Día de los Muertos in San Francisco 2026: The Festival of Altars and the Mission Procession

Día de los Muertos in San Francisco is two things on the same day in and around the Mission: a daytime Festival of Altars, where families build and visit altars for people they have lost, and an evening procession through the neighborhood. They are run by different groups. This guide says what is confirmed, and is plain about what is not yet announced for 2026.

The Festival of Altars

The Festival of Altars began in San Francisco in 1992 and is produced by the Marigold Project. It is free, open to everyone, family-friendly and alcohol-free, and the organizer describes the site as fully accessible; requests go to the Marigold Project in advance.

The 2025 festival was on 2 November at Potrero del Sol Park (also called La Raza Park). Installation began at 8am, a ceremony was held at noon, and there was entertainment from 5 to 9pm. The organizer’s page has not yet been updated for 2026.

What to Bring

The Marigold Project asks visitors to bring flowers, 8-inch glass prayer candles and mementos of loved ones for the community altars. If you want to build your own altar, read its altar guidelines and reserve a space ahead of time.

The Marigold Project: Festival of Altars

The Evening Procession

The procession is organized separately, by El Colectivo del Rescate Cultural. The 2025 procession, the 44th, was on Sunday 2 November from 7 to 9pm, gathering at 22nd and Bryant Streets, with the theme “Nuestros Muertos No Se Venden / Our Dead Are Not for Sale.” The organizers publish mainly through social media, and no route or 2026 date has been posted on a page we could check, so we are not printing one.

Going Respectfully

This is a day of remembrance for the people taking part, not a costume event put on for visitors. The altars are memorials to real people. Look, and be quiet around the people tending them.

Nearby: our Mission District guide, and the best burritos in the Mission for afterwards.

Checked against the Marigold Project’s homepage and Festival of Altars page and Calle 24’s events calendar and 2025 procession notice on 21 September 2026, and again on 6 October 2026 (neither has posted 2026 details yet; the Marigold Project’s Festival of Altars page still shows 2 November 2025 at Potrero del Sol Park). We check every week until 2 November.

Re-checked on 15 October 2026: the Marigold Project’s Festival of Altars page still shows the 2025 event only (2 November 2025, Potrero del Sol Park). No 2026 date, time or procession details had been published by the organizer, so this guide keeps the 2026 line as “not yet announced”.