SAN FRANCISCO — Grant Avenue shifts from incense and ritual Saturday to vintage cars, lion dancing and engines Sunday as Chinatown hosts its fifth annual Car Show and Car Parade.
The organizer’s current 2026 event listing puts the free show on Sunday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Vehicles will be displayed along Grant Avenue from Broadway to California Street, with the parade scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
The day goes beyond a conventional car meet. Organizers describe vintage, classic and luxury cars alongside lion dances, live music and martial-arts demonstrations.
Is the Chinatown Car Show free?
Yes. The organizer lists spectator admission as free and open to the public. A complimentary reservation is available online, but the published event information does not describe paid general admission.
The show is presented by the Chinatown History and Culture Association with the Chinese American Association of Commerce and American Chinese Herb Trade Association. The Chinatown History and Culture Association describes its work as preserving neighborhood history and Chinese American cultural heritage.
Where will the cars be?
The main display area runs along Grant Avenue from Broadway south to California Street. That is a multi-block stretch of Chinatown, not an event contained inside one building.
The official listing uses 1138 Grant Avenue as the event address, but visitors should think of the show as a street event spread across Grant.
What time does the parade start?
The car parade is scheduled for 3 p.m., near the end of the show.
What the organizer has not published is a detailed turn-by-turn 2026 parade route beyond the Grant Avenue event area. We are therefore not telling drivers that the parade will use particular cross streets until the organizer or city transportation officials publish that information.
What about street closures and parking?
A street event occupying Grant Avenue will change normal vehicle access, but a precise 2026 SFMTA closure order has not yet surfaced in the weekend advisory material we reviewed.
Drivers should avoid counting on curb parking beside the event. Public garages or transit followed by a short walk may be easier than trying to reach Grant Avenue itself, especially as the 3 p.m. parade approaches.
We will add specific closure and Muni information when SFMTA publishes it.
Chinatown will already be busy from Saturday
Sunday’s car show follows the Hungry Ghost Festival on Saturday, also on Grant Avenue.
The two events are quite different: Saturday centers on religious and cultural traditions; Sunday combines automobiles with community performances. For residents and merchants, the common denominator is two consecutive days of unusually heavy pedestrian activity.