San Francisco, CA
Carnaval San Francisco 2024: From the Parade Route to Parking, Here's What to Know | KQED
Carnaval San Francisco is when the city’s Mission District fills up with the colors and sounds of hundreds of artists — and tens of thousands of families celebrating the region’s Latin American and Caribbean culture. And this year, Carnaval will take place on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26.
Consisting of a two-day day festival, musical performances all over the neighborhood, and the Grand Parade on Sunday that features over 60 different contingents, Carnaval is one of San Francisco’s most emblematic celebrations. And on top of that, it’s all completely free to attend and enjoy.
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If you’ve never been to Carnaval San Francisco before, picture Mission Street not with its usual traffic of Muni buses and commuters — but instead brimming with beautifully decorated floats accompanied by thousands of dancers and live musicians.
And that’s just a glimpse of what’s happening on Sunday. As someone who’s been to Carnaval every year since the age of 10, I can tell you that you never run out of things to do during this special weekend. And with all that fun in mind, keep reading for all the information you need to make the most of Carnaval.
What’s so special about Carnaval San Francisco 2024?
First held at Precita Park in 1979, Carnaval was organized by artists and organizers who wanted to pay homage to the historic Carnaval celebrations that take place all over Latin America and the Caribbean — and, at the same time, provide a platform for local musicians and dancers to come together and pass on traditions. This community celebration has now grown to include twenty blocks of the Mission District, making it one of the biggest celebrations of its kind on the West Coast.
And what makes this city’s Carnaval distinct from other Carnaval celebrations you may see in Rio de Janeiro or Barranquilla is that it reflects not just one national culture but also celebrates the incredible diversity of California’s Latin American and Caribbean diasporas.
“That’s what we do at Carnaval — we bring different worlds together under one roof,” Carnaval Executive Director Rodrigo Durán said. For pretty much his whole life, Durán has been involved in Carnaval one way or another (even as a toddler, he was already one of the dancers in the Grand Parade). But this year, he said, there’s something special.
“There’s a movement among Carnaval members and the community to put our Indigenous heritage in the forefront, to highlight and celebrate it,” he said. That’s why organizers chose ‘Honor Indigenous Roots’ as this year’s theme.
Rigoberta Menchú, a 1992 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will lead Sunday’s Grand Parade. She has dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of Indigenous people in her home country of Guatemala and the rest of Latin America.
When and where is Carnaval San Francisco?
Carnaval has two main components: the festival and the Grand Parade.
The festival happens on Saturday and Sunday, with gates opening at 9 a.m. and performances starting at 11 a.m. on both days. (Jump to information about the Grand Parade.)
The festival will take place on Harrison Street, from 16th to 24th street. Hundreds of artisans and food vendors fill up this space, with DJs jamming out at block parties on 18th, 19th, 20th and 22nd streets.
Five stages will be set up throughout the festival, featuring performances from headliners Noel Torres, Pirulo y la Tribu, Franco and Banda Blanca, along with dozens of local musicians and dance groups.
When does the Carnaval Grand Parade start, and what’s the route?
The Grand Parade, which features dozens of floats and hundreds of dancers moving through the entire neighborhood, takes place on Sunday and starts at 9:30 a.m.
As for the Carnaval parade route, the parade starts at Bryant and 24th, then moves through 24th Street, takes a right on Mission Street, stays on that street all the way to 15th Street, and wraps up at Harrison and 15th Street.
And yes — the dancers and musicians in the parade perform nonstop the whole way, which is a particularly impressive feat when you consider that some of the most elaborate outfits can weigh up to 40 pounds.
On top of that, there’s a contest element – as contingents, or comparsas, compete against each other in multiple categories. Judges will rank each comparsa on originality, choreography and production design.

A map of the Carnaval San Francisco Grand Parade route on Sunday, May 26.
A few things to look for at the Carnaval San Francisco Grand Parade
Several award-winning comparsas are back again this year:
- Fogo Na Roupa, a Brazilian dance and percussion ensemble that practices in San Francisco but whose members hail from all over the Bay Area;
- Karibbean Vibrationz, a group that travels all over California celebrating Afro-Caribbean culture;
- Flavaz of D’ Caribbean, known for having some of the most colorful costumes, accompanied by a hot pink bus, and loudly repping the music of Trinidad and Tobago.
This year’s Carnaval King and Queen are Yeison Andrés Jiménez and Mónica Mendoza, two Bay Area dancers who have participated in multiple international contests and won their crowns earlier this year in a competition held at KQED’s headquarters.
Several contingents are making their Carnaval debut this year as well, including Negritud Yanga USA, a collective that celebrates the Afro-Mexican culture of the city of Yanga in the coastal state of Veracruz. In the early 17th century, formerly enslaved Africans founded Yanga — one of the first settlements of its kind in the Americas.
“The Carnaval parade is the gem, the heartbeat of our celebration,” Durán said. “Art is what pushes our culture forward, what gives us strength and happiness.”
See the full list of participating comparsas at Carnaval San Francisco.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco: Anti-ICE protester gets probation for ‘depredation’ of ICE van’s tire
SAN FRANCISCO — A protester who was initially charged with misdemeanor assault has been sentenced to probation for a less serious offense, ending a federal prosecution that only started four months ago, court records show.
On Dec. 8, Angelica Guerrero, 35, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor “depredation” of an ICE van’s tire — a fancy legal term for slashing it with a knife. The same day, a federal judge sentenced Guerrero to probation, according to a minute order of the hearing.
The charge stemmed from an Aug. 20 protest, when Guerrero slashed the tire of an unmarked Chevrolet van being used in an ongoing “enforcement and removal” operation by the Department of Homeland Security on the 100 block of Montgomery Street, according to prosecutors. The complaint alleges that Guerrero “made repeated threats” against one of the officers, including stating, “I’m going to (expletive) you up” and “I’m going after your family,” as well as threatening to stab the officer.
Guerrero was released within 48 hours but complained of “barbaric” conditions inside Santa Rita Jail, during an interview with ABC7.
San Francisco, CA
Beloved 11-Year-Old Bay Area Italian Restaurant Is Closing Its Doors For Good
BAY AREA, CA — Vespucci, a longtime Italian restaurant in San Mateo, will close permanently at the end of the year after 11 years in business, its owners announced this week.
Dec. 31 will be the restaurant’s final day of service, according to a message shared by owners Manuela Fumasi and Francesco Zaccaro, who reflected on more than a decade of serving the local community.
“From the moment we opened our doors, this community welcomed us with a warmth and kindness we will never forget,” the owners wrote. “As Italian immigrants, far from our first home, you made San Mateo feel like our home.”
The couple described the restaurant’s run as a “beautiful adventure,” acknowledging that it was often challenging but filled with meaningful connections, friendships and lasting memories. They thanked customers for celebrating milestones with them and for supporting the business over the years.
“This decision hasn’t been easy, but we know it is the right one for us at this time,” they said.
Vespucci has been a fixture in San Mateo’s dining scene since opening in 2015, offering Italian cuisine and serving as a neighborhood gathering spot for residents and regulars alike.
Inside, all of the artworks displayed were created by Maestro Vittorio Fumasi, with several pieces having been exhibited in major art shows in Italy and internationally. While some works predate the restaurant, others — including the low-relief piece “Italy” and the high-relief portraits of Vespucci — were commissioned specifically for the space.
Fumasi has also adorned Vespucci’s dining tables with her own artwork, and said some of those pieces will be offered for sale after the restaurant closes, allowing longtime customers to take home “a piece of Vespucci,” she told the San Mateo Daily Journal.
“We are going to miss you all,” the owners wrote. “With all our affection.”
The restaurant is located in downtown San Mateo at 147 E 3rd Ave. The menu can be found here.
San Francisco, CA
What have San Francisco police been doing at 16th and Mission?
It’s been nearly 300 days since Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan to clean up the 16th Street BART Plaza.
To mark the occasion, Mission Local is adding a new tool for tracking his promises: A dashboard, updated daily, that notes the arrests and citations issued by San Francisco police officers in a 300-meter radius around 16th and Mission streets.
Our dashboard uses daily incident reports filed by officers to track the enforcement of common violations, including drug-related offenses or disorderly conduct.
The San Francisco Police Department releases incident reports with a 24-hour lag. Our dashboard updates daily at noon to include the most current data: Arrests and citations issued the day before.
While the number of incident reports may form the basis of official crime statistics, it would be wrong to think of them as the “official” count, according to the SFPD. There are groups doing outreach work in the plazas, like Ahsing Solutions, that do not regularly release public data quantifying their activities, for example.
What this police data does show, over time, is where the police department is focusing resources and attention.
For example, reports show that in March 2025, after Lurie stated his intention to crack down around 16th and Mission streets, there was a massive spike in arrests and citations. This does not necessarily mean drug-related crimes increased in the vicinity, but simply that, spurred by the mayor’s statement, police officers began enforcing more proactively.
Use our interactive graphics to explore the number and reasons for arrests and citations issued, and keep tabs on trends in SFPD’s enforcement around the 16th Street BART plaza.
You can read our ongoing coverage of the crackdown on 16th Street plaza here.
Arrests and citations issued in last 6 months around 16th and Mission
You can access our archive, with arrests and citations data from 2018, here.
The calendar below shows a snapshot of the arrests and citations issued around a 300-meter radius of the 16th Street BART Plaza for the last six months.
The darker the date, the more arrests and citations took place that day.
The department continuously updates the status of incident reports as they are investigated, and it is possible that the official statistics reported by SFPD to the California Department of Justice may differ from our numbers.
The data below should be considered the most accurate moment-in-time representation of arrests and citations on the day they were filed. Hover over each date to see the reasons for each arrest or citation.
Drug incidents around 16th and Mission
Arrests and citations issued for drug-related offenses skyrocketed earlier this year, after Mayor Lurie made the plaza one of his targets to show how the city can make a difference.
Explore the number of drug-related arrests and citations issued by SFPD around 16th and Mission each month since 2018.
Data for the most recent month will always be incomplete (and consequently lower) because it includes only arrests and citations through yesterday, while previous months reflect full monthly totals.
Drug incidents at 16th and Mission vs. citywide
In most years, the area around 16th and Mission accounts for a majority of the Mission’s drug-related police enforcement.
In the spring of 2025, this area, which accounts for a mere 0.2 percent of the city’s geographical landmass, was responsible for nearly 27 percent of San Francisco’s drug incident reports that resulted in an arrest or citation.
During the pandemic, drug-related arrests and citations dropped to an all-time-low around 16th and Mission but it has recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Most common incidents around 16th and Mission
The table below shows the top 15 offense categories at 16th and Mission, ranked by total number of arrests and citations, over the past 12 months. The sparkline — the small line chart — shows how each category has changed month to month, and the percentage compares the current year to the year before.
We use a rolling 12-month window (365 days from yesterday’s date), rather than a calendar year, so the data stays current. Because the dashboard updates daily, the most recent month will always be incomplete, but using a full year of data minimizes the impact of any one partial month on the overall totals.
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