Downtown events include the weekly Escondido Certified Farmers’ Market from 2:30-sunset Tuesdays at Juniper Street between Grand Avenue and Valley Parkway; Cruisin’ Grand, a cool classic car meet with live music Friday nights April through September; Second Saturdays – a monthly arts and culture tour;  the Tamale Festival – a celebration of the iconic food staple and other great Latin foods – (on Nov. 5 in 2022); Small Business Saturday (on Nov. 26 in 2022), an opportunity to shop locally during the holiday season; the February Chocolate Festival; and the Escondido Street Festival, held in May.

A revitalization of Escondido‘s historic downtown began in spring 2022. Wider sidewalks and expanded space for outdoor dining, overhead string lighting and diagonal parking on Grand Avenue has been part of the makeover. Future phases of the project include further sidewalk widening, traffic roundabouts to calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety, as well as kiosks and public art.

Transit to downtown Escondido is easy. The SPRINTER light rail — connecting Escondido and Oceanside along the Highway 78 corridor — and Breeze bus systems have stops at the Escondido Transit Center, located about a half mile from the California Center for the Arts. For more information, visit the Escondido Downtown Business Association at downtownescondido.com or call (760) 207-6321.