Celebration: North Beach Branch Open House

Saturday, 9/27/2025
10:00 - 5:00
North Beach Library Community Room
North Beach

850 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
United States

415-355-5626

Celebrate the North Beach Library. Meet our fabulous staff, browse our Beat collection and enjoy the stunning views upstairs. We will have events and activities for families, book lovers, music enthusiasts and City explorers. 

 

Schedule of Events: 

 

Outdoor: 

10-11 AM: Ned Boynton: Guitar Performance 
San Francisco-based Ned Boynton is an educator and guitar player bringing a unique approach to jazz and live performance to the Bay Area. He is the founder and guitarist for Surfer Roma and his Django Reinhardt-inspired trio called Cafe Americain, performing regularly at Caffe Trieste.  

12-1 PM: El Camino Ballet Performance: Classic a la Mode      
Enjoy a ballet performance by dancers from El Camino Ballet in classic ballet alongside with beautiful, contemporary choreography. The performance emphasizes purity and artistry in classical ballet. Instructor and Co-Director of El Camino Ballet, Irene Phillips.  

1-4 PM: Community Resource Faire: KEEN SF, CYC, Environmental Department, North Beach Neighbors, Sequoia Living/Senior Center, North Beach Citizens 

1:30-2:30 PM: English County Dancing Lesson 
Learn the art of English Country Dance — a lively and elegant tradition that dates back to 16th-century England. With upbeat music like jigs, reels, and hornpipes setting the tone, you’ll join others in lines, circles, or squares and follow fun and choreographed patterns.  

2-4 PM: North Beach Walking Tour 
Take a stroll through history and flavor on our 2-hour walking tour of North Beach — San Francisco’s beloved Little Italy. Discover the rich cultural roots planted by early Italian immigrants in the 1910s and explore how their legacy still shapes the neighborhood’s vibrant character today. Reservation is required. Click here to reserve your spot. Space is limited to 25 people

3–4 PM: Community Readings with Brian Ang 
Poet Brian Ang hosts an inspiring hour of community readings, featuring voices from across the Bay Area. Kick off the literary afternoon with this gathering of local writers sharing original work. 

4–5:30 PM: Lisa Brown & Daniel Handler Residency Readings 
Celebrate the 2025–26 Lisa Brown & Daniel Handler Literary Residency with readings from this year’s cohort, alongside alumni authors. Enjoy a dynamic afternoon of storytelling, creativity and literary talent. 

 

Community Room (Upstairs):  

1–2 PM: SF Opera – Monkey King Puppet Workshop 
Puppeteer Ramon Abad leads a fun, family-friendly workshop exploring the puppet styles featured in SF Opera’s world premiere of The Monkey King by Huang Ruo and Henry David Hwang. Participants of all ages will bring puppets to life—no experience needed, just creativity and a willingness to play! 

4:00-5:30 PM: Hidden San Francisco Book Talk with Chris Carlsson 
Hidden San Francisco is a guidebook like no other. Structured around the four major themes of ecology, labor, transit and dissent, Carlsson peels back the layers of the city’s history to reveal a storied past, examining the lives of its Indigenous inhabitants before the 1849 Gold Rush. 
 

Children's Room: 

All day: Roving Rangers Nature Craft 
Dive into adventure with nature crates curated by the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy! Kids and families can enjoy hands-on fun with interactive activities, playful nature zines, and a scavenger hunt that turns exploring into an exciting quest. 

3:30-4:00 PM: Music Jam Hosted by Baby Porcupine 
Fun, interactive music session where infants and toddlers explore sounds, rhythms and melodies. Join us and engage young minds and bodies through fun and educational musical activities.  

  

Teen Room:  

11 AM-1 PM: Button Making 
Stop by our button-making station and design your very own button to take home! This hands-on activity is a fun way to express yourself and get creative. Choose from beautiful templates. Cut, press and assemble your button. No experience needed, just bring your imagination! 

 

Celebrations

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Community & Neighborhood

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Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.