San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade introduces 2026 mascot Maverick ahead of March 7 event
Mascot reveal for a major civic event
San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade has introduced its 2026 mascot, Maverick, as organizers begin building momentum toward the city’s signature Lunar New Year celebration. The illuminated night parade is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026, with a planned start time of 5:15 p.m. at Second and Market streets.
The mascot announcement comes as the broader Lunar New Year season ramps up across the city, with public institutions and community groups scheduling programs that run through January and February ahead of the March parade.
Who is Maverick, and what the character represents
Parade organizers describe Maverick as a horse character tied to traditional symbolism for 2026, which is widely recognized as the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. The parade’s messaging frames Maverick as a “descendant of Ma Sheng,” characterized as a Horse God and protector figure associated with horses, donkeys and mules in northern China.
Organizers are also highlighting 2026 as the Year of the Fire Horse, a designation that reflects how zodiac animals are combined with elements in the traditional 60-year cycle. In that system, the same animal sign repeats every 12 years, while the same animal-and-element combination recurs once every 60 years.
Key logistics: timing, route and viewing
Event information released for the 2026 parade lists a route beginning at Second and Market streets, circling the Union Square area and ending near Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue. The route is commonly described as roughly 1.3 miles. Standing-room viewing along the barricaded route is free, while paid bleacher seating is being sold through the parade’s ticketing platform.
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Start time: 5:15 p.m. (step-off at Second and Market)
Route: Market Street corridor through Union Square, finishing near Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue
Viewing: free along the route; paid bleacher seating available in designated sections
Grand marshal and citywide programming
For 2026, Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu has been named grand marshal, continuing a recent pattern of selecting high-profile Asian American figures to lead the parade. Organizers and civic partners have also positioned the parade as one anchor of a larger monthlong calendar that typically includes cultural performances, fairs and community events.
Separately, the San Francisco Public Library has announced free Lunar New Year programming tied to the Year of the Horse, including arts activities and performances at the Main Library in early February.
The mascot reveal is one of the first public-facing milestones for a parade that blends cultural tradition, tourism draw and large-scale nighttime event planning in downtown San Francisco.