San Francisco Comedy Festivals

SF Sketchfest

SF Sketchfest

January and February are typically slower months in San Francisco in regards to events and fun things to do, however the is one silver lining to the post-holiday lull. SF Sketchfest, which takes place in January and February every year brings the joy of comedy to the Bay Area.

Founded by Janet Varney, David Owen and Cole Stratton, three actors/comedians who met while attending SF State, the group created the comedy festival based on the fact that it was hard to find a lot of good outlets for live comedy in San Francisco. As they tried to further their careers, it was difficult to find stages to perform on, so they decided to do something about it. Now, fast forward almost 30 years later, the trio has brought a whole lot of comedy to San Francisco.

The festival is not just a bunch of sketch comedy in tiny clubs, it is really a celebration of everything in the genre, including Improv, Sketch Comedy, Group Performers, Television Reunions, Movie Tributes and more. The schedule is filled with a huge variety of great activities and performances, which truly has something for everyone.

The lineups over the years have included the top names in comedy including Carol Burnett, Margaret Cho, Rick Gervais, Jane Lynch, The Kids in the Hall, Patton Oswalt, Dana Carvey, Billy Crystal, Upright Citizens Brigade, Aziz Ansari, Fred Armisen, Robin Williams, Adam McKay, Rob Riggle, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Sudeikis, Tim Meadows, Conan O’Brien, Chris Hardwick, Zach Braff, Gary Shandling, Amy Poehler, Jordan Peele, Jon Heder, Andy Dick and, well, pretty much every comedian you can think of.

One of the coolest parts of the festival, in our opinion, are the movie and television reunions, which are typically followed by a roundtable discussion with members of the cast and sometimes a few unannounced surprises. For instance, in 2014, SF Sketchfest hosted a 10 year reunion screening of Napoleon Dynamite with writer and star of the movie, Jon Heder, appearing afterwards for a Q&A session. However, little did the crowd know that there was another surprise in store. Once the credits started rolling, Clive Harrington (The Lead Singer in the band “When in Rome”) came one stage and performed “The Promise” live (which happens to be the song playing during the ending credits of the movie. It’s the cool and unique attention to detail by the festival organizers that has built the festival into the success that it is today.

So, if you love comedy in San Francisco, then make sure to check out the amazing Festival!

SF SKETCHFEST

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Neighborhood

Castro

website

https://www.sfsketchfest.com/

 

Category

Best Annual Events in San Francisco

Best Comedy Events in San Francisco

EXPLORE EVENTS

Upcoming San Francisco Events

20

March

2024

Ashley McBryde

The Fillmore

08:00 PM – 11:45 PM

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21

March

2024

Meg Myers at Cafe Du Nord

Cafe Du Nord

08:30 PM – 11:30 PM

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22

March

2024

Umphrey’s McGee at The Warfield

The Warfield

08:30 PM – 11:40 PM

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26

March

2024

Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Feat. Patrick Myers

The Masonic

08:00 PM – 11:45 PM

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28

March

2024

Bruce Springsteen at Chase Center

Chase Center

07:30 PM – 11:45 PM

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31

March

2024

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at the Chase Center

Chase Center

07:30 PM – 11:00 PM

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31

March

2024

Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race

02:00 AM – 05:00 PM

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10

April

2024

Silent Film Festival San Francisco

12:00 PM – 10:00 PM

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18

April

2024

High Five Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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20

April

2024

Taylor Crawl

Del Mar

04:00 PM – 10:00 PM

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05

May

2024

Cinco De Mayo in San Francisco

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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16

May

2024

National Mimosa Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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01

June

2024

Union Street Festival

Union Street

11:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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19

June

2024

National Martini Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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04

July

2024

Fourth of July in the San Francisco Bay Area

08:00 AM – 11:00 PM

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12

July

2024

National French Fry Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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06

September

2024

National Chianti Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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29

September

2024

Folsom Street Fair

10:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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08

October

2024

National Pierogi Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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31

October

2024

San Francisco Halloween

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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03

November

2024

National Sandwich Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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17

November

2024

National Zinfandel Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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20

December

2024

National Ugly Sweater Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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24

December

2024

National Eggnog Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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19

January

2025

National Popcorn Day

08:00 AM – 06:00 PM

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