"Ghost town." That's how LeVant Dessert owner Maya Fezzani described Friday nights in downtown Menlo Park, speaking at the first Fourth Fridays on July 24. Three months later, the series she was talking about holds its last night of the season on October 23. The next morning, the city's Halloween Hoopla parade comes down the same stretch of Santa Cruz Avenue.
The weekend matters because of what downtown hasn't solved yet. In 2026, the busiest hours on Santa Cruz Avenue have come from a calendar of events, not from new storefronts. The zoning was loosened in June to help fill empty spaces, and that will take longer. Until it does, the evenings and mornings when people show up are carrying the street, and the last full weekend of October puts two of them back to back.
The weekend at a glance
| Day | Event | Where | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Fourth Friday, final of the season | Santa Cruz Ave. and Cafe Borrone plaza | 6–9 p.m. | Free |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Halloween Hoopla parade and carnival | Maloney Street lot to Fremont Park | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Free |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Pumpkin Splash | Belle Haven and Burgess pools | 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | $12, reservations required |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Trunk-or-Treat | Belle Haven Community Campus | 4:30–6 p.m. | Free |
Friday night was built from scratch this year
Fourth Fridays isn't a city program. It's run by the Downtown Menlo Fund, a nonprofit that Marnie Foody, Ben Eiref, Paul Charrette and Laura Melahn founded in 2025 to support downtown. The Almanac pointed out that before the pandemic, the city held a summer block party that closed part of Santa Cruz Avenue to cars. Fourth Fridays is meant to bring that kind of night back.
The first night delivered. The Almanac reported that hundreds of people came downtown on July 24, and that Mademoiselle Colette, Feldman's Books, Gallery House and Gitane stayed open late while musicians played from 6 to 9 p.m. Ali El Safy, who owns Bistro Vida and Bar Loretta, said his restaurants had 40 to 50 more customers than on a normal Friday. That's a useful number, because it's measured against an ordinary Friday on the same block, not against a holiday or a festival.
"The whole community is now coming out to support the restaurants and other businesses too," El Safy said.
The series continued on August 28 and September 25. InMenlo calls October 23 "the final Fourth Friday of the season." As of early October, no 2027 date has been announced, so this is the last scheduled chance to see the whole format in 2026.
Where the October stages are
The Downtown Menlo Fund's lineup page splits the evening across stages, galleries and shops. All of them run from 6 to 9 p.m. except the Kids Stage.
- Plaza Stage, center of the 600 block plaza: the act billed as Pinki Martini, a family-friendly set.
- Borrone Plaza, the Cafe Borrone and British Bankers Club plaza near 1010 El Camino Real: Clint Baker & The All Stars.
- Kids Stage, the corridor near Chase Bank, Aveda, Susie Cakes and Cheeky Monkey: balloon artist Steven Koehler, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Gallery House, 826 Santa Cruz Ave.: Rick Sanders, inside the gallery.
- Evelyn Stage, near Camper in front of Design Matters: to be announced.
- Crane Stage, outside Mademoiselle Colette near Roma: to be announced.
- Chestnut Stage, the Wells Fargo entrance at Santa Cruz Avenue and Chestnut Street: to be announced.
- Gitane, 855 Santa Cruz Ave., and Feldman's Books, 1075 Curtis St.: performers to be announced.
On October 3, InMenlo said the lineup was "still being set," so check the stages marked TBA again closer to the date. For the August edition, InMenlo recommended booking dinner ahead. That advice should hold for the last night of the season, given Melahn's report from July: "Bistro Vida is full. Roma is full."
Saturday morning uses the same blocks
The weekend works as one event because Friday's route and Saturday's route mostly overlap. Friday's Kids Stage is in the corridor by Cheeky Monkey. Less than fifteen hours later, the Halloween Hoopla parade gathers in the parking lot behind that same toy store.
The city asks participants to arrive by 10:45 a.m. at Parking Lot #1, the Maloney Street lot. The parade leaves at 11 a.m., goes down Santa Cruz Avenue and ends at Fremont Park, where the carnival runs until 2 p.m. Kids who trick-or-treat get a free bag to use at participating downtown stores. That connects the morning to the same merchants who stayed open the night before.
New this year is a "Howl-o-ween Walkers" section of the parade for costumed dogs and their owners. Dogs must stay leashed. The city's invitation also encourages decorated bikes, wagons and scooters.
At Fremont Park, the city lists carnival games, jumpers, prizes, balloon and tattoo artists, and performances by Menlo Park school bands. Cheeky Monkey is providing the craft tables. There's a touch-a-truck ambulance from American Medical Response and a Public Works vehicle decorated for Halloween. Family entertainers Lori and RJ host the park stage all day with music, bubbles, puppets and magic.
The storefronts are moving more slowly than the events
Downtown needs these weekends because the storefronts are still catching up. On June 23, the City Council unanimously approved zoning changes in response to what The Almanac called a growing vacancy problem on Santa Cruz Avenue. Spas, salons and similar personal-service businesses can now open on the ground floor without a conditional use permit. Gyms and arcades can apply for use permits, which the Planning Commission must review. The changes took effect immediately.
The Almanac's coverage pictured 714 Santa Cruz Ave. as an empty storefront that could take a salon or spa under the new rules. The changes started with an application from Windy Hill Ventures, which owns the recently renovated 870 Santa Cruz Ave. The coverage we reviewed has not reported a new tenant at either address since then. Allowing a new use is a different thing from leasing the space.
The same summer, downtown lost a long-running restaurant. Left Bank Brasserie at 635 Santa Cruz Ave. closed in June after 28 years. In west Menlo Park, Lutticken's Deli at 3535 Alameda de las Pulgas planned to close for good on September 30 after 45 years. Its After 5 evening program had already ended in August. Longtime manager Judy Congdon told The Almanac that the daytime business never fully came back after the pandemic. Bobby Lutticken said "there will be something there" in the space. Former After 5 manager Carlos Magana has said he's interested in taking over the business, but no deal has been reported.
Taken together, the year looks like this. The zoning change is a long-term bet on filling large, expensive spaces. Fourth Fridays and the Hoopla give the existing businesses on Santa Cruz Avenue, including Feldman's Books, Gallery House, Gitane, Mademoiselle Colette, Roma, Bistro Vida and Cheeky Monkey, crowds they can count on in the meantime. With Fourth Fridays ending for the season, October 23 is the last one of those nights on the 2026 calendar.
Sunday and the following Wednesday move to the pools and Belle Haven
The weekend continues on Sunday, away from Santa Cruz Avenue. Pumpkin Splash runs October 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Belle Haven and Burgess pools, run by Menlo Swim & Sport, with a floating pumpkin patch in the water. Reservations are required. Tickets are $12 and include swim time, pumpkin decorating and a treat bag.
Three days later, on Wednesday, October 28, Belle Haven Community Campus hosts its third annual Trunk-or-Treat from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Kids go from car to car instead of door to door, and each trick-or-treater gets a free bag.
If you go to everything, here's the order. Friday night is the season finale on Santa Cruz Avenue. Saturday morning is the parade from the Maloney Street lot to Fremont Park. Sunday afternoon is at the pools. Wednesday evening is at Belle Haven. Only the Sunday swim needs a ticket booked ahead.
At Annemarie Heynig, we keep track of which Santa Cruz Avenue storefronts fill and which stay empty, because that changes how a downtown-adjacent home looks to buyers. If you're thinking about selling and want to know how downtown's direction fits into your home's story, Schedule a Free Consultation.
