When the Holiday season approaches, there are a lot of things to look forward to such as the Union Square Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, The San Francisco Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl and, of course, the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker. The iconic performance is a great experience for people of any age and is the perfect combination of the beauty of the ballet and the feel of the Christmas Holiday.
Going to see The Nutcracker has been an exciting part of the holiday season for generations. The ballet dates back to a fairy tale written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, a German Writer, back in 1816. Many years later, the story was adapted into a ballet with legendary Russian Composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, writing the music. In 1982, the famed ballet had its debut performance in St. Petersburg, Russia at the Mariinsky Theater. 130 years later, the Nutcracker is still performed all over the world, an experience that has truly stood the test of time.
Seeing the Nutcracker in San Francisco is an amazing experience, which has been called the best Nutcracker performance in the nation, however there is an even cooler reason to see the show in the city by the bay. In 1944, The San Francisco Ballet was responsible for bringing the show to the United States, offering the first performance of the famous ballet in the nation. If you have the chance, grab some tickets to this amazing show and get ready for an amazing night of dance and music.
EXPLORE EVENTS
Upcoming San Francisco Events
14
February
2026
Valentine’s Day 2026
14
February
2026
Mardi Gras 2nd line Parade March – Northstar to Tupelo
14
February
2026
SF Valentine’s Day Pillow Fight
14
February
2026
The Emo Night Tour at The Independent SF
16
February
2026
Presidents’ Day
17
February
2026
Fat Tuesday
17
February
2026
San Francisco Mardi Gras
17
February
2026
Bayview Mardi Gras Celebration 2026
17
February
2026
Fat Tuesday Season Kickoff Celebration
17
February
2026
Rebirth Brass Band at The Chapel
17
February
2026
Sam Smith at The Castro Theater
17
February
2026
Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy Play R.E.M. at The Fillmore
18
February
2026
Odezenne at The Independent San Francisco
19
February
2026
Noise Pop Festival
19
February
2026
California Academy of Sciences NightLife: Lunar Underground
19
February
2026
The Polish Ambassador with Scott Nice
20
February
2026
California Academy of Sciences NightLife Fridays
20
February
2026
Steve Aoki with Timmy Trumpet, Riot Ten
20
February
2026
DENM with Evening Elephants, Obed Padilla
21
February
2026
Red Bull Showrun San Francisco
21
February
2026
Jesse Baez at The Independent
22
February
2026
National Margarita Day
22
February
2026
Fox Stevenson with Yue at The Independent
26
February
2026
((( O ))) at The Independent San Francisco
27
February
2026
Sunset Night Market
27
February
2026
Weval – CHOROPHOBIA Album Release Tour
28
February
2026
ARMNHMR with JOYRYDE, Calcium b2b Emorfik, Softest Hard, SKILAH
28
February
2026
BENEE – PARTICLES TOUR at The Fillmore
28
February
2026
Bob Schneider with Me Nd Adam at The Independent
01
March
2026
Noise Pop Festival Presents: Mexican Slum Rats with Clarion, the jewelry
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