Happy Halloween 2026! 🎃🦇👻

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween tonight! If you have a favorite neighborhood for trick-or-treating please post it in the comments here or on X. The amazing house below is in Willow Glen on Lupton Ave.

Trick or Treat Along Lincoln Avenue Returns to Willow Glen on October 30

Families looking for a daytime Halloween outing can head to Downtown Willow Glen on Friday, October 30, when local businesses along Lincoln Avenue open their doors for Trick or Treat Along Lincoln Avenue. The event runs in two sessions along the stretch from Minnesota Avenue to Willow Street. Toddlers take the route from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., while school-aged children follow from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Organizers ask participants to move clockwise for smoother traffic and safer sidewalks.

Participating shops plan to hand out candy and other goodies during both windows. The setup keeps the activity on the main commercial stretch rather than residential blocks, which suits families who prefer a contained, supervised walk. The Willow Glen Business Association coordinates the gathering and has put out a call for volunteer crossing guards and sidewalk monitors to keep the sessions orderly.

Books for Treats, a nonprofit that has paired free books with Halloween since 2001, will set up again at the Garden Theater at 1165 Lincoln Avenue. Volunteers will help each child pick one free book. The morning slot covers kindergarten-aged children and younger, while the afternoon slot covers first through sixth grade. Rebecca Morgan, the organization’s founder, has noted that Halloween already carries excitement and imagination, making it a natural moment to add a lasting item to the treat bag.

The event stays open to the public with no tickets required. After collecting candy and a book, families can continue exploring the independent shops, cafes, and boutiques that line Lincoln Avenue.

Trick-or-Treat the Row Returns to Santana Row on October 27

Families with little ones can mark Tuesday, October 27, for the annual Halloween Family Festival at Santana Row. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to noon across Santana Row Park and Park Valencia, giving kids a chance to collect treats along the shopping district before the big night arrives later in the week.

Santana Row invites guests to bring costumes and trick-or-treat bags for the morning. Activities include live music, pumpkin decorating stations, stilt-walkers, balloons, and stops for treats at participating shops and restaurants along The Row. Specific treat locations can be found below.

The festival stays open to the public with no admission fee. Past years have drawn crowds of costumed children and parents who use the weekday morning timing for preschoolers and elementary kids who are out of school. The setting among the stores, restaurants, and open plazas at Santana Row adds a walkable backdrop that keeps the focus on the activities rather than long lines or ticket gates.

San Jose Wishlist - Halloween in the Park (Part XVIII)

As Halloween approaches, it is time to resurrect one of my favorite wishlist items for San Jose: "Halloween in the Park."

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. It's the one day where you get to interact with your neighbors and the wider community. The level of creativity in decorations and costumes is also the most eclectic and interesting out of all the holidays for me--whether that's for trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, or work events.

In October it's tradition for The San Jose Blog have a wish-list post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October. A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences, much as it is today with Christmas in the Park.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments or on X. Thanks!

---

The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America's Halloween decorations)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as the Winchester Mystery House or The Bernal SCREAM.
• Potential Events
• Zombie Crawl / 5k Run
• Día De Los Muertos Events (already quite a few today)
• Halloween/Día De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball
• Pet costume contests and pet-friendly events

Inspirations:

• Winchester Mystery House Unhinged
• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)

Happy Halloween 2025! 🎃🦇👻

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween tonight! If you have a favorite neighborhood for trick-or-treating please post it in the comments here or on X. I'll toss out Willow Glen as high on the list (especially Cherry Street close to Lincoln).

San Jose Wishlist - Halloween in the Park (Part XVII)

As Halloween approaches, it is time to resurrect one of my favorite wishlist items for San Jose. "Halloween in the Park."

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. It's the one day where you get to interact with your neighbors and the wider community. The level of creativity in decorations and costumes is also the most eclectic and interesting out of all the holidays for me--whether that's for trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, or work events.

In October it's tradition for The San Jose Blog have a wish-list post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October. A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences, much as it is today with Christmas in the Park.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments or on X (Twitter). Thanks!

---

The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America's Halloween decorations)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as the Winchestor Mystery House or The Bernal SCREAM.
• Potential Events
• Zombie Crawl / 5k Run
• Dia De Los Muertos Events (already quite a few today)
• Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball
• Pet costume contests and pet-friendly events

Inspirations:

• Winchester Mystery House Unhinged
• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)

Green Halloween Brings Eco-Friendly Fun to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

San Jose families have a perfect opportunity to celebrate the spooky season sustainably with Green Halloween at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo on October 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This annual event turns the zoo into a hub of Halloween excitement, where visitors can watch animals engage with themed enrichments like pumpkins filled with treats. Happy Hollow offers a welcoming space for all ages to enjoy the festivities while supporting local wildlife conservation efforts.

The day features a variety of activities designed for young explorers, including critter shows, hands-on crafts with a creepy twist, interactive games, and close-up animal encounters. Decomposing decor adds to the eerie yet educational vibe, teaching attendees about natural cycles in an engaging way. Families can participate fully, with everything included in general admission, making it an easy outing for parents looking to create memorable experiences without extra hassle.

What sets Green Halloween apart is its focus on environmental responsibility, aligning with Happy Hollow's status as a certified green facility. The event encourages reusable costumes and highlights ways to make holidays more planet-friendly, inspiring attendees to adopt similar practices at home. This approach not only entertains but also fosters a sense of community stewardship, showing how San Jose leads in blending fun with sustainability.

Tickets range from $15 to $18, with a $3 discount for those arriving in costume, rewarding creativity and participation. Members enjoy free entry, adding value for regular visitors. As San Jose continues to prioritize green initiatives, events like this strengthen the city's appeal as a family-oriented destination that values both entertainment and the environment.

Spooky Lights Live! Brings Eerie Thrills to San Jose's Theater Scene

San Jose's City Lights Theater Company is set to transform the stage into a haunting haven this October with Spooky Lights Live! later tonight. This fresh take on eerie short plays steps out from its audio origins and into a live setting, offering residents a chance to experience spine-tingling short stories up close. Written by local talent Lauren Doyle, the event draws on the city's creative energy, showcasing narratives that blend the strange with the familiar in ways that resonate with South Bay audiences.

Attendees can look forward to a staged reading featuring a skilled cast, including Kim Scofield, Kyle Smith, Vanessa Alvarez, Alycia Adame, Arturo Montes, and Gwynnevere Cristobal, under the direction of Dave Leon. The evening includes complimentary snacks, drinks, and festive party favors to keep the atmosphere lively. A costume contest adds to the fun, inviting everyone to dress up and compete for prizes, turning the night into a communal celebration of Halloween's theatrical side. These plays, titled Lights, Remains of the Night, Remember Me, Six of Spades, The Red Halloween, and Valentine, promise a mix of chills and delights that highlight San Jose's growing reputation for innovative arts. Recordings will be available later on Filament.

Lauren Doyle's earned a B.A. in Art History & Visual Culture with a minor in Theatre Arts at San Jose State University, graduating with with top honors in 2012.

For more info and tickets, head over here.

Happy Halloween 2024! 🎃🦇👻

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween tonight! If you have a favorite neighborhood for trick-or-treating please post it in the comments here or on X. I'll toss out Willow Glen as high on the list.

Also, please be sure to check out our wishlist post for Halloween in the Park!

Dia de Los Muertos at the San Jose Museum of Art

The SJMA is hosting a full day of entertainment and art to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos on November 2nd. Some of the hands-on activities include decorating sculls, calavera portraits, and meditative weaving. There will also be a live performance by Lincoln High Mariachi at noon.

The event is free and runs from 11am-4pm at the San Jose Museum of Art in Downtown San Jose.

San Jose's Annual Harvest Festival

Today is Pumpkins in the Park, an annual tradition that brings thousands of people to the Guadalupe River Park in Downtown San Jose to enjoy family-friendly activities.

There is a large pumpkin patch, inflatables, lawn games, vendors, food trucks, and live music. This year the trucks are El Viejon, Cali Cool, Fire & Slice, and Akita Sushi.

The event runs from 10am to 4pm at Discovery Meadow (180 Woz Way, San Jose). It's right next to the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum.

For more information, head over here.

San Jose Wishlist - Halloween in the Park (Part XVI)

As Halloween approaches, it is time to resurrect one of my top event wishlist items for San Jose. "Halloween in the Park."

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. It's the one day where you get to interact with your neighbors and the wider community. The level of creativity in decorations and costumes is also the most eclectic and interesting out of all the holidays for me--whether that's for trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, or work events.

In October it's tradition for The San Jose Blog have a wish-list post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October. A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences, much as it is today with Christmas in the Park.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments or on X (Twitter). Thanks!

---

The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America's Halloween decorations)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as the Winchestor Mystery House or The Bernal SCREAM.
• Potential Events
• Zombie Crawl / 5k Run
• Dia De Los Muertos Events (already quite a few today)
• Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball
• Pet costume contests and pet-friendly events

Inspirations:

• Winchester Mystery House Unhinged
• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)

Unhinged Hotel at the Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Mystery House always puts out an impressive show every year around Halloween. Their season officially starts today on Friday the 13th, and it appears to be their most immersive Halloween event yet. 

Their Unhinged Hotel event has a 45 minute long maze that goes through all four floors of the mansion, an outdoor scare zone, Halloween museum, interactive activities, themed food and drinks, and plenty of photo ops.

Ticket prices vary by day but start at $69 per person. You can learn more and buy tickets here.

Happy Halloween 2023! 🎃🦇👻

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween tonight! If you have a favorite neighborhood for trick-or-treating please post it in the comments or on X (Twitter).

Also, please be sure to check out our "wishlist" post for Halloween in the Park!

Halloween in Japantown San Jose

Japantown is also throwing a major Halloween event tomorrow. They have actually been doing a Halloween event since 2003. In 2017 it became so popular they closed off major streets.

Trick-or-treating starts at 4:30pm with most of the SJ Japantown businesses participating. Then you have San Jose Taiko performances, dancing, a haunted house, and arts & crafts.

There should be no shortage of options tomorrow to celebrated one of the most fun holidays out there.

Trick or Treat in Willow Glen

Downtown Willow Glen is hosting their annual trick-or-treat event tomorrow from 11am-12:30pm for toddlers and 3pm-4:30pm for school-aged kids. Several stores along Lincoln avenue will be handing out candy at this time and will be fully decked out for Halloween.

Then after 5pm, you can take your kids into the Willow Glen residential neighborhoods which are one of the top areas to trick-or-treat in San Jose.

San Jose Wishlist - Halloween in the Park (Part XV)

As Halloween approaches, it is time to resurrect one of my top event wishlist items for San Jose. "Halloween in the Park."

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. It's the one day where you get to interact with your neighbors and the wider community. The level of creativity in decorations and costumes is also the most eclectic and interesting out of all the holidays for me--whether that's for trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, or work events.

In October it's tradition for The San Jose Blog have a wish-list post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October. A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences, much as it is today with Christmas in the Park.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments or on X (Twitter). Thanks!

---

The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America Halloween Haunt)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero/ZERO1-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as the Winchestor Mystery House or The Bernal SCREAM.
• Potential Events
• Zombie Crawl / 5k Run
• Dia De Los Muertos Events (already quite a few today)
• Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball
• Pet costume contests and pet-friendly events

Inspirations:

• Winchester Mystery House Unhinged
• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)