🎶🌳 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass & Picnic in Golden Gate Park! 🌁 🎶🌟

🎶🌳 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: Music, Dancing & Picnicking in Golden Gate Park

It’s back! Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, now in its 26th year, returns to Golden Gate Park for three days of incredible FREE live music.

New Beginnings is heading to the festival on Saturday, October 3, for an easygoing day of music, dancing, wandering, picnicking, and hanging out with friends among the six stages at Hellman Hollow, Lindley Meadow, and Marx Meadow.

📅 Saturday, October 3
New Beginnings meetup: Starting at 11:00 AM — join us at any point during the day
Festival Hours: 9:00 AM–7:00 PM — come earlier and/or stay later if you like!
🎶 Music Starts: 11:00 AM
Schedule: HSB 2026 Schedule
(Saturday’s printable schedule is also posted below in Photos.)
🎤 Meetup Host: Leah
🎟️ FREE — no festival ticket required

🎵 RSVP NOW — THE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE IS OUT!
The full Saturday festival schedule is available, and Leah has put together a loose New Beginnings plan featuring several great performances.

You don’t need to follow the whole schedule—or even arrive at 11:00. Meet us at any point, wander to another stage when something catches your interest, and reconnect later.

👉 Check out the Saturday schedule posted in the event Photos below, and RSVP YES so you’ll receive updates as the day approaches.

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🎶 NEW BEGINNINGS FESTIVAL PLAN
Follow along—or meet us at any point!

Plan to arrive slightly before 11:00 am to get through the entrance line. It may look long, but it moves quickly. Please make sure to read festival rules about what is and isn’t allowed before leaving home. If you have a clear bag or backpack, you’ll get in rather quickly.

🦢 We’ll meet at the Swan Stage at 11:00 am for the Crosby Collection, 11:00-11:40 AM.
🪀 Look for our large green balloon or balloons to locate us – on the left side of the stage. Bring snacks to share, a refillable water bottle, sunscreen, low beach chairs only, and wear layers.

🍺 🍷 Alcohol (beer and wine only) are permitted, but no glass bottles. Cans, wines decanted to plastic, aluminum, or steel receptacles are fine.

🦢 We will remain at the Swan Stage during the break to see MoonAlice 12:25-1:15 PM (or you can peel off to one of the other stages or just explore).

🪕 Then, we will move to the Banjo Stage (a short walk, but it may take time due to the crowds) to have eat lunch, visit, and get settled before Mavis Staples plays 2:15-3:05 PM.

🪕 After that, we can stay for Gillian Welch & David Rawlings 3:50-5:00 PM, as we officially wrap up our New Beginnings gathering. Or, if you prefer, head to the 🌟 Towers of Gold Stage to see Hot Tuna Acoustic 2:55-3:50 PM.

🌙 Still want more? Stay for the evening!
Several popular acts play later. Leah will likely continue on to Steve Earle at the Banjo Stage or Old Crow Medicine Show at the Swan Stage—two longtime HSB favorites.

Above are suggested gathering points, not a required itinerary. Part of the fun of Hardly Strictly is wandering through the park, discovering new music, and creating your own festival experience.

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📱 WANT TO FIND THE GROUP DURING THE DAY?

After you RSVP, text Leah at 415.309.1162 and say:
“Please add me to the HSB text list.”

We'll use the group text on festival day to share things like “We're heading to the ___ Stage” or “We're sitting near ___ if anyone wants to join us.”

That way you can split off, explore, and still find New Beginnings friends later.

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🧺 LUNCH, FOOD & WHAT TO BRING

We strongly recommend bringing a picnic lunch and/or snacks for yourself or to share. There are lots of interesting food vendors onsite, but lines can be long—and you could miss an entire music set while waiting for your food to be ready!

If you’d rather buy lunch there, the festival offers a huge variety of food and beverage vendors, with everything from Nepalese dumplings and Vietnamese noodles to Jamaican, Ghanaian, Mexican, Mediterranean, pizza, burgers, ice cream, and more.

Bring a blanket or low beach-style chair, but choose something you’re comfortable carrying. We expect to move around during the day rather than establishing one permanent New Beginnings campsite.

Also recommended:

✅ Refillable water bottle
✅ Picnic lunch and/or snacks to share
✅ Beer or wine only, in non-glass containers (no alcoholic beverages will be sold onsite)
✅ Sunscreen and/or hat
✅ Layers — this is San Francisco!
✅ Comfortable walking shoes
✅ Binoculars, if you have a pair
✅ Portable phone charger

Alcohol note: Beer and wine are permitted, but no glass bottles. Cans and wine transferred into plastic, aluminum, or steel containers are fine.

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🚗 GETTING THERE

Public transportation is strongly recommended. Parking anywhere near Hardly Strictly Bluegrass can be extremely difficult, crowded and expensive.

Consider taking BART, Caltrain and Muni, depending on where you're coming from.

Changes to Muni service for HSB.

Another option is to park well away from Golden Gate Park and take Uber, Lyft, Waymo or public transit to the festival. Trying to park close to the festival adds a lot of unnecessary stress to an otherwise fun day.

Festival entrances open at 9:00 AM on Saturday. If you’re joining us for the 11:00 AM start, plan to arrive a little early so you have time to get through security and find the Swan Stage.

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🌳 A FEW FESTIVAL BASICS

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass takes place over three days—Friday, Saturday and Sunday—so enjoy as much of the festival weekend as you'd like.

If you've always wanted to experience HSB, haven't been in a while, or would simply enjoy discovering great music with other New Beginnings friends, Saturday is a great day to jump in.

Before coming, please review the festival's current FAQ and rules about what may and may not be brought into the festival. Security screening is in place at festival entrances.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival FAQ:
https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/info-faq-2026/

2026 Food & Drink:
https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2026-food-and-drink/

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🎶 Come for the music. Dance when the spirit moves you. Wander to other stages when something catches your ear. Meet up with friends along the way!

Follow Leah’s plan for the whole day, join us for just a set or two, or create your own festival adventure and reconnect with the group when you like. 🌳🎸🧺💃🕺

👉 RSVP YES now so you receive any updates to our schedule, check out the full schedule: HSB 2026 Schedule, and text Leah if you’d like to be added to the HSB group text.

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🔷 See our Group Guidelines HERE

🔴 Supporting Fun, Friendship and Community in 2026
As a volunteer-led group, member contributions help cover Meetup fees and the occasional venue rental that make our gatherings possible. If you haven’t contributed in 2026, we invite you to give a $20 annual cash contribution (with your name) directly to the event host. (Contributions are not tax-deductible.) See our 2026 contributor list. New here? Enjoy a couple of events first — then pitch in if it feels like a good fit!

🔴 Liability Reminder
By participating in any New Beginnings Social Event, you and your guests RELEASE and DISCHARGE the organizers, hosts, and fellow participants from all liability for injuries, illness, damages, death, issues relating to privacy or economic loss arising from activities, advice, or information provided. Participation is voluntary and entirely at your own risk. You are responsible for your safety, belongings, and transportation decisions. Choose carpool drivers carefully and consider leaving valuables at home.