San Francisco Annual Carnaval celebration has been compared to the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration, which it is very similar to. They are both Latin celebrations with a lot of eating and drinking, sometimes all to excess, the last week before the Catholic holiday of Lent, after which there are restrictions on both. The main difference between the two is, where as the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration has a very French flavor because of New Orleans history, San Francisco having such a large and diverse Latin and Caribbean mix, her Carnival is both much larger and more diverse. Having been in different parts of The City, and different dates, it is now in the heart of the Latin section of the The Mission District, and now at the end of May, for more favorable weather. San Francisco Annual Carnival always starts with the festival on day one, and the Grand Parade on day two. The Parade starts with the Lowriders being escorted by the San Francisco Police Motorcycle Brigade, showing the harmony between the police and the various communities of the city. The Lowriders bicycles originally were the Chicano youth very personally bicycle versions of the cars, starting in the 1960's. As these youths grew to become adults, they could still ride their own customized bikes proudly. These bike have a lot of extra chrome, with wide, upswept handle bars, often called ape bars. There often is a longer seat, for carrying a passenger, with a fancy bar behind, for the passenger to comfortably lean back on, hence the name Passenger Backrest, or Sissy Bar. This years theme is about the African Diaspora throughout the Caribbean and Latin regions, with an estimated nearly five hundred thousand people coming out and enjoying the event 25 May 2025.
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