San Francisco Parol Festival + Stroll

December 13, 2025, 3-8 p.m.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission St. 
San Francisco, CA
parollanternfestival.com

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

• Taste of Pilipino Christmas 3-5 p.m. Pilipino sweets and delicacies from community cooks
• Parol Stroll 5-7 p.m. Join the parade of lights starting at Jesse Square through Yerba Buena Gardens and then celebrate with everyone at St. Patrick's Church.
• Tala Awards 7-8 p.m. Best parol contest awards $ for the best hand-made life-size parol lantern!
• Makibaka Exhibit 3-8 p.m. Filipino arts on display in a cultural exhibit

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 Annual Chocolate & Wine Festival Chocolate Salon

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.