California Avenue's car-free stretch will host a wellness-themed street party on Thursday, Aug. 27, as the city's Thursday Live concert series heads into its final months.
The Wellness and End-of-Summer celebration runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on the closed portion of Cal Ave. between El Camino Real and Birch Street. The free event will feature live local music, interactive activities, giveaways, games and programming for all ages, according to the city's event listing. The city has designated August as "Wellness Month," and the event falls under a broader "Wellness in Bloom" programming umbrella.
The Aug. 27 street party is one of several events the city has grouped under that Wellness in Bloom theme this month, according to the city's events page, published July 30. Other offerings include a mindfulness meditation session at Mitchell Park Library on Aug. 22, a 9-mile community bike ride along El Camino Real's protected bike lanes from Cal Ave. to Mountain View and back on Aug. 25, and a community mural workshop at Cubberley Community Center beginning Aug. 29.
City Manager Ed Shikada highlighted the Aug. 27 event in his weekly update to the City Council on Monday, Aug. 17.
Thursday Live launched May 28 as a free monthly outdoor concert and community event series. It's a partnership between the City of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation and sponsors including Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Stanford Research Park and the Palo Alto Weekly. The series is scheduled to run through a Halloween-themed event on Oct. 31.
The Aug. 27 installment is the fourth in the series. Two dates remain: Sept. 24 and Oct. 31.
The programming is part of a broader push to cement Cal Ave. as a pedestrian entertainment destination. The corridor's commercial vacancy rate dropped from 16% in 2023 to 7.5% in 2025, according to city urban architect Bruce Fukuji, who presented the data to the City Council in June, as reported by Palo Alto Online. Food sales revenue on the street rose 13% during the car-free era, Fukuji said. A separate CoStar analysis reported by Palo Alto Online pegged the Q1 2026 vacancy rate at 5.4%, compared with 13.4% on University Avenue.
Economic development manager Alex Andrade said on Aug. 9, during a Cal Ave. Wine Walk event under the corridor's new entertainment zone designation, that the goal of the programming is "to bring more people to Cal Ave. and make sure all businesses are thriving," as reported by Palo Alto Online.
The entertainment zone ordinance, approved by the City Council in May and effective in June, allows licensed Cal Ave. restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic beverages to-go during permitted events. Council also approved new parklet standards by a 6-1 vote in June, offering pre-approved designs to streamline outdoor dining permits.
Sahlik Khan, head of operations at Zareen's on Cal Ave., wrote to the City Council in June supporting the new rules. "More people are spending time on California Avenue, lingering longer, and enjoying the district as a destination rather than simply passing through," Khan said.
The next Thursday Live after Aug. 27 is Sept. 24.
Wellness Month events, at a glance:
- Aug. 22 — Mindfulness meditation session, Mitchell Park Library
- Aug. 25 — Community bike ride, starting at Cal Ave. and El Camino Real
- Aug. 27 — Thursday Live Wellness and End-of-Summer celebration, Cal Ave., 5-8 p.m.
- Aug. 29 — Community mural workshop, Cubberley Community Center
- Sept. 24 — Thursday Live on Cal Ave. (next installment)
- Oct. 31 — Thursday Live on Cal Ave. (Halloween-themed finale)
