​⚡️ Playdate on Polk: A Neighborhood Joy Crawl

​You’re invited to a joy crawl exploring the future of neighborism. It's a multi-stop community event exploring how small experiments in play, connection, and care can change how we experience where we live.

​From 2-5pm, drop into curated pop-up experiences at your favorite shops/cafes along Polk Street and connect with neighbors and SF locals who also dream of a more vibrant community. The event will culminate with a celebration at Crepe House from 5-6pm.

​This experience is entirely self-directed, so stroll along Polk Street at your leisure and drop into pop-ups anytime from 2-5pm. Participating locations will have signage out front.

​Connection is rewarding! For each activity you attend, you'll receive a stamp on your punch card. The completed card can be redeemed for a special prize at the community celebration.

​Pop-up Experiences (2-5pm)

​Notes for Neighbors | SEE LIST

• ​From now through July 11, visit any of the following locations to write a message of hope for a neighbor on a fortune card. The Neighborhood Oracle will distribute the fortune cards at the booth outside Cheese Plus on July 11.

• ​Locations:

  • ​Molte Cose

  • ​Cheese Plus

  • ​Picnic

  • ​Crepe House

  • ​Warren

  • ​Souvenir

​Neighborhood Oracle + Notes for Neighbors Station | Location: Cheese Plus

• ​Visit the Neighborhood Oracle (à la Zoltar from the movie, Big) to receive a special fortune written by one of your neighbors.

• ​Want to write a fortune for a fellow neighbor? Visit the Notes for Neighbors station near the front of the store.

​Bad Art, Good People | Location: Crepe House

• ​Sit across from a stranger and draw each other's portraits. Your masterpieces will then be collected and displayed in the Gallery of Good Neighbors, a pop-up exhibit revealed during the celebration.

​Joy Mapping | Location: Molte Cose

• ​Think of a playful SF memory or place that sparks joy and pin it on the map. It'll later be digitized into a living counter-map, archiving the city's most joyful corners as remembered by the community. While you're there, browse Michelle and Teresa's SF vintage pop-up, featuring fun one-of-a-kind items from SF's past. And be sure to chat with the four local artists who will also be popping up on the corner.

​Pin It Forward | Location: St. Paulus Church

• ​Collage a button from recycled materials and add a slogan that speaks to your vision for SF’s future.

• ​Collage materials will be sourced from SCRAP, a local nonprofit working at the intersection of arts, education and the environment. All leftover materials will be re-donated to SCRAP.

• ​St. Paulus Church will be hosting two additional "craftivities" in the space along with a special performance by the Singers of the Streets from 2:15-2:45pm.

​Sidewalk Chalk Garden | Location: Picnic

• ​Let's paint a community garden! Stop by the chalk paint station outside Picnic, dream up a vibrant flower or plant, and add it to the garden.

​Typewriter Haikus | Location: Russian Hill Bookstore

​Got a book you love? Say it in 17 syllables. Sit at the typewriter, craft a haiku about your book recommendation, and add it to the communal display for fellow book-lovers to discover. Examples on hand for the haiku-curious — no poetry writing experience required.

​Polk St Portraits | Location: Robber Baron

​Drop in and sketch a photo of yourself on a sticky note and add it to add to their portrait gallery.

​Neighborhood Hang (5-6pm)

​After the crawl, walk over to Crepe House to meet up with your fellow neighbors! We’re wrapping up the afternoon's adventures by bringing the community together for a celebratory finale.

​A sneak peek into the evening:

• ​A Taste of Polk: Sweet treats from Hot Cookie & Crepe House

• ​"Craftivities": Lean into your creative side with hands-on origami, DIY pinwheels, and button collaging

• ​The Big Reveal: We'll officially unveil the Gallery of Good Neighbors featuring the stranger portraits drawn earlier in the day.

• ​Good Neighbor Meetup: Good Neighbor Lab will be on-site hosting an open conversation about the future we all want for the area.

• ​Outdoor Play Area: Step outside to keep the chalk art flowing, grab a jump rope, or play with bubble wands while the Good Neighbors, Bad Art pop-up continues.

• ​Be a Kid Again: For this hour only, adults can be kids again! Order straight off the kids' menu with zero judgment.

• ​Joyful beats from a local DJ

​Follow @playonpolk on IG to stay connected to this work and get involved.

​Parking & Transportation

​This location is accessible via multiple Muni lines:

• ​19-Polk — runs directly up and down Polk Street

• ​1-California — runs along California Street

• ​49-Van Ness/Mission — stops nearby on Van Ness

• ​12-Folsom/Pacific — runs along Pacific Ave

​If using rideshare:

​Enter Crepe House (1755 Polk Street) as your destination

​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/natalie-audelo

​⚡ Learn more about the Fellows Program: future-of-us.com/collective

​⚡ Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/futures.us