Downtown Campbell's Halloween Weekend Is Two Events, and Each One Needs a Different Plan

Downtown Campbell holds two free Halloween events this weekend, on the same street corner, about 21 hours apart. The Thrill the World Zombie Crawl starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, October 24. Creepy Crawly Halloween starts at 4 p.m. Sunday, October 25. Both are listed at E. Campbell Ave. and N. First St. Each one asks for its own plan. Saturday turns a dinner booking into a front-row seat. On Sunday the costume is the reason to go, and the candy is a small bonus.

Saturday's front row is a table you book ahead

The Zombie Crawl is organized by Adira Dance and Costume, a San Jose studio. A crowd of costumed dancers moves from one end of downtown to the other and performs Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at each stop. The Downtown Campbell event listing says it plainly: "if you want a front row seat, pick your favorite restaurant in Downtown Campbell and make reservations accordingly."

The dancers need about 10 minutes to get from one stop to the next, and the route loops counterclockwise around downtown. Where you sit decides when you see the show and whether you get a second look. The organizers also say the schedule can shift, so they suggest booking with extra time in case the dancers arrive early or late. They add that they "can't guarantee they'll stop at an expected location because the schedule is tight and not everything is under their control."

The crawl itself costs nothing. The seat costs whatever dinner costs, and that's the only part of the evening you can plan around.

Reading the route stop by stop

Here are the expected stops in order, as the Downtown Campbell listing gives them:

1. Elia, Sultan's Kabob and Willard Hicks, the first stop, at 7 p.m.
2. Tratoria 360
3. 7 Stars Bar & Grill
4. Blue Line Pizza
5. La Pizzeria and Katie Bloom's
6. Sushi Confidential
7. Aqui's
8. Wild Rose
9. Doppio Zero
10. Tessora's Wine Bar
11. El Guapo's, the last stop, around 8:55 p.m.

That's 11 stops in roughly two hours. A table near the top of the list catches the dancers fresh and frees the rest of your evening. A table near the bottom means a later dinner, and the night ends where the dancers end. Sushi Confidential and Aqui's sit near the middle, so their timing is the hardest to predict.

The first stop shows how much this block has been changing. Elia, the Greek and Mediterranean group that started in Pleasanton, has moved into 276 East Campbell Avenue. The San Jose Blog reported in August, drawing on the Silicon Valley Business Journal, that Elia serves mezethes and weekend brunch, with late hours that run toward midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. That puts a dining room still new to many locals at the point where the 7 p.m. dance begins. If you book there, the first "Thriller" of the night happens outside while you order.

The route's last stretch makes a good walking plan for anyone who would rather stand than sit. Wild Rose, Doppio Zero, Tessora's and El Guapo's close out the loop in the final half hour or so. Following the dancers through those last few stops ends the night with the group.

If you wanted to dance in it

Adira runs free "Thriller" workshops in the parking lot outside its studio at 2038 Lincoln Ave. in San Jose. The series begins in September and meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Downtown Campbell's listing notes that the workshops are nowhere near downtown, but the group's biggest performances happen in Campbell. The last Wednesday before this year's crawl was October 21. For anyone who missed the series, Saturday is a year to watch, and the September start date is the one to remember.

The routine itself has a global history. Thrill the World calls itself "The Annual Worldwide Simultaneous Dance To 'Thriller,'" a community dance project that the Campbell crawl takes part in.

Sunday is a costume party where the candy runs short

Creepy Crawly Halloween is the Downtown Campbell Business Association's yearly two-hour costume event in the streets of downtown, with help from the City of Campbell. Its own Creepy Crawly listing is unusually frank about what the event is for:

"Candy and other freebies are certainly a big part of this event, but most people come mainly to revel in a community wide costume party in the streets and get some candy as an added bonus."

The association goes further. Given the size of the crowd, it says a full bucket is unlikely, and anyone "mainly coming for the candy" will probably "leave disappointed." The Mercury News preview on October 6 said the same thing, describing the event as more about costumes than candy.

With the costume as the bigger draw, the most useful work happens before you leave home: a costume that holds up on a crowded sidewalk, plus an exit plan for a child who gets tired. Candy-focused trick-or-treating has its own night on Saturday, October 31.

Dogs are welcome. The invitation asks for "two and four legged little ghouls, goblins, and superheroes," and Cloud City Supply's pet costume contest that same week shows how much of the season is built around dogs. The association's main caution is about crowd size: "This is a VERY popular event and it will be crowded so if you're bringing sensitive children or animals, please take special precautions."

Sunday has a good warm-up too. Momstera Lounge is holding a $45 spooky kokedama workshop themed to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on October 25. It ends well before Creepy Crawly starts at 4.

Getting downtown when the core fills up

Both events pack the same few blocks, so parking takes some planning. Downtown Campbell's directions and parking guide calls the two-level garage at S. First Street and Rincon Ave., by the Water Tower, usually the best bet. Its other options include:

• The three-story garage at N. 2nd Street and Civic Center Drive
• Public lots along Orchard City Drive and Railway Avenue
• The Campbell Library lot, when the library is closed
• Campbell Community Center lots, which the guide recommends for big events
• Paid Orchard City Parking, plus time-limited street parking

The same guide says that during events with street closures, most or all of the lots on E. Campbell Ave. are unavailable. Neither Halloween listing announces a closure, so the safest plan is to treat the Community Center lots as your first choice for both days. The City of Campbell counts more than 1,000 free off-street spaces downtown, spread across the garages and surface lots.

The easiest arrival skips the car. VTA's Campbell Station is on the Green Line, and it lets a Saturday dinner group get to and from the route without circling for a space at 6:45 p.m.

The rest of Halloween week runs on a smaller scale

The weekend's two big events sit inside a week of smaller ones, and several fall on days the crowds stay home.

The Mercury News reports that the library provides popcorn, candy, drinks and chairs for the teen screenings, and attendees can bring a blanket and pillow. Cloud City's contest runs entirely online, so a costumed dog can compete without ever facing Sunday's crowd.

Tessora's appears in that table and on Saturday's route. The wine bar is the tenth of 11 zombie stops on October 24, and a week later it holds its own costume party on Halloween night. That makes it the one downtown room tied to both Saturdays of the season.

Weekends like this are a big part of why a home near Downtown Campbell means more than its floor plan. If you're thinking about what being within walking distance of the zombie route would mean for your own household, or how a home near these blocks fits your next stage of life, Renovato & Co. would be glad to talk it through, calmly and on your timeline. Let's Begin.