San José Made and its outdoor vendor marketplace returns this year to Martial Cottle Park's San Jose Fall Festival 2025. Happening on Saturday, Oct. 11 from 9 AM to 2 PM, Fall Festival is Santa Clara County Parks wonderfully popular annual fall event featuring an abundance of fun all-ages activities (see activities section below for a full list of details).
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Event Details
- Event Title: Fall Festival 2025
- Dates & Times: October 11 (9 AM to 2 PM)
- Location: Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Avenue, San Jose, CA 95136
- Details: Outdoor event. Free admission. All ages. Dog-friendly.
- Parking: On-site paid event parking price for attendees. $6 per vehicle.
- Event Organizer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/santaclaracountyparks
- Event Page on County Website: https://parks.sccgov.org/fall-festival
- Santa Clara County Parks on IG: https://www.instagram.com/santaclaracountyparks/
Getting to the event via public transit
You can reach via the event via multiple VTA public transit routes:
- Bus Route 66 – stop at Snell and Chynoweth or Snell and Branham
- Bus Route 27 – stop at Blosom Hill and Snell
- VTA Light Rail Blue Line – stop at Snell Avenue
Plan your public transit ride at vta.org
Getting to the event via bicycle
San Jose Bike Party is organizing a bike ride to the event. View more details about the ride. The group will meet up at Tamien Station Parking Lot (1355 Lick Avenue, San José, CA / cross street is Alma Ave) starting at 9 AM. The group will leave promptly at 9:30 am. This is approximately a 5-mi bike ride. This is only a one-way ride.
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Everything to Do at Fall Festival 2025
Organized by Event Map Sections
Lot A
- Pumpkin Patch
- DIY Craft: Build Your Own Airplane
- DIY Craft: Build Your Own Wooden Tractor
- Outdoor Classroom Presentations: Diurnal Animals (10 am start time)
- Outdoor Classroom Presentations: Nocturnal Animals (12 pm start time)
- Outdoor Classroom Presentations: The Remarkable Story of Martial Cottle Park (1 pm start time)
- Community Exhibitor Booths
- Demo Orchard Exhibit Booths
- Bubbles
- Games
- Photo Ops
Middle Section
- Historic Vehicles & Farm Equipment
- Uncle Monte’s Discovery Farm
- Billy Jones Railroad
- Serendipity Spinners
- Social Sprouts Sensory Activities
- Quiet Zone
- Shade Station
- Bubble Zone
- Photo Ops
Lot B
- SJMADE Vendor Marketplace
- Mini Cat Town Kitten Lounge
- Face Painting
- Live Music for All Ages
- Cattle Corral
- Misting Station
- Shade Station
Master Gardeners
Scroll further down for more detailed information about the Master Gardeners section at Fall Festival 2025
- Master Gardeners Fall Plant Sale: “Our Fall Garden Fair plant sale offers a bounty of winter vegetable, herb, ornamental, and native plant seedlings plus beautiful low-water succulents and garlic/shallot bulbs.”
- Free Gardening Talks & Demos
- Garden Tours
- Seed Exchange
- Master Gardeners Help Desk
- Composting Demo
- Gardening Tool Sharpening Demo
- Food Preservation Demo
- Kids Gardening Activities
- Repair Cafe Silicon Valley at Master Gardeners
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Free Pumpkins
Free Jacobs Farm pumpkins will be available at the Fall Festival 2025 Pumpkin Patch (view location on the event map). Sponsored by the Office of Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, District 1. While supplies last. One pumpkin per family.
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Outdoor Kitten Lounge by Mini Cat Town
Price: $10 per participant
Description: One ticket will secure 15 mins of kitten playtime at your designated time slot. There will be 30 adoptable kittens on site looking for pets and cuddles. There will be a few walk-in tickets reserved for each time slot, but we highly recommend making your reservation in advance.
Your order confirmation is your ticket entry. Tickets will not be shipped out. Tickets are non-refundable. Any child under 12 must enter with an adult (two tickets will be required in this case). All visitors will be required to wear shoe covers and sign our liability waiver.
You can find the Kitten Lounge near the Cattle Corral and Misting Station.
Mini Cat Town is a nonprofit 501(c)-3. All donations are welcomed and go back into saving more kittens. Since 2019, Mini Cat Town has rescued and adopted out over 1,500 kittens. Adoption lounges are located in Eastridge Shopping Center, Stoneridge Shopping Center and Santa Rosa Plaza. For more information, please visit https://minicattown.org.
Follow @minicattown on Instagram
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Master Gardeners at Fall Festival
All of the Master Gardeners activities and programming will be located at Martial Cottle Park's Demonstration Garden. View event maps down below for specific location. View their event page for up-to-date event information and more info about the UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County in general.
Master Gardeners Plant Sale
Our Fall Garden Fair plant sale offers a bounty of winter vegetable, herb, ornamental, and native plant seedlings plus beautiful low-water succulents and garlic/shallot bulbs. They all thrive in our cool winter conditions and will keep your garden producing year-round. Come get inspired!
Arrive early for best selection. Some varieties may sell out quickly or be in short supply. Please bring a box, cart, or wagon for an easier shopping experience. Only service dogs permitted in the sales area. We suggest wearing sturdy shoes for walking on the uneven wood chip mulched sales area.
Plants start at $5. Cash, checks, and credit/debit cards are all accepted. Proceeds support the Master Gardeners' mission.
Master Gardeners Talks
Join us for talks by UC Master Gardeners. No registration needed. View the talk schedule page.
IN THE PAVILION
- 10 AM - Growing Cool Season Vegetables from Seeds or Seedlings - Did you know that we are so lucky that we can grow cool season vegetables in Santa Clara County? It’s true! With our cool (but not cold) rainy season, we can grow all sorts of vegetables like greens such as lettuce, chard, and kale, to cruciferous veggies like broccoli or cauliflower, to root vegetables like beets, carrots, and radishes. Come learn what you can grow with Matt Hall, Master Gardener. He’ll go over the basics such as soil, water, and fertilizing requirements, and show all the different plants that do great here.
- 11 AM - The 3 R’s for Fall Soil — Remove, Recover, and Replenish
At the end of our summer growing season, our soil has produced what we hope was a bountiful harvest of summer produce. Now you have to pay the soil back for all this wonderful garden production. And how do we make all this happen? By planting cover crops! Join Master Gardener Bob Bowe to learn how the 3 R’s will enrich your soil for the next season’s garden.
AT THE FARM STAND
- 10 AM - Growing Microgreens - Microgreens: What are they, why and how to grow them. Promising research shows that microgreens may play an important role in the prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more. Microgreens are easy to grow, use very little space, and can be harvested in 1–3 weeks. Discover how to incorporate these nutritious plants into your gardening repertoire. Join Master Gardener Laura Clark-Moore for a talk and hands-on demonstration.
- 11 AM - Planting & Maintaining your New California Native Plants - Now that you’ve got them, what are you going to do with them? Learn tried and true methods for ensuring that your new babies get the best start possible from prep, to putting them in the ground, to making it through their first year! Join Master Gardener Paula Stapleton to learn about planting and maintaining your California native garden.
- 12 PM - The Basics of Kitchen Gardening - New to gardening? Join Master Gardener Kathy Kaplan to learn how to create a kitchen garden, whether large or small, from the ground (soil) up. During this talk, the topics of light requirement, plant selection, soil amendments, and garden location will be discussed. Yes, you will learn that even an apartment balcony is a possibility for your “kitchen garden”.
IN THE ORCHARD
- 10 AM - Garden-to-Glass: Mint Family Plants for Every Pour - Explore the science of mint and its Lamiaceae relatives, and see how their unique characteristics make them indispensable for your beverage garden—a space, large or small, that provides fresh flavors for drinks anytime of day. Learn how to grow and keep them under control, then harvest and enjoy these versatile plants in refreshing, garden-fresh beverages.
- 11 AM - Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Medfly) Quarantine in Santa Clara County - Join the team from the California Department of Food and Agriculture as they cover the Medfly quarantine in Santa Clara County and explain their plan for trapping and eradication. Learn what to look for and find out how you can help.
IN THE GARDEN
- 11 AM - Garlic Demo - Join Master Gardener Kathy Kaplan for a demonstration to learn how to grow your own garlic in time for fall planting.
- 12 PM - Cover Crops, Hands-on Demonstration - Now that you want to plant a cover crop, how do you actually do it? What effort does it take? (Answer = not much!) What rewards do you receive by having a cover crop? (A lot!) Join Master Gardeners Jim Bell and Bob Bowe for a hands-on and how-to cover crop demonstration. We’ll show preparation of a planting area, seeding, growing, and management of the cover crop from fall to spring.
Master Gardeners Seed Exchange
Come join in the age old tradition of sharing seeds. Sharing community seeds builds resilience in our food systems and genetic diversity in our seeds. Bring saved seed or leftover seed packets to share. Label your seeds with common name, year of harvest, and your zip code. You’re welcome to take seeds even if you don’t have any to share this year.
Master Gardeners Information Tables
- Help Desk: Bring your questions and plant or pest samples to our Help Desk booth for assistance with your garden problems.
- Tool Care: See live demonstrations of how to keep your tools sharp and in tip-top condition. Bring your own hand pruner (it must be in working condition) and learn to sharpen it yourself.
- Master Composters: Learn about composting and composting resources in Santa Clara County
- Master Food Preservers: Find out how to preserve your garden bounty with safe, effective techniques.
Visit our many garden collections: native plants, succulents, orchard, and more. Check out our One World Kitchen Garden for new ideas and interesting plants from around the world. There will be a Cover Crop Demonstration area in the raised beds between the Pavilion and the Farm Stand, where you can get your cover crop questions answered.
Fall Vegetables, Herbs, Flowers, Native Plants, and Succulents Questions: The Master Gardeners in any of our sales areas will be happy to answer your questions on growing, harvesting, dealing with problems, special varieties, and more.
Master Gardeners Children's Activities
Kids will have a great time in our Growing Young Gardeners area. Come see what fun our volunteers have in store. Learn about gardening and how food grows with a variety of fun activities. For kids of all ages.
Repair Cafe Silicon Valley at Master Gardeners
The Master Gardeners are happy to host Repair Café Silicon Valley at our Fall Garden Fair.
Repair Café Silicon Valley is a volunteer-run, community service organization dedicated to encouraging the repair and reuse of goods rather than dumping them in landfills. Join them by bringing your broken items to be repaired or by volunteering.
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Vendor Marketplace Lineup
View Vendor Lineup in Google Sheets
View a large version of the Vendor Marketplace Map
Food Truck Lineup
Wonk's Street Tacos - https://www.instagram.com/wonks_street_tacos
Road Dogs - https://www.instagram.com/roaddogs/
Tlaxiaco’s Pizza - https://www.instagram.com/tlaxiacos/
3 Brothers Kitchen - https://www.instagram.com/3brotherskitchen/
Akita Sushi - https://www.instagram.com/akitasushisanjose/
Mister Softee - https://www.instagram.com/softeenorcal/
Junior's Roaster - https://www.instagram.com/juniors_roaster7/
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Main Event Map
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Marketplace Map
View a larger version of the event map
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Sensory Map
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Past Events Photos
