Deadheads making the pilgrimage to San Francisco this weekend for the various Grateful Dead 60th anniversary festivities will certainly be able to get their fill of Shakedown Street, the makeshift vendor village that has famously popped up outside Dead shows for decades, but the experience will be a little different—and a little more structured—than Shakedowns past.
With the weekend’s main event—a three-night Dead & Company run featuring Billy Strings (8/1), Sturgill Simpson (8/2), and Trey Anastasio Band (8/3)—set to take place at Golden Gate Park, a city-run space, the Bay Area-based vendors behind 2024 and 2025’s reimagined Shakedown Vegas coordinated with both local heads and local government to make this weekend’s Shakedown a sanctioned public event.
Per a recent article by The San Francisco Standard, “While the market is often punctuated by live music and impromptu vendors setting up shop at an agreed-upon but secretive location, this year’s event will be different. As always, it will be free and open to the public, but no food or beverages will be sold, alcohol is prohibited, and amplified sound is not allowed, according to a Parks Department spokesperson. Roughly 100 vendors will be in attendance.” See below for a list of craft vendors taking part in the Golden Gate Park Shakedown.
The market will take shape within Golden Gate Park along a 200-foot stretch of JFK Promenade between Transverse Drive and Blue Heron Lake Drive on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd from 10:30 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. daily. We dropped a Google Maps pin for Shakedown here so you can find it once you hit the park. The sanctioned area is located roughly a one-mile walk from the North Main Entrance [Google Maps pin] of the concert grounds.
You can also get an idea of the walk from Shakedown to the venue on the maps below. You can also find answers to a list of FAQs about attending the three concerts at the Golden Gate Park Polo Fields here. Follow Shakedown 60th on social media for more updates.
Route from Golden Gate Park Shakedown to Venue – Overview
Dead & Company Golden Gate Park Venue & Entrance/Exit Map
While the officially sanctioned Shakedown Street in Golden Gate Park may be somewhat limited, the Shakedown ethos will be on display all around the city throughout the weekend. You just gotta poke around…
At Grahame Lesh & Friends‘ all-star, three-night event at Pier 48 at Mission Rock on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, The Heart of Town—which, much like the floating vendor village, takes its name from the song “Shakedown Street”—more than 20 additional lot vendors will set up shop in the venue space, as will an eclectic food village. View a list of the vendors due to set up shop at The Heart of Town. Find more details and ticketing information here.
Many members of the local community also expect the vibrant area at the corner of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, where the head shops and other local craft businesses that line the surrounding blocks plan to extend their hours to accommodate the influx of counterculture pilgrims hoping to visit the place where it all began.
An official Dead & Company pop-up shop is also set to take place at Polk Hall in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium at 99 Grove Street from 10:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. (99 Grove St.) will also operate 10 a.m.–6 p.m. from Wednesday–Sunday, July 30th–August 3rd. There, fans will have access to exclusive merchandise and collectibles not available at the concert site.
Mickey Hart, the Grateful Dead/Dead & Company drummer, will also offer some higher-brow artistic entertainment for fans in San Francisco with his Art At The Edge Of Magic museum exhibit at the Haight Street Art Center, open now and running through September.
Related: Jerry Garcia Street Dedication Ceremony Set For August 1st In San Francisco
Last week, Sunshine Powers, the owner of Haight Street shop Love On Haight and one of the organizers of Shakedown in the park (alongside Jay and Liora Soladay), spoke about the upcoming festivities at a press conference attended by the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie. Watch her speech below.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
[Originally published 7/30/25]