The Noe Valley Town Square Turns Ten: New Lights and a Late-Fall Calendar on 24th Street

There are now 75 programmable bulbs over the stage and pergola on 24th Street, between Vicksburg and Sanchez. The lot under them was once a gas station and a parking lot. The new lights can change color with live music, run themed patterns for holidays and Pride Month, and give off more light than the old ones. They were scheduled to debut at the Town Square's 10th-anniversary party on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The square was built to host a market on Saturday mornings. Ten years later, the people who run it are spending grant money so it works at night too. The late-fall calendar shows that change starting.

A Square Built Around a Saturday Market

The Town Square started with produce. The Noe Valley Voice tells the story in its October issue. A Saturday farmers market moved onto a parcel owned by the Noe Valley Ministry after the Real Food Company's 24th Street store closed in 2003. When the church decided to sell, neighbors campaigned to turn the site into a park and make it the market's permanent home. The city bought the parcel for $4.2 million, and the Town Square opened to the public in October 2016, three years later.

The market is still the busiest part of the square's week. The Noe Valley Farmers Market runs year-round on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is run by volunteers. In its June 2026 issue, the Voice reported that the market was full for the first time since the pandemic, with 21 vendors. Market manager Elizabeth Crane said Green Thumb Farms and King Ranch had recently joined the produce lineup. She also told the paper she hoped to bring in local small-batch food producers on a temporary basis during the 2026 holiday shopping season.

All of that happens in daylight. The Voice says the square also became a regular spot for outdoor dining, children's play and events. The old lights put a ceiling on what could happen once it got dark.

Seventy-Five Bulbs and the Case for Evenings

The new lighting was paid for with a $25,000 grant from Avenue Greenlight to the Noe Valley Association. The association is the neighborhood's community benefit district, charged with improving the streetscape along the 24th Street commercial corridor, and it is also the Town Square's fiscal agent. Avenue Greenlight started in 2020, during the pandemic, to support commercial corridors across the city. Its board is made up of current and former presidents of San Francisco merchant groups. It has already paid for the square's music series and for neighborhood promotion by the Noe Valley Merchants & Professionals Association.

The installation is being handled by Joshua Hubert of Glow Fidelity, a lighting design studio based in West Oakland. Hubert also installed the square's current lights nearly seven years ago. He told the Voice what the upgrade is meant to make possible:

"The new lighting is going to be essentially brighter, so people will be able to have more nighttime events there."

Everyone quoted in the Voice article made the same point about nighttime use. Elise Jacobsen of Avenue Greenlight told the paper that lighting is a priority for the board because "it helps bring people out to a neighborhood's commercial corridor at night." Moira Leslie Crawford oversees community events at the square. She said the 75 bulbs would be 50 percent brighter and that stage lighting matters for the Noe Valley Night Market and other events.

The Night Market shows where this is heading. The Noe Valley Merchants & Professionals Association lists it on its events page with local food, artists, shopping, live music, a bounce house, face painting and balloon art. The square's October calendar had it on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the Town Square and along 24th Street. That's a weeknight event that runs well after sunset in late October, exactly the kind of evening the new stage lighting was paid for.

The anniversary party had a lot going on. It celebrated the square's 10 years and the Noe Valley Association's 20th anniversary as fiscal sponsor. It was also a sendoff for District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who leaves office in early January because of term limits. The party had a disco theme, with CK the DJ, prizes from local merchants and a cake donated by Noe Valley Bakery.

The Late-Fall Calendar, From Sunday Afternoons to a Tuesday Evening

The rest of the season starts with daytime events and ends with events in the evening. These dates come from the Town Square's events page:

1. Sunday, Nov. 1, 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday Music in the Square with Liberty Street, a Noe Valley Americana covers band. The square suggests bringing a picnic.
2. Sunday, Nov. 15, 1 to 3 p.m. The annual Noe Valley Friendsgiving, with bingo, a dad joke competition, musical chairs, a gratitude tree, hot apple cider and a dozen local nonprofits on site.
3. Sunday, Nov. 22, 1 to 2 p.m. JimBo Trout plays bluegrass, ragtime, western swing and honky-tonk.
4. Sunday, Nov. 22, 2 to 3 p.m. Amy Obenski, whose cinematic vocal sets close out November's music.
5. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 5 to 7 p.m. The annual Noe Valley Tree Lighting.
6. Sunday, Dec. 6, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Chanukah Wonderland.

All the November events take place in early-afternoon daylight. The two December events don't. The tree lighting starts at 5 p.m. on a weeknight in early December, and Chanukah Wonderland runs into a winter dusk. Those two dates will be the first holiday season under the new lights, and the Voice reported that the lights can run themed packages for the holidays.

The square says all events are weather-permitting and subject to final permits from the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. Details and rain dates can change, so check the events page the morning of. Its October calendar also listed free Sunday yoga from 11 a.m. to noon, so recurring classes are worth watching for on the same page.

Turning a Square Event Into an Evening on 24th Street

The lights only help the corridor if people stay nearby after an event ends. Several restaurants within a short walk opened this year.

Bonita Taqueria y Rotisserie, 4063 24th St. It opened on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in the former Tacolicious space. KRON4 reported that owner Jawad "JJ" Sweidan runs it with his sister, Jenna Salah. Eater SF included it in its July openings roundup.

Falasteen, 4018 24th St. This is Samir Salameh's Palestinian restaurant, a short walk west of the square. When the San Francisco Standard reviewed it on April 18, 2026, it was about two months old.

Grand Lake Kitchen, 1199 Church St. Owners May and Dave Wasem opened their first San Francisco location on Saturday, March 14, 2026, according to Eater SF. It's a natural stop after a Saturday at the market.

For the Dec. 1 tree lighting, here's a simple plan. Get to the square by 5 p.m. while the crowd is gathering. When the ceremony ends at 7, walk a block or two west along 24th Street to Bonita or Falasteen for dinner.

The public money behind this season is small and clearly accounted for. The city paid $4.2 million for the parcel three years before the square opened, and a $25,000 grant now pays for the lights. Crawford told the Voice the new lighting should make the square "a little safer at night and more colorful."

I follow the Noe Valley Town Square calendar the way I follow 24th Street storefronts, because both are part of daily life on this block. If you'd like to compare notes on the tree lighting or on what's opening along the corridor next, Dylan Hunter is always glad to hear from neighbors. Let's Connect.