Top image: A 1937 map of the Belmont vicinity, eleven years after the city incorporated. Photo: Geo. Thomas (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
Belmont is having its birthday party today, and most of the city is invited. The Peninsula town of roughly 28,000, incorporated on Oct. 29, 1926, is staging its signature Centennial Fest this afternoon and evening, starting with a vintage car parade at 1:30 p.m. and ending with a drone show over downtown at 7:30 p.m. The event is free.
“Belmont’s Centennial is a celebration of our entire community and a reflection of what makes Belmont so special,” City Manager Afshin Oskoui said in the city’s Oct. 2 announcement. “For our birthday month this October, we invite everyone to take part, learn something new about Belmont, and celebrate the people and places that have shaped our city over the past 100 years.”
What it means for you: the schedule
- 1:30 p.m., parade. According to the city’s Oct. 14 closure notice, the vintage car parade starts at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 1040 Alameda de las Pulgas, heads north on the Alameda, turns right on Ralston Avenue, runs east on Ralston and turns right onto Sixth Avenue, where the cars become a car show. Parade entries were invitation-only, with up to 50 cars, per the city’s Centennial page.
- 3:30 p.m., time capsule. A Centennial time capsule ceremony takes place in front of the Twin Pines Senior and Community Center. The city credits a donation from the Rotary Club of Belmont and Redwood Shores for the time capsule memorial.
- Afternoon into evening, festival. The celebration continues through Twin Pines Park with live music, food trucks, games and Alpha Acid beer, the city says.
- 7:30 p.m., drone show. The finale features artwork by Belmont youth. The city’s FAQ says the best viewing is in front of City Hall.
The city’s Centennial page lists the music lineup as Drini and the Wild Cats, Trevor and the Long Haul, the New Shoes Blues Band and Alameda de Las Pulgas, and the food vendors as Jolly’s Old-Fashioned Teas Cream, Jika’s Kitchen, Respectable Bird, Sam’s Chowder Mobile, Jaylis Cocina, Bay Area Softly and Me So Hungry Too. Park Boosters will sell Alpha Acid beer and wine.
Street closures
If you are driving through Belmont today, plan around these closures, all from the city’s Oct. 14 notice:
- 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Alameda de las Pulgas from 1040 Alameda to Ralston Avenue, and Ralston Avenue from the Alameda to El Camino Real.
- All day: Sixth Avenue from Ralston Avenue to O’Neill Avenue.
- 6 to 8 p.m.: parts of Sixth Avenue and Emmett Avenue, plus Waltermire Street from Sixth Avenue to the front entrance of Safeway, are closed to both cars and pedestrians for the drone show.
- Twin Pines Park has been closed since 5 p.m. Friday and reopens at 8 a.m. Sunday, outside of festival use.
Residents and businesses along the route should expect restricted vehicle access and allow extra time, the city said. The media contact listed on the notice is Lt. Pete Lotti of the Belmont Police Department.
Parking and access
The city’s Centennial page points festivalgoers to the Belmont Caltrain station lots, the Notre Dame de Namur University lower lot near the Taube Center and the East Lot. Accessible parking is available at Sixth and Emmett avenues and at the Barrett Community Center on Belburn Drive. Taking Caltrain to Belmont station puts visitors a short walk from Twin Pines Park.
Centennial merchandise will be for sale, according to the city: pins for $4, hats for $15 and T-shirts for $25. Sales are credit card or Apple Pay only.
Beyond today
The party is one piece of a yearlong program. The city is asking residents to host “100 Community Celebrations,” from block parties to coffee gatherings, and will count them toward a goal of 100 if organizers email centennial@belmont.gov, according to the Oct. 2 bulletin. The city is also offering Centennial party bags while supplies last, a Centennial Stories podcast and historical material at belmont.gov/100years.
The long view
Belmont’s first century has tracked the Peninsula’s larger story. The city grew up around the Ralston estate and the rail line, and today sits squarely in the middle of the region’s arguments over housing, transit and downtown change. The 2020 census counted 28,335 residents, according to Wikipedia’s summary of census data. The time capsule going into the ground today is a modest gesture, but it reflects something worth noting: in a region that often treats its cities as interchangeable stops along U.S. 101, Belmont is asking residents to think about what makes a small city distinct, and what it should look like when someone opens that capsule.
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