San Francisco Parol Lantern Festival & Parade

December 9, 2023, 4-8 p.m.

Procession begins at Jessie Square at 6 p.m.

Jessie Square
736 Mission St. (between 3rd & 4th)
San Francisco, CA
bayanihancc.org

Following the parade there is a program of music, games and entertainment. Free. Parade starts at Yerba Buena Gardens (Yerba Buena Lane) and ends at Jessie Square / St. Patrick's Church where festival takes place.

Events from the Past

• The Taste of Pilipino Christmas Special: Pilipino sweets and delicacies from community cooks like SoMa Pilipinas' very own Tess from JT Restaurant.
• Parol Stroll: Join the parade of lights starting at Jesse Square through Yerba Buena Gardens and then celebrate with everyone at St. Patrick's Church.
• Sayaw sa Ilaw & Sagayan: A community-wide performance choreographed by Master Choreographer Sydney Loyola and "Sagayan" by Jonathan Mercado.
• Tala Awards: Best parol contest awards $500 for the best hand-made life-size parol lantern!
• San Fernando Parol Gallery: Parol lanterns imported from San Fernando, Pampanga!
• Live Music Performances: with Bay Area Rondalla groups led by American Center for Philippine Arts Rondalla, jazz kulintang with The Autonomous Region, and more!

Celebrate a beautiful Christmas tradition from the Philippines in the heart of San Francisco. Thousands come to watch more than 25 organizations march through Yerba Buena Lane with traditional, hand-made Christmas lanterns, or parols, lighting up the neighborhood.

The parol is a lantern found throughout the Philippines during the Christmas season symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, light, peace, blessings and hope. Lantern workshops are held months prior to the festival--kits are sold for a small fee providing the basic materials, though you'll need rubber bands, a glue gun and some glue for securing the bamboo sticks and cellophane paper. The lanterns range from basic (even a child can make one) to complex patterns with incredibly artful and intricate designs and patterns. Each person is only limited by their imagination, patience and ability to create. Once assembled you parol may be placed on a stick with a battery-operated lights attached to the stick for back-lit with a light inside each lantern that illuminates through the colored cellophane.

The San Francisco Parol Lantern Festival and Parade began in 2003. Usually held on a Saturday in December before Christmas, the parade of lights stretches from the Bayanihan Community Center at 6th and Mission, and culminates in a celebration with performances at Yerba Buena Gardens.

Other San Francisco Festivals you may want to check out include:

San Francisco's How Weird Festival

San Francisco Annual Chocolate & Wine Festival Chocolate Salon