Bhangra & Beats / July 2023
On Friday night, July 14th, 2023 the second installment of Bhangra & Beats Night Market attracted an estimated 12,000+ attendees to Downtown San Francisco to dance, eat, drink, shop and be in community – activities San Francisco stakeholders have eagerly been trying to get former office workers, residents and regional tourists to come downtown to do.
While heavily attended by the South Asian community, the crowd was as diverse as the Bay Area itself, with attendees, talent and vendors all frequently remarking on the joyous, welcoming and safe environment. Presented by San Francisco-based cultural production studio Into The Streets in partnership with dance party collective Non Stop Bhangra, Bhangra & Beats Night Market in July featured two stages of high-energy Bhangra and world music, dance lessons and performances, 2 open air bars, and a night Bazaar with 15 food purveyors and 30 retail and experience vendors showcasing an eclectic mix of South Asian and other Bay Area cuisines and wares.
As with the launch event in May, all of the vendors in the night Bazaar were people of color-owned, woman-owned and/or small businesses based in San Francisco, helping this targeted demographic of entrepreneurs build the muscle memory and psychological and social connections needed to break the barriers to opening businesses in Downtown SF.
“Bhangra & Beats is one of the most incredibly inclusive & energetically beautiful events! Rich with all elements that truly create communities & preserve cultures,” shares Madeline aka RedBone, owner of Glam Jam, a retailer at the Black-owned small business incubator store on Fillmore Street, In The Black. She continues, “As a vendor, the staff’s pre-communication was so thorough with flawless organization. I felt very at ease upon setup arrival and throughout the event. My Bhangra & Beats sales were on par with my core target market sales which is a first in my newcomer vending experience. This is definitely an SF Bucket List To-Do this summer!”
Other notable San Francisco business-owners and institutions who participated include New Delhi restaurant, a legacy business located in the Union Square area owned by mover and shaker Ranjan Dey; Little Baobab, a Mission-based restaurant and nightlife venue owned by beloved Senegalese immigrant Marco Senghor who has worked tirelessly to bring this cultural gem back to the city after unfortunate legal troubles forced the original location to shutter prior to the pandemic; Christian Routzen himself representing San Franpsycho, the quintessential San Francisco apparel brand that he helped found in the Outer Sunset in 2001; Punch Line comedy club who gave away free tickets to welcome audiences back into its venue; and of course Bhangra & Beats’ presenting partner, Non Stop Bhangra, who this year is celebrating a remarkable 19 years of producing one of San Francisco’s most unforgettable nightlife parties and programmed two stages at Bhangra & Beats with their expansive artist collective and filled the streets with their multi-generational and cultural following.
“As a 20 year San Francisco-based arts collective, the impact of the Bhangra and Beats night market on our business and as artists has been truly transformative,” shares Non Stop Bhangra founder Vicki Virk. She continues, “The Bhangra and Beats night market has also become a source of immense pride for the Punjabi Indian community in San Francisco, who deeply appreciate the dynamic and inclusive celebration of their culture. The stories we have heard from attendees who have experienced a renewed sense of cultural identity and belonging have touched our hearts. It is incredibly rewarding to witness the joy, excitement, and sense of unity that the night market creates.”
By successfully curating and onboarding these partners and businesses, Into The Streets is meeting another one of its goals for this project, which is to build a pipeline of minority small business owners, artists, and culture makers to participate in the Downtown SF recovery and permanently embed them in the economic core and prosperity of San Francisco like never before.
“This is the second night market that we’ve funded that has brought over ten thousand people to the Financial District, showing that nightlife in Downtown is alive and growing,” said Mayor London N. Breed. She continued, "It’s great to see so many people out dancing, supporting our small business vendors, and eating and drinking from our local bars and restaurants, and investing in our economy.”
Given the instant success of the series, Bhangra & Beats Night Market seems to be paying off as an investment by the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) to support many of the strategies laid out in the Mayor’s Roadmap To Downtown San Francisco’s Future, including reimagining Downtown as a premier arts and nightlife destination, improving people’s perception of safety and welcomingness, enlivening public spaces, and showcasing San Francisco’s unique penchant for overcoming adversity by celebrating its diversity. With an investment of less than $10/attendee, the City’s funding has already generated over $100,000 of economic activity for small businesses at the markets alone while also generating revenue at nearby brick and mortars, provided jobs for local residents and performing artists, and supported dozens of small businesses citywide like printers, supply stores, and lunch providers. Bhangra & Beats Night market series validates that Downtown SF can be a great destination for large-scale cultural events with over 50% of surveyed attendees utilizing the abundant public transportation options in the area and nearly 90% of surveyed attendees saying they would come back to the event. Connecting Downtown’s beautiful public spaces with engaging cultural happenings will continue to build momentum with programs like Women’s World Cup Village at the East Cut & Embarcadero Plazas kicking off this Friday, July 21st.
“Some people knock this work as ‘just a party’,” says Into The Streets Founder and CEO, Katy Birnbaum, “But our society is so fractured that bringing people together to celebrate each other in the streets isn’t just a party or a novel economic recovery strategy — it’s the essential work of rebuilding a kinder and more responsive democracy locally and nationally. These events celebrating Brown, Black and immigrant cultures of the Bay disrupts every notion of Downtown SF - in favor of small business, community and culture - and are what we need to lay the foundation for the just and equitable economy that San Francisco wants to realize coming out of this pandemic.”
The next Bhangra & Beats Night Market is scheduled for Friday, September 8th from 5:00pm-10:00pm on Battery St between Washington St and Sacramento St and on Clay St between Battery and Front St. Producers are still seeking sponsors to fund the final touches in September and vendors can still apply - info for both can be found at BhangraandBeats.com/participate.
Bhangra & Beats Night Market is a project of Into The Streets and Non Stop Bhangra and fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit Livable City presented in partnership with the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Office of Mayor London N. Breed. The public, private and social sector collaboration between the City and County of San Francisco, Into The Streets, Non Stop Bhangra and Livable City is helping revitalize Downtown SF as a culture and arts destination.
Additional support is being provided by BxP. Bhangra & Beats Night Market marketing partners include Wild 92.3, Downtown SF Partnership, New Delhi Restaurant, and 3rd i Film Festival.
For more information about the event, visit BhangraandBeats.com.
ABOUT INTO THE STREETS
Into The Streets is a woman of color, LGBTQ-owned, San Francisco-based small business, committed to empowering female, Indigenous, brown, Black, and queer communities realizing economic liberation while making the city a more just, joyous, and environmentally regenerative place. Founded by San Francisco event veteran Katy Birnbaumin 2023, Into The Streets is helping lead San Francisco’s recovery and regeneration efforts with a focus on culture, community, and creativity.
For more information, visit IntoTheStreetsSF.com.
ABOUT NON STOP BHANGRA
Non Stop Bhangra is a long-running nightlife event that celebrates the beautiful and vibrant spirit of Bhangra, a traditional Punjabi folk music and dance. Featuring dance lessons and dance performances with Dholrhythms Dance Company, an eclectic mix of DJs, live drummers, and guest musicians, it’s a treat for the eyes and one of a kind experience. It has consistently been voted the “Best Dance Party” in the San Francisco Bay Area and has become one of the major platforms in North America for Punjabi music. In addition to curating their own events, the Non Stop Bhangra collective has performed at landmark venues in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond from museums, performing art centers, festivals, nightclubs, community centers, and more such as Yerba Buena Center For the Arts, War Memorial Opera House, Davies Symphony Hall, de Young Museum, Asian Art Museum, Oakland Museum, Contemporary JewishMuseum, Kanbar Center For the Performing Arts, San Francisco’s renowned Stern Grove Festival, San Francisco City Hall, TedxSF and more. In 2024, Non Stop Bhangra will celebrate 20 years of productions in
the SF Bay Area.
For more information, visit NonStopBhangra.com.
