San Jose Wishlist - Halloween in the Park (Part XV)

As Halloween approaches, it is time to resurrect one of my top event wishlist items for San Jose. "Halloween in the Park."

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. It's the one day where you get to interact with your neighbors and the wider community. The level of creativity in decorations and costumes is also the most eclectic and interesting out of all the holidays for me--whether that's for trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, or work events.

In October it's tradition for The San Jose Blog have a wish-list post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October. A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences, much as it is today with Christmas in the Park.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments or on X (Twitter). Thanks!

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The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America Halloween Haunt)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero/ZERO1-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as the Winchestor Mystery House or The Bernal SCREAM.
• Potential Events
• Zombie Crawl / 5k Run
• Dia De Los Muertos Events (already quite a few today)
• Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball
• Pet costume contests and pet-friendly events

Inspirations:

• Winchester Mystery House Unhinged
• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)

Project for 900 homes moves forward near Little Portugal and San Jose's next BART station

The city of San Jose just completed the environmental review for a mixed-use project close to Little Portugal at 1325 East Julian St. The project would have four 10-story buildings with 633 apartments, 127 reserved for affordable housing, an 11,500 SQFT of ground-floor retail. There would be a six-story building with 49 affordable homes and 2,500 SQFT of ground-floor retail. Lastly there is a six-story apartment building with 235 homes, all affordable housing plus 820 SQFT of ground-floor commercial space.

This is certainly a huge improvement over what is in the area now (see 2nd image below). However...

...this is a huge lost opportunity to build interesting buildings that tie into the Little Portugal neighborhood and BART station. This does not have to be expensive. Simple changing the color scheme and adding a little mosaic tile will add character and give San Jose a much needed dose of vibrancy.

You can find Portugese-influenced architecture interviewed all around the world. This is Senado Square in Macao (China):

Again, something is better than nothing but there are not many empty parcels left in San Jose. We'll be looking at these buildings for the next 50+ years, so we should make sure the design reflects the direction San Jose is headed as opposed to being another beige box.

Source: SVBJ

Groundbreaking for San Jose City College Career Education Center

San Jose City College just broke ground on a futuristic looking building that will centralize student programs and services as well as providing a community space. It's a four-story net-zero building with 90,000 SQFT of space.

This has to be one of the nicest buildings I've seen at a community college--outdoor terraces, biophilic gardens, and a rooftop deck. The $112 million building is being paid for from San Jose/Evergreen Community College Measure X funds.

Construction should wrap up by October 2024.

Source: SF YIMBY

De.coded - A Human Atlas of Silicon Valley

De.Coded is a portrait of Silicon Valley’s Diversity and Impact using multimedia by artist Marcus Lyon. De.Coded is an exploration of 101 change makers from Silicon Valley, nominated by local grassroots leaders and activists for their extraordinary contribution to the region and beyond. The project features photographic portraits, app-based image-activated oral history soundtracks, and ancestral DNA mapping to create a deeper understanding of the valley and its communities.

The project aims to honor the exceptional diversity of the valley and tell a deeper narrative about one of the most influential regions on earth. The 101 individuals represent a wide range of backgrounds, professions, passions, and causes. They include entrepreneurs, educators, activists, artists, scientists, engineers, athletes, politicians, and more. 

De.Coded is not only a celebration of Silicon Valley’s human capital, but also a challenge to rethink our assumptions and stereotypes about the region. If you are curious to learn more about De.Coded and the stories behind the portraits, you can visit the official website or download the app on Google Play or iTunes App Store. There will also be a book signing on Oct 29th at Books Inc. in Palo Alto from 11am to 1pm.

The Bernal Scream Haunted House in South San Jose

I've posted about a lot of family-friendly Halloween events this year. If you’re looking for a more thrilling and terrifying way to celebrate Halloween, look no further than the Bernal Scream, a haunted house attraction located at 620 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123. The Bernal Scream is the creation of father and son duo Mike and Abel Barrera, who started it as a free show in their backyard in 2013. Since then, they have grown it into a commercial attraction that has attracted thousands of visitors and rave reviews.

Unfortunately co-founder Abel Barrera passed away from pancreatic cancer as they were working together on their next haunted attraction. Now, seven years later the dream of finishing what was started by the duo all those years ago is coming to fruition.

The Bernal Scream is not your typical haunted house. It is a high-endurance attraction that is intense. The theme for this year is Lucifer’s Wrath, a dark and twisted journey through the underworld. You will encounter demons, zombies, clowns, chainsaws, and more as you try to escape the wrath of the devil himself.

The Bernal Scream is open every day up to October 31 from 7pm to at least 10pm (Midnight on the 27th, 28th, and 31st). Tickets are $25 for general admission and $35 for VIP admission, which includes front-of-the-line access and a souvenir photo. You can buy tickets online at their website or at the door. The attraction is recommended for ages 13 and up, as again it is very intense and scary.

Little Portugal San Jose Mural

San Jose's Little Portugal has been in the news quite a bit lately since it will be one of the four new stops in BART's $12 billion extensions to Downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. I'll have some updates (and criticisms) on a large development project for the area sometime next week. The neighborhood is also known for ADEGA, San Jose's first and only Michelin Star restaurant which is about to convert to a more casual concept to mirror it's sister restaurant in Downtown San Jose, Petiscos. 

Heading into a beautiful weekend, I thought I'd share a mural that I just found out about from a cousin that would like to stay anonymous. This is near Bacalhau Grille, a casual Portuguese and Brazilian restaurant at 1555 Alum Rock. It prominently features Five Wounds Portuguese National Church which has been around for 110 years. You can't miss the church's two red peaks driving along 101, Santa Clara Street, or Alum Rock. 

Towards the top it features the flags of the United States, Portugal, Brazil, and the Azores (autonomous region of Portugal). It's a cute little neighborhood that will get a whole lot busier after the BART station is built.

Signia by Hilton supporting local San Jose artists as part of Dia de los Muertos events

Signia by Hilton (former San Jose Fairmont) is getting into the Dia de los Muertos spirit with a two-week celebration from October 21st to November 4th built around three different events.

On October 21st the party starts at AJI Bar & Robata in the beautiful lounge in the middle of the hotel. Signia partnered with local artists to create a paper altar display, posters, and feature Aztec dancers, musicians, and face painters. There will be tequila and mezcal tastings in the lobby.

From Oct 21 to November 4th, the AJI Bar & Robata will feature a special menu of Mexican shared bites and new tequila and mezcal craft cocktails.

On October 27th they will have a costume party headlined by Chicana artis La Doña.

To learn more about all three of these events, head over to the Signia Dia de los Muertos Celebration site. Oh, and if that wasn't enough Dia de los Muertos for you, then the 26th annual Dia de los Muertos Festival and Procession takes place on October 28th at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

Pellier Park Grand Opening today in Downtown San Jose

Today, San Jose gets a new park. You might have noticed a large construction area in front of City Heights, Downtown's first high-rise residential tower. This will be Pellier Park, named after a nursery founded and operated by Louis and Pierre Pellier. They planted grape seedlings and became famous for growing prunes. By 1870 more than 19,000 prune trees were planted.

Pellier Park is 0.54-acres and has a central area in the shape of a plum with a community grove in the very center. It features a variety of flowering trees, sloped lawns, lounge seating, a storytelling wall, and a flowering tree drift. There is also a walkway beside a new set of townhomes that were built at the corner of the block.

The park is immediately accessible by anyone at City Heights, is across the street from the 188 West St. James residential towers (formerly Silvery towers) and two blocks away from the San Pedro Square Market.

The grand opening takes place today at 5pm.