Celebrate Cesar Chavez Day In San Francisco On Saturday 4/9
There will be a lively parade and festival happening in the Mission District this weekend.
San Francisco is going all out to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day, a national holiday celebrating California’s own civil rights and labor movement activist, Cesar Chavez. The official holiday was on March 31, but SF will host a vibrant parade and festival this Saturday, April 9.
The festival will take place from 10am-5pm on 24th St between Folsom and Bryant, and will include plenty of food and drink vendors as well as live performances, arts and crafts, a lowrider car show, games for children and much more.
The parade will happen from 11am-12pm starting at Dolores Park on 19th Street, traveling south on Mission Street and east on 24th Street to end on Folsom. It will include plenty of labor unions, religious groups, schools, community organizations, Aztec dancers, performances, music, lowrider cars and more.
Cesar Chavez was a Mexican-American labor leader and civil rights activist who dedicated his life to la causa (the cause) – that is, improving living and working conditions for US farm workers. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi to act through nonviolent resistance, achieving pay raises and improved conditions during the 1960s and 1970s. He also founded the National Farm Workers Association (now the United Farm Workers). Chavez was an prolific figure in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, and his legacy is a critical part of Chicano identity across the country and especially in California.
Be sure to check out the Cesar Chavez Parade & Festival this Saturday, April 9 in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Featured image: Photo by Azalia Merrell, via Cesar Chavez Day on Facebook