HOMECOMING
October 25th Mission Creek 2025
Homecoming is a new annual neighborhood gathering in Mission Creek designed to celebrate creativity, strengthen community connections, and share resources in the spirit of generosity. Think Open Studios meets TED Talks meets block party wrapped into a day of gifting. It will be a full day of talks, tours, art, education and collective experiences!
Our goals are simple:
Activate the neighborhood with programming that highlights the gifts of our community.
Strengthen connections between neighbors, businesses, and organizations.
Create an annual tradition that makes Mission Creek a destination for creativity and belonging.
The first Homecoming will take place Saturday, on October 25th, from 12–7pm in the Mission Creek neighborhood and on Alabama Street block (between 16th and 17th).
Contribute your gift!
Through community effort we will build Homecoming but we need your help! Take a look at the ways you can contribute to help make Homecoming as magical as it can be! All gifts are welcome!
Volunteer
We need your help to make this magical neighborhood activation happen! Please submit the form that highlights your skills and we will be in contact shortly!
Business Engagement
Are you a business in Mission Creek? We’d love for you to share your service, or knowledge with the community. Whether that’s hosting a talk, leading a tour, or offering an activation in your space, we want to highlight you!
Pitch us an idea
Looking to contribute your gift? Fill out the form below and pitch us your idea! We want everyone in their area of genius!
Donate/Support
Homecoming is built on generosity, and we welcome support from individuals and organizations who believe in strengthening community and creativity in Mission Creek.
Help Us Connect to Businesses
Here is the list of businesses that I would like to engage with (so far!!) Some are not listed because I already have the connect! if you have a suggestion for a talk or program, please fill out the form here.
If you know the decision maker at a business listed above, here’s a simple blurb you can copy, paste, and send over to them. Please loop in Hello@thedropin.co.
Hi [Name],
I’d love to introduce you to my friend Stephanie Cowan, who is organizing Homecoming, a new annual neighborhood gathering in Mission Creek happening on October 25th. Homecoming is all about bringing neighbors and businesses together to share their gifts with the community. Homecoming will feature an exciting mix of neighborhood experiences. From a street mural tour with Sirron Norris and a puppy parade with the SPCA to resources from the Latino Task Force, Ted Talks from members of the community about their area of expertise, a Trick Dog cocktail menu history tour, the neighborhood will be open for a celebratory day of community sharing! Visitors will receive a map and schedule so they can explore the businesses, talks, and activities that make Mission Creek such a special community. Stephanie would love to connect with you about how to get [Business Name] involved!
SPCA- Puppy Parade
Muttville
Mission Food Hub
Producers of Carnival
Latino Task Force
Dandelion Chocolate Factory
Three Babes Bakery
Rainbow Grocery
Studio Kung Fu
Hit Fit SF
The Great Northern
Heath Ceramics
Stable Cafe
Fellow (The electric tea kettle company)
Sightglass
Mission Cliffs
Verdi Club
1890 Bryant Street Studios
Side A/Coffee Movement
Pacific Felt Factory
The Pottery Studio
Southern Pacific Brewing
Arena Exhibits
Left Space
OKO Designs Stained Glass
Loco Bloco
Open ChatGPT Academy
Mission Creek Business Association
Flour and Water Pasta shop
Studio VARA Architecture Urbanism + Design
Windy Chien (Knot Artist above Heath Ceramics)
Who’s organizing this?
Meet Stephanie!
Stephanie Cowan is a passionate community builder and speaker dedicated to creating spaces for authentic connection. She is the founder of The Drop In, a large-scale connective experience that helps people build heart-centered relationships and a deeper sense of belonging in San Francisco. Her work blends creativity, storytelling, joy, and generosity to spark meaningful encounters that strengthen communities.
Stephanie has lived many lives and worn many hats. She runs her photography studio in Mission Creek, previously led a digital agency called Gold Toast, and was once a musical theatre performer in New York. Along the way she has gathered a wide-ranging set of skills that span website design, brand storytelling, large-scale adventure planning, facilitation, and community building.
She has been dreaming of throwing a block party since moving to Mission Creek four years ago. With Homecoming, Stephanie is ready to use everything she has learned to give back to her beloved neighborhood in a way that helps everyone who lives here feel a deeper sense of belonging. For her, Homecoming is the project that brings it all together, proving that the answer to the universe is each other.
For press outreach about this story, please email hello@thedropin.co.
Meet Kelly!
Kelly’s journey into event production began amidst the fast-paced world of fashion shows while studying Fashion Business in California, where she first discovered the power of bringing people together through shared experiences. What started as an interest in orchestrating events soon became a passion for creating spaces that connect people in meaningful ways.
Her career has taken her across the globe, from producing events for major companies in Germany to contributing her talents at Cornell University and later building community-driven experiences in New York City. Each step deepened her belief that events are not just logistics and production, but opportunities to strengthen bonds and spark connection.
In 2019, Kelly founded The Ardory (formerly CRE agentur) with the vision of creating gatherings that leave lasting impact for clients, partners, and the communities they serve. Today, she continues to pour her heart into producing events that bring people together, finding joy in the ways her work builds belonging and collective celebration.
Kelly and Stephanie are cross-country best friends and co-collaborators.
Their working relationship began two years ago when Kelly hired Stephanie and her digital agency, Gold Toast, to rebrand her event agency, The Ardory. What started as a client–creative partnership quickly grew into a deep friendship. After the project wrapped, they began bi-weekly accountability calls to support one another as small business owners, and those calls have continued nearly every week for years.
Through that time, Kelly has had a front-row seat to Stephanie’s journey as a community builder. When Stephanie shared her dream of creating Homecoming, Kelly immediately offered her brilliant logistics brain to help bring it to life for free. Together, they are blending Stephanie’s big ideas and vision for belonging with Kelly’s years of event planning expertise to create a joyful, connective celebration for the Mission Creek neighborhood , a place Stephanie calls home and Kelly has also come to love.
Though neither is being paid for this project, both believe deeply that belonging is the key to a fulfilling life. Homecoming is their gift back to the city, a way to weave neighbors, businesses, and friends together in a container of joy and connection while collaborating with a soul friend on a life project that matters so deeply to both of them.
Homecoming is for Everyone.
Homecoming is an invitation to all of San Francisco. While it takes place in Mission Creek, it is rooted in the belief that neighborhoods are strongest when everyone feels welcome. This gathering is not just about one block or one community, it is about honoring the histories, cultures, and contributions that make the area of this city so magical.
We welcome our neighbors from the Mission, Potrero, and beyond to come share stories, resources, art, food, and knowledge. Homecoming is a chance to connect with all neighbors, celebrate what unites us, and create new traditions together.