San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD)

This past weekend’s Pride Parade brought fun, excitement, and thousands of people to the streets of San Francisco. Huge thank you to our crews who worked to quickly clean up & make our streets shine all the way from the Embarcadero to Civic Center. 🏳️‍🌈

San Francisco just got a little more vibrant! Yesterday, we joined the SoMa Pilipinas cultural district in unveiling the Pagsasama-sama mural, located at 1048 Folsom Street.

Huge thank you to talented artist ChiChai for creating this beautiful mural which represents coming together, unity, and working with the community to revitalize and reclaim spaces for Filipino arts and cultural activities.

Exciting events like the Citywide Juneteenth parade, the Fillmore Freedom Celebration, and more, allow us to celebrate Juneteenth and acknowledge the importance of this holiday. It’s a great way to support and celebrate Black-owned businesses and communities in San Francisco. From Downtown to Ocean Ave., black-owned businesses have opened and expanded and built legacies across the City. Get to know these incredible Black-owned businesses that continue to bring creativity and culture to San Francisco:

1. Café Melange: collaborated with the SF Real Estate Division to ensure that small businesses could benefit from an opportunity to operate the café in City Hall. Café Melange, opened in 2024 and it is a partnership between Radio Africa & Kitchen, Gumbo Social, Tallio’s Coffee & Tea, and Yvonne’s Southern Streets - Black-owned businesses whose first locations are on Third Street in the Bayview.

2. Holy Stitch: A one-stop shop where people can buy, create, learn, or get service. They received support from OEWD through the Vacant to Vibrant program to pop downtown.

3. Ocean Cyclery: Ocean Cyclery is a locally-owned bike shop in Ingleside since 1996. Owner, Jeff Taliaferro was born and raised here, where he developed his love of cycling. Ocean Cyclery is the only cycling shop currently on the City’s Legacy Business Registry.

Launching the Vacant to Vibrant program allowed us to be creative in filling vacant storefronts, giving our small business owners a chance to be successful, and grow thriving businesses here in San Francisco - we are seeing that success!

Thanks to V2V, we welcome 11 new Downtown SF pop-ups ready to open this week. This program,
· Fills vacant spaces
· Removes zoning and permitting barriers
· Offers grants
· Guarantees 3 months of free rent

We will continue to build on the changes & momentum we see Downtown. Read more here:

'Forget the Doom Loop': New Vacant to Vibrant pop-ups open in downtown SF SF is on a quest to transform empty storefronts downtown with small business pop-ups. The latest cohort in its Vacant to Vibrant program includes folks selling ice cream, coffee and fancy cookies, as well as spots offering classes, art and events.

Today we joined resource
fair to support folks with workforce opportunities. Building back our workforce is critical to revitalizing our City and ensuring everyone in San Francisco has the chance to thrive and be successful.

Spotlight: The Sarap Shop is just one of the many local businesses participating in tomorrow’s Be Free
Filipinx Marketplace at Kapwa Gardens.

Known best for their Sisig Carbonara, Halo Halo Milk Tea, Sea Salt Leche Flan Coffee, & Longanisa Dirty Dog, offers delicious food that brings a taste of Filipino culture to San Francisco. Make sure to stop by!

Repost London Breed 倫敦．布里德

Join us for the 2nd Annual San Francisco Juneteenth Parade on Saturday, June 8, 2024!

Celebrate Juneteenth and the contributions of African Americans with a vibrant parade featuring our community’s non-profits, businesses, organizations, volunteers, and individuals.

The parade starts at Market and Spear Street and ends at Fulton Plaza. After the parade, enjoy a free festival featuring Larry June, Rapsody, Goapele, Stunnaman02 and many more!

Parade: Starts at 11am & Ends at 12pm
Festival: 12-6pm at Civic Center Plaza.

Let’s come together to celebrate freedom and community spirit. See you there!

To find out more and register for the free festival please visit: sf.gov/1865-til-infinity

Lawn chairs and/or folding chairs can be set up along the Parade route - however, chairs will not be permitted at the Festival’s Celebration Area at CIVIC CENTER PLAZA.



What are YOU most excited for?

Exciting news coming from downtown, where the program is turning small business pop-ups to long term fixtures!

https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/pop-up-leases-19493263.php

It was delightful to attend Mission Bit's Spring Demo Day, hosted by Notion, where students demonstrated their coding projects ranging from VR to web and game design! OEWD's TechSF program supports organizations like Mission Bit, which introduces young people to the world of technology and empowers the next generation of innovators.

Visit sf.gov/TechSF to learn more about TechSF and how we connect companies with skilled, diverse, and local tech talent.

This past week OEWD Executive Director, Sarah Dennis Phillips, joined Rodney Fong from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and several of San Francisco’s most passionate boosters and brokers at ICSC Las Vegas, commercial real estate’s largest convening.

They shared everything San Francisco has to offer, showcased SF as a great opportunity for retailers and developers, and learned how to better position our City for increased investment. This was a great opportunity to show people what we are made of, what you will find when you bet on San Francisco, and how we are working to elevate the spaces where people shop, dine, work, play, and gather.

Another SF Live event drew a 100 person crowd to Civic Center Plaza this past Thursday, with live entertainment and great jazz music!

We are excited to see this program bring excitement and fun to our City and boost SF as a premiere music and arts destination while supporting our entertainment venue and local performers. Visit for upcoming events!

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🎉 Congratulations to our 2024 Healthcare Academy Graduates!

We're thrilled to celebrate the outstanding work and dedication of this year's graduates. These incredible individuals are already making a huge impact by building stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities. We can't wait to see the amazing things they'll achieve next!

Our Healthcare Academy is more than just a training program – it's a pathway to local jobs, opportunities in a rewarding industry, and improved access to quality healthcare for all.

Ready to start your own healthcare journey?

Visit sf.gov/HealthcareAcademy to learn more and join us in making a difference.

Great news: Trader Joe’s is now open at 555 Fulton St., in the heart of Hayes Valley and accessible to numerous nearby neighborhoods like the Fillmore, Lower Haight and Civic Center. After years of City & community advocacy, this new neighborhood grocery store brings new jobs, vibrancy, & affordable food options to the Hayes Valley community and all of San Francisco. We are excited to start shopping! 🎉🛒

Sundown Cinema returns to San Francisco today, May 17 at 6pm at Dolores Park featuring a sing-along to the iconic film “Selena.” This event will feature more incredible movies for the 2024 season including Barbie at the Ferry Building, The Princess and the Frog at India Basin Waterfront and more. Reserve your spot at dothebay.com/sundowncinema

“We are thrilled to support the new season of Sundown Cinema, a cherished community event series that brings people together in the heart of San Francisco’s parks. These screenings foster economic vitality within our neighborhoods, while also providing engaging outdoor entertainment for attendees.” - Sarah Dennis Philips, Executive Director for the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

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Celebrating Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month! There’s still time to find plenty of events that celebrate our incredible AAPI communities & their contributions to San Francisco.

Repost : From food to health fairs to cultural celebrations, our AAPI Headline events this weekend has something for everyone!
* May 17: Soy Vey: Shumai & Shalom
• May 18: Chinese Hospital Community Health Fair
- May 18: Indonesian Bazaar
• May 18: Lion DanceME Lion & Dragon Dance Awards
* May 18: Corky Lee Book Event + Talk + May 18: Afro Asian Futures
* May 19: Creative Currents: Celebrating AAPI Art and
Collaboration
* May 19: Islands by the Bay Festival
Check out the AAP| Celebration Guide on our website for details: apasf.org

What happens when you put music, brunch, and community together? Fun, excitement & a good time for everyone. Stop by this Sunday's Brunch Concert Series in the Bayview!

"Bhangra and Beats" event brings 2nd night market to downtown San Francisco San Francisco streets will be filled with Friday evenings with another night market event bringing people together with local vendors to enjoy food, music, and nighttime fun.

One of the great things about San Francisco is our unique neighborhoods and diverse communities. Join us in celebrating our incredible AAPI community members who continue to contribute to our city’s innovation, workforce, entertainment sector, and more.

The excitement has already started! There are a number of events, including:

•Tonight’s Chinatown Market

•Chinatown Mother’s Day Celebration, today through Sunday, May 12th

•Restaurant Row event hosted by the Chinatown Merchants
Association beginning May 25th

7x7 Social Club opens Jackson Square pop-up via SF's Vacant to Vibrant program On Thursday morning, San Francisco's Vacant to Vibrant—which aims to transform empty downtown retail spaces with dynamic pop-up installations—announced its second lineup of activators set to open mid-June.