Programming this year includes terminal aesthetics photography exhibitions, waterfront performances, and community events across Oakland, Alameda, and San Francisco's ferry-adjacent neighborhoods. Attendance and media coverage are expected to be strong. But residents and artists in those same neighborhoods are documenting a parallel story: real estate speculation accelerating around the festival's most prominent venues, with eviction notices and lease non-renewals affecting studios and live-work spaces that have anchored the movement for years. The festival is both a celebration and, for some participants, a kind of farewell.