With an average attendance of 1.2 million guests, the grandiose event includes a parade of navy ships passing under the Golden Gate Bridge and an air show featuring stunts from the United States Navy Blue Angels. Sponsors include Bank of America and United Airlines. Next: October 5-12, 2015
The City by the Bay is home to a wide variety of esteemed events that attract visitors—and press—from around the world. The city has the second-largest pride parade in the world; it also boasts respected food industry gatherings, glitzy benefits, and headline-grabbing music events. And of course, thanks to the city's proximity to Silicon Valley, San Francisco's technology events are among the most prestigious in the world. The biggest international players in the tech field flock to the Bay Area for conferences such as Google I/O and Dreamforce.
From established affairs like Bay to Breakers and the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade to newcomers like West Coast Craft and Taste of Potrero, here are our picks for the events that annually draw the biggest buzz, crowds, media and donor attention, and important players in their respective fields.
To choose and rank the annual events on this list, we look at several factors, including economic impact, buzz, innovation, and an event's prominence within the communities it intends to serve.
