Summer isn’t going quietly in the Bay Area. Labor Day weekend is packed with outdoor concerts, street festivals, theater, dance parties and other celebrations stretching from San Francisco and Oakland to Marin and the Peninsula.
Check out the Chronicle’s guide to the best things to do through the holiday on Monday, Sept. 7.
Burning Man 2026: ‘Axis Mundi’
Curated by a wildly creative arts community that descends annually in the middle of the Nevada desert, this iconic festival celebrates radical inclusion, free expression and large-scale art. It offers a truly immersive experience, turning the Black Rock Desert’s salt flats into a gigantic, bold and utterly ephemeral city of art with many thousands in attendance. On the final evening, the towering central sculpture, known as “The Man,” is set on fire with much artistic, pyrotechnical accompaniment and revelry.
Sunday, Aug. 30-Monday, Sept. 7. $550-$3,000, reservations required; a ticket aid program offering lower cost tickets may be available to participants with limited income. Black Rock City, Black Rock Desert, Nev. www.burningman.org
160th Scottish Highland Gathering and Games
The long-running annual celebration of Scottish culture is set to feature activities including Highland dance, archery, heavy athletic feats, pipe and drum corps, a kilt-wearer’s fun run, sheepdog trials, Clydesdale horses, and birds of prey/falconry exhibitions, live music, whisky tastings, classic cars, food and drink vendors, and more…