One Sentence Carries the Labour Model
The Marigold Project publishes its payroll in one sentence on the Festival of Altars page: "We create opportunities for the Latinx community and other resilient, historically marginalized groups by paying indigenous practitioners, artists, poets, musicians, and dancers to participate in our free events and educational programs."
The line carries two terms. The roster is paid. The programme stays free to the public. The festival FAQ answers the fee question directly: "No, the festival is free and open to the public."
Donations fund the work. The home page, the workshops page and the about page repeat the same line: "Your Donations support the Marigold Project and our FREE Signature Festival of Altars, workshops, artists, musicians, playwrights, and poets." Every page footer adds the vehicle: "Marigold Project is a 501 c3 fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts."
What the Organiser Says About the Roster
The paid group covers five trades: indigenous practitioners, artists, poets, musicians and dancers. The festival page lists the four programme elements they fill: community-built altars, live performances, interactive art and craft stations, and cultural ceremonies.
The organisation's wider programme names the same labour in other rooms. The about page lists the Ritual Poetry Circle in Potrero Del Sol Park, the After Dark Murmuration at the Exploratorium, healing arts workshops, and school education programmes in San Francisco.
The about page dates the organisation to 1992 and credits its design to "a Mexican immigrant woman and a group of marginalized creators". It describes the practice as reclaiming ceremonies "with a feminist, earth-based, sustainable lens".
The organiser publishes the model as intent. It publishes no fee schedule, no per-trade rate and no headcount for the roster.
The Working Day Those Fees Buy
The festival page prints the day in one line: "Installation begins @ 8am | High Noon ceremony begins @ 12pm | Entertainment begins @ 5 - 9pm". The guidelines page adds the window around it: "SET UP 8 am - 2 pm" and "CLEAN UP begins promptly at 10pm".
A performing roster works a four-hour window inside a fourteen-hour day. The festival page publishes no line-up, no running order and no set length, so the entertainment window is the only clock attached to the paid stage.
The Information Table
The guidelines page places the check-in desk: "INFORMATION TABLE will be at the benches in front of the playground. Please check-in and help us build an amazing event."
The same page gives the table a second duty: "CONCERNS from the police, rangers, or any attendee can be addressed at the Marigold Project Information Table."
That is the published job description. A person at the bench checks altar builders in and takes a concern from a ranger, a police officer or an attendee.
The page publishes no clock for the table. The 8 a.m. figure on the record is the installation start, and the set-up window opens at the same hour.
The Terms a Partner Inherits
The guidelines page is the operating document for anyone contributing on site. It bars amplified sound outright, bars fire, states that electricity is not supplied, and admits a silent generator on advance notice only. It bars staking into the ground and digging. It prefers LED candles, requires a minimum of one gallon of water at each altar, allows only string to hang from the trees, and keeps altars and candles out of the playground.
It labels the event noncommercial and caps a name plaque at 12 inches long and 4 inches tall. It bars alcohol during the event, with the organiser's own reason attached: "We are making an effort to cut down police intervention during the event." It states that the park and trash collectors fine the organiser for anything left behind or binned wrong, and it names a donation route for used materials at Scraps, 801 Toland Street, San Francisco 94124, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm.
A community-partnership or events role attached to this programme carries those terms into its plan. Equipment runs without the park's power and without a sound system. A structure stands without a stake. A clean-up clears by 10 p.m.
The Edition Date
The organiser's own pages read "November 2nd, 2025 @ 8 AM" and "November 2, 2025 @ Potrero Del Sol Park". No page carries 2026. The band LA GENTE SF lists the current edition on its own tour page: "The Marigold Project Presents: Dia De Muertos: Festival of Altars", Monday, November 2, 5:00PM to 9:00PM, at Potrero Del Sol Park, 2827 Cesar Chavez Street. That line prints no year.
November 2, 2025 fell on a Sunday. November 2, 2026 falls on a Monday.