San Leandro's Main Library Is Running Downtown's October
Who sets the calendar for downtown San Leandro this fall? Follow the October dates on the city calendar, the downtown district's event page and the farmers market schedule, and one address keeps coming up: 300 Estudillo Avenue, the Main Library.
The library is where the Wednesday farmers market sets up. It has a café inside, and it is one of the presenters of the downtown Halloween night on Washington Avenue. Once the market season ends, the library keeps Wednesday evenings going with its own programs. By early November, the Estudillo block is the most steady thing on the downtown calendar.
The Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market, run by the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association, lists Wednesday hours of 3 to 7 p.m. at 300 Estudillo Ave. for a season that runs April 1 to October 14, 2026. As of today, that leaves two markets: October 7 and October 14.
One page on the downtown district's site still gives the market's hours as 4 to 8 p.m. The market association's 2026 schedule says 3 to 7, and that's the one to plan around. If you turn up at 7:15 expecting another hour, the vendors will already be packing up.
The Wednesday vendor list includes J&M Farms, Jaden's Kettle Corn and JC's Holey Donuts. On market nights, parking is free at the City Downtown Garage, 122 Estudillo Ave.
As Kneaded Café opened inside the library on February 14, 2026. It's run by Iliana Berkowitz, who founded As Kneaded Bakery in San Leandro, and the menu has salads, sandwiches, baked goods and espresso drinks, including seasonal items like a lavender latte. The bakery is still at its own address, 585 Victoria Court.
The café's Visit page lists Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. The homepage says it's open for business and is showing a fall-hours notice. Those hours shape your October more than any menu item. Here's how the café lines up with the block's evening events:
| Date | Event at or near the library | Event hours | Café open? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 7 | Farmers market | 3 to 7 p.m. | First two hours |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | SPOOKTOBER Second Fridays | 4 to 9 p.m. | First hour |
| Wed., Oct. 14 | Final farmers market | 3 to 7 p.m. | First two hours |
| Tue., Oct. 20 | Halloween Costume Swap | 5:30 to 7 p.m. | Closed by then |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Trick-or-Treat Storytime | 6:30 to 7 p.m. | Closed by then |
| Wed., Nov. 4 | Evening Star Party | 6 to 7:45 p.m. | Closed by then |
For a latte and pastry before your market shopping, arrive between 3 and 5. For anything later in the month, get your coffee earlier in the day or somewhere else.
Second Fridays SPOOKTOBER takes over Butterfly Plaza, 1446 Washington Ave., on Friday, October 9, from 4 to 9 p.m. It's free. The lineup has live music from Jordan Davis and Baycoin Beats, performances by DC Dance Youth, food trucks, a night market of vendors, spooky drinks, a piñata candy drop and a costume contest for kids and pets.
The event is listed as a presentation of the Downtown San Leandro Community Benefit District, West Coast Makers, the San Leandro Main Library, the City of San Leandro Recreation and Parks Department, the San Leandro Optimist Club, Chase and Kaiser Permanente. West Coast Makers is an event-hosting group whose Eventeny profile lists 29 events. The library's name on that list matters. The downtown Halloween night is partly a library event, and the library's own Halloween programs follow later in the month.
September's Second Fridays was the Latin Heritage Fest at the same plaza, and the downtown calendar lists the next one for November 13. Friday, October 9 sits right between the market's last two Wednesdays, so the second week of October is the busiest stretch of the season around Estudillo and Washington.
After October 14, the library runs its own October programs. On Tuesday, October 20, a Halloween Costume Swap runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Main Library. It falls 11 days before Halloween, which gives you time to trade a costume that no longer fits for one that does.
On Wednesday, October 28, Trick-or-Treat Storytime runs from 6:30 to 7 p.m. with Halloween stories and trick-or-treating through the library. That's two Wednesdays after the final market. The following Wednesday, November 4, the Main Library Plaza hosts an Evening Star Party from 6 to 7:45 p.m. Eastbay Astronomical Society volunteers set up telescopes, weather permitting.
Put together, Wednesday evening at 300 Estudillo keeps going after the market closes, with a storytime and then telescopes on the same plaza. The market's last day isn't the end of the library block's season.
The library block now has a second hub on East 14th Street. Centro Callan, the mixed-use development at 1188 E. 14th St. on the northeast corner of East 14th and Davis/Callan, added Sprouts Farmers Market in November 2025. The store lists hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. When the Wednesday market ends in mid-October, Sprouts becomes downtown's year-round produce stop, open well past the market's 7 p.m. close.
Philz Coffee opened next door at Centro Callan with a ribbon-cutting on March 19, 2026. Mayor Juan González spoke at the ribbon-cutting. The mural inside shows cherries, dahlias, stock cars and other pieces of San Leandro's past and present, and Patch credits it to artist Nigel Sussman. The company also says this café is the closest Philz location to its roasting plant. On the evenings in the table above when the library café has closed, Centro Callan is the nearest downtown option for coffee or groceries.
The library block isn't the only thing on the calendar. These dates fill the weekends and the nights between its events:
The Players' Friday shows on November 13 fall on the same night as the next Second Fridays. You could spend that whole evening on Estudillo and Washington, much like October 9.
After the star party on November 4 and Second Fridays on November 13, the Girls on the Run Fall Celebratory 5K moves the action to Marina Park, 14001 Monarch Bay Drive, on Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m. to noon, with live music, booths and food. Event listings can change, so check each organizer's page the week of the event, especially for the weather-dependent star party.
From October 7 to November 13, the library block and Washington Avenue host something nearly every week, and the Wednesday market is only part of it. If you're wondering how a busy downtown calendar like this affects what homes near Estudillo and East 14th sell for, the team at Evolve Real Estate can give you a block-by-block read. Ask us for your quote.
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