Carnaval San Francisco turns 48 this year, and it remains the largest multicultural celebration on the West Coast. More than 500,000 people are expected to fill the Mission District over Memorial Day weekend to watch, dance, eat, and participate in something genuinely worth rearranging your schedule for.
The festival was founded in 1978, rooted in the Mission District’s Latin American and Caribbean communities, to celebrate and share cultural heritage with the broader city. Carnaval’s organizing principle has always been bigger than a single tradition.Â
It draws from the music, dance, costume, and ritual of Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Peru, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the African diasporic cultures that run through all of them.
The 2026 theme is La Copa del Pueblo, the People’s Cup. It’s a celebration of fútbol as a communal act rather than a professional spectacle: the game played on dusty fields and city streets, where the ball carries the same weight it did for Indigenous peoples across the Americas centuries before modern soccer existed. From the Maya and Aztec ulama to the Arawak-speaking traditions of Brazil, ball games were ceremonies of identity, community, and continuity. La Copa del Pueblo honors all of it.
The free, two-day festival (May 24-25) and Grand Parade covers nearly 20 blocks in the Mission District, with five main stages, more than 50 local performing artists, and 400 vendors (see also: FAQs). Carnaval also hosts special events, including a King & Queen Dance Competition, 20th Annual Cubacaribe Festival of Dance & Music, Pride Night with Mission Loteria, and Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences.
The Grand Parade on Sunday begins at 10:00 a.m. Spectators return year after year to see the 60+ floats depicting multicultural themes, featuring over 5,500 artists, and the event will be televised by CBS/KPIX.Â
Volunteer, sponsor, vendor, and donation opportunities are available. Learn more at carnavalsanfrancisco.org.Â
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