Another kind of loop happened in San Francisco Friday night. In three adjacent neighborhoods, street festivals took over, all with different international flair showcasing the city’s deep mix of cultures and traditions. All were within a few minutes’ walk of one another, fashioning an all-ages party circuit.
A Bhangra & Beats Night Market took over Battery Street in the Financial District. The biweekly Chinatown Night Market lit up Grant Avenue. And a Bastille Day celebration in Belden Place, tucked into the city’s pocket-sized French Quarter, fêted France’s national day and threw in a little hype for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
I did the entire loop and saw several familiar faces going from spot to spot, like one couple wearing their Bastille Day berets and sampling South Asian momos at Bhangra & Beats. My slideshow is here:
Slideshow starts here: At the Bhangra & Beats festival Friday night, the beats were perfect for practicing hula hoop. 
The Bhangra & Beats Night Market festival took over Battery Street near the Embarcadero Center. 
There were also live musicians… 
…and break dancing. 
Friday night revellers, still wearing their Bastille Day berets, wandered down to the Bhangra & Beats festival to sample some momos. 
Just a few minutes away, Belden Place hosted the annual Bastille Day celebration. (Only two days early.) 
More music, this time en Francais. 
A bienvenu from the bass player. 
Belden Place is in the heart of what’s known as SF’s French Quarter. it doesn’t have a lot of French restaurants, but it’s anchored by the French-Catalan Cafe Bastille. 
Vive la France, of course. 
Red lanterns sway above Grant Avenue as the Friday Night Market gets underway on July 12. The market takes place every two weeks. 
A calligraphy table at the Chinatown Night Market. 
There was music for modern ears, thanks to this firefighter’s wheels of steel… 
…and music for more old-fashioned sensibilities. 
Bamboozled: Perhaps this panda was looking sad because there weren’t any green shoots on sale at the night market.
The early hours, filled with music, food, vendors, and crafts, were plenty family-friendly. (Is there any better music for hula-hooping than a bumping bhangra?) Come nightfall, the intersection of Clay and Battery streets transformed into a dance floor.
Two more Bhangra & Beats are scheduled this year, and the Chinatown Night Market is every other Friday. Unfortunately, Bastille Day only comes around once a year, but the unusual confluence of all three practically next door to one another was a reminder that it doesn’t take much to send the city’s doom loop narrative in reverse.
