Uniqlo’s New Market Street Flagship Opens With Huge Street Festival Friday

Uniqlo is marking its return to downtown San Francisco Friday with a free street festival spanning Market, Ellis, and Powell streets, bringing more than 30 local artists and groups together for music, art, food, soccer, and giveaways.

Uniqlo’s big street festival celebrating the grand opening of its new flagship store in SF runs from 11 am to 6 pm Friday, with activities spread across Market, Ellis, and Powell streets. Two stages will feature local DJs and musicians, while visitors can also play on pop-up soccer fields operated by Street Soccer USA, with community games, open play, giveaways, and prizes. Attendees are asked to RSVP via Eventbrite, which also includes a rundown of the events.

The Ellis Street stage lineup includes DJ Umami of the San Francisco Giants, Profesito of HydeFM, Lady Ryan of KALW, Wonway Posibul, and the Blue Beat Teen DJ Collective from Blue Bear School of Music. The Powell Street stage, presented with the Union Square Alliance, will feature sea2sea, Cheflee, Tomu DJ, and Mejiwahn.

The San Francisco Public Library will also be bringing its Bookmobile, while the Exploratorium will offer art and science demonstrations. Other activities include block printing, collage-making, origami, Japanese calligraphy, custom buttons, upcycled crafts, and interactive installations.

Six large-scale art cubes created by Bay Area artists will line Market Street through the weekend, with works including “Zen Treehouse” by Serge Gay Jr, “Water Torus” by CreatingAs1, “Silver Lining” by Nico Corona and Rewina Beshue, “Ray of Sunshine” by Raylene Gorum, “Rorschach Butterflies” by Robert Malmberg, and “Community Tree” by Musepop. The installations will be on display from 10 am to 8 pm Friday and Saturday, and until 7 pm Sunday. Attendees on Friday will have the opportunity to meet the artists.

Visitors can also pick up a Festival Passport and collect stamps from participating festival locations and nearby restaurants, including John’s Grill, Tad’s Steakhouse, Delarosa, and Ippudo. Completed passports can be exchanged for an 11-by-14-inch art print by Rewina Beshue and Robert Malmberg, while supplies last.

The festival is also bringing food and other neighborhood businesses into the mix, with Parachute Bakery popping up on Ellis Street and additional participating businesses around the surrounding downtown blocks.

As the Chronicle reports, Uniqlo is continuing the local San Francisco focus inside the new store with custom T-shirts and tote bags from artists including Fnnch, as well as students from Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. The company also worked with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency on exclusive merchandise and donated fabric to the school’s Fashion and Costume Department.

The festivities will continue through the weekend with traditional Japanese taiko drum performances scheduled inside the store from Friday through Sunday.

The new flagship is located at 801 Market Street, just two blocks from Uniqlo’s former Powell Street flagship, which closed in 2021 during the pandemic. The new store occupies the former Old Navy space and is part of Uniqlo’s broader expansion across the US.

The grand opening party in 2012 for Uniqlo’s Powell Street store was also a big affair, drawing huge crowds, with the company marking the opening with a zeppelin flying over the city and advertising on double-decker tour buses.

As SFist reported previously, the new store will also serve as a hub for several San Francisco-focused partnerships and collaborations. The company plans to work with the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library on literary events, including One City One Book and the Night of Ideas Read-In. Uniqlo also plans to provide 250 family admission vouchers to the Exploratorium while supporting four of its After Dark events.

Uniqlo CEO Fuminori Adachi told the Chronicle the company sees San Francisco as a city with “creativity, new ideas, and people who care deeply about their city.” He said the company is investing in downtown because it believes in the neighborhood’s future.

Previously: Uniqlo to Open In Former Old Navy Site on Market Street In Early October