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.
The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
Bay Area High School baseball fans are treated to a rare opportunity Saturday (April 18) with three games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, including the famed Bruce-Mahoney clash between West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first pitch of the 20th annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic starts at 11 a.m. and pits two more San Francisco private schools as University (9-7), winners of four straight, taking on Riordan (5-11).
That will be followed by the Bruce-Mahoney game at 2:30 between St. Ignatius (12-5, 4-2 WCAL) and the Irish (7-10, 1-5) and finished off with a North Coast Section clash between North Bay’s Marin Catholic (9-7) against Acalanes (7-6-1).
The Benedetti Classic, founded by Dante’s Boys Foundation board member Tom Lounibos and Giants president Larry Baer, benefits the DBF which honors the spirit of Benedetti who for nearly 40 years owned San Francisco’s Mr. Baseball nickname for his kindness and generosity to baseball-playing youth in the area.
Among their philanthropic efforts are glove and baseball equipment drives, field renovations and contributions to scholarships and sponsorships.
After starting the season 0-4 — three of those losses were by one run — University, under head coach Andrew Suvunnachuen, has found its way, winning the last four, all in Bay Counties League play, by a combined 51-6 count over Lick-Wilmerding (16-1 and 11-3) and San Domenico (13-2 and 11-0).
Senior catcher and pitcher Jett Messenger leads the way with a .447 average, while getting on base at a .638 rate. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Tate Gebhart is hitting .419, while Leo Felder and Behbart share the RBI lead with 15 each.
Junior Matthew Foley is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
Riordan, under second-year head coach Craig Sargent, was 5-5 in nonleague games but lost six straight in the rugged WCAL, losing two tough games this week to Mitty (3-2 and 7-4). Junior third baseman and pitcher Santiono Williams leads the team in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.488) and stolen bases (nine). He’s also been the team’s top pitcher at 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
The teams have split two previous games in their history, with Riordan winning 2-0 in 2023 and University prevailing 5-0 in 2021.
St. Ignatius, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Pollzzie, has already secured the Bruce-Mahoney trophy with four straight wins — one each in football, girls volleyball, boys basketball and girls basketball — but this rivalry is always spirited.
The Wildcats, who are ranked fourth in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle, are coming off a tough 3-0 home loss to No. 2 St. Francis on Friday after beating the host Lancers 10-6 on Tuesday.
The team is led by Stanford-bound Archer Horn, who is hitting .486 with four home runs and a .604 on-base percentage. The shortstop and pitcher also has not allowed an earned run in three pitching appearances while registering one save.
Pitching is a team’s strength with a 2.59 ERA, led by a brigade of strong arms including Leo Rhein (2-0, 2.38), Tycco Giometti (2-1, 2.62), Charlie Stecher 1-1, 0.72) and Chase Gordon (1-0, 2.80). The team is missing standout Finn Demuth, out of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, led by fourth-year head coach Gregg Franceschi, has scored 60 runs on the season and given up 61. The Irish are coming off two losses to eighth-ranked Valley Christian (5-2 and 10-1).
They are led offensively by junior outfielder Brody O’Sullivan (.381) and senior infielder Jacob Vines (.378). Johnny Nepomuceno and Max Nylander are other run-producers. Zach Stallworth (37 strikeouts, 29.2 innings) and Cooper Rogers Lewis (0.25 ERA) have been the team’s top pitchers.
The series has been remarkably close since 2005 with Sacred Heart Cathedral holding a 27-20 edge, though St. Ignatius won both games last season (5-0 and 6-3) after the Irish won 9-7 and 1-0 in 2024.
Marin Catholic hopes to get back to winning after starting the season 9-1, but have since lost six straight, four in Marin County Athletic League play, including 4-2 to Novato on Thursday. Senior outfield Luke Martin is the team’s leading hitter at .478 while senior infielder and pitcher Cooper Mitchell is at .455. Senior infielder Walker Untermann leads the team with 15 RBIs.
Acalanes is at the other end of the spectrum, winners of five of six after a 2-5-1 start. Junior infielder Tyler Winkles, also a highly recruited quarterback in football, leads the team with a .383 average and nine stolen bases. Riley Gates (2-3, 2.49 ERA, 30 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher.
The teams have played three times, all since 2022, with Marin Catholic owning a 2-1 lead. Acalanes won last year’s game 8-7.
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