There is plenty to keep you entertained, educated and civically engaged this week in Richmond.
Highlights include: a haunted house and other Halloween-related events; a major fundraising gala for a performing arts school; and the polls open to vote in a special statewide election.
For more, see our list of ongoing things to do in Richmond (many of which are free).
- Haunted house returns to downtown Richmond
- Costume contest and trick-or-treating on Solano Avenue
- In-person Prop. 50 voting opens in Richmond Friday
- Don’t be afraid to tell city officials what you think about Richmond
- Music, dinner at art center annual fundraising gala
- Fall wine tasting benefits youth program
- Spiral Dance is a chance to honor loved ones
- Help clean up a community center
- Public meeting focuses on actionable goals for school district
- Ceremony remembers, honors veterans
- Richmond Shoreline Alliance hosts United Heckathorn meeting
- Related stories
Haunted house returns to downtown Richmond
A full-fledged haunted house will provide spooky thrills in downtown Richmond for the third straight year.
The 13th Door Haunted House is open on Halloween night as well as the following two evenings.
13th Door Haunted House, Fri, Oct. 31, Sat., Nov. 1, and Sun., Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., 1420 Macdonald Ave. General admission tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. A fast pass to skip the line is $20 in advance and $30 at the door.
Costume contest and trick-or-treating on Solano Avenue
Kick off Halloween evening with some classic trick-or-treating and a costume contest on Solano Avenue, which runs through parts of Albany and Berkeley.
The annual Halloween on Solano Avenue event features a costume contest which begins at 5 p.m. at Solano-Peralta Park, 1559 Solano Ave.
No advance registration is required. Cash prizes will be awarded for the best costumes.
Most stores and offices on Solano Avenue will be giving out candy from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. that afternoon.
To find more things to do on Halloween, the NextDoor app offers a trick-or-treat map of where to find the fun in your neighborhood.
Halloween on Solano Avenue, Fri., Oct. 31. Businesses will hand out candy from 3-5 p.m.; 5 p.m. costume contest at Solano-Peralta Park, 1559 Solano Ave., Berkeley.
In-person Prop. 50 voting opens in Richmond Friday
On Tue., Nov. 4, the state is holding a special election, where Californians will decide whether to approve Proposition 50, a partisan gerrymandering plan with significant stakes far beyond the Golden State’s borders.
Prop. 50, the sole measure on the ballot, will impact the struggle for control of the federal government.
If approved, California would temporarily set aside its nonpartisan citizen redistricting commission and adopt new congressional lines that favor Democrats for the next three election cycles. Republicans hold a 219-213 majority in the U.S. House, with three vacancies.
You can cast your Prop. 50 ballot in-person in Richmond on Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center Plaza; Sat., Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Mon., Nov. 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Early in-person voting is now open at the Clerk-Recorder’s office in Martinez through Mon., Nov. 3, at 555 Escobar St., on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Secure ballot drop-off boxes will also be open around the county. Visit the Contra Costa County registrar of voters page for more details.
Don’t be afraid to tell city officials what you think about Richmond
The city of Richmond’s 2025 Community Survey is open until Oct. 31.
City officials are asking residents to fill out an online form to let them know what it’s like to live and work in Richmond as well as what services need to be improved and what matters most in their neighborhoods.
The detailed survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. It asks about health, safety, the economy and how well the city communicates with the public.
City officials say the responses are confidential and no identifying information will be shared.
Music, dinner at art center annual fundraising gala
The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, a free school for youths, is holding its annual fundraising gala.
The 15th Annual Gala will feature performances by students and faculty as well as a social cocktail hour and a seated dinner.
A general admission ticket is $250. A VIP ticket with preferred seat costs $500.
The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts was founded in 1968 near Richmond’s Iron Triangle. In its 77 years, the center has helped more than 50,000 young people develop skills in the worlds of music, theater, dance and media-making.
EBCPA 15th Annual Gala, Sat., Nov. 1, 6 p.m., East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, 339 11th St.
Fall wine tasting benefits youth program
You can sample some wine while helping a youth program at a benefit.
The 2025 Fall Wine Tasting Cocktail Party will feature wines, cocktails, beer and hors d’oeuvres as well as a silent auction and a 50/50 drawing, where half of the prize goes to the winner and half goes to the organization.
Tickets are $50 per person. Proceeds from the event go to the West County Salesian Youth Club, a nonprofit organization based in Richmond that provides programs and opportunities for young people.
The 2025 Fall Wine Tasting Cocktail Party, Sat., Nov. 1, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., West County Salesian Youth Club, 2801 Moran Ave. $50.
Spiral Dance is a chance to honor loved ones
A ceremony will be held to provide community members with an opportunity to honor loved ones who have died.
The 47th annual Spiral Dance celebrates the Celtic holiday of Samhain, whose observers believe the “veil is thin” between the worlds of the living and the dead.
The celebration will include altar viewings, a listening mediation and a reading of the names of those who have passed.
Spiral Dance, Sat., Nov. 1, 3:30 p.m., 403 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. Free, although donations are requested.
Help clean up a community center
Richmond city officials are looking for volunteers to help spruce up a community center.
The May Valley Community Workday will be held on Monday morning at the May Valley Community Center.
Participants will be asked to paint, weed, prune and mulch. Tools and supplies will be provided as well as a free lunch.
May Valley Community Workday, Mon., Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May Valley Community Center, 3530 Morningside Drive
Public meeting focuses on actionable goals for school district
The West Contra Costa Unified School District is holding the latest in a series of public meetings early next week to get input from residents on the district’s financial issues.
The 90-day fiscal stabilization plan was launched by Superintendent Cheryl Cotton in September as a way to inform the public of the district’s financial situation and to get feedback.
The series of in-person and virtual meetings began on Sept. 15 and continues through May 2026.
The first phase dealt with budget assessments. The second phase focused on root causes of the district’s budget deficit. The current third phase hones in on attainable goals.
West Contra Costa Unified School District budget meeting, Mon., Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Hercules High School, 1900 Refugio Valley Road. Meetings will also be held Nov. 13 and Nov. 20.
Ceremony remembers, honors veterans
Contra Costa County supervisors will take a moment to remember veterans and their families next week on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The Remembering Our Heroes ceremony will specifically honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the pioneering Black aviators who fought with honor against both enemies abroad and discrimination at home; as well the women known as Rosie the Riveters who worked in the shipyards in Richmond and elsewhere to bolster the war effort; and the Code Talkers, the Native Americans who used their tribal language to send secret messages during World War I and World War II.
Remembering Our Heroes, Tue., Nov. 4, 11 a.m., Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors chambers, 1025 Escobar St., Martinez
Richmond Shoreline Alliance hosts United Heckathorn meeting
Join the Richmond Shoreline Alliance, Sierra Club Bay Chapter and SF Baykeeper for a conversation with Richmond residents about the United Heckathorn Superfund site and the city’s Community Cleanup Plan.
The site is contaminated because from 1944 to 1966 chemical companies formulated, packaged, and shipped pesticides, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dieldrin, in the Lauritzen, Parr and Santa Fe channels of the Richmond Harbor. This left behind a stew of contamination, part of the toxic legacy that still threaten many Richmond neighborhoods today.
The amount of chemicals in the harbor, especially Lauritzen Channel, is so high that the site, United Heckathorn — named after one of the chemical companies — was declared a Superfund in 1990, meaning it receives money from the Environmental Protection Agency to be cleaned up. But despite soil dredging in the 1990s, the chemicals remain in the water and fish, which aren’t safe for humans to eat.
Heckathorn meeting, Thur., Nov. 6 at Easter Hill United Methodist Church, 3911 Cutting Blvd., 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Spanish interpretation will be provided. For more information, contact info@RichmondShorelineAlliance.org. Free.
