Fans Fest 2026 Celebrates Oakland Sports of All Sorts

This Sunday we’ve got warm weather in the forecast, and after clocks spring ahead we’ll have an extra hour of daylight. That sounds like perfect conditions for people to celebrate the Town’s sports culture at Fans Fest 2026, presented by the nonprofit Oakland 68’s.

Scores of folks in jerseys and hats, reps from youth programs and players from local clubs are set to gather just outside the Fruitvale BART station this weekend. They’ll be celebrating the same thing they do every year, says event organizer Jorge Leon. “Which,” he explains, “is the sports culture, the diversity here, and all the teams that are still here in Oakland.”

Taking a jab at the three major professional sports franchises who’ve left East Oakland in the past decade, Leon homes in on the team formerly known as the Oakland Athletics as the catalyst for this fan fest.

After the baseball team announced it was leaving, Leon founded the 68’s; the nonprofit’s name is a nod to the year the Athletics moved to Oakland from Kansas City.

Leon was a lifelong die-hard fan. Key word, “was.”

“We came out of the flag-waving crew and the drummers from the bleachers,” he says, describing how the 68’s were once part of the raucous Athletics fanatics who’d activate the right field bleachers during every home game.

When the team’s ownership decided to split for Las Vegas (although currently making an extended pit stop in West Sacramento), Leon and co. launched the “SELL” movement, a simple statement requesting A’s higher-ups sell the team. The slogan has since been seen on shirts and signs in stadiums around the league. “We pissed off A’s ownership, and the MLB,” Leon says.

When the Athletics stopped hosting their annual pre-season fan fest, the Oakland 68’s took over. The first year brought about 700–800 people and only a few vendors: Oaklandish, Beast Oakland and the newly formed Oakland Roots soccer club.

But Leon says the donated cleats and apparel from MLB players gave them something unique to raffle off to event-goers, and the community support gave them something to build on. “It really was grassroots level,” he reflects, “and now it’s on its fourth annual.”

This year’s event will bring out teams like the San Jose-based Bay FC soccer club and Oakland’s new women’s tackle football team, the Golden State Storm, both of whom play their season-openers later this month.

The youth organization Oakland Genesis, the Oakland Girls Softball League and the men’s ultimate frisbee team, the Oakland Spiders, will be present. Obviously, Leon says, the 2025 Pioneer League champion Oakland Ballers baseball team will represented as well.

“This year,” he notes, “because the FIFA World Cup’s coming to the Bay, we’re a little more heavy on soccer.” Members of the Bay Area Host Committee and artist LeRoid David, the San Francisco-raised illustrator who created the Bay Area’s 2026 FIFA World Cup poster, are scheduled to attend Sunday’s festival.

“The Roots are going to set up a full-on pitch,” Leon says, adding that the newly revived semi-pro roller hockey team, the Oakland Skates, will also have a net for anyone who wants to take a shot.

In addition to a face-painting booth and a beer garden, the event will feature sets from Oakland’s DJ Criddy, and live performances from Stay Out, J-Walt, Banda La Iniciativa and more.

Hosted by Melissa Lockard and Rick Title, the event will also have a few guest appearances. East Bay raised, former Oakland A’s baseball player Leon “Bip” Roberts will be in attendance, as will Shep Messing, one of the original members of the 1978 Oakland Stompers soccer club.

As a community event, voluntarily organized by people who have regular jobs, Leon stresses that this is something done out of a sincere passion for athletic competition, and the place he calls home.

“This is just purely for the love of Oakland,” he says, “and Oakland sports.”

Fans Fest 2026 is a free event that takes place Sunday, March 8, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at Fruitvale Village (3301 E. 12th St., Oakland), just outside the Fruitvale BART station. For more information, check here.