Into the Valley September Viva CalleSJ: walk/bike/skate the streets

ABOUT THE EVENT
Into the Valley is a brand-new, 6-mile Open Streets route celebrating the communities, history, and natural beauty of South San José. This September, enjoy a car-free experience as you walk, bike, roll, and connect with neighbors while discovering local businesses.

Journey through an area once known as the Valley of Heart's Delight, where the Santa Clara Valley's rich agricultural landscape and scenic beauty will be on full display. Along the route, stop at Activity Hubs at Martial Cottle Park, a historic working farm, and the City of San José's De Anza Park and Cahalan Park, each offering free activities, entertainment, and community fun.

Experience your city in a whole new way.

GENERAL EVENT INFO
Viva CalleSJ is not just a bicycle event, it is an open streets event! Feel free to walk, bike, skate or just come play in the streets (see the featured event page).
The San Jose Parks Department puts on this event a couple times a year and completely closes off the streets to regular traffic for this event, so you don't need to worry about cars and trucks! Sunday, September 13 is the third and last Viva CalleSJ of 2026. Last few times there have been lots of interesting bikes.

Here's the official page: https://www.vivacallesj.org/ and here's the map of activities/stops that shows the entire event.

Here are highlights from the previous events:
June 2026
April 2026
September 2025
June 2025
April 2025
For those of you with short attention spans
June 2026 Meetup event
April 2026 Meetup event
September 2025 Meetup event

As a heads up, I'll be there for the event but probably not for the entire 5 hours, and there's going to be thousands of people here moving around the entire time, sooo you're probably not going to be able to find anyone. Think of this as an informational post and less of a traditional meetup where you meet specific people from our group :)

NOTE that this event will likely have thousands of people!
Good news: You'll find at least a couple interesting people.
Not so good news: You'll have a hard time finding specific people (including other people from this meetup event) among the thousands of other people.

My goal is to visit all the hubs, so I'll (probably) have a bike, but having a scooter/skateboard/roller skates (or an electric version) should be fine. Walking might be slow if you want to visit all the hubs, but is doable. If you do want to walk around, there's plenty of stuff to do so you won't get bored. If you want to go to all the hubs but don't have any alternative modes of transportation, get a Bay Wheels bike/Lime scooter (see the HOW TO GET THERE section below)

HOW TO GET THERE
I'd suggest taking VTA, since that'll get you pretty close to the activity hubs and you won't need to worry about parking/closed streets. The Blue Line drops you off at a ~10 minute ride away from the Martial Cottle Park activity hub if you get off at the Branham Station or another ~10 minute ride away from the Martial Cottle Park activity hub (but closer to the route) if you get off at the Blossom Hill Station.

If you're further away/don't have VTA nearby but can take Caltrain or get to Diridon Station, I'd recommend taking Caltrain or VTA down to Diridon Station, then catch the Blue Line from the Children's Discovery Musuem VTA Station (about a mile away) down to one of the stations mentioned in the previous paragraph. A direct bike/skateboard/e-bike/whatever will take ~40 minutes to get to the Martial Cottle Park activity hub. Otherwise, you can hop on a Lyft bike - there are 2 Bay Wheels/Lyft Bike stations next to the Berryessa BART station at Cahill St & Crandall St (see the explore page or map). The day pass includes unlimited 30-min classic bike rides within a 24-hour period with any ride longer than 30 min costing an extra $0.19/min (see the plans here). You can also try your luck with Lime scooters, but those tend to move around so make sure you look at the map.

If you want to drive, you'll need to find parking somewhere along the route - keep in mind roads WILL be closed for the event.

ACTIVITIES
Address for the main hubs

• Martial Cottle Park (a historic working farm) Activity Hub: between Snell Ave & Branham Ln and Snell Ave & Chynoweth Ave
• De Anza Park Activity Hub: between Meridian Ave & Princeton Dr and Meridian Ave & Helmond Ln
• Cahalan Park Activity Hub: Cahalan Park/770 Pearlwood Way
• Cahalan Park Youth Empowerment Zone: Pearlwood Way

Overview of hubs
Martial Cottle Park | Activity Hub
Entertainment:
- DJ Eli X
Activities:
- Inflatable Bounce House
- Cottle Cattle Corral
- Bubble Play Area
- Face Painting
- Touch a Tractor
Bike Parking presented by Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Sports Team Activation:
- San Jose Earthquakes
- San Jose Sharks
- Santa Cruz Warriors
Food Trucks:
- Saigon Street Food 2 Bahn Mi & More
- El Viejon Mexican Food
- CHICK N BROS
- Sixth Street Burger
- BBQ KALBI
- Kona Ice South San Jose
- Paleta Planeta
- Jorvan's Aguas Frescas
Minor Bike Repair provided by Good Karma Bikes

De Anza Park | Activity Hub
Entertainment:
Live music from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- 10:15 a.m. -11 a.m. | Melinda and the Meander
- 11:15 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Kruel Summer
- DJ is Mase the Tablist from 12 p.m. - 3 p.m
- (Dance Battle occurring from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.)
The Art Spot presented by Together We Create:
Featured Artists:
- Francisco Franco @francolafresh
- The Jams @thejamsbrand
- Wes Marks
- XL @xl1s
- Difer @begtodifer
- Heidi Jumper @gagiepagie
- Mesngr @mesngr86
- Wisper @wispertfl
- Berk @berkvisual
Community Mural from 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Live painting from 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Bike parking presented by Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Food Trucks:
- Grillzillas
- Street Bite Vietnamese
- Cousins Maine lobster
- 3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
- Kona Ice M.V.
- Travelin’ Toms Coffee
Sponsors: Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Minor Bike Repair provided by Community Cycles of California

Cahalan Park | Activity Hub
Entertainment:
DJ John Jimenez
Youth Empowerment Zone Performances by
- Grupo Folklorico Danza Que Vuela from 12 p.m - 12:20 p.m.
- GROOV3 with Charlotte : 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Bike Parking provided by Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Other Attractions: Climb On (Rock Wall)
BMX Freestyle Show (Showtimes at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.)
Food Trucks:
- STACKD
- Barya Kitchen
- Me Oi – A Viet Mom’s Table
- Chubby’s Chickn
- Tacos El Cowboy
- Kettle Queen
- Luv’s Brownies
- Cali Cool
Sponsors: San Jose Clean Energy
Minor Bike Repair provided by Bike Teacher

LIVE EVENTS
I also added flyers from the official page below, but take a look at https://www.vivacallesj.org/ for the latest updates.

OTHER EVENT INFO
- Maintain a safe speed! Stay in control, go with the flow of traffic, pass on the left, slower traffic please keep to the right.
- Be aware of your surroundings! Never Stop in the middle of the route and keep your eyes sharp to avoid accidents and obstacles.
- Wear a helmet! We care about your safety and so does the law! Participants under the age of 18 must wear a helmet and everyone is encouraged to wear one.
- Viva CalleSJ staff, volunteers, and public safety officers can be found on route and in activity hubs, ask for help!
- Take public transportation. Parking will be difficult in the areas around the route, avoid the hassle by taking VTA!

SAFETY DISCLAIMER
The organizers of this meet-up are unpaid volunteers and not expert guides. All participants agree to assume 100% responsibility for their own safety, conduct, and well-being and recognize that possible hazards exist while participating in outdoor (or any other) activities, and agree to participate solely at their own risk. If you RSVP “Yes” and/or attend any of our events, it shall be conclusively presumed that you understand and agree to this policy and disclaim the host of any liability.