Spooky season is on

Fall + Halloween events in San Jose
Singing pumpkins at History Park.
It’s always Halloween at the Winchester Mystery House. | Photo via @zeeneinreallife
It’s officially fall, but let’s be honest, San Jose — our mood sometimes changes more than the leaves on the trees.

So, to raise your seasonal spirits, don’t miss these 16 upcoming events to celebrate Halloween + all things autumnal.

🎃 Pumpkin up
  • Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch | Open now-Sun., Oct. 6 | Laguna Ave. + Santa Teresa Blvd. | In addition to the ghoulish gourds, check out the corn maze, hayride, or train attractions.
  • ABC Tree Farms | Open now | Five San Jose locations | Busy month? This business offers pumpkin pick-up + delivery.
🛍️ Seasonal shopping + sips
  • Oktoberfest Celebration | Sat., Oct. 8 | 1-8 p.m. | Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, 357 E. Taylor St. | Exchange your PSL for a sampling of locally-brewed beers.
  • Fright Market | Sat., Oct. 15-Sun., Oct. 16 | 4-9 p.m. | Urban Kiosk, 350 E. Santa Clara St. | Costumes are encouraged at this celebration of local makers.
🍂 Fall fun for all
  • 6th Annual Fall Festival | Sat., Oct. 1 | 9 a.m.-2 p.m. | 5283 Snell Ave. | Celebrate the county’s agricultural history with workshops, animals, and historic autos.
  • Pumpkins in the Park | Sat., Oct. 8 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Discovery Meadow, next to Children’s Discovery Museum | Gather for cultural performances, community booths, River Park tours, and more.
  • Albertson Halloween House | Open Sat., Oct. 29-Mon., Oct. 31 | 479 N. 16th St. | This local fave will be decked out in Pixar decorations, with community painting days on Sat., Oct. 1 + 15.
👻 Ghouls and goblins, this way
Be warned, these attractions + events are geared to adults — and the less timid.
  • Unhinged: Nightshade’s Curse | Open now-Mon., Oct 31, select nights | Winchester Mystery House | Their scariest + most-popular haunt returns with multiple routes + a “spookeasy” bar.
  • The Night Before Halloween | Sun., Oct. 30 | 2-8 p.m. | Blanco Urban Venue, 12 N. San Pedro St. | Enter this “haunted mansion” dance party — if you dare.
'FALL' FOR 7 MORE EVENTS

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Today
  • Wednesday Night Music Series - Bump City Reunion | Wed., Sept. 28 | 7 p.m. | Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Rd. | Free entry | Jam out to the kings of soul.
  • Paella on the Patio | Wed., Sept. 28 | 6 p.m. | Tessora’s Barra di Vino, 234 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell | $50 | RSVP for a full meal including an appetizer, paella and two glasses of wine. 🥘
Thursday
  • Ocean Vuong | Thurs., Sept. 29 | 7 p.m. | Virtual | Free | The Center for Literary Arts of San José hosts this bestselling poet + author for a discussion about his latest book, “Time is a Mother.” 📖
  • The Adventure Zone | Thurs., Sept. 29 | 7 p.m. | San Jose Civic, 135 W. San Carlos St. | Roll for initiative. 🎲
  • Monthly Bingo Night at LvL Up | Thurs., Sept. 29 | 7 p.m. | 400 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell | Free | Enjoy a beer as you play for prizes.
  • Succulents and Pumpkins Workshop | Thurs., Sept. 29 | 10 a.m. | Petite Petal Co., 389 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell | $70 | Turn these plants into seasonal decor. 🌱
Friday
  • Pizza Planet Pizza Party Trivia Night | Fri., Sept. 30 | 7-9 p.m. | Round Table Pizza, 1159 Redmond Ave. | $20 | How well do you know Pixar films like “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo”? 🧠
Saturday
  • The Avengers, The Hellflowers, The Vaxxines | Sat., Oct. 1 | 8 p.m. | The Ritz, 400 S. First St. | $17+ | Three local punk + rock bands comes together to tear it up. 🎸
  • San Jose Earthquakes vs. Minnesota United FC | Sat., Oct. 1 | 6:45 p.m. | PayPal Park | $20+ | ⚽
  • Pride Sessions: Coming Out | Sat., Oct. 1 | 6-10 p.m. | Free | Celebrate Coming Out Month with LGBTQ+ musicians + drag queens. 🏳️‍🌈
  • Steinway Society Presents: Jon Nakamatsu | Sat., Oct. 1 | 7:30 p.m. | Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio | $60+ | This Californian award-winning + chart-topping pianist is praised as “a true aristocrat of the keyboard.” 🎹
  • PapaHugs | Sat., Oct. 1 | 11 a.m. + 3 p.m. | Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose | $15 | Take your little one to a musical performance based on the silly things kids say. 🎵
Sunday
  • Little Italy Street Festival | Sun., Oct. 2 | Little Italy, San Jose | Free entry | Celebrate Italian food + culture. 🇮🇹
  • Culture Night Market | Sun., Oct. 2 | 4-10 p.m. | Westfield Oakridge Mall | Free entry | This popular event offers local vendors, live entertainment, and food trucks.
  • Zakir Khan - Stand-Up Comedy | Sun., Oct. 2 | 6 p.m. | San Jose Civic, 135 W. San Carlos St. | $45+ | The winner of Comedy Central’s “India’s Best Stand-Up Comedian” competition comes to town. 🎙️
  • Hillview Park Bike Ride with SVBC | Sun., Oct. 2 | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | Hillview Library, 1600 Hopkins Dr. | Free | Take an beginner-friendly group ride through nature. 🚲
Plan Ahead

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

For tickets to local and regional events, check out our 6AM Tickets resale marketplace.*
100+ MORE EVENTS

Weather
  • 78º | Partly cloudy | 8% chance of rain
Open
  • Just when we couldn’t wait a Momosan longer... Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s highly anticipated ramen + sake restaurant — Momosan — is now open in Santana Row. Dinner is available first-come, first serve from 5-10 p.m daily — with lunch service coming soon. 🍜 (The Mercury News)
  • One of San Francisco’s top barbershops has just expanded to Santana Row. You can stop by Gents Barber Club on their grand opening day — Sat., Oct. 1. The shop specializes in cuts, fades, shaves, and beards. 💈
Development
  • The local developers behind Japantown favorites Jtown Pizza, 7Bamboo, and Jack’s have purchased three parcels at the corner of Taylor + Fifth St. for $5.2 million. The Trigg family plans to add a new breakfast + brunch spot set to open sometime next year. The potential name? Jill’s. 🍳 (The Mercury News)
Holiday
  • No more mister ice guy. After a slump in customers, the Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice Rink will not be returning to Christmas in the Park this year. To compensate, city officials plan to stage other fun activities in the Circle of Palms. ⛸️ (NBC Bay Area)
Read
  • Congrats to SJSU Associate Professor of Creative Writing Keenan Norris on winning the 2022 Northern California Book Award for Fiction for his latest novel, “The Confession of Copeland Cane.” The story is inspired by SJSU alumnus + Olympic athlete John Carlos. 📖
Real Estate
Ranked
  • Oh bleep. A new survey found that while San Francisco ranked No. 5 in the cities that swear the most, San Jose ranked No. 3 in cities that swear the least. However, we start swearing at age nine — two years earlier than the national average. 🗣️ (KRON 4)
Trending
  • From the Bay Area to the final frontier... On Monday, NASA blasted a spacecraft into an asteroid as part of a planetary defense test. This important work was supported by teams at nearby NASA’s Ames Research Center + Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 🛰️ (NBC Bay Area)
Number
  • 57,143. That’s how many newsletter subscribers (like you) we reach every day through SJtoday. Have a local, regional, or national business and want to expand your audience? Learn how to advertise with us.
Pets
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Our house... in the middle of SJ 🎶

New affordable housing projects in San Jose, CA
San Jose City Hall + Rotunda with flagpoles in the foreground.
The City Hall Rotunda in Downtown San Jose. | Photo by SJtoday staff
Last night, San Jose’s City Council voted to move forward with plans to add 700+ affordable homes and apartments in five different sites across town. 🏘️

Let’s break down what to expect from these projects:
  • West Community Center, 3707 Williams Rd. | 58 family rental units serving those with 30-60% of the average median income (AMI)
  • SureStay Hotel, 1488 N. First St. | 76 rooms for bridge housing
  • Autumn/Montgomery, 255 Autumn Ave. + 240/260 Montgomery St. | Two 12-story buildings with 246 affordable rentals — will be part of Downtown West development
  • Old Fire Station #21, 1749 Mt. Pleasant Rd. | Eight two-story affordable townhomes for families with 60-80% AMI
  • Southside Community Center, 5585 Cottle Rd. | 456 housing units + a new community center
👀 Next steps
The City Council’s decision gives Department of Housing officials the authority to negotiate + finalize plans with the developers — which is expected to continue into next year. Each project will then be subject to individual review + community feedback. We’ll update this piece with new details as they come.
THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Nicole.

Editor’s pick: Yesterday’s news about Prof. Keenan Norris was especially exciting to me because I was one of his students last year within SJSU’s MFA program. Go read his book — it’s amazing.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Let’s bib-up for a proper seafood boil.
Read More
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Editorial: Alyson Chuyang, Nicole Calande, Trevor Peters, Britt Thorson, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea, Jessica Te | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Julie Brown | Advertise with us.

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