STERN GROVE FESTIVAL: FREE MUSIC UNDER THE TREES

POINTS OF DEPARTURE: An exciting new program series debuting in Spring 2026

Entering its 89th season, Stern Grove Festival is the nation's oldest, large-scale, free music festival and an iconic San Franciscan tradition. Year after year, The Festival has brought to its beautiful outdoor stage some of the finest musical performers of their times, representing an astonishing range of genres, styles, and moods. In this third installment of Points of Departure, go behind the scenes with The Festival to explore its past, present, and future. The evening will feature a panel conversation with Festival leadership, rich visuals, and a live performance by special musical guests that brings the Grove’s story rocking to life.

Stern Grove Festival is the newest resident of Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, relocating its offices to FMCAC in 2025. The original free music festival, Stern Grove is a non-profit organization making live music accessible to all since 1938, A summer afternoon spent enjoying a performance at the historic Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove is an opportunity for discovery, connection, and joyous celebration. All proceeds of The Festival’s events go towards bringing free live music to San Francisco, ensuring that everyone can experience the magic of music in nature.

Points of Departure is an ongoing series of unique live events celebrating the full spectrum of Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (FMCAC) as a place of innovation and discovery, a personal port of embarkation for its community and a window on the world. Each inaugural program focuses on past and present residents, artists, organizations and events that have played key roles at Fort Mason and in San Francisco, celebrating the vibrant past, present, and future of FMCAC as it charts a course toward its 50th anniversary in 2027. For more information about the Points of Departure series, visit www.fortmason.org.