Bay Area plans

---
name: sf-events-lookout
description: Keep watch on San Francisco and Bay Area events matched to what someone actually likes doing, and ping them with a daily digest plus fast alerts for things that fill up, from Luma tech and AI events and Partiful parties to hackathons, founder dinners, run clubs, supper club drops, DJ nights, museum late nights, and free Golden Gate Park concerts. Use this whenever someone in SF or the Bay Area asks "what's happening this weekend", wants to hear about events, meetups, hackathons, or parties, says "keep an eye out for" something, or keeps missing events that waitlist, even if they never say "alert".
---

# SF Events Lookout

Last verified: September 2026. Sources, platforms, and seasonal dates change constantly. The current source list and calendar are in `references/sources.md`; re-check anything marked **(verify)**.

## Why this skill exists

San Francisco's events are split across worlds that barely overlap. The AI demo night everyone wants to attend is an approval-only Luma page that waitlists within hours of an X post. The supper club opens seats through an Instagram story. The free Golden Gate Park concert needs a lottery entry weeks ahead. A DJ night is on Resident Advisor, and a mahjong club is on Partiful. Nobody can watch all of it. Your job is to learn what this person loves, check the right sources on the right schedule, and send a short digest they actually want to read, plus a fast ping when something they'd love is about to fill up.

## Step 1: Set up in one message

Don't interview. One short message with defaults they can correct:

> I'll keep an eye on the Bay for you. Quick setup, answer what you can:
> 1. **What are you into?** e.g. AI and tech events, hackathons, DJ nights, run clubs, supper clubs, comedy, museum nights, free concerts. An event you loved is even better.
> 2. **Where?** SF neighborhoods, and whether Oakland, Berkeley, or the Peninsula count
> 3. **When are you free?** e.g. weeknights after 6, weekends
> 4. **Budget?** Free only, under $30, or flexible
>
> I'll send a digest each morning and ping you right away for things that fill up fast. Tell me if you'd rather get a weekly roundup, or which things are worth an instant ping.

Rules:
- If they already gave some of this, only ask for the rest.
- **If they want tech events**, ask what they do (founder, engineer, investor, researcher, curious). Many SF tech events are approval-based, and hosts pick based on the application.
- Ask which newsletters, Luma calendars, and accounts they already follow. Those are the best signals you'll get (Step 3).
- Never ask for passwords, and don't log in to their social accounts.

## Step 2: Save the watch and schedule it

Save an **interest profile** to memory so every check is consistent, and update it as you learn what they apply to, attend, skip, or say "more like this" about.

```
Watch: sf-events-lookout
Loves (instant ping): <e.g. AI hackathons, founder dinners, supper club drops>
Likes (digest): <e.g. museum late nights, comedy, free outdoor concerts>
Not interested: <e.g. crypto mixers, candlelight concerts>
Where: <SF neighborhoods | + East Bay | + Peninsula>, car or transit: <...>
Free: <nights/days>, calendar connected: <y/n>
Budget: <free | under $X | flexible>
About them (for approval-based events, only with their OK): <role, company, one-line bio>
Digest: <daily at 8am | weekly on Monday>, quiet hours: <e.g. 11pm–8am>
Sources they follow: <newsletters, Luma calendars, accounts>
Already sent: <events and their status, so nothing repeats>
```

**How often to check:**

| What | Cadence |
|---|---|
| General matches (walk-in events, talks, openings, markets, most ticketed events) | once a day, for the digest |
| Their "love" categories that fill up: approval-required tech events, hackathons, supper club seats, popular DJ nights, museum late nights that sell out | every 2–4 hours during the day |
| An announced drop or on-sale time | a reminder 15–30 minutes before, then check right at the drop |
| Lotteries and application deadlines (for example, Stern Grove's free concert lottery, which opens weeks ahead) | a reminder when the window opens and a day before it closes |
| Tech Week, AI Week, and other event bursts | 2–4 times a day in the 2–3 weeks before, when hundreds of events get posted |
| Plan-ahead events (festivals, Fleet Week, holiday markets) | weekly |

Adjust over time. If they keep acting on one category, promote it to "love." If they ignore one, check it less and ask whether to drop it.

## Step 3: Where to look

Work through sources in this order. Details, links, and the seasonal calendar are in `references/sources.md`.

1. **What already reaches them.** Newsletters in their inbox, Luma calendars they subscribe to, DICE and Resident Advisor follows, Partiful invites, links they forward from X, Instagram, Slack, or group chats. Offer to help them subscribe to a few good ones on day one; it makes every later digest better.
2. **Official feeds.** Luma offers iCal subscriptions for public calendars and its SF city page, and SF Rec & Park's calendar has iCal and RSS. These are the cleanest things to check on a schedule.
3. **Public event pages, browsed like a person would**: Luma's SF page and community calendars, Partiful Explore for SF, Cerebral Valley's AI events list, Eventbrite, Meetup, DICE, Resident Advisor, Posh, and museums' own event pages.
4. **Curators**: free and cheap event roundups, weekend guides, arts calendars, and neighborhood newsletters.
5. **Social media, without scraping it.** X is where most SF tech events surface first, and Instagram is where supper clubs, run clubs, and DJ collectives announce drops. X, Instagram, and TikTok prohibit automated collection, so don't crawl them on a schedule. Instead:
   - Ask the person to turn on post notifications for the few accounts they care most about, and to forward anything interesting
   - Follow the Luma calendars those hosts cross-post to
   - Use web search for recent public announcements about the things they like
   - Read Reddit threads (r/sanfrancisco, r/bayarea) for context, not for time-sensitive drops

**Rules for every source:**
- A few page views per check, no bulk crawling, no getting around logins, blocks, or bot checks. If a site blocks you, rely on its newsletter or feed and the person's own follows.
- Only use invites and links the person was sent or that are publicly posted. Never guess event URLs, use private invite links they weren't given, or collect guest lists.
- Confirm the date, time, and location on the event's own page before putting it in a digest.

## Step 4: Send a digest people want to read

Short, ranked, and scannable. Skip the day if nothing is worth their time; don't pad.

> ☀️ **SF for you, Thursday**
>
> **Deadlines**
> • **AI agents demo night, SoMa** · Tue 6pm · free · approval required, applications close tomorrow
>   Hosts you went to in August · [Apply](link)
>
> **Tonight**
> • **Museum late night, Golden Gate Park** · 6–10pm · 21+ · ~$26 · usually sells out
>   You said you want more non-tech nights · [Tickets](link)
>
> **This week**
> • **Run club + coffee, Marina Green** · Sat 8am · free, RSVP
>   [RSVP](link)
>
> Reply "more like #2", "skip run clubs", or "apply to #1".

For each item: what it is, when, neighborhood, all-in price, status (open, approval required, waitlist, lottery, few left), one line on why it fits, and a direct link to the official page. Only repeat an event if its status changed ("you're off the waitlist," "applications close tonight").

## Step 5: Ping fast when something's about to fill

For a "love" category only, and never during quiet hours unless the window closes before morning:

> 🔔 **Hackathon just posted: 150 spots, approval required**
> Agents build night, Mission · Sat Sep 26, 10am–10pm · free
> Similar events from this host waitlisted in about 3 hours
> Questions: role, company, LinkedIn, "what will you build?"
> **[Event page](link)** · I drafted answers from your profile. Want to review them?

## Step 6: RSVP, apply, or buy only with a yes

- **Never RSVP, apply, register, enter a lottery, join a waitlist, buy, or message a host without the person's explicit yes for that specific event.** A yes for one event doesn't cover the next.
- **Approval-based events**: show every registration question and your drafted answers before submitting. Don't embellish their background. If a host declines them, don't reapply around it.
- Respect capacity and host decisions. Don't reserve extra spots "just in case."
- For anything paid, follow the `safe-purchasing` skill. For concerts on major ticketing platforms, `concert-tickets` covers finding the best price. Prefer the venue's own site over resellers.
- Add confirmed plans to their calendar if it's connected, with the address, door time, any ID or 21+ requirement, and a transit note if it's across the Bay.

## Related skills

- `sf-date-night` for turning an event into a full date plan, including the ride home and weather
- `concert-tickets-lookout` for watching one specific artist's tour, presales, and resale
- `movie-tickets-lookout` for a specific film's on-sale or premium-format showtimes
- `scam-checker` if someone offers tickets or "guest list spots" in DMs

## Don't

- Don't send a digest full of generic listings. Fewer, better-matched events beat a long list.
- Don't recommend events you couldn't confirm are real and current.
- Don't scrape X, Instagram, TikTok, Partiful, or Luma at volume, use third-party scrapers, or harvest attendee lists.
- Don't keep sending digests they've stopped opening. After a week or two of no replies, ask whether to switch to weekly or pause.