KQED Fest Block Party Returns Saturday, October 19

Free all-ages open house and block party will feature all-ages art making and science activities, performance pop-ups, appearances by cherished PBS characters, food trucks, and an outdoor music stage programmed by Noise Pop.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA; September 10, 2024 — KQED, the public media station serving Northern California, is hosting its second KQED Fest on Saturday, October 19. The free, all-day celebration returns with live on-stage programs and activities inside KQED’s headquarters, as well as musical performances programmed by Noise Pop outside on York Street.

KQED Fest was conceived in 2023 as an opportunity to bring KQED’s diverse audiences into the station to offer a glimpse at how KQED’s programming and journalism is created and to celebrate the station’s partners, Mission-district neighbors and the diverse Bay Area audiences KQED serves. KQED’s inaugural KQED Fest in 2023 welcomed over six thousand people into the doors of the station to meet with KQED staffers and journalists and personalities throughout the day.

“KQED Fest is an expression of our mission to inform, inspire and involve by inviting the communities we serve into our home,” says KQED President and CEO Michael Isip. “We can’t wait to host and meet our neighbors and audiences again, and celebrate the programming and services our members make possible with a stellar line-up of local performers and on-stage conversations.”

This year visitors will be treated to conversations and live programs on the KQED Live stage throughout the day. Among this year’s programs are Book Bans & the Freedom to Read with Litquake, a conversation featuring authors Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Maia Kobabe, San Francisco librarian Michael Lambert, and KQED morning anchor Brian Watt; Bay Curious PropFest! with host Olivia Allen-Price; and Can AI Be Funny? with comedians Dhaya Lakshminarayanan and Sarah Rose Siskind; and we’ll share a look Mind Your Own, a new storytelling podcast hosted by Lupita Nyong’o about navigating what it means to belong, all from the African perspective; and a special KQED’s Forum. 

Programming for other spaces will feature The Climate Book Club: The Ministry for the Future with science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson; a special Deep Look Screening and Critter Photo Booth, math games curated by the team behind MindShift; fireside chats with KQED’s Community Advisory Panel; and other activities led by the Children’s Creativity Museum, PBS Kids and other partners. And docent-led tours will provide families an opportunity to explore KQED’s television, radio and newsroom studios. 

Meanwhile outside of the building on York Street, a community block party and outdoor stage programmed by Noise Pop will captivate the crowd with performances by La Misa Negra, Brijean, Bululú, Aki Kumar, and DJ Brown Angel, and others.

And a street fair will include booths and activities hosted by partners and area businesses, including Mixocoalt Handicrafts and Jewelry, Carnaval San Francisco, Hella Plants Shops, Mission Lotería, Precita Eyes Muralists, Ruth’s Table, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, and Toda – Fuji Portraits. And area food trucks will provide visitors with an opportunity to sample dishes from a number of restaurants featured on KQED’s Check, Please! Bay Area, including Bacon Bacon, The Chairman, Cochinita, Fieldwork Brewing, Mission Antojitos, Monarch Beverage Catering, and Humphry Slocombe. Meanwhile Calaca Coffee,Xocolate Chocolate, and other neighborhood vendors will provide delicious pick-me-ups on the terrace roof deck.

Lastly, pop-up performances by Bateria Batuki and the Carnaval San Francisco King & Queen, Cheer SF, children’s author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Foo Foo Ha! Clown Troupe, and Tito Ramon’s Pop-Up Puppet Theater, and appearances by beloved PBS Kids Characters, and among others will charm audiences of all ages throughout the day.

KQED Fest tickets are free, but we encourage all attendees to RSVP at kqed.org/fest.

KQED Fest
When: Saturday, October 19, 2024; 11am – 6pm
Where: 2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco
Tickets: Free; RSVP at kqed.org/fest

For information about accessibility, public transportation and parking options, visit: kqed.org/about/visit

About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source, leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas. www.kqed.org