16 South Bay Accent
CALENDAR
run, food trucks, beverages and activities for
kids and teens. Redwood City Port, 675 West
Seaport Blvd., Redwood City. 650/306-4150.
Welcome Back Monarchs Day. Oct. 8, 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. Help welcome monarch butterflies
back to Natural Bridges State Park, their
wintering habitat. This family-friendly event
is appropriate for all ages and features activities
such as arts and crafts, active games for kids,
live music, hand-cranked “monarch” ice cream
(pumpkin), information about monarch butterflies
and how-tos for a butterfly garden.
Free. Natural Bridges State Park, 2531 West
Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. 831/423-4609.
Day on the Bay. Oct. 8, 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Supervisor Dave Cortese
and the Santa Clara County Parks
and Recreation Department team
up again for the eighth annual multicultural
festival, rich in diversity,
talent and ethnic expression.
Expect a pumpkin patch, kayak
rides and “Bike to the Bay,” a community
bike ride along the Guadalupe
River Trail to Day on the
Bay. Free. Alviso Marina County
Park, 1195 Hope St., San Jose.
408/299-5030.
Safeway World Championship
Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Oct. 9,
7 to 11 a.m. This year is Half
Moon Bay’s 44th Annual Safeway
World Championship
Pumpkin Weigh-Off, and the
stakes are high. The competition offers a
special $30,000 mega-prize for the pumpkin
breaking last year’s record of 2,624 pounds.
Free. I.D.E.S. Grounds, 735 Main St., Half
Moon Bay. 650/726-9652.
Pumpkins in the Park. Oct. 10, 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. This treasured harvest
fair features a giant pumpkin patch, a
costume parade, carnival games, a
kid-size straw bale maze, a children’s
concert, food, fresh apple cider
and more. Tickets $1. Guadalupe
River Park, Discovery Meadow,
Woz Way and San Carlos, San
Jose. 408/298-7657.
Grand National Livestock
Exposition, Horse Show and
Rodeo. Oct. 13–14 and Oct.
20–21, times vary. The spirit
of the Old West comes to life during
this two-weekend extravaganza. Be wowed
by cowboys and cowgirls as they participate in
professional rodeo events such as steer wrestling,
team roping and bareback riding. Ticket
prices vary. Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Ave.,
Daly City. 415/404-4111.
Woodside Day of the Horse. Oct. 14, 9:45
a.m. to 4 p.m. Grab a dose of fresh country
air during this annual event that celebrates our
equine friends. Expect live music, food, educational
exhibits, a petting zoo, Wells Fargo
stagecoach rides and other outdoor activities.
feature different classes of trucks and tractors
showcasing their horsepower as they pull
a two-ton sled across the dirt floor. New this
year will be the Farmer 500 cars. Tickets $10–
$27. Salinas Sports Complex, 1034 N. Main
St., Salinas. 800/549-4989.
Fiesta del Mar. Oct. 16, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Bring family and friends and celebrate ocean
conservation and Latin American cultural traditions.
This exciting and festive day includes
live music, dance, bilingual feeding shows,
crafts for kids and more. Tickets $29.95–
$49.95, children 12 and under free. Monterey
Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey.
831/648-4800.
United Nations Association Film Festival.
Oct. 19–20, times vary. This
film festival highlights documentary
films that explore human
rights and sustainable development
across the globe. This year’s
theme, “respect,” continues a twodecades
long celebration of the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights with the reminder that it
applies to everyone. Screenings
take place at locations throughout
Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford
University and San Francisco.
Santa Cruz Band Review. Oct. 21,
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Enjoy the warm
sands, cool surf and hot rides of the
boardwalk as 55 Northern California
high school and junior high
school marching bands fill the beach
with music. This will be the 47th
annual parade of its kind. Free. Santa Cruz
Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz.
831/423-5590.
Campbell Con. Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Geek out at this cleverly named neighborhood
pop culture convention. Expect celebrity
guests, artists, cosplay, comic books, toys, collectibles
and more. This event is fun for all
ages, and a blast for comic and superhero
enthusiasts alike. Tickets $10–$35; free
for children under 5. Campbell Community
Center, 1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell.
408/571-8013.
Wharf Fest. Oct. 21, 11:30 a.m. to 5
p.m. This Fisherman’s Wharf festival celebrates
San Francisco’s historic waterfront
district. Activities and sights include
a chowder competition, live music, street
performers, a decorated guitar fundraiser
display and a Segway obstacle course. Free.
Fisherman’s Wharf, Little Embarcadero from
Taylor to Powell streets, San Francisco.
Cars & Croissants. Oct. 22, 9 a.m. to noon.
On the fourth Saturday of every month
through December, exotic car owners are invited
to park on Santana Row Boulevard, display
their cars and mingle with other car enthusiasts.
The morning meet-up for coffee, croissants
and cars drew 400 people and 60 cars
during the first event and continues to grow.
Free. Woodside Town Hall, 2955 Woodside
Road, Woodside. 650/380-6408.
Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival.
Oct. 15–16, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This famous
annual festival returns this year with humongous
pumpkins, a haunted house, live music,
pie eating, harvest crafts and loads of activities
for the whole family. Free. Main Street
between Miramontes and Spruce streets, Half
Moon Bay. 650/726-9652.
Central Coast Motorsports Spectacular.
Oct. 15, noon to 4 p.m. The family-friendly
Motorsports Spectacular features monster
trucks and motorcycle jumpers with truck
and tractor pulls; the latter will
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban, Oct. 27, Center for the
Performing Arts, San Jose; Bruno
Mars, Nov. 3, Oracle Arena, Oakland
BOTTOM: KAI Z FENG