Pedalfest, Off the Grid Food Trucks, Free Family Block Party at Yerba Buena Arts District this Weekend!

Get on your bike to the first bicycle-themed "Pedalfest" taking place in Oakland this Saturday, sample gourmet food with live music at "Off the Grid" in Larkspur on Sunday. Also take advantage of free admission to five leading museums including SFMOMA (would normally cost a family of four $120) at a free family block party in downtown San Francisco on Sunday!

Saturday October 15^th

“Pedalfest” from 10.00 am – 5.00pm at Jack London Square, 70 Washington Street, Oakland, free; view website

Oakland’s first ever “Pedalfest” will take place in Jack London Square this Saturday featuring a special kid’s zone, a parade showcasing decorated bicycles, dynamic BMX stunts,  a bicycle rodeo and a vintage and handmade bike show. In keeping with the bike theme, some of the food vendors and Rock-the-Bike sound stage with DJS will be pedal-powered. If you take your bike to the event, the San Francisco Bay Ferry (Blue and Gold fleet) will be free and there will also be a free bike valet service. The beer garden is courtesy of New Belgium Brewery

Sunday, October 16^th

‘Yerba Buena Family Day’, Presented by Target from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm, free: view website or Tel; 415-614-3216.

Downtown San Francisco's Yerba Buena arts district is having a free family block party! Five of the area's top cultural destinations including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art(SFMOMA), Contemporary Jewish Museum , Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), Children's Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum)  and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival welcome all ages with a full day of free admission, hands-on art making activities for kids and special family-friendly performances.

Each venue offers visitors a huge array of free opportunities to see and make art. Families can be among the first to experience the redesigned Children's Creativity Museum , unveiling its exciting new ‘Imagination Lab’ for the first time. Kids can ride the historic carousel, experiment with clay animation, and much more. At the Contemporary Jewish Museum , visitors will marvel at Harry Houdini's world famous escape acts in the exhibition; ‘Houdini: Art and Magic’, see a live performance by ‘The Magic of Chin-Chin’ and make their own optical illusions.

At SFMOMA, kids can be inspired by the exhibition ‘Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective’ and sketch, scribble, and squiggle their way through the wonderful world of drawing. Down the block at MoAD families can decoupage their own memory boxes and explore other ways to collect memories after seeing the exhibition ‘COLLECTED: Stories of Acquisition and Reclamation’.

And the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival offers a lively afternoon with multiple performances throughout the Gardens. From hula dancers to Japanese drummers, the main Esplanade Stage offers various musical performances from 12.00 – 3.00 pm. On the Children's Stage near the Children's Creativity Museum, families will delight in the clowning of ‘Unique Derique’ and the grooves of the ‘Venezuelan Music Project’.

The five locations in downtown San Francisco include:

- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) at 151 Third Street (between
Mission and Howard),

- Contemporary Jewish Museum (website) at 736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth),

- Museum of the African Diaspora (MoMD) at 685 Mission Street (at Third),

- Children's Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum) website at 221 Fourth Street (at Howard)  

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival (website) at Mission Street (between Third and Fourth).

"Off the Grid" every Sunday from 11.00 am – 3.00 pm at Marin County Mart, 2257 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur; Marin County Mart

After the success of the “Food Truck Crush” at Larkspur Landing over the summer, the phenomena that is gourmet food trucks are finally reaching Marin on a permanent basis!

"Off the Grid" has grown in popularity since its first market in Fort Mason Center last year and now travels around San Francisco, San Mateo and Berkeley offering gourmet food vendors with live music. Up to 10 trucks will set up (in the same location as the Saturday’s farmer’s market) every Sunday at Marin County Mart and will run year-round with a 4 week break from mid-December – mid January.