The Bay Area has long represented a vibrant and ever-evolving mosaic of people, traditions and heritage. From traditional Japanese hanami celebrations to Scottish revelries, the region’s cultural festivals invite locals and visitors alike to step into another world and experience the traditions that shape our communities. Here’s just a sampling of events happening in 2025.
Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
We may associate this country’s historic waves of Irish American immigration with Massachusetts and its New England neighbors. But sunny California is actually home to more Irish Americans — 2.2 million — than any other state, thanks to a Gold Rush-inspired Irish influx. Immigrants Michael Murray and Jeremiah and Eleanor Fallon arrived in 1846, seeking farmland and soon, gold. There’s a Dublin school named after Murray, and Eastern Alameda County was originally named Murray Township.
Spectator Delbert Lewis, of Livermore, gives the thumbs up as he watches participants in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Calif., on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
It’s only fitting that the Bay Area city of Dublin — with a name and rolling green hills that conjure up the Emerald Isle — honor its namesake with a lively parade, Irish dancing, traditional food and an abundance of family-friendly festivities each year on the weekend closest to St. Patrick’s Day. The festival features three stages, with everything from Irish folk bands to Celtic rockers, alongside food stalls serving up corned beef sliders, boxty and other festive fare. As the parade winds through downtown Dublin, it offers a jubilant display of Irish culture and community pride.
Details: The 2025 celebration — Dublin’s 41st — will be held March 15-16; dublinstpats.com.
Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival
This festival, which honors the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to San Francisco’s Japantown, one of just three remaining in the U.S. Nearly a third of the nation’s Japanese American community lives in California, and this celebration, which began in 1968, holds deep cultural significance. It was established in the wake of World War II to preserve Japanese traditions, revitalize the local economy and strengthen cultural ties between Japan and the U.S.
Rooted in the tradition of hanami — viewing flowers in bloom—the event offers a reminder of life’s impermanence. It also showcases the dynamic, modern Japanese-American experience. Visitors can enjoy taiko drumming, koto music and Nihon Buyo dance, explore booths selling bonsai and handmade ceramics, and sample a variety of culinary delights, from sushi and ramen to mochi.
Details: Typically held over two weekends in April; https://www.sfcherryblossom.org/.
Oakland Greek Festival
For three days every spring, the heart of this city beats to the sounds of Greek music, the aromas of grilled lamb and baklava and the rhythms of traditional folk dances. This festival began in May 1972 as Greek Week, a modest gathering that quickly grew into one of Northern California’s largest and oldest Greek festivals.
The Koinonia Dancers perform during the Oakland Greek Festival at the Ascension Cathedral in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
With more than 100,000 Greek-Americans in California, the sense of community here is palpable. The festival is organized by Ascension Cathedral’s parishioners, many of them first to third-generation Greek Americans. There’s food, music and an artisan marketplace and a chance to see this stunning Greek Orthodox church and its Byzantine architecture.
Details: May 16-18, 2025; oaklandgreekfestival.com
San Jose Dia de Portugal Festival
One of Northern California’s largest and most vibrant cultural celebrations, San Jose’s Dia de Portugal Festival is a festive commemoration of the death of renowned Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in 1580. The festival, held at History San José every June, honors the contributions of the Portuguese-American community while offering a taste of the homeland through delicious food, traditional music and lively folk dances.
David Garcia helps Ashley Borba prepare for the annual Die de Portugal Festival at History San José park in 2022. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group)
Among the festival highlights are performances of hauntingly beautiful fado and a dazzling parade featuring colorful costumes, spirited dancers and majestic Cavalhadas — horseback riders in medieval-inspired garb. The event also offers a unique opportunity to learn about the more than 1.5 million Americans of Portuguese descent, many tracing their roots to the Azores and Madeira Islands.
Details: June 14, 2025; https://diadeportugalca.org/
San Jose Obon Festival
One of the largest Buddhist Obon Festivals in the country turns San Jose’s Japantown
into a festive street party every summer. There’s live music, taiko drumming, games, food stalls, cultural booths and on Saturday evening, a jubilant Bon Odori dance to joy and remem- brance. Last year, the dancing broke festival records with 1,725 dancers and festivalgoers hitting the streets to folk music — “Shi- awase Samba” — by the Chidori Band and San Jose Taiko.
Details: July 13-14, Japantown San Jose, www.sjbetsuin.org/
People join the revelry during the 2022 Obon Festival held at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Scottish Highland Gathering & Games
At least 10 Scottish cultural societies are dotted across the Bay Area and Northern California, including the Caledonian Club of San Francisco, which was founded in 1866, and the St. Andrew’s Society of the East Bay (1878). These benevolent associations celebrate their Caledonian heritage and work to keep their culture, customs and arts alive for the 677,000 Californians who share Scottish ancestry – and the crowds of Scots and non-Scots alike who flock to the incredibly popular Scottish Highland Gathering & Games held in Pleasanton each summer.
Related Articles
SF Sketchfest 2025: Here are 8 comedy shows you shouldn’t think twice about attending
Here’s why Albert Brooks is back in Bay Area for 1st time in decades
5 ways to embrace your Italian heritage in the Bay Area
A Bay Area holiday countdown: 31 awesome things to do
It’s a farewell — for now — to Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez
The Caledonian Club – Caledonia was the Roman Empire’s name for much of Scotland – has held its famous gathering every year since 1866 to showcase traditions and feats of strength, some dating back to the 11th century. The grand festival has changed locations over the years – an 1868 stint in Sausalito, by the way, was commemorated by the naming of Caledonia Street. For the last 30 years, the festivities, which include Highland dancing, piping and drumming, kilt racing, whisky tastings, hammer throwing and caber tossing, have been held over Labor Day weekend at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
Details: Aug. 30-31, 2025; https://thescottishgames.com/
Bay Area Aloha Festival
The Bay Area has long had a vibrant Hawaiian community, a connection that dates back to 1839, when John Sutter brought a small group of Hawaiians to the then-Mexican colony of Alta California, where they worked alongside Sutter during the early years of the Gold Rush. Today, the Golden State has the largest Hawaiian population on the mainland, and their rich cultural legacy is celebrated at the Bay Area Aloha Festival, organized by the Pacific Islanders’ Cultural Association.
The Hall Hula Hi’lani ‘O Ke Kai dancers perform at the Bay Area Aloha Festival, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, at the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Held annually at San Mateo County Event Center, this family-friendly event evokes the spirit of the islands with a weekend full of hula, traditional Hawaiian music and mouthwatering island cuisine. Visitors can sway to the sounds of the ukulele and steel guitar, savor poke, kalua pig and loco moco, and explore a Polynesian arts marketplace.
Details: August 2025; www.pica-org.org/
Clayton Oktoberfest
You’ve heard the adage that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. We all become Bavarian when mid-September rolls around. With 2.7 million German Americans in California, perhaps we are. Oktoberfest, which began in Munich as a harvest festival to honor an 1810 royal wedding, has become an everywhere celebration that rolls out over nearly six weeks. Oktoberfests pop up each autumn from Redwood City to Clayton, where the party blends small-town charm with German gemutlichkeit, authentic food, oom-pah music and, of course, beer.
A visitor carries three beers during the city of Clayton’s 13th annual Oktoberfest celebration on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in Clayton, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
In Clayton, guests gather at the festival biergarten to enjoy German lagers and ales at wooden benches and tables — imported from Munich — and enjoy bratwurst, pretzels and schnitzel. Polkas, folk dancing, craft vendors, carnival rides and kid-friendly activities make it a perfect community celebration of both German culture and local pride.
Details: October 2025; claytonoktoberfest.com
