WALNUT CREEK, CA — Broadway Plaza turns 75 this year. So the mall is throwing itself a kid’s idea of a birthday. A princess parade, a circus, and a party in the street.
It happens Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Broadway Plaza Street. Look for it between the palm trees and the parking garage you can never quite find on the first try.
The event has a name. Because of course it does. The mall is calling it “Once Upon A Street.”
Admission is free, which is the best deal the plaza has offered in a while.
Here is what you actually get.
What Is Happening Saturday
The theme is storybook, and the lineup leans all the way in. Kids can meet a princess from Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble, then line up for a photo with a ballerina from The Ballet School Performing Arts.
Beloved Little Circus performs. DJ Rich Era runs the music. There’s a 360-degree photo booth, plus a face painter, a balloon twister, and a table to build your own flower crown while supplies last.
The Royal Princess Parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. The mall says everyone’s welcome to walk it.
Tiaras optional. Encouraged, honestly.
Joybound People & Pets will be on hand with adoptions, which means you could come for a balloon animal and leave with a dog. Sign the plaza’s Royal Proclamation and you collect a free mini tote, while they last.
Expect a crowd. Broadway Plaza does not do quiet, and a free parade on a Saturday will pull families in from all over the Diablo Valley. Come early if you want a spot near the street.
One warning, and it isn’t coming from the mall.
Saturday is forecast to be hot, with a high near 93. It’s an outdoor party, so bring water and chase the shade. Dress the kids like it’s July.
The East Bay Times flagged the party this week with the sort of dry aside we appreciate around here. Short version: if corporations can be people, a shopping mall can throw itself a birthday.
The Street That Built This Town
Broadway Plaza opened in 1951. Back then it went by Broadway Shopping Center, and it was the first major retail center in Contra Costa County.
That was not a small thing. According to the Walnut Creek Historical Society, the town’s taxable sales climbed from $9 million in 1950 to $20 million in 1955. The shopping center landed right in the middle of that jump.
Read it again. The place did not just sell shoes. It changed what Walnut Creek was.
Before the mall, this was orchard and ranch land around a small crossroads downtown. Broadway Shopping Center arrived just as Contra Costa filled in after the war, and it pulled the center of town toward Broadway for good.
“Inspired by the timeless charm of a storybook celebration, ‘Once Upon A Street’ transforms Broadway Plaza Street into a place where memories are made and new traditions begin.”
Broadway Plaza
That’s the mall describing itself. For once, it isn’t wrong.
The plaza’s owned today by Macerich, out of Santa Monica. So the party is, technically, a corporate birthday.
But the street it sits on has been this town’s front porch for three generations. That part is real.
What 75 Years Buys
The plaza now says it holds more than 80 retailers and specialty shops. The anchors are national names: Nordstrom, Macy’s, Apple, lululemon.
The dining side runs from Original Joe’s to Cholita Linda, Boudin, and True Food Kitchen. There’s a Life Time fitness club, plus a coworking space for people who miss the office.
None of those words would have meant a thing to a shopper in 1951.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1951 | Opens as Broadway Shopping Center — the first major retail center in Contra Costa County |
| 1950–55 | Walnut Creek taxable sales climb from $9 million to $20 million |
| Today | More than 80 shops and restaurants; owned by Macerich |
| Oct. 17, 2026 | Turns 75 with “Once Upon A Street” |
That’s the trade. The corner store gave way to the flagship. Some locals still miss the old mix — you can hear it in any thread about downtown.
There is a version of Walnut Creek that lives only in memory now. The plaza had a five-and-dime, the parking came easy, and half the shoppers knew each other by name.
What’s left is a very good outdoor mall, the kind that could be dropped into any comfortable suburb and still work. Downtown keeps changing around it. There are the new murals on Locust, and there’s the eight-story housing plan rising over what used to be a parking lot.
Broadway Plaza just keeps being Broadway Plaza.
Should You Go
If you have kids under ten, this is a free Saturday afternoon with a parade, a circus, and a balloon guy. Go at 11, catch the parade at 12:30, be home in time for naps.
If you don’t have kids, now you know where the traffic will be.
Plan around the plaza between 11 and 2, or show up and watch. Nobody will stop you. The parade is open to everyone.
Either way, 75 years is a long run for anything in retail. Most of what opened alongside it is gone.
And if you just want a slice of the old days, the plaza has seen it all. First jobs, first dates, a few thousand prom photos. Saturday is a cheap excuse to walk it again.
| When | Saturday, Oct. 17 — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
|---|---|
| Where | Broadway Plaza Street, 1275 Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek |
| Cost | Free |
| Don’t miss | Royal Princess Parade at 12:30 p.m. |
| Free stuff | Mini tote (sign the Royal Proclamation), flower crowns — while supplies last |
| More info | broadwayplaza.com |
“Whether you’ve been visiting Broadway Plaza for generations or are discovering it for the first time, we invite you to celebrate this milestone with us.”
Broadway Plaza
The plaza earned a party. It’s been the reliable middle of this town for three generations. There’s something to be said for still showing up.
Whether it earns the next 75 is the interesting question.
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