The SF Live free outdoor concert series is back, and one of its featured events is a BollyX session — an all-levels Bollywood-inspired dance fitness class set to thumping music, open air, and zero admission cost. For the uninitiated, BollyX is basically a cardio workout disguised as a dance party, drawing from the high-energy choreography of Bollywood films. Think Zumba's cooler, spicier cousin.

And honestly? This is the kind of public programming we can get behind.

San Francisco dumps enormous sums into "community engagement" initiatives that often amount to little more than consultant fees and empty conference rooms. But SF Live is different — it's straightforward, low-overhead entertainment that gets people outside, moving, and actually using public spaces the way they're meant to be used. No $500-an-hour DEI facilitator required.

Free outdoor events like this do something that a thousand city task forces can't: they make neighborhoods feel alive and safe. When parks and plazas are full of people having a good time, they're not full of the problems that have plagued San Francisco's public spaces in recent years. It's not a complicated theory. More people doing BollyX in the park means fewer reasons to avoid the park.

The event is open to all fitness levels, which means you don't need to be a Bollywood star or a gym rat to join in. Just show up.

We spend a lot of time in this space calling out city government for wasteful spending and misplaced priorities — because there's a lot to call out. But credit where it's due: free, accessible, outdoor programming that brings the community together without a bloated budget line item is exactly the kind of thing local government should be doing. More of this, less of everything else.