral Running late? Walk in and tell them you are there for the tree decoration volunteering, and tell the onsite director that you come from meetup, and ask to sit with the meetup people. * **1:20-1:40 PM** Take a break, go upstairs to tour the cathedral, shift tables if you like. * **3:15–4:45 PM:** Golden-hour walk around Nob Hill: Huntington Park, the Fairmont, ending at a viewpoint for sunset * **5:00 PM:** Group coffee or dinner nearby (location shared with RSVPs; pay your own way) Come for the folding only, or stay for the whole afternoon. **Before you come** * **Register with Rainbow World Fund as well as RSVPing here.** The cathedral needs every volunteer on their list: **[https://bit.ly/WorldTreeofHopeVolunteerSignUp](https://bit.ly/WorldTreeofHopeVolunteerSignUp)** * Wear layers, because the cathedral is chilly inside and it gets cold on the hill after sunset. * Coming from the South Bay? Caltrain to SF, then Muni or a cable car up to Nob Hill. **How to enter the building from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 at noon:** At this stage of the project, we will be working in a large room on the Cathedral’s ground level. Enter through the street/ground-level entrance on Taylor Street. At street level, next to the main steps leading up to the Cathedral, there are glass double doors (next to the underground parking garage entrance; see the picture above). Enter through these glass doors (they should be unlocked). Once inside, take the first left, walk through the doorway, and our room will be on the right. **If the doors are locked, please text or call Director Jeff, and we’ll come let you in.** **Why we do this** Each crane carries a written wish for the world. You’ll leave having helped build something thousands of people will see this December, and knowing a few more people than you did at noon. Can’t make the 7th? We’re back on the 14th, 21st and 28th. Each Saturday is a new group of people. \*\*\* **🌇 Nob Hill → Russian Hill Golden-Hour Walk (self-guided)** *About 1 mile, 1.5 hours. Steep in places. Start: Grace Cathedral steps, 3:15pm.* **How it works:** A different person reads each stop aloud. At every stop, switch walking partners so you walk the next stretch with someone you haven’t talked to yet. **Stop 1: Huntington Park** *(directly across Taylor St from the cathedral)* A small, formal park at the top of Nob Hill, with the tortoise fountain in the middle. 💬 *Form a circle, do group self intro.* **Stop 2: California & Mason** *(walk east along California, 1 block)* The Fairmont Hotel is on the south side. On the north side is the brownstone Pacific-Union Club, the old Flood Mansion and one of the few buildings on the hill that survived the 1906 fire. In the 1870s and 1880s, Nob Hill was where the railroad and silver-mine millionaires built their mansions. 💬 *What brought you to the Bay Area?* ☕ **Café stop (after the walk)** We’ll finish with coffee and conversation nearby. We’ll decide which café on the day based on the group’s size and mood: * **Another Cafe**, 1191 Pine St (at Leavenworth). A two-story café a couple of blocks from the cathedral with plenty of room for the group, coffee and sandwiches. * **Gallery Cafe**, 1200 Mason St. A cozy corner café across from the Cable Car Museum, where you can watch the cable cars go by. Good for a smaller group or anyone heading toward North Beach afterward. Stay as long as you like, or head out whenever you need to. **Bonus Stop: Ina Coolbrith Park** *(keep walking north on Mason to Vallejo, then climb the Vallejo St steps west)* This is the steep part, so take it slowly. At the top, face east toward Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island. Sunset is around 5pm, so stay to watch the light change on the bay and the city lights come on. 💬 *What’s one thing you want to do before the year ends?* **Finish: North Beach** *(walk back down the Vallejo steps east to Columbus Ave)*. Anyone heading home can leave here. **Join [TownFlame](http://www.townflame.org/), Make Life Happen.** **Liability Waiver:** Participation in TownFlame events is voluntary and involves social interaction in public spaces. Activities are designed to be inclusive and respectful. Participants assume all risks and release TownFlame, its organizers, volunteers, and affiliates from liability for injury, illness, or damages, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. By attending, participants acknowledge that photographs, audio, and video recordings may be taken during events, and grant TownFlame the right to use such media for promotional and marketing purposes, in any format or platform, without further consent or compensation.

Thursday Kirtan and Supper

#### Thursday, 6:30–8:00 PM KIRTAN & SUPPER * Kirtan, or mantra meditation, is a call-and-response chanting practice, blending sacred mantras with music and dancing. It fosters ecstatic joy and deep collective participation. No experience needed. Suggested donation: $15. **Registration is not required.** Bhakti SF [https://bhaktisf.com/](https://bhaktisf.com/) 3250 17th Street San Francisco, CA 94110