Between now and the middle of December, most of what happens in Pleasanton starts from one of two places. The downtown events nearly all begin at Museum on Main, 603 Main Street. That covers the scavenger hunt maps, the new Boo Bash, the Ghost Walk departures, the Halloween Brew Crawl check-in and the tree lighting in December. The big ticketed events at the Alameda County Fairgrounds all use Gates 8 and 12 off Valley Avenue. The two calendars have different organizers, prices and rules. On Saturday, October 17, both run at full volume on the same day.
One Building Anchors the Downtown Calendar
Museum on Main shows up on almost every downtown listing this season. The Pleasanton Downtown Association's Pumpkins on Main scavenger hunt runs October 1 through 17, and you can pick up the hunt map there or at Towne Center Books. The PDA's new trick-or-treat event, the Boo Bash, starts at the same door. The Halloween Brew Crawl checks in there. The museum's own Ghost Walk leaves from there every 30 minutes on tour nights. On December 5, the City holds its tree lighting in front of the building after the parade.
So downtown in the fall is mostly free or cheap, and it's organized around walking. The Boo Bash costs nothing. Ghost Walk tickets are $25, or $20 for kids 12 and younger. Tours go rain or shine, so dress for the weather, and costumes are encouraged. The museum says the tour has run for more than seventeen years. It's a two-hour walk past Main Street's reportedly haunted buildings, and a few stops go inside.
The Fairgrounds Has Its Own Entrance Rules
The Fairgrounds works differently, and it explains that on its event pages. The 626 Night Market runs October 9 through 11, from 3 to 11 p.m. Admission is $6, kids 3 and under get in free, and parking is $15. Parking is paid by credit, debit or tap-to-pay only. Everyone enters at Gate 8 or 12 off Valley Avenue. The Fairgrounds says the promoter didn't put a gate at Pleasanton Avenue, so you can't get in from Pleasanton Avenue or Gate 2.
The same entry setup applies to the Diwali Festival of Lights & Fireworks on October 17. If you live near the Fairgrounds, the gate that's closest to you may not be one you can use. The Fairgrounds also says some vendors at these events take cards only, so bring both.
Saturday, October 17, Hour by Hour
On this one Saturday, both calendars are fully booked. Here's how the day lines up, using the times each organizer has published.
| Time | Event | Starting point | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| All day, final day | Pumpkins on Main scavenger hunt | Maps at Museum on Main or Towne Center Books | See PDA listing |
| 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | PDA's first Boo Bash | Museum on Main, 603 Main St. | Free |
| 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. | Diwali Festival of Lights & Fireworks | Alameda County Fairgrounds, Gates 8 or 12 off Valley Ave. | $12 general, kids 5 and under free; $15 parking |
| 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. | SideTrack Bar + Grill Oktoberfest, Saturday session | SideTrack | See SideTrack's listing |
| 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. departures | Museum on Main Ghost Walk, final night | Museum on Main, 603 Main St. | $25; $20 kids 12 and younger |
The Boo Bash is new this year. The PDA calls the October 17 event its "first annual trick or treat Boo Bash." Children bring their own bucket. Adults get a list of clues that leads to more than a dozen participating downtown businesses, and parents also get the answers. Because it ends on the same morning the scavenger hunt closes, families can finish turning in pumpkin stamps and go trick-or-treating in one trip.
The Fairgrounds side of the day is much bigger. The event page bills it as North America's largest Diwali festival. It lists a 40-foot Ravan Dehan effigy burning, a fireworks show, a Rath Yatra, a RamLeela dance drama, Disco Dandia, Bollywood dancing and an Indian food festival. The organizer offers early bird and group discounts.
SideTrack's Oktoberfest also has a Friday session on October 16, from 5 to 10 p.m. That's the same night the Ghost Walk runs and the Firehouse Arts Center has Carnaval on its calendar. So the weekend actually starts Friday evening, and Saturday is the busiest day of it.
The Rest of October Leans Toward the Fairgrounds
After the 17th, most of what's left in October is at the Fairgrounds. Pumpkins After Dark runs on select nights from October 2 through 31. Pirates of Emerson runs October 2 through November 1. These are multi-week runs, so you can go on a quieter weeknight instead of the busiest Saturday.
Downtown has one more Halloween event. The PDA's Halloween Brew Crawl is Saturday, October 24, from 5 to 8 p.m., with check-in at Museum on Main. The PDA says costumed zombies will walk the route with the crawlers. The Firehouse Arts Center fills in the weeknights. It has Creatures of Impulse: Face-Off on October 22 and the East Bay Music School's Golden Age of Broadway on October 29.
November Is Quieter, and the Fairgrounds Shifts to Collectors
In November there are no big downtown street events on the PDA calendar. Most of the activity moves indoors or to the Fairgrounds, where the lineup shifts to shows for car fans, vintage shoppers and card collectors.
- Goodguys 36th Fuel Curve Autumn Get-Together, November 14 and 15, at the Fairgrounds
- The Great Junk Hunt, November 20 and 21, at the Fairgrounds
- Bamville Card Show, November 28 and 29, Thanksgiving weekend, at the Fairgrounds
- Museum on Main's Ed Kinney Series, with a P.T. Barnum program on Thursday, November 19, at 2 and 7 p.m. An on-demand webinar is listed for December 3.
- Firehouse Arts Center: School of Rock on November 6, PYTC Cabaret: Singer's Choice on November 20, Chorus Eclectic: Tomorrow's Yesterday on November 21, and "A Song For You: The Music of Karen Carpenter at Christmas" on November 22
That Saturday-and-Sunday stretch from November 20 to 22 is the closest thing November has to October 17. The Junk Hunt, the Chorus Eclectic concert and the Carpenters holiday show all fall on the same weekend.
December Comes Back to Main Street
In December, the calendar moves back downtown, and nearly every event is on foot. Here they are in order:
- Magical Holiday Evening, Friday, December 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Lions Wayside Park.
- Hometown Holiday Celebration, Saturday, December 5. The City always holds it on the first Saturday of December. The parade starts on Main Street at 5 p.m. with floats, marching bands and community groups. After the parade comes the tree lighting in front of Museum on Main, with live music, the Mayor and City Council lighting the tree, and an appearance by Santa. Groups can still register to march through the City's event page.
- Firehouse Arts Center holiday shows: Mads Tolling Cool Yule on December 11, A Very 'Follies' Holiday on December 12, and Summer Night City on December 18.
- Spirit & Sweater Stroll, Saturday, December 12, from 5 to 8 p.m., run by the PDA.
December 4 and 5 make a back-to-back pair, with the Friday evening at Lions Wayside Park and the parade and tree lighting the next night. The Fairgrounds' Winter Glow drive-through light show has only posted its 2025 schedule so far, so its 2026 dates aren't confirmed yet.
Planning Around the Two Front Doors
To plan the season, start with where an event begins. If it starts at 603 Main Street, you'll be walking among Main Street businesses, and the published prices run from the free Boo Bash to the $25 Ghost Walk. That includes the Boo Bash, the Ghost Walk, the Brew Crawl, the parade and the strolls. If it starts at Gates 8 and 12 on Valley Avenue, expect admission plus $15 card-only parking, an organizer's security line, and the Pleasanton Avenue gate closed to entry. That covers the 626 Night Market and the Diwali festival. Most weekends between now and December belong to just one of the two. On October 17, you can fit in a morning downtown, an afternoon or evening at the Fairgrounds, and a Ghost Walk after dark.
Much of what our team knows about Pleasanton comes from seasons like this one: which weekends fill up, which events draw crowds from outside town, and how the calendar shapes the city week to week. If you'd like that local view applied to your own plans, Joe Sabeh would be glad to talk it through with you.
