Outside Lands festival could signal a return for large-scale entertainment events

SAN FRANCISCO - Single-day tickets for the Outside Lands music festival go on sale Thursday. Health officials said it may just be a sign that big festivals and events are coming back.

The Polo Field in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is relatively quiet right now, but in October that will change. Organizers hope to bring the field alive as it has in years past with the music, art, and food festival. 

Event organizers announced that single-day tickets will soon be available for the three-day festival that is currently scheduled to take place over Halloween weekend.

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California health officials said they hope to bring large-scale festival events back after the state fully reopens in mid-June and will continue to provide guidance for specific events. 

"We are closely linked to the state, as you know, and that June 15 date is a date where we'll see what guidance remains on the state part. And we're going to do what we've always done in San Francisco, which is look at our local conditions," said San Francisco's acting health officer Dr. Susan Philip. 

Local health authorities said more vaccinations and declining infection rates are the reason for discussions about large-scale events taking place. 

Philip said Outside Lands organizers have been working closely with health experts in planning and are an example of how some of the city's signature events can proceed. 

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"We're in a fantastic position right now that we can even talk about Outside Lands. It's such a fixture of San Francisco every fall," said Philip. "So, it is super exciting, to me as acting health officer, but also as a person that loves these events."

Some major event organizers planning for their return this year.

After being canceled last year, organizers of the Gilroy Garlic Festival announced plans for drive-thru events in July. And BottleRock in Napa County has announced plans to go ahead over the Labor Day Weekend.

But other major festivals, including Coachella and Stagecoach, initially tried to reschedule their shows, but finally decided to push back their festivals to 2022.                 

Health experts said it will take some time before organizing major events get back to normal.