Neon Speaks
2026 Schedule
at-a-Glance

Waitlist Only: Register for Reno Symposium

September 11, 12, & 13 | The main event! This 3-day schedule includes a Friday evening welcome reception and museum overview, then day-long Saturday and Sunday symposium presentations, preservation panels, film events, quiz, museum tours, and the sparkling collection of vintage neon in the museum. (Don’t worry, this event will be back at the SF Verdi Club next year.)

Register for the Roxie Theater, San Francisco
Saturday, September 19 | 4 pm screening at the Roxie Theater
Join us for SF Lost Neon Landscapes featuring Chinatown as seen
in archival footage and feature films. VIP reception pre-screening is sold out.

Register for the Letterform Archive Tour, San Francisco
Saturday, September 19 | 10:0 am and 11:30 am pm, take a sign-focused tour for Neon Speaks by Stephen Coles

Register for Alameda Tour
Sunday September 20 and 27 | Twilight walking tour of vintage signs in the historic town of Alameda with local historian Devi L. Dahl.

Full-festival sponsor passes available now, see below.

Register for the Letterform Archive Tour, San Francisco
Saturday, September 19 | 10:0 am and 11:30 am pm, take a sign-focused tour for Neon Speaks by Stephen Coles

Register for the Roxie Theater, San Francisco
Saturday, September 19 | 4 pm screening at the Roxie Theater. Join us for SF Lost Neon Landscapes featuring Chinatown as seen in archival footage and feature films.

Festival Tickets
Going Fast!

Register for Oakland Neon Shop Tour and Glass-Bending Demo
Sunday September 20 | Jim Rizzo of Neon Works in Oakland has been rescuing and restoring Bay Area neon signs for decades and he only opens his shop for tours once a year. Explore the art and craft of neon signs. You’ll learn about the anatomy of neon signs, how they are made, and how they’ve changed over time. Photograph Jim’s vintage neon collection. Neon artist Adam Taylor will demonstrate tube-bending to show how neon, glass, skill, and fire combine to make a neon sign glow. This event will sell out!

Register to watch recordings: International Online Neon Symposium
Watch on Demand on YouTube starting Sept 5.

We’ll send you the secret link to watch recordings of these great presentations:

Natalia Lubarskaya, Soviet Sign Era and Restorations, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Rita Múrias and Paulo Barata, Letreiro Galeria, Neon and Visual Memory, Lisbon, Portugal
Kristie Chow, Filmmaker, The Dragon Returns, case study of a historic noodle house’s neon, San Luis Obispo
David Barnett, New York Sign Museum and Noble Signs, Brooklyn
Neon Pub Quiz 2026, test your neon knowledge!
Paul Greenstein and Dydia DeLyser, Earle Carrol Theater history and restoration plans, Los Angeles

Get a Neon Speaks Sponsor Pass

Neon Speaks is made possible by tickets and sponsorships donations.
Thank you.

2026 Sponsor Passes

Get your sponsor pass early! There are multiple levels of sponsorship, no amount of donation is too large or too small. Email us at neonspeaks@gmail.com to find out how to become a sponsor to keep the lights glowing for Neon Speaks and join the neon preservationists below.

Noviol Gold Level
Noviol Gold is the highest level of sponsorship! Glowing thanks to the first sponsor of 2026: Martin Treu and to Tod Swormstedt, American Sign Museum.

Majestic Gold Level
Special thanks to the Bunnie and Jerome Sachs Family Foundation/Lippy & Suz Lipman, Lynn and Dave Waller of Neon Williams, Pamela Dekema, and Sandra Price for donating at this high level. In proud partnership with the Roxie Theater with Lex Sloane and Tenderloin Museum with Katie Conry and Alex Spoto for their in-kind donations.

Ruby Red Level
Sponsorship donations by Shawna Peterson & Peterson Neon, Ed Ochi, NY Pals of Neon Speaks, the Blazek Family: Dean & Polly, DeAnne, Julie, and Michael. In-kind donation by Jim Rizzo of Neon Works, Oakland. In-kind sponsorship donation by Francisco Chavira, Sacramento.

Cobalt Blue
Sponsorship donations by: Janet Gracyk, Jenny Kuo, David Keenan, Heather David & San Jose Signs Project, Katherine Rinehart & Petaluma Signs Project, Robert Schneider & Laura Tully, Jude & Monica Cook: Ignite Sign Art Museum, and Sherri & Leif Ortegren: Petalumans of Yesteryear.

Emerald Green Level
Sponsorship donations by Debra Jane Seltzer & RoadsideArchitecture.com, Dydia DeLyser & Paul Greenstein, Jeff Davis & Sherry Ginsberg, Angela Workman, Joyce Hendy, Alison Webster, Judith Souza, Alexa, Angela Workman, David Retz & Terry Meyerson, Cindy Ainsworth, Francine Prophet, Steve Lewis Studio, Katherine & Andrew Danish, and Barbara Tannenbaum.