Menlo Park's Halloween Week Is Staged Store by Store This Year

"It feels like our 'Cheers,'" Mary Zarucchi told The Almanac in September. She was talking about Lutticken's After 5, where she and her husband had eaten most weeks since 2011 and where her band, The Salty Licks, played once a month for years. After 5 served its last dinner Aug. 29. The deli followed on Sept. 30, which ended 45 years on Alameda de las Pulgas.

So Menlo Park goes into the last two weeks of October without two of its long-running gathering places. Left Bank Brasserie at 635 Santa Cruz Ave. ended its 28-year run in June. The October calendar responds by spreading the fun along the storefronts. Bands play inside a bookstore and a clothing shop. Children carry trick-or-treat bags meant for downtown stores. The parade's meeting spot is the parking lot behind a toy shop. That layout matters more in 2026 than it would have a few years ago, and the dates below explain why.

Friday, Oct. 23: the whole street becomes the venue

The Downtown Menlo Fund started Fourth Fridays on July 24 as a free monthly evening of live music with downtown businesses open late. October's edition runs 6 to 9 p.m. The Fund describes it this way: "One Friday a month, all of downtown becomes the venue."

The lineup page shows how literally the Fund means that. Two plazas get headline bands, and the other stages sit in front of or inside specific businesses:

All of the sets are listed as family-friendly. If you're bringing small children, the kids' corridor wraps up an hour before everything else. A good plan is to start near Susie Cakes and Cheeky Monkey at 6, then walk toward the plaza or over to Cafe Borrone once the balloons are done.

Pinki Martini is playing on the 600-block plaza, which is worth a closer look. In 2023 the City Council closed the eastbound lane of Santa Cruz Avenue between Curtis and Doyle streets for outdoor dining and shared space. According to the city's July 14 work plan update, plaza furniture went in and a soft opening was held May 31. Proposals from architectural consultants for the full build-out were expected in late July. No construction schedule has been published since then. So the October stage is the soft-opened version of the plaza, and it's already being used as the main gathering spot. In September the Fund's End of Summer Bash was held on the same block, by Walgreens and Starbucks, with a DJ set near Bistro Vida and Bar Loretta.

Saturday, Oct. 24: the parade starts behind the toy store

Menlo Park's Halloween Hoopla runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It follows the same street the Friday bands played, this time in daylight with costumes. Here's how the morning goes, according to the city's event page:

1. 10:45 a.m. Arrive at Parking Lot #1, the Maloney Street lot behind Cheeky Monkey. Bikes, wagons and scooters can be decorated.
2. 11 a.m. The costume parade heads down Santa Cruz Avenue. Trick-or-treaters get a free bag to use at participating downtown stores.
3. The finish is Fremont Park, where the carnival runs until 2 p.m.

The carnival has Halloween games, bounce houses, balloon and tattoo artists, and performances by Menlo Park school bands. Cheeky Monkey is supplying the craft tables. American Medical Response is bringing an ambulance for kids to explore, and Public Works is bringing a "spooky" vehicle from its fleet. Family entertainers Lori and RJ will host the Fremont Park stage all day with music, bubbles, puppets and magic.

New this year is a dog section called the Howl-o-ween Walkers. Leashed dogs in costume can join the parade with their owners. The city asks owners to keep dogs on leash the whole time, clean up after them and give other marchers room.

On paper the Hoopla is a city recreation event, but it's built around the shops. One downtown toy store is the meeting point and also supplies the crafts. The free bag only pays off at downtown storefronts. And the route covers the same blocks Fourth Friday used the night before.

The storefronts these events lead you to

The timing makes more sense when you look at what happened to Santa Cruz Avenue this summer. On June 23 the City Council unanimously approved zoning changes intended to address what The Almanac called "a growing vacancy problem" on the city's main commercial street. Spas, salons and similar personal services can now open on the ground floor without a conditional use permit. Gyms and arcades may now apply for permits on Santa Cruz Avenue after being banned there. Banks and other financial institutions may also apply, with a street-wide cap of 30,000 square feet. Financial institutions already on the street account for about 28,000 square feet. The council also allowed limited office use in the back of large ground-floor retail spaces. The goal is to let a tenant keep a smaller storefront while using the rest of the space.

Some new things have opened since. ANTHEM held a grand opening Sept. 17 for its third location, which spans three storefronts: ANTHEM Home at 871 Santa Cruz Ave., ANTHEM Bed and Bath at 887 and ANTHEM Edit at 889. Those addresses sit on the same few blocks as the Gitane and Gallery House stages, so a Fourth Friday walk passes right by them.

Other spaces are still undecided. No new tenant has been announced for the former Left Bank space at 635 Santa Cruz Ave. At Lutticken's, Bobby Lutticken told The Almanac the family needed to "sit back and figure out where we stand." He added, "there will be something there." After 5 manager Carlos Magana says he and an investor are ready to take over and keep Lutticken's going. As of the latest reporting, that's an offer and not a done deal.

Seen this way, a free bag for downtown shops and a band inside Feldman's Books are about more than Halloween. This October they're how people end up walking into the storefronts the city is trying to keep filled.

Sunday, Oct. 25: pumpkins in the pool

The next day the action moves to the Belle Haven and Burgess pools, where the city is holding Pumpkin Splash at Menlo Swim & Sport. Pumpkin Splash puts a floating pumpkin patch in the water. Tickets are $12, reservations are required, and each ticket includes swim time, pumpkin decorating and a treat bag.

• Belle Haven Pool, 100 Terminal Ave.: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Burgess Pool, 501 Laurel St.: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The two sessions don't overlap. Belle Haven's slot is a single hour and ends before Burgess opens, so book whichever time fits your Sunday before reservations fill up.

Wednesday, Oct. 28: Trunk-or-Treat in Belle Haven

The city's third annual Trunk-or-Treat runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Belle Haven Community Campus, 100 Terminal Ave. It's free. Instead of going door to door, kids walk from car to car, and each trunk is decorated with its own Halloween theme. Every trick-or-treater gets a free bag, and there's candy and music. Because it ends at 6 on a weeknight, younger kids can trick-or-treat after school and still be home for dinner.

One parking note for next spring

If you park downtown for any of this, you may notice the lots behind Walgreens and Trader Joe's. Those are Parking Plazas 7 and 8, between Santa Cruz and Menlo avenues. The city has scheduled their first phase of resurfacing for spring 2027, with wider stalls, new sidewalks and EV charging stations. This October they work as usual. Next Halloween, some of those spaces may still be under construction.

Before she sold homes, Julie Baumann spent years on construction and remodeling projects, so she keeps close track of what goes into empty buildings on the Peninsula. That includes what ends up at 635 Santa Cruz and on Alameda de las Pulgas. If you'd like an update on either one once Halloween week is over, Let's Connect.