When I was a kid we were taught to stay away from cars, and we were taught to never take candy from a stranger — and therefore to definitely never ever ever ever take candy from a stranger’s car.
But alas, someone, somewhere in America decided to come up with the concept of “trunk or treat” where kids approach a bunch of parked cars and get candy from their trunks. I’m sure their heart was in the right place; let the kids get the candy in a safe-ish setting, without having to walk as far, I’d guess? But when I think of eating sweet treats, I’m definitely not thinking of procuring them from a space known for spare tires, engine grease, random remnants of unvacuumable sand and various detritus from camping trips. Plus, if the CDC stats are to be believed, modern American kids could use less sugar and more walking.*
But I don’t make the rules. While it’s still 100 degrees in the east bay, here are some October indulgences to put you in a more festive spirit for fall.
For Grown Ups
Oktoberfest at Headlands Brewery - the beloved brewery with locations in Berkeley and Lafayette (and walnut creek, coming soon) is hosting three days of Oktoberfest starting today and will feature live music both Saturday and Sunday (Oct 5&6). They’ll be showcasing their newest festbier, “Bierstiefel” in steins, plus have pretzels on offer with house-made beer cheese and IPA mustard. Costumes encouraged. While I put this in “for grownups” it’s definitely both kid and dog friendly.
Piedmont Oktoberfest: this Saturday October 5, 4-9 p.m., seven local breweries and wineries are participating in a fundraiser to benefit the Piedmont Boosters Club. Join in costume for live music and festive food - tickets start at $60.
Friends & Family Dance Party: We first covered this east bay bar in 2019 when they were running a kickstarter to get the doors open. In the past five years, they not only successfully flung the doors open to local fanfare - they’ve received significant critical praise, including a coveted spot on the ‘22 “World’s Best Bars” list. They most recently were recognized by the SF Chronicle for their incredible food program. On Sat Oct 28 they’re hosting a halloween dance party and costume contest.
For pets
“Spooky Puppy Contest” - Temescal Brewing is celebrating their Spooky Puppy Hazy IPA with a pet costume contest on Sunday October 27. Winners of the contest will be featured on the labels of next years IPA. So dress up your dog and head on down to Telegraph for a chance to be a local star. The runway walk starts at 4 p.m
For the Family
“Boo at the Zoo” the Oakland zoo is encouraging zoo-goers to wear costumes for a self-guided Halloween scavenger hunt featuring special edition trading cards and TCHO chocolate. Book your ticket ahead from October 25-27 and plan to join the daily 12 p.m. costume contest at the Wildlife Theater.
Balestrieri Farm is a family run farm in Briones, they produce local olive oil and wine and I’m pretty convinced that their honey cured my seasonal allergies. They put on a ton of family-friendly events throughout the year in their beautiful setting and this October they’re hosting a few events worth checking out depending on your interests including Line Dancing (Oct 12), Pumpkin Patch (Oct 19) and Family Movie Night - featuring Hocus Pocus (Oct 25).
Moraga Farmer’s Market: The beloved local suburban market hosts an annual harvest festival with live music and a kids costume parade on Sunday October 27.
Shadelands Ranch Pumpkin Patch: a classic east bay pumpkin patch, Shadelands offers a wide selection of pumpkins for the season, plus a petting zoo and rides. Worth a visit if you’re in the Walnut Creek/Concord area. $4 admission.
And those are my October picks… for now.
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I also wanted to share another East Bay-based substack: The Oakland Garden Club authored by Alexis Madrigal. In my last edition of East Bae I was talking about parallel universes and how the internet is an alternate reality. Alexis is one of the only people in my life who crossed over from a parallel universe into another one (and back again). We initially connected back before algorithms, when Twitter felt like a private chat room where you could shoot the sh*t with random people, post your real time location and not be afraid of being stalked or getting cancelled.
Oakland Garden Club is about gardening — practically and tactically — but also takes a dreamy, sort of romantic tone and looks at plants as a portal into culture and history. For those of you who know me, you know my zen space is when i’m taking a long walk - but what you might not know - is that my notes app is full of what I call “walking poems” where little ideas come to me in the form of flowers and birds and rhyme. So while I am not a green thumb (my track record with houseplants is poor), I hold a sort of reverence for the spirituality and symmetry of nature; it’s durability and adaptability always moves me and Oakland Garden Club gets it. Subscribe here:
*Because I’m slightly neurotic, I checked in with ChatGPT to make sure it was OK to make fun of Trunk or Treat, and worry not, we’re in the clear:
