The second weekend in October is coming up and there are several events planned.
Today, Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 7 PM will be the Tuolumne County Community Forum – Finding Common Ground at the Aronos Club in Sonora. The event will be a conversation on the nature of “good” and “evil” and welcomes collaborators from all points of view to speak as detailed in the event listing here.
The three-day Barktoberfest dog show begins this Friday. The Sierra-Tuolumne Kennel Club hosts the event at the Motherlode Fairgrounds with over 100 breeds of dogs. All three days dogs of all breeds and mixed breeds will be competing in Performance Events – Rally, Obedience, Temperament Testing, Canine Good Citizen, and Trick Dog. On Saturday, youngsters from ages 6-9 will show their dog to earn a prize. Food trucks and booths selling pet merchandise will be there too. More details are in the event listing here.
Friday at 2:30 PM is the Sonora High School Homecoming Parade from the school down Washington Street to Stockton Street with a concert in Courthouse Park.
Columbia State Historic Park is offering a cornucopia of crafts, demonstrations, music and dancing on the shady streets of the Park during the Harvest Festifall. All day Saturday and Sunday. Almost forty vendors, dressed in 1850s attire, will display their handmade arts and crafts for sale, including pottery, jewelry, apparel, baked goods and more.
In Angels Camp the Mark Twain WildWest Fest returns this Saturday. This year’s festival-goers will enjoy two stages of non-stop live music, featuring crowd favorites Black Irish Band and Old West Trio, alongside roving performers, cowboys, outlaws, and axe-throwing demonstrations. 
Gold panning experts will offer live demos, inviting guests to try their luck just like the Forty-Niners. More than ten artisan vendors will line the streets with handcrafted goods, local art, and delicious food. Families can explore the children’s petting zoo, shop at Henry Angel’s Trading Posts, and dive into interactive crafts like candle making, corn husk doll crafting, weaving, and woodworking. Guests are encouraged to dress in period costume, with costume contests held throughout the day for Wild West, Victorian, Edwardian, Gothic, and Steampunk styles. The Angels Camp Museum will be fully open, with docents guiding visitors through exhibits including the Jumping Frog Jubilee, Albert Michelson, the Carriage House, Altaville Foundry, and the Ranching & Mining building. More details are here.
Fresh produce, handmade goods, and unique treasures from local farmers, artisans, and young entrepreneurs will be found at the last local Sonora Farmers’ Market this Saturday morning. The Farmers Market at Murphys Community Park is open this Sunday and through October 26 as detailed here.
Walking Dead Sonora, Zombie Walk & Halloween Festival, will take place this Saturday at Courthouse Park in downtown Sonora. The yearly fundraiser and costume contest supports the Humane Society of Tuolumne County.
The Sonora Chamber of Commerce presents 2nd Saturday Art Night every 2nd Saturday of the month in downtown Sonora on both sides of Washington Street. The After 8 Summer Concert will feature the group King Hippo starting at 8 PM at Coffill Park. Bring your chairs and your dance shoes. This will be the final season for the Concerts in Coffill Park series as detailed here.
The Bridlewood Equestrian Center in Copperopolis is partnering up with Copper Hills 4-H Club for the third annual Pumpkin Patch. All pumpkin proceeds will go towards their club. The hours are Saturday from noon to 7 and Sunday from 1 to 6 PM. There will be tractor rides, pony rides, games and more. Location details are here.
Mountain Youth and Community Theatre (MYACT) is performing the tragic tale of “Sweeney Todd” better known as “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” The play is set in early 19th century London, Todd after being wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years, is set on revenge. The performance is for mature audiences, details are here.
Murphy’s Creek Theater continues with the last performances of “Mrs. Whitman’s Words for Women” this weekend. The play explores the roots of the women’s rights movement. A detailed blog by Tori James about the play is here.
Performances of “Of Mice and Men” continue at the Sierra Repertory Theatre’s (SRT) Fallon House in Columbia. A detailed blog about the performance is here. At the east Sonora location SRT is hosting performances of ‘Constellations’ A detailed blog by Tori James calls it “A multiverse love story.”
Sunday is the 49th Annual Sonora Bach Festival Salon Concert is Sunday at 3 pm at a private residence in east Sonora, ticket details are here.
Dodge Ridge is closing out summer with Oktoberfest this Saturday and Sunday to launch the countdown to the 75th Winter Season. There will be live music, hay rides, cornhole, pumpkin decorating, a pie eating contest, stein holding competition and more.
The restaurant of the month for October is The Smoke Café in Jamestown. Check out the movie times at local theaters, including Pinecrest Movies Under the Stars, and local gas prices are in our traffic section.
