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Content is loadingTrick-or-treat on Park St, the Haunted Hornet's last nights, bird flu at Crab Cove & more
The Alameda Pulse
Sean
October 29, 2026
Happy Thursday, everyone!
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so Park Street does trick-or-treating from 1 t- 5, the Haunted Hornet runs its last four nights, and the antiques faire fills Alameda Point on Sunday.
In the news, we got everything from free sandbags to prep for El Niño, geese that tested positive for bird flu, updates on the local election, and finally an answer to help fill more Park Street and Webster businesses.
Let's dive in!
In this week's email:
Featured Events: Park St trick-or-treat, Haunted Hornet
Alameda News: Sandbags, bird flu, storefronts
Community Spotlight: Encinal's radio station, 2nd in the nation
This Week's Events: Funk Revival Orchestra, pet parades, vote centers
Houses on the Market: New Alameda listings
Read time: 8 mins
FEATURED EVENTS
Saturday, Oct 31 | 1 to 5 PM | Free | 📍 Alameda Avenue and Park Street.
Halloween is on a Saturday this year, and downtown does its trick-or-treating in the afternoon.
Look for the "We Have Candy" sign in the window of the Park Street shops, and bring the kids down Alameda Avenue for a DJ and games.
It runs 1 to 5 PM, so you can hit downtown first and still make the neighborhood rounds after dark.
Thursday, Oct 29 to Sunday, Nov 1 | Entry 6:30 to 8 PM; Sunday 5:30 to 7 PM | From $35; ages 13+ | 📍 USS Hornet.
The haunted house below the Hornet's flight deck closes Sunday, and Halloween night is already half sold out.
You go in with a small timed group every 15 minutes and work through the decks in the dark. The Devil's Tavern bar is open Thursday through Saturday.
Three of Saturday's seven windows were gone by Monday. Thursday and Sunday are the easy nights.
Photos: City of Alameda, East Bay Regional Park District, Lorahlove / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Free sandbags are now at Washington Park and Grandview Pavilion on Bay Farm, not just Alameda Point. The City partially activated its Emergency Operations Center on Oct 19 and sent out a prepare-for-winter notice Friday. Each resident can take up to five pre-filled bags from the Washington Park lot at 1300 8th St, the Grandview lot at 300 Island Dr, or the self-serve station at Lexington and W. Hope at Alameda Point. Staff will help load cars at the Alameda Point station on Saturday, Nov 7 from 8 AM to noon.
The king tides the City is flagging are Nov 24 to 26, Dec 22 to 25 and Jan 20 to 23, and a worst-case model has water 3 feet above forecast. At that level, the roads to Bay Farm and the Posey and Webster tubes could flood. Staff call that a worst case, not a forecast, but they expect flooding in places that haven't flooded before. Tuesday's high tide was a preview: NOAA's Alameda gauge hit 8.6 feet at 12:42 PM, more than a foot above the 7.4 feet forecast. Next Wednesday, Nov 4, Council votes on declaring a local emergency and setting aside $500,000 from reserves for pumps, generators, barriers and overtime. Report street flooding to Public Works at 510-747-7900 on weekdays or 510-337-8340 nights and weekends. Get storm-ready →
Source: City of Alameda | Nov 4 staff report | NOAA
Two Canada geese picked up at the Crab Cove end of Crown Beach on Oct 8 and 12 tested positive for bird flu, the City said Friday. Alameda County Vector Control confirmed it. The county says the risk to people is low, and the beach and city parks stay open.
Don't touch wild birds, stay 50 feet from a dead one, keep kids and dogs away from droppings, and stop feeding the geese. Wash your hands after any contact. If you see a sick or dead bird, call Vector Control at 510-567-6800 with the location and a photo from a distance. Read the notice →
One in eight storefronts on Webster Street is empty, and one in eleven on Park, and on Monday night the Planning Board voted 5-0 to back a fix. The plan lets more kinds of businesses open without a use permit: general retail instead of a list of store types, personal services, artist studios and maker spaces, and small gyms and play spaces under 5,000 square feet. Early-morning and weekend hours would no longer need a permit either. The board made one change: offices and health clinics can now go up to 5,000 square feet without a permit, up from 4,000. Same night, it approved 4-0 the South Shore Beach and Tennis Club's plan to turn existing commercial and office space into 16 ADUs.
The rules on Park Street haven't had a full update in over 20 years. A working group of WABA, DABA, realtors and architects met three times this year to draft them. The board's recommendation goes to City Council for the final say, with no date set yet. Read the staff report →
Source: City of Alameda | Planning Board staff report
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 3, and Alameda has six vote centers and three 24-hour drop boxes. Independence Plaza at 703 Atlantic Ave is open now, 9 to 5 daily. From Saturday, add Central Baptist Church, Bohol Circle on Union St, First Congregational, South Shore Center and Island High. All run 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day. Drop boxes are at City Hall, College of Alameda and the Bay Farm library. Registrar of Voters
Main Street's weekday ferries to San Francisco end Monday. From Nov 2, weekday trips move to the Seaplane Lagoon and Harbor Bay terminals, with extra runs on both. Weekends don't change. SF Bay Ferry
The surf park idea for Enterprise Park gets its first public hearing next Wednesday, Nov 4, at 5:30 PM. Council will give staff direction on negotiating with Neptune Beach Surf Club, a year after the talks started in closed session. Nothing gets approved yet, and the City would plan the whole 21-acre park alongside it. City of Alameda
A man running from Alameda police circled back Tuesday morning and drove off in one of their patrol cars. Officers had come on a report of threats and a restraining-order violation. He ditched the car in Oakland, and police found him barricaded in an empty building on International Boulevard and had him in custody before noon. No one was hurt. KTVU
Photo: Alameda Unified School District
A high school radio station in Alameda just beat college stations for second place in the nation. College Broadcasters Inc. gave Encinal Junior and Senior High's 96.1 KJTZ second place for Best Sports Reporting, Audio, at its 2026 national student media awards, for the students' broadcast of Encinal baseball playing Tamalpais at Oracle Park. First went to Marshall University. Encinal is the only high school on the whole winners' list.
KJTZ is a student-run low-power FM station that broadcasts from the Encinal campus on 96.1. The district won the frequency from the FCC in 2016 and built the studio on site, and students do the news, the sports and the podcasts.
Tune to 96.1 FM on a weekday morning and you'll hear Encinal students on the air. See the awards list
Whimsy Willow Pumpkin Play Patch, final weekend | Friday, Oct 30, 5:30 to 7:30 PM; Saturday, Oct 31 and Sunday, Nov 1, 10 AM to 6 PM | $15 kids, $10 adults pre-sale | 📍 Whimsy Willow. Last three days of the play garden's pumpkin patch. Tickets
Halloween Family Fest | Friday, Oct 30 | 3 to 6 PM | Free | 📍 South Shore Center. Trick-or-treating through the mall and a haunted house for kids. Details
Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade | Saturday, Oct 31 | Check-in 1:30 PM, parade 2 PM | Free; 30 pet spots | 📍 Webster Park. Costumed pets judged by FAAS, then trick-or-treating down Webster. Register
Halloween Pet Parade at The Yard | Saturday, Oct 31 | 2 to 4 PM | Free | 📍 The Yard at Saltbreaker. DogHood's dog costume parade at Alameda Point, same hour as Webster's. RSVP
Alameda Landing Halloween Spooktacular | Saturday, Oct 31 | 4 to 6 PM | Free | 📍 Alameda Landing. Face painting, balloon art, a photo booth and treat bags while they last. Details
Día de los Muertos Community Altar | Thursday, Oct 29 to Saturday, Oct 31 | 10 AM | Free | 📍 Crab Cove Visitor Center. Drop in and add a photo or memento to the altar. Details
Tricks and Treats of Birdwatching | Saturday, Oct 31 | 9 AM | Free | 📍 Crown Beach. A naturalist-led Halloween-morning bird walk. Details
Alameda Point Antiques Faire | Sunday, Nov 1 | 6 AM to 3 PM | $5 after 1 PM, $10 from 9 AM, $15 early entry | 📍 Alameda Point, 2900 Navy Way. 800-plus dealer booths on the old runway, everything at least 20 years old, and clocks fall back that morning. Plan your visit
A Funky Halloween with The Funk Revival Orchestra | Friday, Oct 30 | 8 to 10 PM | $32 | 📍 Rhythmix Cultural Works. A 10-piece Oakland funk band with full horns, costumes encouraged. Tickets
Live music at Cinema Grill | Thursday, Oct 29 to Sunday, Nov 1 | 7:30 PM; Sunday 3:30 PM | 1-drink minimum or $5 cover | 📍 Cinema Grill. Mio Flores Thu, Faith Luster Fri, Phree Thinkers in costume Sat, Jesse Manibusan Sun. Lineup
Halloween at the Fireside: M. Jones and the Interplanetary Arachnids | Saturday, Oct 31 | 8 PM | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. With Right Proper, plus a costume contest. Details
Karaoakland Day of the Dead Song Contest | Monday, Nov 2 | 7 PM | Free | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. Solo or group karaoke contest with prizes; reserve a slot. Sign up
Karaoke with KJ Melemel | Wednesday, Nov 4 | 6:30 to 8:30 PM | 📍 Cinema Grill. First-Wednesday karaoke in the theater's grill. Details
Factory 93 Halloween | Friday, Oct 30 and Saturday, Oct 31 | 7 PM to 2 AM | Ticketed; 21+ | 📍 Gold Bar Hangar. Two nights of techno and house with Boys Noize, Richie Hawtin and Jamie Jones. Tickets
Hops & Horrors Film Festival | Friday, Oct 30 | 6 to 10 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Local horror shorts from 6 to 8, a costume contest, then a taproom afterparty at 9. Details
The Lion in Winter | Thursday, Oct 29 and Friday, Oct 30, 7:30 PM; Sunday, Nov 1, 2 PM | $40 to $45 adults, $36 to $41 seniors | 📍 Altarena Playhouse. Eleanor of Aquitaine vs. Henry II; no show Halloween night; runs to Nov 22. Tickets
History Mystery After-Hours Tour | Saturday, Oct 31 | 7 to 10 PM | $40 | 📍 USS Hornet. Flashlight tour of the carrier's reputed hot spots on Halloween night. Tickets
Van Gogh's Starry Night, Halloween paint and sip | Friday, Oct 30 | 7 to 9 PM | $48; 18+ | 📍 Pinot's Palette, South Shore Center. The paint-and-sip studio is back at South Shore with a Halloween canvas. Book
Trivia Tuesday | Tuesday, Nov 3 | 7 to 9 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Weekly taproom trivia, on election night. Details
Fireside Trivia | Tuesday, Nov 3 | 7:30 PM | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. Weekly live trivia on Webster. Details
McGee's Trivia | Wednesday, Nov 4 | 6:30 PM | 📍 McGee's. Sunset Trivia's weekly Wednesday game. Details
Halloween Costume Run | Thursday, Oct 29 | 6:30 PM | Free | 📍 Park Station. Kindred Running's weekly 5K in costume, with a raffle and contest after. Details
Goated Run Club Halloween Run | Saturday, Oct 31 | 10 AM to 1 PM | Free | 📍 Almanac Adventureland. Costume run for all paces, beers at the Emerald Lodge after. Register
Alameda Haunts map and vote | Through Saturday, Oct 31 | $5 donation for the map; voting free | 📍 Alameda Food Bank. The haunted-house map funds the Food Bank; vote for your favorite haunt online. Get the map
Weekly Classes at Rhythmix | Most days | 📍 Rhythmix Cultural Works. Fourteen weekly classes including Bhangra Fundamentals Mondays 6:30 PM, plus salsa, zumba, bomba, karate, yoga and barre. See the schedule
Sandbag Help Day | Saturday, Nov 7 | 8 AM to noon | Free | 📍 Lexington Ave at W. Hope St, Alameda Point. City staff load the sandbags into your car. Details
Alameda Holiday Boutique, 46th annual | Saturday, Nov 7 and Sunday, Nov 8 | 10 AM to 4 PM | 📍 O'Club, Alameda Point. 70-plus artisans, benefits Alameda Meals on Wheels. Details
Paella Fiesta, 16th annual | Saturday, Nov 14 | Afternoon, by reservation | 📍 Dashe Cellars. Gerard Nebesky's paella, Spanish guitar and flamenco in the hangar. Tickets
HOUSES ON THE MARKET
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