Day of the Dead in Downtown San Antonio 2026: The River Parade, Muertos Fest, and Where to Drink Between Them
TL;DR: The Need to Know
The dates: Day of the Dead in downtown San Antonio peaks October 23 to 25, 2026. The Day of the Dead River Parade is Friday, October 23 at 7 PM, Muertos Fest fills Hemisfair all three days, and Historic Market Square runs its Día de los Muertos celebration October 24 and 25.
The bonus round: Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, October 31, the same day the Calaveras de Azucar Festival opens at Market Square.
The home base: Pink Shark, 203 N Presa St, San Antonio, TX 78205, a block off the River Walk and a short walk from Hemisfair and La Villita.
The order: Shark Hour every day from 3 to 8 PM, with $5 off and 99 cent East Coast oysters until 8 PM or sell out. The kitchen closes at 8 PM. The bar goes until 2 AM.
The move: Reserve a table or call 210-834-3372. We are 21 and up.
Day of the Dead in downtown San Antonio is not one event. It is about five of them, run by different people, spread across the River Walk, Hemisfair, La Villita, and Market Square, and most of it lands on the same weekend. In 2026 that weekend is October 23 to 25. Pink Shark sits on Presa Street in the middle of all of it, so this is the plan we would hand a friend: what is happening, when, what it costs, and where the oysters fit.
Day of the Dead in Downtown San Antonio 2026: The Dates That Matter
Friday, October 23: The Day of the Dead River Parade
The parade starts at 7 PM near Lexington Avenue, up by the Tobin Center, and works its way down roughly two and a half miles of the downtown River Walk. The floats are built like altars, with catrinas and costumed riders on board, and it goes on rain or shine.
Two things worth knowing. First, the seats are ticketed, but there is free standing room from East Commerce Street onward. Second, the floats take a while to get downstream. The River Walk's own guide puts them near the Rivercenter end of the route at around 8:20 PM, more than an hour after the start.
That gap is the whole strategy. Shark Hour runs until 8 PM, so you can be on a stool at 203 N Presa St at 6 PM, finish a dozen oysters, and still walk over to the river before the first float reaches the south end of the route.
October 23 to 25: Muertos Fest at Hemisfair
Muertos Fest is in its 14th year and it is free. Three days at Hemisfair, more than 80 altars built by families and community groups, five stages of music, and more than 75 art vendors in the Muertos Mercado. If you only do one thing that weekend, do this one, and go read the altars slowly.
Hemisfair is a short walk from Presa Street. The festival runs through Sunday, which lines up with Sunday Service in our Back Room: DJ KTHA1, Sundays from 8:30 PM to 1:30 AM.
October 24 and 25: Market Square and La Villita
Historic Market Square holds its Día de los Muertos celebration Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM, free, with traditional altars, live music, a marigold giveaway, and the Las Monas dance procession from 1 to 2 PM both days. Market Square is about a mile west of us along Commerce.
La Villita is the close one. The city lists festival activations there October 23 to 25, with giant calaveras and alebrije sculptures set up through the village. Outside the big weekend, the Día de los Muertos Tradition Trail keeps installations along the River Walk through November 2, and Market Square's self guided altar tour runs daily through November 6.
Halloween Weekend in Downtown San Antonio
Halloween is Saturday, October 31, which has not happened in a while and tends to make downtown loud. The Calaveras de Azucar Festival opens at Market Square that day from 10 AM to 9:30 PM and continues Sunday, November 1 from 10 AM to 8:30 PM, also free.
For the Thursday crowd, La Villita runs free ghost tours on October 22 and 29 from 7 to 8 PM. They require advance registration, and city garages are free after 5 PM for Downtown Thursday.
In our Back Room, the calendar has Jarvis & Jacquis on Friday, October 30 and Provenance & Kudo on Saturday, October 31, both starting at 9 PM. The weekend before, it is Jacquis & Jarvis on Friday the 23rd and DJ Islo on Saturday the 24th. Lineups move, so check the events calendar before you plan a costume around a DJ.
Where to Drink Near the Day of the Dead River Parade
Most of what gets written about this weekend is about the parade and the altars. Almost none of it tells you where to go before or after, which is how people end up in a 40 minute line for a frozen drink in a souvenir cup.
Our answer is short. Shark Hour is every day from 3 to 8 PM, Friday and the weekend included. It is $5 off during the window, East Coast oysters are 99 cents each until 8 PM or until they sell out, whichever comes first, and a $9 martini flight gets you three pours from the classic, cucumber, dirty, raspberry lemon drop, and pineapple upside down cake. The long version is in our complete Shark Hour guide.
Food is a before the parade decision. The kitchen closes at 8 PM, so order the Little Hottie or the Prosciutto Arugula, $14 for the 12 inch, or the $12 charcuterie board in the Front Room while you still can. After that the bar keeps going until 2 AM, with a 7 ounce Miller High Life at $3 and a daiquiri at $7. Not drinking? The Fiesta Daq, the Cucumber Refresher, and the Espresso Mocktini are $12 each. Everything for both rooms is on the menus page.
Then there is the Back Room, down the hallway past the vending machine. It has its own bar, a shell stage, and a disco ball shark over the floor. Wednesdays are Live Band Karaoke, a subject we have covered at length.
In town for a conference that week? We are also the bar near the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. And if your office, wedding party, or altar building crew wants a room to itself, the Back Room books for groups. Start on the private events page.
Plan Your Visit
Pink Shark, 203 N Presa St, San Antonio, TX 78205. Call 210-834-3372. Open every day from 3 PM to 2 AM in downtown San Antonio, a block off the River Walk and a short walk from Hemisfair, La Villita, and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Shark Hour daily from 3 to 8 PM. Kitchen until 8 PM. Live Band Karaoke Wednesdays. DJs in the Back Room Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday Service on Sundays. 21 and up.
Reserve a table for parade night, or walk up Presa Street when the last float goes by and look for the neon.
