California

Heading to Outside Lands? Read This Before Going to the Weekend Music Festival in San Francisco

What to Know

  • Festival hours for Friday-Sunday: Gates open at 11 a.m., music starts at 12 noon and ends at 10 p.m. (9:40 p.m. on Sunday)
  • Anyone taking Uber and Lyft to the festival will now be dropped off at designated areas a couple blocks away from Golden Gate Park
  • New "clear bag" security policy will require attendees to bring their belongings in see-through plastic bags

The 11th annual Outside Lands music festival kicks off Friday at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

The three-day event features Grammy-award winning artist The Weeknd headlining Friday night, Florence and The Machine taking the main stage Saturday night, and iconic Janet Jackson rounding out the festival Sunday night.

Festival-goers should know of several changes this year in security and transportation.

Anyone taking Uber and Lyft to the festival will now be dropped off at designated areas a couple blocks away from Golden Gate Park.

In addition, a new "clear bag" security policy at Outside Lands will require attendees to bring their belongings in see-through plastic bags:

  • Backpack-sized bags and tote purses will have to be clear plastic, clear vinyl, clear PVC or one-gallon clear zip-top bags.
  • Small clutch bags and fanny packs between 4 to 5 inches wide do not have to be made of clear plastic.
  • Non-plastic hydration packs with a capacity of 2.5 liters that have no more than two pockets will also be allowed.

Organizers said Outside Lands is not just a music festival, but a celebration of food, art and culture. So in that spirit, this year organizers are launching Grasslands.

"Just like we have Wine Lands, a Beer Lands area, a Tea Party and all the other things that make up the Outside Lands respresentation of the Bay Area, we thought we should do something with cannabis as well," organizer Rick Farman said.

There will be no marijuana sales at the festival. While it is legal to smoke recreational pot in California, it is not legal to smoke anything in Golden Gate Park.

For more information, visit SFOutsideLands.com.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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