Across the city, a wave of grassroots, volunteer-organized social events is popping up that costs taxpayers exactly zero dollars and participants roughly the same. A biweekly walk club called Golden Gate Walk Club is gaining traction with simple two-mile Sunday strolls followed by coffee. A cosplay party is being organized at Lore Speakeasy in the Mission on May 22nd — free admission — after Fan Expo's cancellation left costume enthusiasts without a gathering spot. Someone's even giving away a spare ticket to the California Academy of Sciences gala after-party, open bar included.

This is what community looks like when people stop waiting for City Hall to fund a $2 million "social cohesion initiative" and just... do the thing themselves.

Not everything is smooth sailing, of course. One online community recently had to issue a warning after a member tried to co-opt their brand name to launch a separate nonprofit that would charge fees and collect personal data. It's a good reminder that even in feel-good spaces, someone eventually tries to monetize the trust. The community's moderators handled it swiftly and transparently — which is more than we can say for most city agencies.

As one local put it, recommending Bottom of the Hill for solo outings: it's a "great music venue to check out smaller bands... cheap shows and friendly vibes." They also noted it's closing at the end of the year — another reminder that SF's best cultural assets are often the scrappy, independent ones that don't get preservation budgets.

The broader point here is encouraging. Loneliness is a real crisis, and the instinct in San Francisco is always to throw public money at it. But the most vibrant social infrastructure in this city has always been built by regular people with a Partiful link and a willingness to show up. Walk clubs, cosplay nights, spontaneous gala ticket giveaways — none of it required a feasibility study.

Maybe the best thing the city can do is stay out of the way and let people be people.