23rd SF International Arts Festival Opening Night
- San Francisco International Arts Festival opens Wednesday, April 29, with Cirque Kikasse’s California debut of “SANTÉ!” and an 8:15 p.m. opening-night reception. - The 23rd edition runs April 29 through May 10, bringing more than 50 ensembles from eight countries to 14 Mission District venues. - AURA is later, not opening night: Amy Lewis and Agnes Szelag’s world premiere lands May 9-10. (sfiaf.org)
The 23rd San Francisco International Arts Festival opens Wednesday, April 29, with Cirque Kikasse’s “SANTÉ!” at Cesar Chavez Elementary School Playground, not with “AURA.” (sfiaf.org) (sf.funcheap.com) The opening performance starts at 7 p.m. at 2600 Folsom St., and the festival’s opening-night reception follows at 8:15 p.m. at Masonic Lodge Friendship Hall, 169 Bartlett St. (sfiaf.org 1) (sfiaf.org 2) Cirque Kikasse, a company from Quebec City, is making its California debut in San Francisco with three “SANTÉ!” performances on April 29, April 30, and May 1. (sf.funcheap.com) (sfiaf.org) The show is staged on and around a food truck, with acrobatics built around restaurant prep, towers, and comic bits designed for all-ages audiences. (sf.funcheap.com) Festival organizers say this year’s program runs through May 10 and spans 14 Mission District venues, with more than 50 ensembles from the United States and eight countries. (sfiaf.org) That makes the opening night a launch point for a much larger Mission-centered run of dance, music, theater, circus, walking tours, and visual art across nearly two weeks. (sfiaf.org) (sf.funcheap.com) The preliminary event description circulating online also misplaced “AURA” on opening night. The festival calendar lists Amy Lewis and Agnes Szelag’s immersive multimedia work for Saturday, May 9 at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 at 6 p.m. at Theatre of Yugen, 2840 Mariposa St. (sfiaf.org 1) (sfiaf.org 2) Festival materials describe “AURA” as a 50-minute world premiere exploring cycles in the natural and human worlds through dance, sound, and video. (sfiaf.org) (sfiaf.org) Other first-week programs include inkBoat’s world premiere “Clouds from a Crumbling Giant,” Duane Forrest’s “Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World,” and Emma’s Revolution’s “We Are The Power: Songs for the Resistance.” (sfiaf.org) (sfiaf.org) So the cleanest way to read opening night is this: the 2026 festival starts outdoors with a Quebec circus troupe on April 29, then hands off to the rest of its Mission District lineup through May 10. (sfiaf.org) (sfiaf.org)
