Centered around 4/08 of each year, San José Day is an outdoor cultural event and multi-day series that uplifts and preserves San José's arts & culture by showcasing diverse local music, dance performances, poets, local artists and vendors, food and classic cars. This is a free and family & pet-friendly event.
At the 8th Annual San José Day, we plan to showcase 6 live music acts, 2 dance performances, 150+ local artists, 70+ small business vendors, and a variety of food and drink offerings. Last year's event at Emma Prusch Park, brought 15,000 people into East Side San José to experience San José Day.
In April 2026, San José Day is coming back to Downtown San José for our annual outdoor street fair festival! Rooted in authenticity, San José Day honors the cultures, histories, and creativity that shape our city, welcoming residents past and present to inspire the future by gathering for a true community-wide celebration.
We need your help to raise $20,000 to bring the 8th Annual San José Day to life!
Fiscally sponsored by Local Color, San José Day is a not-for-profit community event. We strive to keep vendor fees low and pay participating creatives with integrity. Producing large-scale events comes with steep permitting, civic service, talent, and equipment fees! Any amount helps achieve this special project for San José.
We greatly appreciate your support and look forward to celebrating with you on Saturday, April 11th, 2026!
For more event details and to share with a friend, visit our San Jose Day site & give us a follow @sanjoseday.
Highlights
See all activity5Project History
Inspired by San Francisco's 415 Day, San José Day was born from an artist interview with native rapper Equipto. Shortly after our interview in 2017, The First San José Day(previously called 408 Day) sprouted in Downtown San José at the original Local Color as a 35-local artist group show with 5 live musical performances. Our first event humbly hosted 300 guests.
Inspired by San Francisco's 415 Day, San José Day was born from an artist interview with native rapper Equipto. Shortly after our interview in 2017, The First San José Day(previously called 408 Day) sprouted in Downtown San José at the original Local Color as a 35-local artist group show with 5 live musical performances. Our first event humbly hosted 300 guests.
San José Day has transformed over the years. In 2018, we filmed a documentary called #DoItForSJ and previewed the documentary at a 24 local artist group show and a vinyl DJ at Breezy Excursion. The 2nd Annual San Jose Day hosted 150 attendees.
In 2019, San José Day took a big leap to host a festival-style outdoor event at Gordon Biersch in Japantown San José. This was the first year we received grant funding of $12,500! The 3rd San Jose Day hosted 55 local Vendors, 3 food trucks, and 5 musical performances, bringing 2,000 attendees to the event!
As the world shifted in 2020, San José Day pivoted to an 18 local artist online show through Instagram. Over one week, the online art show had over 15,000 engagements! Each artist was compensated through the $8,000 grant we received pre COVID-19.
We took a couple of of years to rest after the pandemic and returned strong for the 5th Annual San José Day at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. With much anticipation, our program hosted 16 local music and spoken word performers, 98 local gallery artists, 60 small business vendors, 5 food trucks, and held our biggest classic car show to date! We were pleasantly surprised to welcome just under 8,000 attendees to experience San José Day in the East San José Mayfair District! This project was supported by $18,300 in grant funding in addition to generous individual donations from supporters like you!
Short Film "For Now"
This short video is a love letter to San José, a reflection born from moments of stillness and gratitude, and a reminder of what makes this place truly special. It’s not about a pin on a map but about the people, the creativity, and the communities that fill this city with their energy and heart.
As San Jose Day celebrates our diverse culture, art, music, and togetherness, we hope this glimpse of hope resonates with you and inspires you to feel connected to the city we all call home.
