The 37th annual Oakland Chinatown StreetFest runs Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22–23, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — free, with lion dances, three live stages, food, roughly 90 vendors and a ping pong tournament. Take BART.

The Oakland Chinatown StreetFest returns this weekend for its 37th year: Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22–23, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., across downtown Oakland Chinatown. It's free, and it's the largest free festival going in the East Bay in a late-August stretch that's otherwise thin on marquee events.

Per the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce↗ (external source, opens in a new tab), which organizes it, the two days run on three live entertainment stages of cultural performances, plus lion dances, food, local artists, community booths and a ping pong tournament — a nod to one of the neighborhood's enduring pastimes. The chamber says past StreetFests have drawn more than 60,000 attendees and upwards of 90 vendor booths.

The logistics you need. Admission is free with no RSVP, and it's all-ages. One caveat worth planning around: as of filing, the chamber hasn't published the exact street closures — Funcheap↗ (external source, opens in a new tab) pins the footprint near Harrison and 11th, but expect the core blocks around 8th and 9th to be walk-only both days.

The move: take BART. The 12th Street/Oakland City Center station puts you a few blocks from the action, and with streets closed and downtown parking scarce on a festival weekend, driving is the slower play. If you've only got two hours, go mid-morning Saturday before the stages and food lines fill in, do a lap of the vendor booths, and catch a lion dance set — then decide whether the ping pong bracket is worth sticking around for.

Details and vendor info: Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, (510) 893-8979.