About us
Are you thinking of making friends and extend your social circle by going volunteering, learning things, or doing good together? You are looking at the right place.
If you dig deeper, you will find us actually a social org :). For volunteers, and working professionals.
The things we do are very simple, meaningful things in beautiful settings, so connections happen naturally, from shared purpose and experience.
Friendship through civic engagements and shared learnings. That is us - an aspiring volunteer community that runs events.
Send us your new in towns, the young professionals, the transplants, the job seekers, the singles, all those that could use new connections.
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So if there is a guild for volunteers that do so socially, excluding the court ordered and school requested ones, that would probably be us :). Yes, most of us are professionals active in their fields, and we take care of our volunteers, mostly from the social side as well. In doing so, we also take on organizing social for the general community as our duty.
We are active mostly in public community events, from huge city parades to suburb town festivals to professional conferences, down to neighborhood fairs, and even other meetups. Perfect occasions for you to join, go places & meet people, check things out, with a group.
We encourage active participation, you can volunteer not only for others' events, but act as hosts as well. We set the stage, you step up and shine.
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These are the main kinds of volunteering and social we do:
- Outdoor, with state parks and other nature orgs.
- Civic, with festivals, big community events etc.
- Professional, with conferences & expos
- Social, we organize community social as a service.
If you are a transplant, community involvement gives belonging. So if you are going through life stage changes, you could take good use of these activities, find your people, (re)build your network, and settle here as your new home base,
So these self-aid and community building is directly in proportion to your social engagement. The more you volunteer & host, the more chances of connection you will make. In hunger of more social chances? Participate and host.
There are different roles to play in helping with a social event, ranking up:
Guide: Be there, be seen
Connector: Talk with people, get people connected.
Host: Read the room, read group's energy. Facilitate others to step up.
Captain: Adapt & organize event series.
We started as festival volunteers organizing social, and we plan to stay true to our community roots. We believe people & social skills can be picked up, as we did. So no charisma required to participate and help yourself, then others. A warm heart, a willingness to try will do. Come to meet your fellow others that share a community heart.
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We cooperate with many orgs around town, so you may see our events posted in other places as well.
And our goal? A gateway to local community social, a connection layer to community events, a student activity center for post-college life, a social engine for connections, a town square for working professionals. Oh, have we mentioned some salt? :)
Join an event. Introduce yourself. Find your people. Build the belonging you have been waiting for.
At the end of day, we want to provide belonging, warmth, shared purpose, a human face that says "you're welcome here."
So, Welcome aboard :)
Visit us at: https://www.townflame.org
Upcoming events
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Discover SF -- Filipino Pistahan Parade and Festival
Paris Cafe, 142 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA, US33rd Pistahan Parade & Festival
https://www.pistahan.net/Most people watch a parade from one spot on the curb. We're doing it the better way: walking with it.
Pistahan is the largest Filipino parade on the West Coast — floats, dance troupes, drumlines, and marchers in full color, rolling down Market Street from Civic Center to Yerba Buena Gardens, where a two-day festival with eight cultural pavilions is waiting. Our plan: meet for coffee, catch the parade lineup at its most photogenic, then walk the whole route alongside the parade — music the entire mile — and arrive at the festival together, right as it opens up.
Come solo — most of us do. You'll have company from the first handshake.## The Plan — Saturday, August 8
10:00 — The Meet. Paris Cafe, 142 McAllister St — a spacious, welcoming cafe two blocks from the parade start. Coffee, pastries, hellos, meet your walking crew. We roll at 10:40 sharp.
10:45 — The Lineup. Two blocks and we're at Civic Center Plaza as the parade assembles — honestly one of the best parts: floats up close, performers warming up, everyone in costume and in a great mood. Group photo here.
11:00 — The Parade Walk. The parade steps off and so do we — down Market Street on the sidewalk, keeping pace with the floats. About a mile of music, dance, and color. We mix up the walking pairs along the way so you meet more than one person.
12:15 — The Festival. We arrive at Yerba Buena Gardens with the parade itself. First stop: the Filipino food court — lunch together is the plan, and it's some of the best festival food in the city. Then we hit two of the eight pavilions (our members who know Pistahan best are picking which ones).
1:30 — Friend Circle. We gather on the Great Lawn for our signature close — the part where the faces you've been walking with become names you'll remember, and weekend plans get made.
~2:00 — Release. Stay and enjoy the festival as long as you like — some of us usually keep exploring together, and there's talk of a halo-halo dessert run.
Flat, easy walking — about 1.5 miles total. The parade sets the pace.## Three Ways to Join
- Full Road — 10:00 at The Grove. Coffee, lineup, parade walk, festival, Friend Circle.
- Parade Gate — meet us at Civic Center Plaza by 10:50 (look for our group near the plaza's Market Street corner — someone will be watching for you).
- Festival Gate — join us at Yerba Buena Gardens at 12:15 for lunch, pavilions, and the Friend Circle.
First time with us? Perfect event for it — the parade does half the conversation work for you.
## Getting There
- BART / Muni: Civic Center Station — Paris Cafe is a 3-minute walk from the station (exit toward McAllister St).
- Caltrain from the South Bay: Take a train arriving SF by ~9:30, then Muni or a 15-minute walk. Ask in the comments — a group of us usually rides up together.
- Festival end point (Yerba Buena Gardens) is 1 block from Powell Station for an easy trip home.
## Bring
- Comfortable shoes and a water bottle
- Sun layer or hat — Market Street at noon in August
- Lunch appetite and a few dollars for the food court
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## Who We Are
We're TownFlame — the crew behind festival outings at the Chinese New Year Parade, Cheery Blossom, SF Pride, the North Beach Festival, and the Fillmore Jazz Festival, plus festivals and outdoor group volunteerings in the South Bay. We turn the Bay Area's best community events into the easiest place to meet people: show up solo, walk with a crew, leave with friends and weekend plans.
Want to try hosting? Our Co-hosting with TownFlame program lets you guest host an event with full support from our team — ask any of us at the Friend Circle.
Join TownFlame, Make Life Happen.
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Liability Waiver: Participation in TownFlame events is voluntary and involves social interaction in public spaces. Activities are designed to be inclusive and respectful. Participants assume all risks and release TownFlame, its organizers, volunteers, and affiliates from liability for injury, illness, or damages, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
By attending, participants acknowledge that photographs, audio, and video recordings may be taken during events, and grant TownFlame the right to use such media for promotional and marketing purposes, in any format or platform, without further consent or compensation.
29 attendees
Volunteering Party: Redwood Grove in Los Altos, Grassroots Ecology
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, 482 University Avenue, Los Altos Hills, CA, USSearching for places to make friends? Thinking of finding something to do over the weekend, also meeting some people in the mean time, like hiking etc.? Join us in a Redwood Forest habitat restoration event in Los Altos, for the Aug 15th Sat. morning.
By our own experience, working side by side, in a beautiful setting, plays magic in relationship building. Thus we party, in group volunteering in these scenic parks.
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in Los Altos is rated as a hidden treasure, tucked in a corner of Los Altos, next to its downtown, right in our backyard. 6 acres of open space, with wooden boardwalk. Check out its photos at:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/redwood-grove-nature-preserve-los-altosWe will be joining Grassroots Ecology's outdoor volunteering at the preserve, doing redwood forest habitat restoration, sheet mulching etc.. Registration and detailed info:
https://www.grassrootsecology.org/event-calendar/2026/08/15/volunteer-outdoors-redwood-groveAfter the shift, we will go group lunch in Los Altos downtown, making it a solid Sat. morning.
It has 18 openings, so register while you can. For volunteering, you must register with Grassroots Ecology to attend the event.
Meanwhile, it is a nice and rare enclave of redwood forest so close to us. You can also come to appreciate the forest if the volunteering part is full.
Street parking, or park at the nearby Shoup Park and walk over (0.2 mile).
Date: Aug 15 9-12pm
Location: Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, Los AltosJoin TownFlame, Make Life Happen.
Liability Waiver: Participation in TownFlame events is voluntary and involves social interaction in public spaces. Activities are designed to be inclusive and respectful. Participants assume all risks and release TownFlame, its organizers, volunteers, and affiliates from liability for injury, illness, or damages, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
By attending, participants acknowledge that photographs, audio, and video recordings may be taken during events, and grant TownFlame the right to use such media for promotional and marketing purposes, in any format or platform, without further consent or compensation.
12 attendees
Past events
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