On Saturday, October 24, three different organizers have booked the same stretch of North Central Avenue for overlapping parts of one day. The Tracy City Center Association runs the farmers market in the morning and the Candy Crawl in the afternoon. The Grand Theatre Center for the Arts hosts Día de los Muertos Family Day in between, and the 10th Annual Downtown Tracy Artwalk is held alongside it. The City of Tracy closes the streets at noon.
None of these events is new. What matters this year is how they hand off to each other. The day runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on a footprint of roughly five blocks, and the Grand at 715 N. Central Ave. sits in the middle of it. Once you know when each event starts and what closes when, one Saturday covers produce, a community altar, an art show, trick-or-treating and dinner on West 10th Street.
The day in order
The official listings put the schedule together like this:
- 8 a.m. The Downtown Tracy Farmers Market opens on N. Central Avenue between 6th and 9th streets.
- 10 a.m. Día de los Muertos Family Day opens at the Grand. The 10th Annual Downtown Tracy Artwalk runs at the same time.
- Noon. Street closures for the Candy Crawl begin.
- 1 p.m. The farmers market's scheduled close.
- 2 p.m. Family Day ends and the TCCA Candy Crawl begins, with trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses and sponsor booths.
- 5 p.m. The Candy Crawl ends.
- 6 p.m. The streets reopen.
Every event on that list is free. The only spending planned into the day is whatever you buy from market vendors, mercado artists and downtown businesses.
Morning: a market that runs every Saturday of the year
The TCCA market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. all year. It doesn't shut down for the season, so October 24 is a regular market date that happens to sit in the middle of a busier day. The 2025–26 vendor map lists regulars including Beckmann's Bakery, Rosas Portuguese Bakery, Dumpling Queen, Oaxacan Tamales, Wolfsen's Meat & Sausage, Kai's Fresh Asian Produce, Fungi Finders and The Brew Life Coffee Bar. That map's calendar only runs through March 2026, so treat those names as the market's usual lineup rather than a confirmed list for this particular Saturday.
The morning's one open question comes from the noon closure. The Candy Crawl closes Central Avenue from 11th Street to 6th Street starting at noon. That stretch includes all of the market's usual blocks, during the market's last hour. The city says the market sometimes moves to 10th Street to make room for other events and points shoppers to TCCA's calendar for updates. As of October 7, no move had been announced for this date. If you want the full market, arriving before 10 a.m. avoids the question entirely.
Midday: the Grand anchors the center
Family Day at the Grand is free and runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The city lists vendors, hands-on activities, food, a community altar and free movie screenings. The mercado features local artists selling Day of the Dead pieces, including sugar skulls, stuffies, dolls, clothing, jewelry and art. In the first-floor Grand Art Galleries, the Grand is selling its 2025 limited-edition Día de los Muertos shirts and bags, featuring calavera artwork by local artist Paco Garcia.
The two movie screenings are sensory friendly, with lower volume, dimmed lights and freedom to move, come in and leave. Sensory items are available on request. As of early October, titles and times were still to be announced.
Two parts of Family Day keep going after the event ends:
- Community Altar. On display in the second-floor Pombo Lobby through Monday, November 2. Anyone can contribute photos of loved ones, along with favorite foods, toys, poems or keepsakes. Drop items at the Arts Education Office at the Grand or email photos to [email protected].
- Community Art Show. On the second floor from October 24 through November 2. Artists of any age can submit family-friendly, Día de los Muertos-themed work in any medium that hangs on a wall. Pieces must be self-hanging, framed or on stretched canvas, with hardware attached. Drop-off is Wednesday, October 21 or Thursday, October 22 at the Arts Education Program office, after registering online.
That means the art show and the altar each get about nine more days after the crowds leave. Anyone who skips the busy Saturday can still see both before November 2.
The Artwalk takes the Grand's day out onto the sidewalk. The Grand describes the 2026 edition as free and self-guided, featuring local artists and community organizations along the Central Avenue sidewalks in front of the theater, with the city and the downtown business district working together on displays and activities. Last year's event, held on October 25, 2025, was the 9th annual, with art in downtown venues and on the sidewalks around the Grand. The Grand hasn't published separate Artwalk hours or an artist list, so plan on the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Day window.
Noon: the closures that change the day
At noon, downtown goes from open streets to a walking zone. These closures run from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.:
- 10th Street, A Street to Central Avenue
- Central Avenue, 11th Street to 6th Street
- B Street, Gillette Alley to Grunauer Alley
- 6th Street westbound, Central Avenue to D Street
The Candy Crawl's posted hours are 2 to 5 p.m., but the closures start two hours earlier. Anyone driving into downtown after noon will find the core blocks already closed. Arrive in the morning and you can stay all day. The city's Candy Crawl notice lists the closed streets but no detours. For parking, the city's market listing links to TCCA's free public parking page. That page suggests on-street spots for visits under two hours, off-street public lots for longer stays, and checking posted signs. If you plan to stay from the market through the Candy Crawl, a lot makes more sense than the curb.
Afternoon into evening: West 10th Street
The Candy Crawl covers Central Avenue, 10th Street and 6th Street. Participating businesses and sponsor booths hand out treats, and TCCA hasn't published a list of which businesses are taking part.
When the candy runs out, West 10th Street, which is part of the closure, is where downtown's dinner options are. Four businesses on that street show current activity on their own sites:
| Business | Address | What its own site shows |
|---|---|---|
| Bistro 135 | 135 W. 10th St. | Current menu and hours, a 2025 ownership change, and reservations open for October 24 |
| 6 Cocktails | 49 W. 10th St. | Cocktail and kitchen menus, open Tuesday through Sunday |
| Hella Pie Pizza Company | 50 W. 10th St. | Menu with online ordering |
| Main Street Music | 45 W. 10th St. | Music shop and lessons |
Bistro 135's reservation calendar already shows October 24. That's useful for anyone who wants a table booked before a day this full.
The Grand runs the rest of the season too
October 24 is the busiest day on downtown's fall calendar, and the Grand's role that day matches its role the rest of the season. Before and after the 24th, the theater's lineup fills most weekends through Thanksgiving:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 9 | Plush, with opener RedLine, 8 p.m., $25 | The Grand |
| Sat.–Sun., Oct. 17–18 | Central West Ballet's The Time Machine | The Grand |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | Clay Aiken, 8 p.m., $65–$80 | The Grand |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Girls' Night Out: Witches & Broomsticks, 6–10 p.m., sold out | Front Street Plaza |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Free monthly Open Mic Night | The Grand |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Monster Mash Bash, sensory friendly, 6 p.m., $5 per participant | The Grand |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Ruben Studdard, 8 p.m. | The Grand |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Matt Fraser: America's Top Medium, 8 p.m. | The Grand |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Lounge Nights comedy with Insane Wayne, 7 p.m. | The Grand |
| Mon., Nov. 30 | Lincoln Center's Swing into the Holidays, 8 p.m. | The Grand |
The Monster Mash Bash on October 30 follows the same sensory-friendly approach as the Family Day screenings, and ticket holders register as one participant age 10 or older with one chaperone. Girls' Night Out on October 23 is already sold out, so for most people the weekend's downtown events start Saturday morning.
The city runs its other Halloween events outside downtown, earlier in the month. The Floating Pumpkin Patch is October 10, 12:30 to 5 p.m., at Joe Wilson Pool, 900 W. Lowell Ave., for $6, with children 2 and under free. Halloween Eve at Tracy Municipal Airport is free on October 17, 2 to 5 p.m., at 5749 S. Tracy Blvd., with candy, games, a photo station and food vendors. Free Movies on the Plaza is October 9 at 333 Civic Center Plaza, 7 to 10 p.m. Each of those takes one afternoon or evening in its own part of town. Only October 24 brings everything together on Central Avenue.
On the morning of the 24th, the community altar in the Pombo Lobby will already be taking contributions, and it stays up through November 2. Photos can go to the Arts Education Office at the Grand or to [email protected].
At Levy Real Estate Group, we follow Tracy's downtown calendar the same way we follow its market, block by block and date by date. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of Central Avenue and the Grand, or you'd like to talk through what downtown's growing schedule means for a property you already own, Request a White-Glove Consultation and we'll walk the area with you.
