Daly City's free winter festival has had two names and two venues in the last two years with published details. The City Hall Día de los Muertos only started a few years ago. The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is the one big event of the season that stays in the same place, filling the Cow Palace exhibition halls on Geneva Avenue for five weekends, and it raises its general ticket price on Sunday.
So the Daly City holiday season works more like a calendar you look up each year than a routine you can do from memory. Below are the dates through December 20, starting with the event that shows this best.
Frosty has moved every year
In 2023 the City called its winter event Frosty-Fest Winter Wonderland. It ran on a Saturday evening, December 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Westlake Park, 145 Lake Merced Boulevard. The City's listing promised almost 150 inflatables, including Nightmare Before Christmas, Snoopy, Olaf and Star Wars characters. It also had free hot cocoa and cookies while they lasted, plus photos with Santa. Families could buy a limited "Level Up Experience" with a goodie bag and entry to the Pacelli Event Center, which had a giant inflatable snow sled slide.
A year later it had a new name and a new location. The City's 2024 listing shows Frosty Snow Fest at Serramonte Center on Saturday, December 7, from 4 to 7 p.m., and still free.
| Year | Event name | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Frosty-Fest Winter Wonderland | Westlake Park, 145 Lake Merced Blvd | Sat., Dec. 16, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| 2024 | Frosty Snow Fest | Serramonte Center | Sat., Dec. 7, 4 to 7 p.m. |
| 2026 | Frosty Snow Fest | Venue listed as TBD by the Chamber | Sat., Dec. 5, 4 to 7 p.m. |
This year's date and hours appear on the Daly City-Colma Chamber of Commerce calendar, but the Chamber lists the location as "TBD." A GoBayArea listing names the Serramonte Center Parking Structure. It describes winter inflatables, hot chocolate, Santa photos, crafts and a toy drive, and says the event is free and outdoors. Until the City announces a venue, plan on Serramonte being likely but not certain.
With a 4 p.m. start, a family can go after an early dinner, or before one, without keeping little kids out past bedtime the way the 2023 evening event at Westlake Park did. If you've followed the debate over Westlake Park's fields, you already know that park has plenty going on without a holiday festival.
Día de los Muertos at City Hall is only a few years old
On Saturday, November 7, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Daly City Arts & Culture Commission holds its Día de los Muertos Celebration at City Hall, 333 90th Street.
The City's own newsletter called the October 25, 2025 event the "2nd Annual," which makes 2026 roughly the third. The Chamber calendar labels this year's event the "33rd," a count that doesn't match the City's. The date has moved too. It was October 26 in 2024 and October 25 in 2025, and this year it falls the Saturday after November 1.
The City's 2024 listing gives the best sense of what to expect: altars, live music, vendors, dance, face painting, crafts and food. It also said everyone was welcome to build an altar in honor of their ancestors. If you'd like to add your own photos or keepsakes this year, check with the City or the Commission before you show up. Commission minutes from March 2026 still listed the featured artist as "TBD."
The first week of November is the busiest stretch
Because Día de los Muertos moved to November 7, it now falls at the end of three busy days of civic events. They're all within a few miles of each other:
- Thursday, November 5, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The City of Daly City Veterans Day Celebration at the War Memorial Building, 6655 Mission Street. In 2024 the City held a ceremony honoring veterans, served a light lunch afterward and asked guests to RSVP by phone. This year's program hasn't been posted, so call ahead if you plan to stay for lunch.
- Thursday, November 5, 5 to 8 p.m. The Daly City Women's Commission holds its first free speaker series, a community conversation on domestic violence awareness and local resources, in the City Hall Rotunda at 333 90th Street. The City posted the notice on September 23.
- Friday, November 6. The Chamber's annual Turkey Bowling Tournament at Classic Bowling Center, 900 King Drive. Check-in starts at 4:45 p.m. and the ceremonial first ball is at 6 p.m.
- Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A dog and cat adoption event at Pet Food Express Daly City, 6925 Mission Street.
- Saturday, November 7, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Día de los Muertos at City Hall.
City Hall hosts two of the five, on Thursday evening and Saturday evening. Mission Street hosts two more, at the War Memorial Building and Pet Food Express. You can do the whole stretch without getting on a freeway.
The Cow Palace is the one fixed date
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair calls itself "a treasured Bay Area tradition since 1970." In 2026 it runs five weekends, November 21 through December 20, including the Friday after Thanksgiving, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Historic Cow Palace Exhibition Halls at 2600 Geneva Avenue. The fair's information page describes hundreds of costumed performers in more than 140,000 square feet of music halls, pubs, dance floors and shops, plus a live steam train in the Victoria Station lobby.
Unlike the City events, the Dickens Fair keeps its venue from year to year, but its prices change on a schedule. As of this week, the official ticket page shows three price levels:
- Early bird, all day: $40 for adults, or $46.21 with fees. $25 for youth ages 5 to 12, or $30.69 with fees. Children under 5 are free. These tickets are good only for November 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29.
- General, all day, starting November 1: $50 for adults, or $56.56 with fees. $30 for youth, or $35.86 with fees.
- Twilight, entry after 3 p.m.: $35 for adults, or $41.04 with fees. $20 for children, or $25.51 with fees.
Parking at the Cow Palace is $20 per vehicle. Because general pricing begins November 1, the early-bird adult price is still available this weekend. Buy then and an adult ticket for the opening weekends or Thanksgiving weekend costs $10 less before fees. For neighbors who don't need a full day, the twilight ticket still covers three hours of the fair.
The Saturday of the third weekend, December 5, is also the date for Frosty Snow Fest. If Frosty ends up at Serramonte, expect both Geneva Avenue and Serramonte Boulevard to be busy that afternoon. Our fall Cow Palace guide covers the building's other events this season.
The tree lighting is in Colma this year
As of late October, no Daly City tree lighting appears on the Chamber's November and December calendar. Serramonte Center's events page lists its Kids Club, which runs through December 15, but no Santa arrival yet. Westlake Shopping Center's events page tells visitors to check back. More could be announced later in the season.
For now, the closest tree lighting is right over the town line. The Town of Colma's annual holiday tree lighting is Tuesday, December 1, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall Plaza, 1198 El Camino Real. Colma also teams up with Lemon Nerds on a night market on Friday, November 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Colma Community Center, 1520 Hillside Boulevard.
If you're shopping for gifts in between, Serramonte has a new option. RetailBoss reported that Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store opened on October 23 at 151B Serramonte Center and sells designer fashion, accessories and home goods at outlet prices. It sits alongside the changes we covered in our look at the new Serramonte.
Your Daly City holiday dates in one place
- Nov. 5: Veterans Day Celebration, War Memorial Building, 11 a.m. Women's Commission speaker series, City Hall Rotunda, 5 p.m.
- Nov. 6: Turkey Bowling, Classic Bowling Center, check-in 4:45 p.m.
- Nov. 7: Pet adoptions, Pet Food Express, 11 a.m. Día de los Muertos, City Hall, 4:30 p.m.
- Nov. 20: Colma x Lemon Nerds Night Market, Colma Community Center, 5 p.m.
- Nov. 21 to Dec. 20, weekends: Great Dickens Christmas Fair, Cow Palace, 10 a.m.
- Dec. 1: Colma tree lighting, Town Hall Plaza, 4 p.m.
- Dec. 5: Frosty Snow Fest, venue to be confirmed, 4 p.m.
At Bryan Cruz and Rey Ancheta, we follow Daly City's calendar the same way you do, including the years an event moves across town. If you're planning holidays at home and wondering what that home is worth this season, start with a quick, no-pressure look. Get Your Instant Home Valuation at dalycity-homes.com/home-valuation, and if Frosty's venue still isn't posted by December, give us a call and we'll help you find out.
