Hi! I’m Sonia, one of Club Rambutan’s event coordinators. Did you miss the first Downtown First Thursday of 2025? Are you skeptical about the growing presence of Civic Joy Fund in San Francisco? Don’t worry, I got you covered.

1. As someone whose hometown was voted the number one “Best Place to Live” by Fortune Magazine in 2024, you could say I was born to comment on the state of civic engagement in any given city. The result of all the street fairs and cultural festivals I attended as a kid in my lovely hometown left me with an innate sense of what makes a good, free, public event.

Joking aside, I had noticed a steep rise in night markets taking place in San Francisco, and I took it upon myself to investigate this phenomenon – particularly the strand of markets organized by the controversial Civic Joy Fund. Culminating on January 2nd with their Downtown First Thursday street party, the Civic Joy Fund makes a big promise to revitalize the city and bring joy to the streets. Do they succeed? Are Civic Joy Fund events effective? Keep reading and I’ll tell you what I’ve discovered.

2. Does it feel like there’s been an uptick in market-style events in the past year? It does to me, and upon further investigation I confirmed it’s not just my female intuition. In addition to regular markets held by the Sunset Mercantile, Sunday Streets, the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair, and the Fort Mason Holiday Market, San Franciscans also witnessed the debut of the recently formed Civic Joy Fund, a privately funded organization committed to “activating the streets through joyous civic events.” Putting out night market after night market in 2024 in all 11 official districts of the city, the organization appears to want to ensure something was happening in our streets and as frequently as possible.

The question as to whether they sacrifice quality for quantity is up to you. All I’m saying is when my friend took the bus all the way up from Pacifica for their Holiday Fair in North Beach, she was pretty disappointed by the scene of empty tables, and she didn’t need to be from the #1 Best Place to Live in America to say so.

3. Turning toward Downtown, it’s no mystery that SF’s Market Street took a hit during the pandemic. Personally I live for the long walk from Hayes Valley to the Ferry Building, and Market Street is perfect for biking because it’s closed to cars. There’s always something going on at Fourth and Market too, whether it’s street interviews, people and their dogs dressed their best, or just the tempting smell of hot dogs and caramelized onions. But as much as I love Downtown, I can’t deny it’s an area of the city that’s hurting. Foot traffic at the mall has plummeted, causing shops to relocate and close down in and around Westfield. Much of SF’s homeless community members are visible on Market Street as well. This is where the night markets come in.

I personally believe a compassionate response from the city to extend care and resources to its homeless population in Downtown would include repurposing unused buildings for housing, and increasing accessibility to drug addiction treatment. And while the city has made slight efforts in these areas, the Civic Joy Fund has also edged its way into the picture, insisting on “Giving Downtown a whole new makeover – think bigger, bolder, and oh-so S.F,” via its monthly street party, Downtown First Thursdays.

Now, I know a large street activation that’ll be gone the next morning isn’t a threat to Downtown, but the notion of giving the neighborhood a makeover is weird right? Aren’t all San Franciscans programmed to bristle at the idea of performing a makeover on a vulnerable neighborhood?

4. It matters a lot whose point of view this makeover is occurring from, and Civic Joy Fund has quite the crew of leaders and individual patrons at its helm. Executive Director Emmanuel Yekutiel runs Manny’s Cafe on 16th and Valencia, the social-justice themed cafe that somehow simultaneously aligns with gentrification, policing, and the normalization of Israel. Individual patron and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen has a track-record of using his wealth to influence San Francisco elections on causes such as increasing police surveillance. Co-founder of the Fund and our new mayor Daniel Lurie’s big plans to improve public safety primarily revolve around hiring more police officers. To my surprise, an outline of Lurie’s proposed actions is difficult to track online, but with his new power as mayor and intimate connection to Civic Joy Fund, I wonder how large a role the Fund will have in city-wide revitalization efforts. When I think about what the residents and business owners of Downtown need right now, and the Civic Joy Fund’s idea of a makeover, and the individuals responsible for the million-dollar fund, I feel less than convinced that our most vulnerable community members will be protected.

5. Given my personal beliefs and lackluster experience with Civic Joy Fund events in the past, I attended Downtown First Thursday on January 2nd in the spirit of fairness. I had to see for myself what delivering on their promise looked like, so I showed up with as much of an open heart and open mind as I could. The first thing I did upon arriving at 2nd Street was watch the Oakland Originalz unite the crowd through racial humor. Strategically positioned across from the line of people at the free screen-printing tent, the local breakdancing group chose audience participants with joyful decrees… “We got a white guy! We got an Asian!” When an Australian man was selected to participate in the backflip stunt, the emcees erupted: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Make him feel at home.” This unencumbered evocation of race and ethnicity resulting in the crowd’s general glee was probably the most “oh-so SF” moment of the night for me.

7. I continued walking and passed by various stations – the karaoke station, face-painting station, and food truck area. Each station attracted a healthy amount of people making full use of what was offered. I showed my ID and stepped into 111 Minna, an art gallery with a bar and the quietest DJ set I’ve ever heard. I thought his volume was set to 1. Outside on Jessie Street, another DJ, beneath a giant disco-ball, played techno tunes to a shy but large crowd. As for shopping, there were two to five different vendors per major category (i.e art, home goods, clothing) for a total of twenty-one. Each were great, but they were spread out from each other as though they were quarantining. I think a more compacted experience provides a better experience for consumers and vendors alike, like at Lover’s Lane at Balmy Alley where all the tables are close together. If you’re walking, you get used to walking and walk right past the vendors, but if they’re all close together you fall into a nice rhythm of browsing. This is just my theory.

8. There was one thing that struck me as strange about the event – no, not the choice to hire Toro y Moi the DJ and not Toro y Moi the Grammy-nominated recording artist. It was the lack of kids and teens. Everyone was very much twenty-six or older. I don’t know about you, but an all-ages presence is one thing that signals the coming together of a community. That’s why my boyfriend and I feel a sense of warmth when we go to Stonestown Galleria and become one with the horde of high schoolers, parents, children, and elders. As a young person living on my own, it’s oddly comforting to be reminded of traditional family structure. Oakland First Fridays understands the significance of all-ages events in building community and offers kid-friendly activities, even though they also take place in the evening.

9. By 7:30pm, there was a packed crowd waiting before the stage at 2nd Street and Howard. Toro y Moi began his set on a high note with a snippet of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” and treated us to renditions of his own hits, “Ordinary Pleasure” and “Freelance.” Easing into jungle grooves and house, and eventually transitioning to a more dreamy and ethereal sound, Toro y Moi is a talented DJ. I’m sure no one regretted seeing our beloved Bay Area boy mix live on stage, once it fully sank in that he wasn’t there to perform.

10. It’s wonderful that San Francisco adults had a place to sing karaoke, shop for records, play chess, and listen to Toro y Moi’s set for free on a Thursday night. The event certainly attracted lots of people and there was plenty to do. However, like the other Civic Joy Fund night markets, the event seemed to lack an identity – it felt like a collection of stations and stalls with no throughline meaning. More importantly, it lacked a sense of shared San Franciscan identity and greater purpose.

11. San Francisco has majorly popular, annual citywide events that started out as something really specific, like Santacon and the Dev Patel Lookalike Contest (hopefully). Now, these kinds of events unite all of San Francisco under a shared tradition that feels uniquely San Franciscan. As an event based out of Downtown, and specifically the SOMA neighborhood, DTFT has the opportunity to dig into these location’s roots and represent, instead of going generic. At the same time, they have an obligation to protect Downtown’s current residents and not be symbolic of the foreboding gentrification that could threaten the neighborhood. I think this is how DTFT can follow through on its promise to be “bigger, bolder, and oh-so-SF.”

With that, these are my suggestions for how DTFT to be a better free, public event:

Investigate the SOMA neighborhood history and culture. The event should feel like an embodiment of the SOMA with longstanding SOMA-based organizations at the forefront, like Bindlestiff Studio and the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.

Take a page out of Oakland First Fridays’ book and implement monthly themes for an event that feels more guided, and gathers attendees under a common purpose.

Offer more opportunity for attendees to learn about resources and get involved in their community. While karaoke and screen-printing are fun, DTFT should be a community-building event where residents can sign up for free classes, learn about local resources, and get involved with organizations and clubs. I’m not saying it needs to be a college resource fair, but there should be some way for San Franciscans to leave the event having made a deeper connection to others in their city.

What do you think of the night market situation? What’s a free event you’re looking forward to this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts through email at sonialeahgetz@gmail.com.

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