This year a Tehachapi family can trick-or-treat at five free hosted events over nine days, starting Friday in a school parking lot and finishing Saturday night on the downtown sidewalks. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. That puts the downtown Treat Trail on a weekend evening, and the Saturday before it carries the two biggest daytime draws, with weeknight trunk-or-treats in between. Here is how the week fits together, in order, so you can plan your evenings around it.
Apple season is over, so harvest moves to the vineyards and parks
If the orchards are still on your fall list, you've missed them for this year. Pulford Appletree Orchard posted that October 10 was the last day of its 2026 season. The Tehachapi Apple Festival on South Green Street was the same day.
The rest of the fall calendar has moved to other hosts. The pumpkin patches, petting zoos and mulled wine coming up are run by a charter school, the Golden Hills community park and a Cummings Valley-area vineyard, not the orchards. The week builds from the edges of the valley toward downtown, finishing at Railroad Park on Halloween night.
The schedule, day by day
- Friday, Oct. 23. Valley Oaks Charter School Harvest Festival, 3 to 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24. Dorner Family Vineyard Harvest Festival from noon, then Ghoulden Hills Trick or Treat from 4 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 25. Dorner's festival, second day.
- Thursday, Oct. 29. Trunk and Treat Yo Self at Wood Family Funeral Service.
- Friday, Oct. 30. AltaOne Trunk-or-Treat on Tucker Road.
- Saturday, Oct. 31. 7th annual Downtown Tehachapi Treat Trail, 4:30 to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 1. Closing matinee of The House on Haunted Hill and a Tehachapi Symphony concert.
Everything below is listed in the The Loop Newspaper's autumn event calendar, the Tehachapi News community calendar or the host's own page. Event details can change in the final week, so a quick call or a look at the host's page before you leave is a good habit.
Friday kicks it off at Valley Oaks
The Valley Oaks Charter School Harvest Festival runs Friday, Oct. 23, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at 20419 Brian Way. The calendar lists carnival games, a petting zoo, a bouncy house, a costume contest, BBQ, a silent auction and a dunk tank. It starts right after the school day ends and finishes before dark, so it works well for younger kids who won't last until 7 p.m. on a Saturday.
Saturday, Oct. 24 is the big day
Two free events with pumpkins, music and food happen on this Saturday, and their hours barely overlap, so you can do both.
Dorner Family Vineyard Harvest Festival runs noon to 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at 18274 Old Ranch Rd. Admission is free. The calendar lists live music, artisan vendors, fall food, mulled wine and photo spots, and says the festival is held together with the Tehachapi Mountains AVA tasting rooms. The address matches the vineyard's own website, where you can check for updates before you go.
Ghoulden Hills Trick or Treat follows from 4 to 7 p.m. at Meadowbrook Park, 21750 Westwood Blvd. in Golden Hills. According to the Tehachapi News community calendar, it's free and includes a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, candy, food trucks and local vendors. The contact is Erin Mason at 661-822-3064. The Loop's listing adds a DJ, and the food trucks sell dinner as well as snacks.
One small thing to watch for. The Golden Hills Community Services District event page still shows last year's flyer, which listed 4 to 7:30 p.m. Both 2026 calendars say 4 to 7 p.m., so plan on the earlier end time.
Here's a Saturday plan that covers both. Get to the vineyard in the early afternoon, leave before 4, and drive over to Meadowbrook Park in time for the pumpkin patch while it's still light. Dinner can come from the food trucks.
Midweek, the trunks come out
The second week brings trunk-or-treats, which work well for families who want candy in one well-lit parking lot.
Trunk and Treat Yo Self is a first-year event on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Wood Family Funeral Service, 321 W. F St. It's free, with candy, decorated trunks, music and costumes. The listings disagree on the end time. The Loop says 6 to 8 p.m., and Tehachapi News says 6 to 9 p.m. Arrive close to 6 and you're covered either way.
AltaOne's Tehachapi Branch Trunk-or-Treat is Friday, Oct. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 665 Tucker Road. The credit union's event page lists it as free, with candy, popcorn, games and a DJ. The Loop's calendar adds cotton candy.
If you'd like a sit-down meal after Thursday or Friday, The Ranch Bar & Grill is a new choice on the west side of town. It's at 1001 W. Tehachapi Blvd., Unit C200, and co-owners Marcos Tremarco and Brian Emenheiser held the grand opening Sept. 11 with a menu built around hearty favorites and steaks, as The Loop reported.
Halloween night belongs to downtown
The week ends at the 7th annual Downtown Tehachapi Treat Trail on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The City of Tehachapi's event listing gives the location as Railroad Park at East Tehachapi Boulevard and South Robinson Street, says it's free, and describes families trick-or-treating from one downtown business to the next. Go2Girlz hosts the trail. Businesses that want to take part or donate candy can text or call (661) 972-5064.
This is the trail's seventh year, and with Halloween on a Saturday, families get no school-night rush and a full afternoon to get costumes ready. If you own or manage a shop downtown, the Go2Girlz number above is the way to get your door on the route.
A haunted house on Green Street, all week long
Tehachapi Community Theatre Association's production of The House on Haunted Hill runs at the BeeKay Theatre, 110 S. Green St., through Nov. 1. According to The Loop's preview, performances are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., and the show is rated PG-13.
As of publication, six performances remain:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. Works well after the Valley Oaks festival wraps up at 5:30.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m. Clashes with Ghoulden Hills.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 2 p.m. Pairs well with a second afternoon at Dorner's festival.
- Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. Overlaps the end of AltaOne's trunk-or-treat.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 4 p.m. Lets out right around the Treat Trail, a block or two away on the same downtown streets.
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m. Closing performance.
The PG-13 rating makes the Friday shows a good fit for a parents' night out, while teenagers might enjoy the Halloween matinee before heading out on the Treat Trail.
Sunday, Nov. 1 winds things down
The day after Halloween, the Tehachapi Symphony performs at 4 p.m. at Country Oaks Baptist Church, 20915 Schout Rd. Clarinetist Berkeley Price joins the orchestra for a program honoring composers from the United States and Latin America. Tehachapi News describes the symphony as offering free professional-level classical music to the greater Tehachapi community, now in its 28th season. With the theater matinee at 2 p.m. and the concert at 4, you can see both and be home for dinner.
The fall calendar keeps going into November. Tehachapi Valley Recreation & Park District holds its free Veterans Day Celebration at Philip Marx Central Park on Nov. 11, with an 11:11 a.m. ceremony followed by military-related booths and laser tag until 2 p.m. TVRPD's Hot Chocolate Turkey Trot 5K and kids' half mile circles Brite Lake, 22902 Banducci Rd., on Nov. 21. Registration opens at 8 a.m., the race starts at 9:25, and the route is stroller-friendly. Online and office registration closes Nov. 20, and entry costs $37 for adults and $25.75 for kids ages 3 to 10.
We'll be out at a few of these over the next nine days, and we'd love to say hello if you see us at Meadowbrook Park or on the Treat Trail. If a Halloween week like this has you wondering whether a place in Golden Hills, near downtown or out toward the vineyards would suit your family better, Team Terri J with Terri Juergens is happy to talk it through, with no pressure and plenty of local detail.
