A Circus Tent, an Altar Procession and a Museum Dome: How Downtown Redwood City Does November

For four weeks this November, three of Redwood City's longest-running fall traditions take place within a short stretch of downtown. The Zoppé Italian Family Circus sets up its Big Top in the Main Library parking lot at 1044 Middlefield Road from November 6 to 29, in what the city bills as its 19th Redwood City year. Casa Círculo Cultural's Día de los Muertos celebration fills Courthouse Square at 2200 Broadway on Sunday, November 8. On Saturday, November 21, ART on the Square holds its 11th Annual Holiday Show under the stained glass dome of the San Mateo County History Museum, on the same square.

None of them was planned around the others, and two of them started somewhere else before landing downtown. Between them, they put most of the city's November calendar in a few downtown blocks. If you live in Redwood City, the useful questions are which days they overlap, where the cars go, and what to eat in between.

The tent was built for this parking lot

In 2016 the Mercury News placed the Zoppé tent at 1455 Madison Avenue, at Red Morton Park. By then the Redwood City run had grown from a single weekend to two and then three, under a tent that seats 500. In 2021, Redwood City Pulse reported that Giovanni Zoppé and his father had designed the tent to fit the library parking lot. They sized it around a large pole in the lot, and Giovanni called Redwood City a "second home." The same Pulse story says the connection began when a friend introduced him to city parks staffer, and it described that year's run as the circus's 12th Redwood City anniversary. That count doesn't quite match the city's "19th year" for 2026, but either way the run goes back well over a decade.

Giovanni performs as Nino the Clown. He is a sixth-generation circus performer, and in 2004, at age 32, he became the youngest person inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame up to that time.

The tent's size still shapes the show. Every seat is within 20 feet of the ring, and a full performance runs about two hours. According to the city's circus FAQ, seating is general admission with no early entry into the tent. An outdoor preshow starts in front of the tent about 30 minutes before showtime, and the tent opens right after it ends. Food and drink are allowed inside, and pets are not.

The move downtown also changed parking. The library lot that holds the tent can't hold the audience's cars, so the city points ticket holders to the longer-meter spaces in the Box, Jefferson and Marshall garages. It also notes that the Redwood City Caltrain stop is in the middle of downtown. On most November days, that advice is all you need.

November 8 is the day the calendar stacks up

The most crowded day on downtown's November calendar is a Sunday. The city's November calendar shows how the day fills in:

The city says the welcome speech and procession "typically" begin at 6 p.m., so treat that time as a pattern, not a fixed start. That means the evening circus show and the procession are expected at roughly the same hour, a short walk apart, on the same Sunday.

The Día de los Muertos celebration has grown in its own way. Casa Círculo Cultural's 2026 sponsor packet says the celebration began in 2011 with about 200 people and moved to Courthouse Square in 2013. This year is the 16th annual edition. The same packet counts more than 9,000 attendees in 2025. In 2023, The Almanac reported that thousands attended and quoted founder Verónica Escámez describing the event as a way to honor the memories departed loved ones leave behind.

Each year the festival picks a theme connected to a region of Latin America. For 2026 it is Tlaxcala. Casa Círculo Cultural presents the event with the San Mateo County History Museum and the Redwood City Parks & Arts Foundation. The organizer's festival page lists an altar festival contest, a trunk altar contest, a sugar-skull workshop, Catrina face painting, a chalk activity, art installations, live performances and the procession. The city adds free children's activities and a food court, with vendors selling hot chocolate, pan de muerto and tamales. As of mid-October, the organizer says the full performer lineup and stage schedule will be posted closer to the date.

If you plan to attend both, the timing works out. A 3 p.m. circus matinee lets out around 5, since shows run about two hours, leaving time to walk over to the square before the procession. For anyone driving in that afternoon, Box, Jefferson and Marshall are the garages the city already recommends, and the square's crowds will be using them too. That makes Caltrain the simpler option on November 8.

Two more days that pair up

The overlaps later in the month are easier to plan around.

Wednesdays. Since October 7, Alhambra Irish House at 831 Main Street has hosted a weekly blues jam with Aki Kumar and The SBGs from 7 to 10 p.m., according to Redwood City Pulse. The circus calendar has three Wednesdays. November 11 has shows at noon and 4 p.m., and November 18 and November 25 each have a 6:30 p.m. show. A 4 p.m. show on November 11 ends just before the jam starts. The jam's start date has passed, so check the current schedule before you go.

Saturday, November 21. ART on the Square runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with artists on two floors of the History Museum. Artists' booth fees and sponsor funding keep the museum free to the public that day. That afternoon the city calendar also lists a Free Art Project at Magical Bridge Playground at 1:30 p.m., plus circus shows at noon, 3 and 7 p.m. A morning at the museum and a 3 p.m. matinee fit into one downtown visit without moving the car.

The calendar also lists a Science Fun Fest on November 14 at 10 a.m. The city had not posted further details by mid-October.

Where to eat between the tent and the square

The circus sells its own food, including candy, popcorn, cotton candy, pizza, hot dogs and soft drinks. The city's FAQ notes that the menu may change. With the tent downtown, though, a sit-down dinner is easy to fit in.

The closest recent opening is on the same street as the tent. Gangsan Korean Restaurant has taken over 830 Middlefield Road, the former Dasbierhauz space. Redwood City Pulse reported that the German beer garden closed on June 30 after two years on Middlefield. Gangsan's own announcement gave July 22 as its soft opening. The Mercury News covered the restaurant again in early September, once it was open.

According to the Pulse's July preview, the menu centers on galbijjim, a braised beef short rib dish, and seolleongtang, an ox bone soup. Sizzling bibimbap in a cast-iron bowl was listed at $23 to $29. Shareable plates for two or three people, including seafood jeongol and brisket suyuk, were $65 to $85. Those were July prices, so they may have changed. A shareable plate before a 6:30 weeknight show works well for a group.

Farther out, Mr. Pan Bistro began serving Taiwanese lunch boxes, hot pots and milk tea at 711 El Camino Real on September 17, in the space Redwood Bistro used to occupy. The city's FAQ also points circus visitors to visitrwc.org for a full downtown dining directory.

Thanksgiving week, then the tent comes down

The circus runs a holiday schedule for its last week. There are 6:30 p.m. shows on Tuesday, November 24, and Wednesday, November 25, and no show on Thanksgiving Day. Friday and Saturday have three shows each, at noon, 3 and 7 p.m., and the run ends with matinees at noon and 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 29. Ticket prices vary by week and by day, and Thanksgiving week is the most expensive. The city's admission table currently mixes up some dates, so check the Admission & Tickets page for prices on the day you plan to go.

Before any of that, Halloween Spooktacular takes place Saturday, October 24, from noon to 3 p.m. at Red Morton Community Center, 1120 Roosevelt Avenue. Admission is $10 per child, and parents and guardians get in free.

The next big downtown day after the circus leaves is Hometown Holidays on Saturday, December 12, from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. As of mid-October, the city still lists the parade, tree lighting, Santa and performance schedule as to be announced. This November's events take place in roughly the same part of downtown that Music on the Square fills each summer, with Courthouse Square at the center of both seasons.

At Archini & Sebastian Group, we follow Redwood City's calendar closely, from the circus tent in the library lot to the procession on the square, because those are the details that come up when neighbors talk about life near downtown. If you are curious how being close to Middlefield, Broadway and Courthouse Square affects what your home is worth, request a home valuation and we'll walk you through it in English or Spanish.