04/27/2026
Our affiliate, The Loisaida Center, Inc., is hosting the 39th Annual Loisaida Festival on Sunday, May 24, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The event spans Avenue C (Loisaida Avenue) from East 12th Street to East 5th Street.
Bring your family and loved ones to experience one of the Lower East Side’s most cherished public traditions—a joyful celebration of the neighborhood’s enduring cultural life that brings together residents, artists, merchants, and community organizations.
LoisaidaFest The Loisaida, Inc. Center
The 39th Annual Loisaida Festival is excited to announce that this year's commemorative poster art is by artist and designer Mateo Nazario . Mateo was born in Guatemala and grew up both there and in Puerto Rico. They are currently a resident artist at The Loisaida, Inc. Center.
For nearly four decades, the LoisaidaFest has stood as one of the Lower East Side’s most cherished public traditions, bringing together residents, artists, families, merchants, community organizations, and visitors in a joyful celebration of the neighborhood’s enduring cultural life. In a community shaped by Nuyorican and immigrant histories, and one that continues to confront the pressures of displacement and cultural erasure, the Loisaida Festival remains a powerful affirmation of presence, memory, and collective pride.
This year’s theme, “Our AmeRícan Thing,” reflects our commitment to celebrating Loisaida not only as a geographic place, but as a language, a rhythm, and a way of belonging carried through music, poetry, theater, food, and shared community experience. Inspired by the spirit of Jesús “Tato” Laviera, the theme seeks to honor the neighborhood not through nostalgia alone, but through renewed energy, hope, imagination, and the living future we continue to shape together.
The 39th Annual Loisaida Festival, historically celebrated on the Sunday before Memorial Day, will take place on Sunday, May 24, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, spanning Avenue C / Loisaida Avenue from East 12th Street to East 5th Street.
This year’s Main Stage, co-hosted by Giraldo Alvare and Caridad "La Bruja" de la Luz, backed up by DJ Beyond
This year’s celebration is made possible thanks to the support of the Acacia Network, Popular Bank, Grand Street Settlement, Trinity Church Wall Street, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Additional support is provided by Green Mountain Energy Company, Wellcare Medicare, and MetroPlusHealth. The Loisaida Festival and Loisaida Inc. cultural programs are supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, in partnership with the New York City Council, former Councilmember Carlina Rivera, and the current Council Member Harvey Epstein of Manhattan District 2, Community Board 3, and the New York State Council on the Arts, among others.
