On a Saturday morning on Lakeshore Avenue, where does a trick-or-treater collect candy? This Saturday, October 24, the confirmed answers are an eye doctor's office, a play gym for kids up to age five, an art gallery with augmented-reality pieces, and a restaurant that will open its doors for costumed kids during hours when it isn't serving anyone.
The Lakeshore Avenue Business Improvement District builds its Candy Crawl & Harvest Festival around the Avenue's businesses, and says so plainly. In its October event post, the BID describes the morning as a chance to "introduce families to the businesses that make Lakeshore Avenue unique." That goal explains the stop list, the shape of the route, and why the event fits in two hours.
The morning has two halves, and the green comes first
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to noon. The church green and the Avenue each get their own block of time.
- 10 a.m., Harvest Festival on the green. The lawn at Lakeshore Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave., will have crafts, games, cupcake decorating and a selfie station with Mira, Zoey and Rumi from KPop Demon Hunters.
- Lunch from the church. Lakeshore Baptist Church hosts a community corndog lunch. It co-produces the whole event with the BID.
- 11 a.m., parade and Candy Crawl. Costumed families leave the church and head down the Avenue, stopping at businesses along the way.
- Noon, wrap. The official program ends. One stop on the route invites families to come back afterward.
You don't need to bring a bag. The BID says it will hand out candy bags.
The first four stops aren't the usual candy suspects
As of the BID's October 1 post, four businesses had signed on as Candy Stops. Each one gives out its own candy, treats, stickers, toys or other small surprises.
| Candy Stop | Address | What's happening Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Care Optometry | 3341 Lakeshore | Dr. Moonsamy's team swaps eye charts for Halloween treats |
| Obelisco | 3407 Lakeshore Ave. | Opens its doors for trick-or-treaters even though it's closed for regular business that morning |
| Gymboree Play & Music | 3433 Lakeshore Ave. | Official Candy Stop at the Avenue's play gym for kids up to age five |
| Queer Arts Center Gallery | On the Avenue | Treats and playful augmented-reality art, free and open to all ages |
Most of these are places a family walks past without going in. Eye Care Optometry is a regular exam-and-frames practice. The BID calls out its large selection of designer frames. Gymboree runs structured and unstructured classes during the week, and Saturday works as a low-key first visit for parents of toddlers who haven't been inside yet. Its classes for children up to age five appeared in the BID's late-summer roundup of the five fitness and movement studios on the Avenue.
Obelisco is the stop that stands out. The Oaklandside described it as a family-owned restaurant serving ceviches, tacos, enchiladas, pollo en mole and cocktails built around tequila and mezcal, with a grand opening planned for September 16, 2025. The BID now reports that Obelisco recently marked its first anniversary on Lakeshore. For the Candy Crawl it's opening during hours when it would normally be dark. If you haven't tried it yet, you'll get to see the dining room before you plan a dinner there.
Queer Arts Center Gallery is the one stop built to keep families around past noon. During the crawl it offers treats and augmented-reality art, and it invites families back afterward to color, make things and find more art that comes alive.
The route is a loop that covers both sides of the street
The parade's path follows the same goal of getting families into storefronts. It doesn't run one way and stop. Families start at Lakeshore Baptist Church, walk down Lakeshore toward the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, cross the street, and come back up the east side to the church. The BID describes it as "candy crawling from business to business the whole route."
That out-and-back shape means storefronts on both sides of the Avenue get the parade. It also keeps the walk manageable for small legs and strollers, since the parade finishes back at the green where it started, close to the corndogs.
The list of stops may grow before Saturday. The BID says it's still adding Lakeshore businesses that want to host and will post updates on its social media channels. Look at those updates Friday night so you know which doors will be open.
The rest of the week on the Avenue works the same way
The other Halloween-week events on Lakeshore also bring people into a store and then back out onto the street.
The Trader Joe's pumpkin contest. The Trader Joe's on Lakeshore is running its pumpkin decorating contest again. You buy a pumpkin at the store, decorate it at home, then bring it back for the in-store display, where shoppers vote. Prizes are Trader Joe's gift cards:
- 1st place: $50
- 2nd place: $30
- 3rd place: $20
The Grand Lake Farmers Market. The BID's events calendar lists the market at Splash Pad Park, 746 Grand Ave., as a year-round Saturday market running 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. On Candy Crawl day, that puts produce shopping before the festival or a lunch stop after it within the same morning.
Coffee for the adults. Mazar Cafe at 2834 Lakeshore Ave. soft-opened July 25 with Yemeni coffee, handcrafted drinks and pastries, The Oaklandside reported in August. It isn't on the confirmed Candy Stop list, but it's one of the Avenue's newest storefronts, and parents walking the loop could use a coffee.
Monday karaoke. If the costumes come back out on a weeknight, Crazy Block Cheesecakes hosts karaoke every Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. Anyone who sings gets 10% off their meal.
Behind the costumes, the Avenue has an empty storefront and a meeting on the calendar
The parade will also pass the Avenue's most visible vacancy. The former Gap storefront is boarded up, and a temporary "Lakeshore Love" mural covers the plywood while the property owners look for a tenant. In its September post, the BID asked anyone who knows a business that might fit the space to get in touch so it can introduce them to the owners. The mural makes a good backdrop for a costume photo, and the BID's offer to make introductions is still open.
The BID's October meeting is two days after the crawl, on Monday, October 26 at 10 a.m. at 3534 Lakeshore Ave., in the same building whose green hosts the festival. To join on Zoom instead, email [email protected] for the link.
If you're wondering about construction, the City of Oakland's Lakeshore Avenue Separated Bike Lanes Project is on the lakeside stretch of the street. The two major construction phases the City scheduled for June and July ran from East 18th Street to Brooklyn Avenue, then from Brooklyn Avenue to MacArthur Boulevard. The scheduled work stops at MacArthur, south of the shopping strip the parade walks. The City's June 2026 update estimates the project will be finished in early 2027.
On Saturday, every Candy Stop is deciding what a family sees first when it comes through the door, from the eye charts swapped out at Eye Care Optometry to Obelisco's dining room opened early. We think about first impressions the same way when we prepare a home for its first showing, and if you'd like to talk about how yours greets people at the door, Hope Broderick would love to help. Start your home transformation.
