The Guide to

San Francisco's Carnaval Celebration

The Carnaval San Francisco Festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend (May 23 and 24, 2026). The festivities center on Harrison Street in the Mission District between 16th and 24th streets.

This year's theme is "La Copa del Pueblo," the People’s Cup, a vibrant celebration of fútbol’s true heartbeat: the people who play it, love it, and live it. This theme honors the joy found in dusty fields, neighborhood parks, and busy city streets, where the game belongs to everyone and every goal feels like a shared victory. Just like Carnaval, fútbol is about connection, creativity, and the unshakable energy of community.

The Grand Parade on Sunday begins at 10:00 a.m.. Spectators return year after year to see the floats depicting multicultural themes. Brazilian-style escola samba schools with as many as 300 performers dance through the streets in lavish, feathered headdresses and swirling Bahia skirts. At the same time, Caribbean contingents perform the music and dance of the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad. Other groups in the parade include Mexican Aztec performers, traditional African drummers, Polynesian dancers, Japanese drummers, giant puppets, and folkloric groups representing Guatemala, Honduras, and Bolivia.

The Grand Parade covers 20 blocks in San Francisco’s historic Latino Cultural District in the Mission. The parade will start at the corner of 24th and Bryant streets and proceed west to Mission Street. From there, it heads north on Mission to 15th Street and turns east to South Van Ness Avenue. Bleacher seats are available for the Grand Parade.

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The two-day festival happens from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and will unfold along Harrison Street between 16th and 24th streets. The festival will feature various food, music, dance, arts, crafts, and entertainment on five main stages that appeal to all ages. Please note that no pets are allowed in the festival area.