Before the turkey reaches the table and before the first slice of pie is served, thousands of people are expected to spend Thanksgiving morning doing something that has become a Stockton holiday tradition: running and walking to help feed their neighbors. The 22nd Annual Run & Walk Against Hunger returns Thursday, November 26, 2026, bringing runners, walkers, children, families and community teams to downtown Stockton for the Emergency Food Bank Stockton/San Joaquin's largest annual fundraising event. This year's event is once again presented by the Aaron Judge ALL RISE Foundation.

As the holiday season begins in Stockton, thousands of lights will soon glow from a towering tree at San Joaquin Delta College. But each light is meant to represent something far more personal than a holiday decoration. On Tuesday, November 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., Hospice of San Joaquin will hold its annual Tree of Lights ceremony at San Joaquin Delta College, continuing a tradition that began in Stockton decades ago and has since spread to communities throughout San Joaquin County and the surrounding region.

For one evening this October, University of the Pacific's brick walkways and ivy-covered buildings will become a giant trick-or-treat route as hundreds of costumed children and their families explore one of Stockton's most recognizable campuses. The Annual Pacific Trick or Treat returns Wednesday, October 28, from 5 to 7 p.m., inviting Stockton families onto the University of the Pacific campus for a free evening of Halloween fun. This year's event will be centered at the Don and Karen DeRosa University Center Lawn, with families making their way around campus to collect candy from Pacific students, faculty and staff.

A Stockton grandfather who gave his life trying to save his 13-year-old grandson from a burning home has been awarded one of North America’s highest honors for civilian heroism. Jose Villalta, 68, of Stockton, was named a recipient of the Carnegie Medal for heroism in the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission’s September 21 announcement. The medal is awarded to people in the United States and Canada who place themselves in extraordinary danger while saving, or attempting to save, the lives of others.

The San Joaquin Regional Transit District's Board of Directors has appointed Eric Williams as Chief Executive Officer, effective Sept. 18, after he served as acting CEO and chief operating officer.

Nearly a century after one of American theater’s most daring plays first challenged audiences, Machinal is coming home to the city of its playwright’s birth. Beginning October 9, Delta Drama at San Joaquin Delta College will present Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal, an expressionist drama inspired by a notorious 1920s murder case and centered on a woman struggling to find freedom in a world that seems determined to control her. Performances will continue through October 18 at the Al Muller Studio Theatre on Delta College’s Stockton campus.

One of the most influential horror films ever made is about to get a new voice in Stockton, and that voice will come from a full symphony orchestra. On Sunday, October 18, the Stockton Symphony will transform Atherton Auditorium into an old-fashioned movie palace for its Halloween Spooktacular: Silent Movie: Nosferatu, pairing the landmark silent film with a newly imagined full-length orchestral score by composer and guest conductor Kermit Poling. The performance begins at 2:30 p.m.

A November 5K in Stockton is asking participants to run for something larger than a finish-line medal. The Her Fall Forward 5K, scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2026, will bring runners and walkers together to support women and girls while raising money to help local women and children's shelters provide necessities to families in need. The race begins at 8 a.m. at 5250 Cosumnes Drive in Stockton.

Downtown Stockton will trade business suits for superhero capes, princess dresses and plenty of Halloween costumes when Monster Mash 2026 takes over Courthouse Plaza on Friday, October 30.

A night of dining, music and philanthropy in Stockton will also offer something the public has never seen before: the first look inside the planned expansion of the World of Wonders Science Museum.