FRIDAY
23
OCTOBER
Things to do this weekend in Palo Alto, CA
We reviewed 550+ Bay Area event sources and found 60 things to do in Palo Alto, CA this weekend (Oct 23–25). Updated daily.
All things to do in Palo Alto, CA this weekend (Oct 23–25)
After‑hours gallery tour and hands‑on studio session to create an art project at the Palo Alto Art Center.
Haleh Liza Gafori presents Rumi: Gold & Water at Dinkelspiel Auditorium, featuring Persian‑sung Rumi poems with Grammy‑nominated Shahzad Ismaily, cellist Isabel Castellvi, and percussionist Mathias Künsli.
Haleh Liza Gafori recites and discusses her Rumi translations in the SLE Main Lounge, with free copies of Gold and Water for the first students.
Sketch in the Anderson Collection galleries with provided pencils and supplies, free, all ages.
Stanford football faces NC State in an ACC clash honoring Bay Area police, fire, military and first responders.
Jontavious Willis leads a guitar circle with music, storytelling, and learning at Stanford’s Coffee House (CoHo).
Pumpkins & Pancakes at A3C Clubhouse Ballroom features a pancake bar with cream and candy corn, popcorn, pumpkin decorating, and a candy corn guessing contest with card prizes.
Documentary screening of Steal This Story, Please! featuring Amy Goodman and filmmakers Tia Lessin, followed by a Q&A moderated by Janine Zacharia.
Casual in-gallery conversations and a spotlight tour of a single object in the JANE! exhibition at Cantor Arts Center, followed by open discussion, free.
Public tour of indoor and outdoor Rodin sculptures across three galleries and a garden, featuring nearly 100 works, at Cantor Arts Center, free, first‑come.
In Focus: Asian American Art (Cantor Arts Center) presents recent acquisitions, debuting works by Pacita Abad, Ching Ho Cheng, Tseng Kwong Chi, and others.
Interactive workshop at Stanford Events Calendar explores Yemima Avital’s mystic teachings and practices contemplative writing under Naama Sadan, PhD; free.
Guided tour at the David Rumsey Map Center offers a 30‑minute overview, touch‑screen map exploration, rotating exhibition viewing, and staff Q&A.
A Vision of Paris: the Roxane Debuisson Collection at Stanford (Green Library, Bing Wing) — almanacs, prints, postcards, stereographs, manuscripts, photographs showing 19th‑century Paris transformation; ID registration required.
Spooky Critters at the EcoCenter offers free hands‑on spider, snake and owl activities, interactive touchscreens, Baylands Marshcam, and a Duck Pond bird‑expert display.
2026 Stanford Food Summit (Arrillaga Alumni Center) — Faculty, researchers, clinicians, students, and staff showcase food, health, sustainability, engineering, education, business, and policy projects across Stanford.
TNT Traysikel displays a sculpture that invites singing and storytelling, shifting between sculptural, performative, cinematic forms in McMurtry Building’s Miller Discussion Room and Vitrine Gallery, free.
Douglas Guilbeault presents a keynote on human learning’s creative leaps versus AI’s statistical optimization, exploring uncertainty, poetic reasoning, and artistic experimentation.
Guided meditation explores fire and water interplay through breath and embodied awareness, cultivating inner equilibrium, clarity, and contemplative harmony.
Electric Contrasts: the Art of the Detail (McMurtry Building, Stanford) — Photobooks and magazines display late‑19th/early‑20th century photography’s impact on art, curated by Altair Brandon‑Salmon.
Livia Sohn and guest pianist Bernadene Blaha perform Respighi's Cinque Pezzi and Shostakovich's Sonata for Violin and Piano at Braun Music Center, free admission.
Panel discussion on climate policy careers with recent alumni at Otero Lounge, featuring Edward Apraku, Valeria Vega Yanez, Linda Vera; light lunch for RSVPed attendees.
Tangling the Digital (McMurtry Building, Stanford) showcases woven textiles, atomized prints, and digitally printed clay, linking historic craft with computational processes; free admission.
Emergent Properties exhibition showcases forty rare maps and artifacts that have driven scholarship, with a staff‑led tour during the reception.
Open table-reading of three female playwrights’ works—Reasonable Suspicion, An Uplifting Highschool Graduation Speech, and Maeve—performed by a cast at Stanford’s Roble Gym.
SATURDAY
24
OCTOBER
Skating, crafts, and pizza offered at Mitchell Park Bowl for teens ages 13–19.
JANE! An intimate exploration of Gilded Age excess and the enigmatic life and death of Jane Stanford
JANE! at Cantor Arts Center displays Jane Stanford’s French gowns, jewel painting, Egyptian artifacts, Hawaiian skirt, and rare keepsakes, many shown for the first time, free.
Free guided contemplative hike through Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, led by a docent for ten‑person groups, exploring natural history and research on nature’s impact on emotional health.
Guided contemplative hike through Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve led by a docent, with carpool shuttle, focusing on nature’s impact on emotional health.
Guided tours at Cantor Arts Center explore three to four themed artworks with a Stanford student or volunteer guide, offering contemplation and conversation; free, first‑come.
Casual in-gallery conversations and a spotlight tour of a single object in the JANE! exhibition at Cantor Arts Center, followed by open discussion, free.
Guided breath work, embodied awareness exercises, and reflective dialogue explore fire–water patterns and Taoist techniques for inner regulation at Stanford Events Calendar.
Public tour of indoor and outdoor Rodin sculptures across three galleries and a garden, featuring nearly 100 works, at Cantor Arts Center, free, first‑come.
In Focus: Asian American Art (Cantor Arts Center) presents recent acquisitions, debuting works by Pacita Abad, Ching Ho Cheng, Tseng Kwong Chi, and others.
A Vision of Paris: the Roxane Debuisson Collection at Stanford (Green Library, Bing Wing) — almanacs, prints, postcards, stereographs, manuscripts, photographs showing 19th‑century Paris transformation; ID registration required.
Trunk or Treat and EV Showcase at Pearson‑Arastradero Preserve features decorated cars with treats and a display of various electric vehicle models, all ages.
Mindfulness meditation sessions led by Buddhist nun Phuong Pham include 30‑minute sitting, 15‑minute releasing, and 15‑minute group sharing in Mitchell Park Library’s Midtown Room, ages 14+.
Explore spooky critters with hands‑on spider, snake and owl activities, interactive touchscreens and a Baylands Marshcam at the EcoCenter.
Live voter guide presentation by CalMatters at Rinconada Library answers questions about November ballot candidates and issues.
Multimedia exhibition at Cantor Arts Center features a performance score, a dance‑performance‑derived work, a bench redesign for comfort, and a floor that records visitor marks.
Los Vega presents Veracruz’s son jarocho instruments, interlocking guitar rhythms, fundamental songs, 400‑year history, and dance steps at Stanford Live.
Volunteers work on weeding, planting, irrigation, composting, mulching and flower deadheading at O'Donohue Educational Farm, ages 10+, with guardians required for 10‑14‑year‑olds.
Halloween Tea at Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto.
Kim Bong‑Jun’s print exhibition at Stanford’s Lathrop Library showcases Korean folk‑inspired works envisioning Indigenous Futures, with an opening reception featuring his talk and a Korean mask dance.
Explore the tree-shaded Professorville, Palo Alto’s first historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, meeting at 1005 Bryant Street.
Solid Pictures exhibition at Cantor Arts Center showcases rare 19th‑century photosculpture artifacts that predate 3D printing, revealing early portrait‑making technology.
Volunteer at Lagunita BBQ Pit for a Halloween‑themed trash pick‑up and invasive‑weed removal, protecting salamander habitat; wear protective gear and costume for prize.
13 more events through Sunday, October 25.
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