SAN FRANCISCO WELCOME DEPARTMENT FIELD OFFICE — JULY 2026
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SERVICE — JULY 2026
Have you been formally welcomed to San Francisco?
Most people have not.
The San Francisco Welcome Department was established in response to a longstanding oversight: people move here every day but very few receive invitation into social life.
A city does not become yours automatically. It becomes yours slowly:
through repetition,
through recognition,
through the people who begin remembering your face.
This July, the Department will open its first temporary public field office** to welcome anyone not originally from San Francisco because WELCOME IS PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
Visitors are Invited To:
— receive an official welcome
— contribute to the city's living relationship map
— register recurring gatherings and local rituals
— take a brief civic pledge
— become authorized to welcome future newcomers
What To Expect:
This is not a networking event.
This is not a brand activation.
This is a public experiment in belonging.
No appointment necessary.
Newcomers encouraged.
Longtime San Franciscans urgently needed.
Fog permitting.
Please allow approximately 3-7 minutes for processing.
**Temporary Department operations authorized under provisional civic imagination statutes
The San Francisco Welcome Department believes belonging should not be left to chance.
Join us at our Related Events:
Civic Summons, Thursday, July 4, 6:00-9:00, Gray Area – Register [<— highlight and link "Register" to the URL for the other Luma page]
About the Future of Us Festival
Launching on America's 250th anniversary, the inaugural Future of Us festival is a 10-day celebration of civic imagination and possibility. We're turning community-sourced, expert-crafted visions of the future into art, storytelling, and participatory experiences. With 100+ events spanning every corner of the city (floral labyrinths, speculative future worlds, dance parties with a purpose, and neighborhood meet-ups), it's a living exploration of what a more creative and generative civic culture could feel like. Organized around four themes (Green Futures, Social Futures, Science & Tech Futures, and Media Futures), Future of Us is breaking down the barriers between art, ideas, and each other, and everyone is invited to co-imagine what comes next.
⚡ Learn more: future-of-us.com
About the Future Culture Fellows Program
The Future Culture Fellowship is a yearlong program that resources the people best positioned to shape the future of civic life in San Francisco: the community builders, artists, and grassroots visionaries already rooted in neighborhoods and traditions across the Bay. Fellows design and host original, science- and arts-centered experiences that reflect their unique perspectives on what's possible, and become part of a growing Future Culture Collective dedicated to making civic life in SF more vibrant, connected, and imaginative. The event you're signing up for was dreamed up by one of the 2026 Fellows.
⚡ Meet your host: https://www.future-of-us.com/2026-fellows/sara-chandler
⚡ Learn more about the Fellows Program: future-of-us.com/collective
⚡ Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/futures.us