Visit Davis, California, home of the West Coast’s Zombie Bike PARADE Halloweekend Festival From Friday, October 24th through Sunday, October 26th. encounter endless Halloween spectacles, including mad scientists, rotting robots, dancing dead, electrifying e-bikes, swords, lasers, and a skydiving grand finale! The Davis Odd Fellows, The Bike Campaign, and Davis Bike Club are delighted to partner with over 120 sponsors, collaborators, and media partners to provide unforgettable Halloweekend experiences, and we couldn’t do it without big time zombie raising power of Hallmark Properties, Visit Yolo, City of Davis, and Davis Food Co-op.
The Zombie Bike Ride’s mission has always been to make bicycling available to everyone, including children with disabilities. Over the past six years, event organizers have raised funds (primarily from sponsors) and donated more than $40,000 to Norcal Trykers, an organization that creates custom tricycles for children with disabilities. Each tricycle costs about $1,000 to make, and funds from our events have provided 35 children with custom tricycles so far. These children get to experience the freedom of riding on a bicycle and feeling the wind in their hair for the first time. With the help of our generous sponsors, we have been able to raise money for our beneficiary, NorCal Trykers, while keeping our events almost entirely FREE to the public!
If you’re visiting from out of town, arrive early with your family and friends on Friday and experience all that Davis has to offer: art, culture, a vibrant night life, and wonderful lodging. Book a room in one of our 12 hotels/motels, visit the UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden, and stroll our downtown. Don’t forget to bring, buy, or rent a bike! Davis boasts a variety of bike shops, including our featured partners: Davis Cyclery, Green Bicycle Depot, and the Bike Garage. And if you want a FREE family-friendly activity for Friday, head over to the Davis Arts Center, at 1919 F Street, for their Family Open Studio featuring several activity stations. For more pre-Halloween spooky fun, visit Watermelon Music's Haunted House—open Oct. 24, 25, 26, 29 & 30 from 7–9pm. Free admission, four themed rooms with live actors and music, Halloween karaoke, pumpkin painting, photo ops, and gift bags. Family-friendly with no jump scares—ALL AGES welcome, costumes encouraged!
Halloweekend activities begin Saturday morning from 8:30am–10:30am at the Davis Cemetery and Arboretum District at 820 Pole Line Rd. The Davis Food Co-op will “lift the community” with FREE tethered hot air balloon rides—limited availability (first come first served)(ages 6+)—an estimated 150-200 people will be able to go up in with the balloon—And everybody is invited to take pictures and selfies as we make Davis history with this new activity! This will also be the perfect chance to purchase Acai Fresh's signature Açaí bowls with fresh fruits, granola, and honey for a satisfying and energizing breakfast. In the afternoon, if you have time to spare, take your family and friends out to Bobby Dazzler’s Pumpkin Patch! Open your world to acres of pumpkins, a maze, a petting zoo, horse rides, hay pyramids, picnic areas, and so much more. Most importantly, take a ride on their famous Cow Train––an adventure that cannot be explained, only experienced. Saturday evening you are invited to join the Davis Food Co-op's Halloween Block Party. Expect a cauldron of fun Halloween-themed activities that may include a costume contest, pumpkin decorating contest, live music, and so much more. Don’t miss this haunted bash at 620 G Street!
After you hit up the Block Party, get ready for a hauntingly good time at the Zombie Ball for adults only (18+) sponsored by Bohéme Hip Used Clothing. Partygoers can enjoy beer, wine, and Halloween-themed mixed drinks at the Odd Fellows Lodge (415 Second Street in downtown Davis). Enjoy a lineup of DJ's by Davis Rave Co., a Halloween fashion show / costume showcase with great prizes, and fortune tellers and tarot readers! Early bird tickets are only $18, and proceeds from our event will support Thriving Pink’s PINKtober in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
After you're all partied out we suggest getting plenty of rest on Saturday night, because a host of local and regional organizations have come together to surprise families and friends with a monstrously large Halloween present on Sunday, October 26th from 11am-3:30pm. Drum roll please…our team of event organizers invite visitors and residents alike to join thousands of Halloween creatures for the ride of your life at our 7th annual, family-friendly Zombie Bike Parade Festival!!!
At Community Park, expect more than 20 entertainment stations, a Toys for Tots Halloween Train (brought to you by Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs), zombie bike mechanics, a giant octopus DJ station, and more. Expect Halloween performers, talented singers, and dancers, and an official zombie festival video game. Also enjoy the Bike Pump Track founded by Ken's Bike Ski Board and Davis Bike Parks Alliance in 2023 which features a flowing series of dirt hills, bumps and jumps for all ages! Children can also jump into the Halloween spirit with two bounce houses and slides—generously provided by Lowenthal APC—Your Local Real Estate Attorneys.
Entertainment stations range from interactive opportunities—such as engaging with local Davis groups like the robotics team (Citrus Circuits) and the Davis Fencing Academy—to encountering epic spectacles—such as zombies on stilts, an entire Halloween marching band, and a brain juice and brain bites station run by neighborhood children along the route.
As an added bonus, participants can join the Zombie Kingdom Quest, a scavenger hunt, to earn a FREE Coffee Time board game. This quest is brought to you by Julia Whitmere of Windermere Real Estate.
This year’s food / drink vendors include Purple Tree Cafe, Hotdogger, Steve’s Pizza, Niknek Lemonade, Kona Ice, and Vegan Circus.
The actual bike parade, from 11am-1pm, takes place along safe bike paths and through neighborhoods of Davis. Participants will ride from Community Park to Mace Ranch Park and back (under five miles). And as a bonus for doing the bike parade, at the halfway point (Mace Ranch Park) participants will get to watch a BMX Stunt Show with performers doing unearthly flips and tricks, brought to you by Kim Eichorn of Windermere Real Estate. See the route on our website www.zombiebikeparade.com.
Can’t ride in the parade? That’s ok—everybody is invited to Community Park where the majority of the day’s festivities take place. We welcome pedestrians, scooters, skateboards, strollers, wheelchairs, powerchairs, and other modes of transportation. And best of all, Community Park has the Skydance Skydiving grand finale at 3:30pm. Wow, what a Halloweekend! Now what about Halloween Day? Don't fret. We've got you covered. Thousands of children and their chaperones will flood the streets of downtown Davis from 3:00–5:00pm on Friday, October 31st. Dozens of downtown businesses will be handing out candy and other special treats. Where should you start your trick-or-treating? Our suggestion is to begin at 500 1st Street where you'll find the Davis Commons Halloween Festival taking place with food/drink/candy and plenty of entertainment including cornhole, giant Jenga, spider and witch hat toss, pirate leg potato sack race, skeleton bones limbo and more! Plus, Davis Commons boasts the most beautiful grassy picnic space complete with tables, chairs and fire places. And don't forget to visit E Street Plaza where the Davis Downtown Business Association will have their headquarters and a FREE photo booth 📸! For more on the downtown treat trail visit www.DavisDowntown.com.
Have questions? Want to join in the planning, or sponsor our event? Reach out to festival chair Aaron Wedra, at smartzgraphics@yahoo.com or (530)574-7306.
