Free Halloween carnivals across the West Valley
Canoga Park and Winnetka Friday night, Chatsworth and Tarzana Saturday, plus vote centers opening and clocks falling back Sunday.
SFV Insider Team
Oct 26, 2026
Welcome to SFV West Insider |
OCTOBER 26–NOVEMBER 1, 2026 |
 |
Trivia Question❓Before it became Woodland Hills, what was this West Valley community called when it was founded in 1922? Answer at the bottom of the newsletter |
 |
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so the West Valley's biggest weekend runs Friday night through Sunday morning. Here's the week at a glance: Friday, Oct. 30: Free Halloween events at the Lanark and Winnetka recreation centers, 5–9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31: Halloween. Free carnivals in Chatsworth (Mason Recreation Center, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.; Chatsworth Recreation Center, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.) and Tarzana (11 a.m.–3 p.m.), plus Saturday farmers markets in Woodland Hills and Canoga Park. Sunday, Nov. 1: Clocks fall back at 2 a.m., so Halloween night comes with a bonus hour. Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day. Vote centers are open 7 a.m.–8 p.m. Our lead story below covers what to know before you go. Details on each event are in Featured Events. |
 |
Voting in the West Valley: what to know before Election Day Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and in-person voting in Los Angeles County is already underway. According to LAist's voter guide, a first group of vote centers opened Saturday, Oct. 24, and every vote center is scheduled to be open by Saturday, Oct. 31. On Election Day, vote centers are open 7 a.m.–8 p.m. The county was still compiling its full list of locations and hours when the guide was last updated, so check the county's vote center locator for the center nearest you. You can vote at any vote center in the county. You don't have to use the one closest to your home address, but you can't vote in person in a different county. If you're in line at 8 p.m., stay in line. Anyone in line when the polls close can still cast a ballot. Mail ballots. Election Day is also the last day to return your ballot or have it postmarked. ID. Most voters aren't asked for ID. The exception, per the California Secretary of State, is a first-time voter who registered by mail without providing a driver's license number, state ID number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Those voters may be asked to show identification, such as a utility bill, a sample ballot or a government-issued ID. Provisional ballots. If your registration needs to be verified, for example after same-day registration, you'll vote on a provisional ballot that is counted once officials confirm your information. Help at the vote center. Vote centers offer accessible voting machines, step-by-step assistance and curbside voting, and language help is available in 23 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Armenian, Farsi and Russian. Questions about registration can go to the California Secretary of State's hotline at (800) 345-8683. Source: LAist, "How do I vote in person in LA and Orange counties?" (updated Oct. 8, 2026). |
 |
Clocks fall back Sunday, Nov. 1. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m., so set clocks back one hour before bed Saturday night. It's a good day to test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and swap in fresh batteries. Canoga Park farmers market. The weekly Saturday market runs 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at 7248 Owensmouth Ave., according to the city's Department of Cultural Affairs. Halloween falls on a Saturday, so check the market's Facebook page for holiday-weekend changes, and see the city listing. Lanark Recreation Center hours. The city lists Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., closed Sundays and holidays. The center is at 21816 Lanark St., Canoga Park, and the phone is (818) 883-1503. Friday's Halloween event runs 5–9 p.m. |
 |
Halloween in the West Valley: free carnival-style events at neighborhood recreation centers, plus a treat day for pets. Schedules can change, so confirm details with each venue before you go. Friday, October 30
|
 |
 |
Trick-or-treating, the short version. Carry a flashlight or glow stick, choose costumes kids can see out of and walk in, cross at corners and stay on sidewalks. Drivers: slow down on residential streets after dark. Library programs for kids. The LAPL West Valley Regional Branch, 19036 Vanowen St. in Reseda, lists recurring children's programs that include a Tuesday-morning story time with songs and a simple craft and a Thursday-afternoon reading session with a volunteer. Schedules change, so check the branch page or call (818) 345-9806 before you go. Free Halloween fun for the whole family. The recreation-center carnivals in Featured Events are free, and the Saturday ones run during the day so little ones are home before dark. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Local spotlight · Woodland Hills |
LA Heating & Air Conditioning |
Stock photo. Photo by Dan LeFebvre on Unsplash
A family-owned Woodland Hills HVAC company, just as heating season starts With cooler nights arriving and the clocks about to fall back, this is the time of year when a heater that sat idle all summer gets its first real test. Finding out in October that something is wrong is far easier than finding out during a cold snap in January, when repair calendars tend to fill up. That makes this week a good moment to meet LA Heating & Air Conditioning, a Woodland Hills contractor based at 6430 Variel Ave., Suite 102. Who they are On its profile with The Switch Is On, a statewide heat pump contractor directory, the company describes itself as a family-owned residential and commercial HVAC contractor serving the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles since 2010. The same directory lists it as in business since May 2010. The company also says it is a single-location contractor, not a franchise and not a national chain. English, Spanish and Russian are listed as languages spoken, which is a practical detail when you are trying to explain what your system is doing. What they work on The company's website lists installation and repair for air conditioning and heating, furnace and heat pump replacement, ductless mini-splits, duct work, maintenance plans and indoor air-quality products. The Switch Is On profile adds smart thermostats and energy efficiency improvements, and says the company serves single-family homes, multi-family buildings and commercial properties, along with service and maintenance calls. The company's website says its service area includes Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park, Tarzana, Chatsworth and Porter Ranch. Permits and building code The company says every installation complies with California's Title 24 energy standards and with Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety permit requirements, and that when a permit is required it pulls the permit and schedules the inspection. Permitted work leaves a paper trail with the city, which can matter when you sell a home or need to show an insurer that a system was installed properly. It is worth asking any contractor, this one included, to confirm in writing that permits are part of your quote. Heat pumps and rebates LA Heating is listed as a TECH Clean California contractor, and its Switch Is On profile shows at least 25 heat pump installs confirmed through TECH program data. The profile notes that figure is a minimum, since the company may have done more installs outside the program. That matters because the state's heat pump incentives run through certified contractors. When the program announced its rebates in November 2024, income-qualified single-family homeowners, defined as households earning less than 80 percent of area median income, could receive up to $8,000 through the HEEHRA rebate, and TECH Clean California incentives of up to $1,500 were available statewide for new heat pump HVAC systems. Both were available only through TECH-certified contractors. Rebate amounts, funding and eligibility change, so check techcleanca.com or ask the contractor which incentives apply to your home before you sign anything. The company's website also says it helps customers with heat pump rebates, including LADWP's. Financing The Switch Is On profile lists financing options, and the company's listing there has shown a 12-month interest-free financing offer. The company's website also mentions financing through Wisetack. Terms change, so ask for the current details in writing. What customers say The Switch Is On profile shows a 4.9-star average from 671 Google reviews, and a separate industry directory, ServiceMag, lists a 4.9 rating from 660 reviews. The company's own description says customers consistently say it shows up when it says it will, tells the truth about what a system needs, and leaves a clean job site. That is the company's characterization, so read recent reviews and judge for yourself. Questions to ask any HVAC contractor Before hiring anyone, confirm the license on the Contractors State License Board website; the company's site lists CSLB license #952950. Get an itemized written quote, and compare at least two. Ask whether the quote includes permits, which rebates apply, who files the paperwork, what the warranty covers on equipment and on labor, and how maintenance visits work. A quick check before the cold arrives Run your heater for a few minutes now, while you still have time to fix problems. Replace a dirty filter, keep furniture and curtains away from vents, clear leaves and debris from around an outdoor unit, and note any unusual smells, noises or short cycling so you can describe them to a technician. If your system is old and expensive to keep repairing, a replacement quote is worth requesting before the first cold snap. Find them: 6430 Variel Ave., Suite 102, Woodland Hills. Website: laheatingairconditioning.com. |
|
|
 |
 |
Shop a farmers market. Two options on the county's market list: the Woodland Hills Certified Farmers' Market, Saturdays 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at 5650 Shoup Ave., and the Warner Center Certified Farmers' Market, Wednesdays 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at 21255 Burbank Blvd. Both are listed as year-round; confirm holiday-weekend hours with the market. Hike Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. The Chatsworth park protects part of the Old Santa Susana Stage Road, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. California State Parks lists the Andora Trailhead at 9955 Andora Ave. as an entrance; park on the street and look for the opening in the fence and the brown park kiosk. Wear sturdy shoes and long pants, bring plenty of water, and watch for poison oak. Leashed dogs are allowed. Take a walk in Warner Center Park. The 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd. park in Woodland Hills is open daily from dawn to dusk and welcomes families and leashed pets, per Time Out. With the clocks falling back Sunday, dusk comes an hour earlier next week. |
 |
Local restaurant spotlight · Canoga Park |
Cavaretta's Italian Groceries |
A Canoga Park Italian deli, still going strong since 1959 Some restaurants become neighborhood landmarks because of a single dish. Cavaretta's, at 22045 Sherman Way near Topanga Canyon Boulevard, is one because it has been feeding Canoga Park, one sandwich at a time, since 1959. That is five years before Westfield Topanga opened down the road, a detail a local food writer noted when profiling the shop. Today it is part Italian deli, part tiny grocery store, and one of the best-known lunch counters in the West Valley. A history in handoffs Lou Cavaretta founded the shop in 1959 and started out stacking cold cuts and cheese on Italian hoagie rolls. According to a Wikipedia entry that draws on Daily News reporting, the deli was sold in 1978, sold again two years later, and in 1983 went to Joe and Paul Nunneri, whose mother also took a place at the deli. In 2000, Dave Weisberg replaced Joe Nunneri and became Paul's partner. Weisberg's own path is a local-business classic. A 2021 biographical press release says he worked as a counter clerk at Cavaretta's from 1985 to 1995, managed a market's catering operation from 1995 to 1999, and has co-owned the deli since 2000. What to order The sandwiches are the headline. Per the Daily News, customers choose from 12 meats, including peppered turkey, spicy salami and four flavors of chicken, and sandwiches come with lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard, mayonnaise, Italian dressing and cheese. The writer who profiled the shop for a local magazine praised the sturdy sesame-seed bread, delivered daily, and called the Italian combo, built on mortadella, Molinari and cotto salami, capicola and provolone, the true test of an Italian deli. At the counter, ask for yours with The Works to get the full set of toppings. Many dishes are made from scratch, including lasagna, antipasto, caprese salads and marinara, along with hand-rolled meatballs and freshly baked rolls. Beyond the meat counter Delivery-app menus show that the shop also makes a fresh mozzarella, sliced tomato and basil sandwich with Italian dressing, and a version of its sandwich made with Vegenaise instead of mayonnaise, so non-meat eaters have options. KTLA's Steve Kuzj has featured the deli for picnic-perfect sandwiches, sides and desserts, and Eater LA ran a 2014 profile headlined as an Italian deli to rule them all. The cannoli question If there is one item the deli is known for beyond sandwiches, it is the cannoli. The Daily News reports that they follow a Mrs. Nunneri recipe dating to 1953. The food site The Infatuation has called Cavaretta's the home of its favorite cannoli in Los Angeles, and a family-outing roundup from Tinybeans also singled them out. A dessert case near the register also holds cookies, plus brownies, bars and cheesecake from La Mousse. What it feels like inside A patio with Boar's Head umbrellas marks the entrance. Inside there is a small dining area with red and green tables and aisles of Italian groceries. You order at a worn wooden counter backed by a map of Italy and a small army of Dodgers bobblehead figures. Variety is large for a business this compact, and Tinybeans describes the atmosphere as one where everyone is treated like family. Recognition and community Cavaretta's was named the Daily News Readers' Choice Best Deli in 2021 and again in 2025. The 2021 press release credits it with Best Sandwich Shop honors in 2020 and 2021 and with first-place finishes at the annual Taste of the Valley event in 2015, 2016 and 2019. In 2019, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel recognized the deli for 60 years of service to the community, and the press release says Weisberg helped organize a large community event for the shop's 60th anniversary. The same release says that during the COVID-19 pandemic the deli hosted several vaccine centers and donated lunches to medical staff and local hospitals. Planning your visit Cavaretta's is at 22045 Sherman Way in Canoga Park, and a published listing gives the phone as (818) 340-6626. The shop's website is cavarettasdeli.com, and it also appears on several delivery apps. Hours and menu items change, so call ahead before you go, especially on a holiday weekend. If you are heading to one of this week's Halloween carnivals, an Italian sub and a cannoli make an easy picnic stop on the way. |
|
|
 |
Leonis Adobe Museum, Calabasas: step into 1880s ranch life, free on weekends A short drive west on the 101 from Woodland Hills, tucked beside the freeway in Calabasas, is one of the oldest houses in Los Angeles County, with a working ranch yard around it. The Leonis Adobe Museum is a living-history site dedicated to 1880s ranch life, and the museum says it is free to enter. For a Halloween weekend with a trip to take, it is a rare combination: real history, real animals, and a story with more twists than most movies. The house The core of the adobe dates to about 1844, though little is known about its earliest use. In the 1870s, Basque rancher Miguel Leonis, nicknamed the "King of Calabasas," and his common-law wife Espiritu Chijulla enlarged it into the two-story Monterey-style home with a wraparound balcony that visitors see today. According to the museum, the couple made it their permanent home in 1878, and the paint colors on the house were discovered under many layers of paint and are assumed to be the ones Leonis used. The story behind it Espiritu, a widowed Chumash/Tongva woman, owned half of Rancho El Escorpión in her own right before she met Leonis. He died in 1889 after a wagon accident in the Cahuenga Pass, and his will, according to a National Trust for Historic Preservation listing, left most of his assets to relatives in France. A University of Washington architecture database says it left her just $1,000 of an estate worth roughly $1 million. Espiritu took the estate to court to prove she was his wife, since Leonis had denied the marriage, and a Wikipedia account says she called 40 witnesses at an 1891 jury trial who testified that Leonis had publicly acknowledged her as his wife. She won, though the litigation dragged on until 1905, and she lived in the adobe until her death in 1906. Saved from the wrecking ball On Aug. 6, 1962, the adobe was threatened with demolition. The newly formed Cultural Heritage Board responded by declaring it Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1. Preservationist Kay Beachy bought the property to create a public museum, and it opened as a living-history farm in 1966. A Los Angeles Public Library photo archive adds that the adobe is known as one of the most haunted sites in the county, which makes it a natural Halloween-weekend stop. On the grounds The ranch yard is the part kids tend to remember. A National Trust listing says the museum keeps animals authentic to the period, including Percheron horses, Texas Longhorn cattle, Merino sheep and Angora and Nubian goats. A travel writer who toured the site also describes a vegetable garden, a small vineyard, antique wagons, a bunkhouse and a windmill with a working well pump. The museum's own materials mention a barn built in 1912 that had to be moved twice to make room for the 101 freeway, along with a tank house, a horno and a historic oak. Visitors enter through the Plummer House, which serves as the visitor center. Tours and what to know before you go The museum says guided tours of the adobe run about 30 minutes and take you room by room through the Leonis family's story. Tours run only at set times, late entry is not allowed, and there are no walk-in tours outside the scheduled times, so check the schedule when you arrive or call ahead. Photos and video are not allowed inside the adobe, and the second story is reachable only by stairs, though the museum has a video of the upstairs for visitors who can't climb. The rest of the visit is self-guided and mostly at ground level. The museum says admission and parking in its private lot are free for guests, and donations and memberships are welcome but not required. Per the museum, Calabasas Creek Park is currently closed for maintenance. What about the Pumpkin Party? In recent years the museum has held an annual Pumpkin Party on a Saturday afternoon, 1–4 p.m., with live music, crafts, demonstrations and animal feeding, and admission was $8 in 2023 through 2025. We could not find a confirmed 2026 date on the museum's site, so call or check the special events page before you count on it. The museum says an entry fee applies during special events. Hours The museum's contact page lists Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday 1–4 p.m. A National Trust listing also shows Friday afternoons, so confirm before you drive over. Make it a day Across the street from the museum, a travel guide notes, the Calabasas Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The museum sits next to the Sagebrush Cantina, according to a Conejo Valley events guide, so lunch is an easy add-on. Plan your visit: 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. Phone (818) 222-6511. Website: leonisadobemuseum.org. |
 |
Neighborhood council. The Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the community room at Fire Station 84, 21050 Burbank Blvd. The next meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 11. Agendas and contact information are at whcouncil.org. More events, all in one place. Concerts, workshops, family activities and neighborhood gatherings are collected in the West Valley Insider events calendar. Check it through the week, since new listings go up between issues. Know something we should cover? If you have a confirmed opening, a local organization doing good work or a family-friendly event, send it our way with the date, venue, address and an official link. |
 |
💡 Answer to Trivia Question: Girard. Developer Victor Girard Kleinberger founded the town of Girard in 1922; it was later absorbed into Los Angeles and renamed Woodland Hills. |