Stern Grove Festival

Performing arts series in San Francisco

The Stern Grove Festival is an admission free series of performing arts events held during the summer months in San Francisco. Established in 1938, the festival is held at Sigmund Stern Grove, a eucalyptus wooded natural amphitheater on a site about two miles (three kilometers) south of Golden Gate Park that ranges from 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard west to 34th Avenue. This festival went on hiatus in 194245 due to World War II and in 2020 due to COVID 19. The venue is accessible by public transportation, with Metro connection to the K Ingleside and M Ocean View lines at St. Francis Circle station, located about a five minute walk from the Nineteenth Avenue and Sloat Boulevard entrance.

Early plans for the Grove as a musical venue in the 1930s focused on maintaining the natural contour of the amphitheater bowl, with the surrounding garden, grassy slopes, and eucalyptus trees emphasizing the nature oriented feel as a venue. Rosalie M. Stern saw the area's potential “because of its peaceful beauty, its historic interest, and, being below sea level, it is shielded from cold winds and fogs.”

The first summer concert of the first annual Stern Grove Festival was held on July 10, 1938 and performed by the Bay Region Symphony of the Federal Music Project. In 1943, the San Francisco Ballet performed at the Stern Grove Festival for the first time and has since become a staple in the summer season lineup.

Stern Grove Festival's YouTube channel features concert videos and pre concert talks that began with the 2006 Stern Grove Festival season.