From October 20 to November 2, the busiest event stretch of the Cabo San Lucas year takes place on the water and streets directly below Pedregal. Most of the marina's part of it costs nothing. The few events that need a ticket or a pass are on the boardwalk for one night and out on the corridor for the rest. For someone who lives on the hill, the hour you go matters more than any ticket.
The stretch runs on two calendars that meet in the middle. Bisbee's Black & Blue fills the harbor from October 20 to 24. A week later, Día de Muertos takes over downtown, the corridor hotels and the restaurants that line the marina.
The Scale Opens at Two. The Crowd Arrives Around Five.
The official 2026 Black & Blue schedule, last updated August 26, 2026, sets a fixed rhythm for the week.
- Monday, Oct. 12 and Monday, Oct. 19, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.: pre-registration at Puerto Paraíso Mall, near the weigh station, with no bag distribution.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.: registration at Puerto Paraíso, then a captains' meeting on the stage next to the weigh station at 7:00.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m.: opening ceremonies, with flag honors and a Mexican Naval escort, the national anthem, a Pre-Colombian New Fire Dance, the lighting of the tournament torch and live music.
- Wednesday to Friday, Oct. 21 to 23, 7:00 a.m.: shotgun start, with boats behind the line by 6:45. Lines must be out of the water by 5:00 p.m.
- Oct. 21 to 23, 2:00 to 9:00 p.m.: the weigh station is open in front of Puerto Paraíso. Any boat inside the harbor entrance by 9:00 p.m. can still weigh.
The weigh-ins are free and open to the public all three days. The schedule tells you when the scale opens. It says nothing about how the day feels. The Cabo Sun's hour-by-hour account from the 2025 tournament fills in that part. In that account, the 7:00 a.m. start is a roar as the whole fleet races out, and then a surprising calm settles over the marina.
From noon to 4:00 p.m., with the boats offshore, the marina comes close to an ordinary weekday. The Cabo Sun suggested using that window to get a second-story table at a marina-front restaurant like Baja Cantina or La Chatita, with a view over the weigh station before the crowds show up. From 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., the boardwalk in front of Puerto Paraíso turns into what the paper called a full street party. It described a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of visitors, crews in team jerseys and anxious boat owners, and a cheer across the marina whenever a big weight flashes on the digital scale.
Pedregal sits right above that boardwalk, so the late-afternoon table is a short trip down the hill. You can get there before the crowd and leave with the marina already full behind you. In the 2025 account, the evening carried on after the scale closed at 9:00, with Solomon's Landing at the center of the marina's celebrating and Cabo Wabo Cantina full of live music further into downtown.
What the Crowd Is Watching For
The cheer at the scale comes down to one threshold. Under the 2026 tournament rules, updated September 14, 2026, a blue or black marlin has to weigh at least 300 pounds to qualify for cash awards, and fish under the minimum cost the team penalty points. So a fish being hoisted near that line is the tense moment on the boardwalk. Sending the fish to the scale is a bet that it clears 300.
Last year's finish shows how much rides on a few pounds. Bisbee's official 2025 recap, dated October 26, 2025, counted 177 teams, a total purse of $7,452,775, and 123 marlin caught, 10 black and 113 blue.
| 2025 finish | Boat | Blue marlin | Total earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Magic Touch | 459 lb | $2,440,850 |
| Second | Rising Sons/Magnifico | 457 lb | $2,588,675 |
| Third | Another Line | 389 lb | $1,742,400 |
Two pounds separated first and second place in 2025, and the second-place boat earned more than the winner. Earnings come from the optional jackpot categories each team enters, not just from where the fish ranks. That explains why a fish that misses first can still bring a huge reaction at the scale. Some of the biggest payouts depend on entries the crowd can't see.
Saturday Night Is the One Marina Event That Needs a Pass
The awards celebration on Saturday, October 24, starts at 6:00 p.m. at The Place at Cabo, in front of the H, I and J docks. It opens with cocktails, then dinner, a big-screen tournament video and the awards presentation. This night requires a team pass. That makes Saturday the only evening of tournament week when the main event on the marina is closed to the public.
That Saturday also marks the point where the calendar moves from the harbor to the corridor, and the next deadline comes two days later. EsperanzArte 2026 is the 10th annual Día de Muertos art-and-food festival. It runs Saturday, October 31, from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Esperanza, Km 7 Punta Ballena. Visit Los Cabos lists admission at $115 per person until October 26, when it rises to $135. The higher price starts on Monday, October 26, two days after the awards. Tournament week and this ticket deadline overlap, so it is easy to remember the price only after it has gone up.
Sunday, November 1, Fills a Whole Day From Morning to Night
Día de Muertos falls on a Sunday this year, and the listings fill the day. Most are a short drive from the Pedregal gate, and the evening events are downtown or on the marina.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | Día de Muertos Brunch at The Ledge | The Cape, km 5, Transpeninsular Highway |
| 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Día de Muertos Candle Bazar | The Cape, km 5 |
| 4:30 to 11:00 p.m. | Catrina del Desierto, first anniversary | Amara Baja, Parcela 139, Sección del Fin, Villa Serena |
| About 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. | Desfile de Catrin@s | Pabellón Cultural to Yenekamú Ocho Cascadas |
| Evening | Día de Muertos at El Squid Roe | Blvd. Lázaro Cárdenas 1112, on the marina |
The parade is the public part of the day, with the same free, open-street format as the weigh station a week earlier. CANIRAC Los Cabos, the local chapter of Mexico's restaurant industry chamber, organizes the Desfile de Catrin@s. Staff from participating restaurants march through downtown Cabo San Lucas dressed as catrinas and catrines. The route runs from the Pabellón Cultural to Yenekamú Ocho Cascadas and passes in front of the fire station. El Squid Roe has said its crew will march. Its Día de Muertos page describes a celebration across all three floors of the marina building it has run since 1989, with marigolds, papel picado, face painting and DJs. Anyone who arrives in costume gets a welcome shot.
The Villa Serena event is a different evening entirely. Amara Baja's listing for Catrina del Desierto mentions guest chefs, an altar, Catrinas and live music, starting at 4:30 p.m. and running until 11:00. The parade and Villa Serena both start in the late afternoon, so one Sunday evening can't comfortably cover both.
The season ends on Monday, November 2, in San José del Cabo. Acre's Día de Muertos celebration runs from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Calle Rincón de las Ánimas in Ánimas Bajas.
Médano Comes Back on Its Own Schedule
The beach below the marina has a separate calendar. The Office on the Beach and Edith's close every September. A Cabo Sun article from September 14, 2026, said both were expected to reopen before the winter season starts in late October, but it did not give a date. The reopening falls in the same weeks as everything above, but no date has been announced, so the restaurants themselves are the place to confirm it.
Jorge Gómez has spent his life in Cabo and knows the marina in both its quiet weeks and its tournament weeks. If you'd like to talk about what a home near the marina is like in the busiest stretch of the year, Jorge Gómez is glad to share what he knows. Let's Connect.
