Tomorrow afternoon, Friday, October 30, Castro Village holds its annual Halloween trick-or-treat from 3 to 6 p.m. This year it happens in a shopping center that's partway through a rebuild. The same goes for Anthony Chabot Regional Park, where the East Bay Regional Park District has several trails and the family campground closed for repairs this fall.
Two of the usual seasonal spots are under construction, so the most dependable dates on Castro Valley's holiday calendar this year are the ones that don't rely on a building or a trail. One is a stretch of the Boulevard closed to cars for the parade. Another is the BART parking lot where the Saturday farmers market sets up. The third is a church parking lot that turns into an ice rink after Thanksgiving. Plan around those and the rest of the season fits around them.
Halloween at Castro Village, around the construction
Castro Village says the first phase of its project replaces older retail buildings with one new retail building. It also realigns the drive aisle, adds parking, updates the sidewalks near Castro Village Bowl, and adds a new outdoor seating area. The center estimates Phase 1 will be done in spring 2027. A second phase will update the Castro Village Bowl façade, with timing to be announced once plans are final.
The center has been clear about what this means for a visit. Castro Village Bowl stays open the whole time, and shoppers "may notice temporary impacts to parking, sidewalks, and the drive aisle during different stages of construction." Keep that in mind on a Friday afternoon, when families in costume will be arriving all at once.
The Halloween event itself follows its usual format. Kids trick-or-treat at participating Castro Village businesses, and there's a children's concert plus family entertainment. The center's event page says the live music will be near Vitality Bowls. The center also flagged the date change in bold:
"Please note: Our 2026 Halloween celebration will take place on a new date, Friday, October 30."
The event starts at 3 p.m., so it overlaps with the end of the school day and the start of the evening commute. Walking from nearby blocks is probably easier than looking for a spot in a lot whose layout keeps shifting.
Two weeks later, the Boulevard closes for the Light Parade
The Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce has the Castro Valley Light Parade on Saturday, November 14, 2026, running from 3 to 9 p.m. The parade takes over the Boulevard itself, which is closed to cars for the event. The Chamber lists the closure as Castro Valley Boulevard from Lake Chabot Road to Redwood Road, with detours on Norbridge or Somerset.
According to 510 Families' listing, the street fair opens at 3 p.m. and the lighted parade starts at dusk, around 5:30 p.m. Floats and performance areas line Castro Valley Boulevard between San Miguel Avenue and Redwood Road. Here's what the listing says to expect:
- Floats from local service organizations and churches, along with antique vehicles, service dogs and motorcycles
- Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the end of the parade
- Santa at the corner of Santa Maria Avenue and Castro Valley Boulevard
- Dancing Christmas trees wandering the Boulevard after the parade
- Free admission
The Chamber's vendor map shows how the street is laid out. The priciest booths, Zone 1, sit right in front of the Marketplace. Zone 2 runs west of the Marketplace, and Zone 3 is at the far west end. If you'd rather skip the crowds, head west of the Marketplace. The Chamber suggests getting there early "to get a great spot and enjoy the bands, food, and kids activities," and it has stopped taking food vendors for 2026.
If you'd like dinner afterward without driving across town, HL Peninsula is at 3868 Castro Valley Blvd., next to Mei Mei Market. The restaurant's own announcement puts its grand opening on October 16, 2025. The Castro Valley Forum covered the opening and described the 28,000-square-foot Cantonese restaurant. Our summer piece on Castro Valley Boulevard covers more of the corridor's regular stops.
Up the hill, Chabot is reopening in stages
Weekend plans in the hills need the same kind of checking. The East Bay Regional Park District's Anthony Chabot page, last updated October 19, 2026, lists these closures:
- Big Bear Trail: The whole loop is tentatively closed through Friday, October 30, for FEMA-funded projects, so the earliest it could reopen is Halloween weekend.
- Anthony Chabot Family Campground: Closed through November 30 for restroom improvements and hazardous-tree work. Campsites and the RV sewage disposal station reopen December 1.
- Willowview Trail: Closed because of storm damage.
- Redtail Trail: Closed between Brandon Trail and Grass Valley Trail.
- Brandon Trail: A 300-foot section between Horseshoe Trail and Stone Bridge is closed to equestrians.
- Bird Trail: It hasn't been a loop since August 4, 2025. Part of it is permanently closed, and it now connects back to MacDonald Trail for a shorter loop.
The district calls the Big Bear dates tentative, so check the page again before a first-weekend-of-November hike.
Down by the water, nothing is changing. The district's Lake Chabot page lists the marina café as open year-round, except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. On the two holidays when it closes, plan on bringing a thermos.
What runs on schedule: a parking lot and a rink
The Castro Valley Farmers Market comes closest to a fixed point this season. Urban Village Farmers' Markets runs it on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round and rain or shine, in the Castro Valley BART parking lot at Redwood Road and Norbridge Avenue. The operator's 2026 closure calendar doesn't list any Castro Valley closures. It also says Saturday and Sunday markets stay open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's weekends, though some vendors may take those days off. So the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the Saturday after Christmas are both market days. That makes holiday-week shopping easy, since you won't need to fight over parking at a center that's still being rebuilt.
Late in the season there's 3Crosses Christmas Village at 3Crosses Church, 20600 John Drive. It bills itself as home to "the largest outdoor ice skating rink in the East Bay." Along with skating, there are free family activities, food trucks, train rides, vendors and lights. The 3Crosses Christmas Village site lists it as open weekends and select dates from November 27 to January 3, with tickets on sale November 15. November 27 is the day after Thanksgiving this year, and November 15 is the day after the Light Parade. The page doesn't print a year next to those dates, though, so confirm on the site before you buy tickets.
Put together, the season runs like this:
- Friday, October 30: Castro Village trick-or-treat, 3 to 6 p.m. Big Bear Trail's tentative closure also ends that day.
- Saturday, November 14: Castro Valley Light Parade. Street fair at 3 p.m., parade at dusk around 5:30 p.m., Boulevard closed from Lake Chabot Road to Redwood Road.
- November 15: Listed ticket on-sale date for 3Crosses Christmas Village. Confirm the year on its site.
- Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving. The Lake Chabot marina café is closed.
- November 27: Listed opening date for 3Crosses Christmas Village. Confirm on its site.
- Tuesday, December 1: Anthony Chabot Family Campground reopens.
- Saturdays throughout: Castro Valley Farmers Market at the BART lot, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., including holiday weekends.
Our guide to family-friendly Castro Valley covers the outings that work in any season.
The new building, parking and outdoor seating at Castro Village won't be finished until spring 2027, so Halloween and the run-up to the holidays this year happen alongside the construction.
If you live near the Boulevard and want to know how the Castro Village project and a changing downtown could affect what your home is worth, Annie Tegner follows those changes block by block. Get your free East Bay home valuation here. We're glad to talk it through whenever you're ready.
