Downtown Los Altos holds about a dozen events between now and mid-December, and nearly all of them happen on or within a block of State Street. The Downtown Los Altos Farmers' Market at 200 State St. holds its last Thursday of the season on October 29. Six weeks later, the Holiday Market comes back to the same street on Thursdays, 4 to 8 p.m., the same hours the farmers' market kept all season. Between those two Thursdays, on Sunday, November 29, the 50th Los Altos Festival of Lights Parade sets off at 6 p.m. from First and State.

Thursday, 4 to 8, on State Street

The farmers' market has run Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. since April 30, operated by the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association with the Los Altos Village Association and support from the City of Los Altos. As of this week, the market has two Thursdays left: October 22 and the closing night, October 29. Grapes are the seasonal highlight on PCFMA's market page right now.

When the Thursday slot comes back, it's in a different form. The annual Downtown Los Altos Holiday Market runs Thursday, December 10, and again Thursday, December 17, from 4 to 8 p.m. The Village Association calls it a "European-style night market," with live music, visits with Santa, and gifts and stocking stuffers from local vendors. The calendar listing puts it at State Street Market, 170 State St., a short walk down the block from the farmers' market's 200 State St. address.

So State Street goes without its Thursday evening market for about six weeks. Those weeks are filled with weekend events instead.

The weekends that fill the gap

Between the last farmers' market and the first Holiday Market, the Downtown Los Altos calendar runs in a steady order, one event roughly every week or two:

1. Witches & Warlocks Wine Stroll, Friday, October 23, 6 to 9 p.m. Wine tastings and music at participating downtown venues.
2. HEAD WEST Marketplace, Sunday, October 25, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last one of the season, with local makers, crafters, designers, and artists set up on State Street between Second and Fourth Streets. The Los Altos Village Association presents it, and State Street Market sponsors it.
3. A BOO-tiful Downtown Halloween, Friday, October 30. Trick-or-treating starts at noon at stores showing an orange pumpkin sign, with games and activities at Veterans Community Plaza from 2 to 4 p.m.
4. 23rd Annual Holiday Stroll, Friday, November 13, 5 to 9 p.m. Lights, strolling carolers, and shopping specials across downtown.
5. Small Business Saturday, November 28.
6. The 50th Festival of Lights Parade, Sunday, November 29, 6 p.m.
7. Holiday Tree Celebration, Friday, December 4, 6 to 8 p.m. At Veterans Community Plaza, Main and State, with performances by local students, trolley rides, and photos with Santa.

Small Business Saturday and the parade fall on back-to-back days of Thanksgiving weekend. Five days after the parade, the tree lights at Veterans Community Plaza, and the Holiday Market follows the next Thursday.

Fifty parades, built by volunteers

The Festival of Lights Parade has opened the holiday season downtown since 1977. The Los Altos Festival of Lights Association, a nonprofit run entirely by volunteers, produces it, funded by community grants and spectator donations. Its theme every year is "A Child's Holiday Fantasy," with lighted floats, local high school marching bands, costumed characters, and Santa and his reindeer. According to the Los Altos Town Crier's preview of last year's parade, the earliest parades were four or five push floats that volunteers built themselves. That 2025 lineup had grown to about 60 entries, including 24 floats, 10 bands, and Bertha the animated dragon riding a circus train.

The volunteer model still runs the night. In the Town Crier's follow-up on the 2025 parade, association co-president Nora Haley said more than 150 volunteers worked parade night. They checked floats before the start, pushed or drove them, wore the costumes, and checked the lights on each costume. In the same story, she looked ahead to this year:

"...so the community can look for some truly special touches throughout the parade!"

Those touches have not been announced. The association's FAQ explains how the parade is paid for: the City provides police and other services because the parade is a designated Heritage Event, and private donations pay to build, repair, and renovate the floats and costumes. For the anniversary, the association's fund is called "Celebrate 50 Years, Give $50," and it asks supporters to consider a $50 gift toward the parade. The floats rolling down First Street on November 29 are maintained mostly with that kind of neighbor-to-neighbor money.

Parade night, hour by hour

On parade Sunday, downtown runs on a fixed schedule, and most of the key times come well before the first float. Here's the sequence from the association's own pages, with parade times marked as estimates:

1. Noon. Chairs, blankets, ribbon, signs, or anything else used to save a viewing spot on public property may go out starting at noon, and not before.
2. 4 p.m. The Downtown Triangle, bounded by San Antonio Road, Edith Avenue, and First Street, closes. Access into downtown from Foothill Expressway at Main Street closes too.
3. 6 p.m. The parade starts at First and State.
4. 6:20 to 6:30 p.m. The first floats reach First and Main.
5. 6:45 to 7 p.m. The first floats reach the end of the route.
6. 7:20 to 7:45 p.m. The final floats reach the end.
7. 10 p.m. Anything used to save a spot has to be removed. Items left behind go to Lost and Found at the Maintenance Service Center, 707 Fremont Road.

The viewing guidelines set out a few more rules. Chalk, tape, and other adhesives can't be used to mark a spot. Nothing goes in planting areas or blocks wheelchair ramps. Nobody may sell or rent space on public property. All viewing is from sidewalks or intersections, and the guidelines specifically prohibit viewing in front of the parklets.

For a less crowded view, the association points to Whitney Street, near the end of the route, and it recommends bringing blankets and leaving pets at home. Accessible parking is in Plaza North, between Third and Fourth Streets behind Wells Fargo Bank. Enter from Edith at Third, and don't try to cross Main Street to get there.

Dinner before the curb, on the same block

Spots can be saved at noon and the parade doesn't start until 6, so for a lot of families the afternoon in between is the real logistics problem. State Street Market, the food hall at 170 State St. that hosts the December Holiday Market, sits on the same street where the parade begins. Its website currently lists Konjoe Burger, Konjoe Eatery, Orenchi Ramen, Orenchi Sushi, Little Sky Bakery, The Penny Ice Creamery, Little Blue Door, and The Good Salad. Since the website snapshot isn't dated, check a stall's hours before planning a holiday-weekend dinner around it. The same building works for a Holiday Market Thursday in December too, when the night market sets up outside.

Downtown's parking plazas are also the subject of the City's longer-term downtown park and parking plaza planning, which is studying concepts for Plazas 1, 2 and 3. That project is still at the concept stage. The project page says no construction timeline has been set and estimates four or more years for design and any construction.

The short version for your calendar

• October 22 and 29: the last two Thursday farmers' markets, 4 to 8 p.m., 200 State St.
• November 29: the 50th parade at 6 p.m. Spots can be saved from noon, and the Triangle closes at 4.
• December 10 and 17: the Holiday Market, 4 to 8 p.m., State Street.

For more on the town beyond State Street, our Los Altos neighborhood page covers the rest of the community.

At Moles Group, we've been part of Silicon Valley's hometown traditions for three generations, and we hope to see you on the curb for the 50th parade. If a move or a home question is on your mind this season, we're glad to talk it through over coffee on State Street whenever it suits you.