Day of the Dead festivals take center stage this weekend in Oakland’s Fruitvale Village, San Francisco’s Mission District, and San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood, all on Saturday. On Sunday, Cycle of Hope bicyclists will raise money for Habitat for Humanity via bike rides in the Peninsula and South Bay. On Sunday, runners will make their way through the Marina and across the sidewalks of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Half Marathon.
There are some mass transit changes this weekend. BART will be single-tracking in Downtown San Francisco on Sunday and on both weekend days, a bus bridge will be serving several stations on VTA’s light rail lines.
Oh, and let’s not forget: This weekend at 2:00am on Sunday morning, you’ll want your clocks to “fall back” to 1:00am to mark the end of Daylight Saving Time.
SOUTH BAY:
Sat, Nov2 and Sun, Nov 3, all day: Due to ongoing light rail rehabilitation work, VTA will operate a bus bridge on
Line 901 (the Blue Line) between Civic Center and Children's Discovery Museum and on
Line 902 (the Green Line) between Civic Center and San Fernando light rail stations.
- Pro tip: Southbound passengers will board the bus bridge at Civic Center and take it as far as Children's Discovery Museum or San Fernando in order to reconnect with light rail. Northbound passengers will board the bus bridge at Children's Discovery Museum or San Fernando and take it as far as Civic Center in order to reconnect with light rail.
EAST BAY:
Sat, Nov 2 from 10am-5pm: The annual
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival takes place in Oakland's Fruitvale Village and on parts of East 12th Street and International Boulevard. This free festival features live music, family-friendly activities, rides, traditional Latin American artisans, artistic altars paying homage to the dead, etc. Over 100,000 are people expected to attend.
- Pro tip: Parking can be a challenge in this area (even the lots tend to fill up when there’s an event), but fortunately, the Fruitvale BART station is within walking distance of the Festival; and AC Transit lines 20 and 62 also serve the area. Bicycle parking is also available next to the BART station, at Bike Station (3301 East 12 St, suite 141).
- Areas and roadways affected: Several Fruitvale District streets will be closed for this event, beginning on Friday and ending by Saturday night at 9pm. For a complete list of street closures and times, go here.
PENINSULA:
Sun, Nov 3 from 7am-6pm: Starting and ending in Palo Alto, Cycle of Hope bicycle rides take place throughout the Peninsula and the South Bay It’s a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley. There are five rides, ranging from a kids' course to a 100-mile or century route.
The rides all start and end at Hewlett Packard , 1501 Page Mill Rd. The 100-Mile Course goes through Stanford, Los Altos, Mt. View, Cupertino, Saratoga, San Gregorio, Portola Valley, Woodside, Redwood City, Atherton, and Menlo Park. No roads will be closed, so cyclists need to be extra safety-aware, and hopefully motorists will be mindful about sharing the road with bicyclists.
- Pro tip: Participants can avail themselves of free parking on the Hewlett Packard campus. If you’re not sure you can do, say, the 32-mile course, go one level down and do the 12-mile course. E-bikes (electric-assist bikes) are allowed.
SAN FRANCISCO:
Sat, Nov 2 from 4pm-11pm: San Francisco's
Day of the Dead Procession and Festival of Altars will take place in the Mission District. Beginning at 6pm, staging of the procession will start on southbound Bryant Street between 19th and 24th streets. The procession starts at 7pm, which leads to the festival of altars. That festival, beginning at 8pm is an alcohol-free family event to which people will be bringing flowers, votive candles, photos, and other offerings.
- Pro tip: If you’ve been to this festival in previous years, don’t go looking for it at Garfield Park – its new site this year is Potrero del Sol Park (aka La Raza Park), south of 25th Street, between Potrero Avenue and Highway 101.
- Areas and roadways affected: Due to the procession, traffic in the Mission is expected to be heavy until 9pm. Motorists and transit riders traveling through the area should allow themselves extra travel time. Muni will re-route the following lines: 12 Folsom; 14 Mission; 14R Mission Rapid; 27 Bryant; 48 Quintara/24th Street; 49 Van Ness/Mission; and 67 Bernal Heights.
Sun, Nov 3 at 7am: San Francisco: The Golden Gate Half Marathon and 5K races will start on the waterfront at Aquatic Park. Organizers recommend runners arrive by 5:45am or 6am at the latest, since there will be thousands of people there. There will be multiple street closures,
- Pro tip: The Golden Gate Bridge will be closed to non-racers between 5am and 10:30. Visitt this page if you're interested in taking a free shutle to cross the bridge as pedestrian or cyclist.
Sun, Nov 3, starting at 8am (start of service): Due to electrical upgrade work in Downtown San Francisco, BART will be single-tracking trains between the Embarcadero and 24th Street/Mission stations. BART is warning riders to expect delays of 15-30 minutes from 8am to 8pm. During this single tracking BART will only have one platform open at Montgomery, Powell, Civic, and 16th Street stations.
- Pro tip: BART will be single-tracking trains through Downtown San Francisco every Sunday in November and December. They’ll work to maintain 20-minute gaps between trains, but whenever they’re single tracking, there are always ancillary effects on individual lines and you can read about those here.
NORTH BAY/SOLANO:
Sat, Nov 2 from 3pm-9pm: San Rafael's
Dia de los Muertos.celebration takes place at the Albert J. Boro Community Center at Pickleweed Park. It will eature Aztec, Mayan, and youth dancing, traditional mariachi, art workshops, altar displays, face painting, sugar skull decorating, and a community procession.
- Pro tip: While smaller than the Day of the Dead festivals in Oakland and San Francisco, this one is equally free, festive, and kid-friendly. It’s also going to be taped by the Multicultural Center of Marin for a one-hour special on Marin TV hosted by Gaby Aragon and media interns.
