O'side's Festival That Refuses to Die

Oceanside's 25th annual Día de los Muertos festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, on Pier View Way next to City Hall. It's free, and for a festival that honors the dead, it's had a few near-death experiences of its own.

It started downtown under MainStreet Oceanside around 2000 and moved to Mission San Luis Rey in 2009. Since then it's had three close calls, and it's in the middle of the third one right now.

By 2016 the free festival had gotten so big and so expensive that the Mission wasn't sure it could keep hosting. A handful of locals, including Chema and Manuel Navarro of the Por Siempre Car Club, rounded up volunteers and took it over. In 2018 they formed a nonprofit, Friends of Oceanside Día de los Muertos, to cover the stage, parking and security. That year they expected more than 15,000 people and 80-plus altars, at least 50 of them built inside classic cars with the trunks propped open.

The board planned a big 20th anniversary back downtown for 2020. Then COVID hit, and the festival went virtual for a year. That's why the 25th festival lands in year 26 (so unsatisfying). Blame 2020. It's been downtown ever since, with a leadership change along the way (here's that story if you want it, it's a good one). Chema Navarro, one of the car club guys who helped save it in 2016, is president now.

The people who saved it are getting older. The board is all volunteers, every dollar raised goes into next year's festival, and its site says the group needs the community to step in "as Board Members age out or retire." If you want to help keep it alive, Navarro's contact info is on the festival's site, or you can email [email protected].

Looking for the rest of your Halloween plans? Our Halloween guide is up on Instagram.

Felix's BBQ With Soul left its longtime home at 3613 Ocean Ranch Blvd. in August when the lease ran out. The San Marcos and Carlsbad locations kept cooking, but Oceanside, the city where Felix's started, went without.

Not anymore. Felix's is now at 223 N. Coast Hwy., the old Kettle on Coast space a few blocks from the pier. Takeout is open now, and dine-in is expected by the end of October.

Owner Felix Berry has a strong connection to Oceanside, and if you haven't heard his story, it's worth the read. He learned barbecue at 12 in Alabama, working at a BBQ joint down the block, and years later was a tax consultant in California when he found a little spot called Ruth's Place. Ruth wanted a bigger restaurant where people could sit down and eat, so without saying anything, Felix signed a lease on a space in Oceanside to surprise her.

When he went to tell her, she was in the hospital. She loved the news, then told him she had terminal cancer. On the drive home from her funeral, he decided to open it anyway. Felix's opened in Oceanside in 2008, in Ruth's memory.

The menu still lives by the slogan: "Barbeque is what we do. Soul food is who we are." That means ribs marinated for 24 hours before they hit the smoker, plus catfish, gumbo, oxtails, greens, mac and cheese and cornbread. Stop by, grab some good food to go and welcome Felix back to Oceanside.

In 1911, David L. Jones bought a big working ranch near Mission San Luis Rey. It grew beans, oats and wheat, then became a dairy and later a beef ranch. Its old house, barn and outbuildings have all come down since 2020.

What's left is a 4.7-acre triangle where Douglas Drive meets the 76, and it's set to become Mission Flats, 88 three-story townhomes for sale. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended it Monday. City Council gets the final say, possibly in November. A plan for 137 apartments was approved here in 2020 but never built.

Three-bedrooms are expected to sell for $740,000 to $750,000 and four-bedrooms for about $900,000. Thirteen three-bedrooms are set aside for moderate-income buyers at about $445,000.

The catch is getting in and out. The only driveway is right-turn-in, right-turn-out on the short, busy stretch of Douglas between the 76 and Mission Avenue. Commissioner Kevin Dodds called it one of the busiest areas in town and predicted "it's going to be a mess." Then he voted yes, along with everyone else.

To be fair, as far as I can tell the land is about as underused as it gets right now. It sits empty, and its main job is holding up politicians' campaign signs on the fence along Douglas every election year. They just need to figure out the traffic.

The developer mailed notices to 249 neighbors about its September community meeting, according to the outreach report. Four showed up. As of the staff report, the city hadn't received a single public comment. If you have one, the City Council hearing is the place.

🎨 Paint a Pumpkin at the Surf Club - The Surf Club, 211 Mission Ave. - Fri., Oct. 16 @ 5-7pm. Oceanside Art Collective walks you through a Halloween painting, no experience needed. $60.54 on Eventbrite. Info

🎭 Catch Carrie the Musical - Sunshine Brooks Theater, 217 N. Coast Hwy. - Fri., Oct. 16 @ 8pm (preview), Sat., Oct. 17 @ 8pm & Sun., Oct. 18 @ 3pm. Sunday's Military Matinee has two free tickets for military and veterans with ID. Mature content. It's Carrie. Info

🖼️ Hear Who Got Arts Money - Civic Center Library courtyard, 330 N. Coast Hwy. - Sat., Oct. 17 @ 11am-1pm. Grantees perform, then the city announces its 2026-27 arts grants live, $130,000 in all. FREE

🃏 Dig Through Cards at Belching Beaver - Belching Beaver Oceanside Brewhouse, 1334 Rocky Point Dr. - Sat., Oct. 17 @ 12-5pm. 30-plus vendors with Pokémon, One Piece and other collectibles. All ages. FREE

🎃 Trunk-or-Treat - Mance Buchanon Park, 425 College Blvd. - Sat., Oct. 17 @ 2-5pm. The city's Trunk or Treat, with prizes for Best Trunk Overall, Most Creative, Funniest and Spookiest. FREE

🌼 Pick Marigolds at Mellano - Mellano Farm Stand, 5714 N. River Rd. - Sat., Oct. 17 & Sun., Oct. 18 @ 10am-4pm. U-pick marigolds, the corn maze and tractor rides. Last tickets at 3:30. $5 parking. Info

🐟 Shop the Dock - North County Fishermen's Market, 314 Harbor Dr. - Sun., Oct. 18 @ 8am-2pm. Third Sunday, so David Waite hosts a chef demo. Free to browse. Info

🏒 Watch the Shock Go for Two - Frontwave Arena, 3475 Hero Dr. - Sun., Oct. 18 @ 5pm. A rematch with Stockton a week after the Shock's first-ever win, 5-4 in overtime. Stick It to Cancer Night. Tickets

17 tiny homes are coming to Oceanside Boulevard. Sen. Catherine Blakespear brought the city a $3 million check, the giant novelty kind of course, because in politics if it isn't on an oversized check it didn't happen. The homes would go behind the Navigation Center for people moving out of homelessness, but the city hasn't signed a developer yet. The Coast News

Oceanside's river bill keeps growing. With its latest payment the city has put about $40.6 million toward a roughly $57.6 million share of the San Luis Rey flood project, and Councilmember Peter Weiss said any levee rebuild "should be a complete federal obligation." The Coast News

Rachel dumped almost 2 inches on O'side. The National Weather Service's preliminary total was about 1.92 inches, with gusts to 33 mph and a coastal flood advisory. North Coast Current

The Strand partly closed in the storm. High surf shut The Strand to Wisconsin Avenue and flooded roads near Buena Vista Lagoon. 10News

That's the week. Tips, corrections, or something I missed? Email [email protected] or send a DM.

Love Inside O'side? Share it with a friend.