"Ten years of investment. One night, October 24, 2026, where it all comes together." That is how 11:11 Projects, the arts group behind Reseda Rising, describes this year's festival on its own page. It reads like a promoter's tagline. It also happens to be a fair summary of Sherman Way.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 10 p.m., about a quarter-mile of Sherman Way at Lindley will close to cars for the festival. For five hours, downtown Reseda will look the way a long list of city, county and private projects have been trying to make it look every day. The building that was supposed to anchor that daily version, the Reseda Theatre, is under construction, and the latest reporting puts its opening in 2027. Until then, the festival is the best preview you'll get.
What's on the street Oct. 24
The 2026 lineup is bigger than earlier years. 11:11 Projects calls this its 7th festival, counting a pause during the pandemic, and pairs it with a Mural Festival that is adding more than 12 new large-scale murals across Canoga Park, Reseda and Winnetka. The organizer says artists from those same neighborhoods are painting the murals in real time.
Highlights the organizer has posted so far:
- A VR walkthrough of the murals. For the first time, festivalgoers can step inside the Mural Festival in virtual reality and walk from wall to wall before the paintings are even finished.
- The DANCEGR818ERS 3v3 open-styles dance battle, with a cash prize, host Devious, judges King Havic and Rascal Randi, and DJs Roxswift and Illmani.
- Live painters and art zones featuring @unyenz, @goldaltarmurals, @davidhowler, @erniestiener, @maliahguiya, @magicalyouniverse and @kufasa.floats.
Plan your route around the closure. If you usually cut through Sherman Way near Lindley on a Saturday evening, expect that stretch to be blocked to cars from 5 p.m. on.
Ten years of building the stage
The festival's origin story is really an infrastructure story. Reseda Rising began in 2016, when 11:11 Projects partnered with Councilmember Bob Blumenfield to invest in the Sherman Way corridor. The first Mural Festival followed in 2022. Meanwhile, the street under the festival was being rebuilt piece by piece. Here is the order it happened in, based on the Council District 3 Reseda Rising update and the County's façade program:
- 2016: 11:11 Projects and CD3 launch Reseda Rising as an investment in the Sherman Way corridor.
- Spring 2021: The $3.5 million Sherman Way Great Street project between Lindley and Wilbur is completed.
- 2022: The first Reseda Rising Mural Festival turns blank walls into a public gallery.
- March 2024: The $21 million Reseda Boulevard Complete Street project is completed.
- 2025: Los Angeles County finishes four Reseda façade projects worth more than $1.3 million across four sites and 13 tenants.
- November 2025: Permits are issued for the Reseda Theatre renovation, and construction begins.
Taken together, that's roughly $24.5 million in finished city street projects before you count the façade grants or the theater. A one-night festival is a small line item next to that. It's also the only time the whole corridor fills with people at once.
The storefronts you've already walked past
The façade work is the easiest piece to spot on an ordinary weekday. The County announced in December 2025 that its grant program had refreshed the storefronts of two longstanding Sherman Way businesses, Your Choice Optical at 18557 Sherman Way and Celest' Bridal next door at 18559.
These grants went to businesses that were already open. They updated what was there and didn't replace it. The festival works the same way, since the organizer says its muralists come from the neighborhoods they're painting. The next big piece of the corridor follows that pattern too.
The theater is the piece still missing
The Reseda Theatre, listed at 18447 Sherman Way in development fund filings and at 18443 in Urbanize LA's coverage, has been vacant for years, and the plan for it has changed. In February 2026, Urbanize LA reported that Azure Development is now pursuing a 15,860-square-foot food hall and microcinema. The older multiplex plan is a backup. The proposal keeps the building's exterior, restores the marquee and adds exterior lighting.
A Los Angeles Development Fund board book from April 2026 fills in the details:
| Feature | Plan |
|---|---|
| Food hall | Six tenants, each 300 to 1,000 square feet |
| Beer garden | 92 seats |
| Cinema | Two theaters, 100 seats total |
| Community use | Weekday meeting space |
| Tenant support | Interest-free, forgivable $50,000 start-up loans and rent 20 to 25 percent below market |
| Total budget | $16 million |
The tenant terms show what the project is aiming for. Starter loans and below-market rent are meant for small operators who couldn't afford a standard lease. The board book describes the project as a small-business incubator. That puts the theater in line with the façade grants. It's another effort to fill Sherman Way with small local businesses.
Timing is the open question. The same April board book listed construction as underway, with a $3.4 million debt commitment still pending. Azure's project page still shows a 2026 opening, but Eater LA reported in February 2026 that the project is slated to open in 2027. We haven't found any newer public update on the financing or on tenants. For now, the restored marquee is a construction project and not yet a place to spend an evening.
The rest of Reseda's October
Reseda Rising lands in the middle of a busy few weeks. Here's the full calendar in order:
Saturday, Oct. 17: ResedaFest. Reseda Charter High School is hosting a free, all-ages festival at 18230 Kittridge St., with a trunk-or-treat, activity booths, food and student performances.
Saturday, Oct. 24: Reseda Rising. From 5 to 10 p.m. on Sherman Way at Lindley, with the street closed to cars.
Friday, Oct. 30: Reseda Spooktacular. The city's Reseda Recreation Center at 18411 Victory Blvd. runs this one from 5 to 9 p.m., with music, snacks, face painting, a costume contest and an outdoor movie. The flyer linked from the Reseda Recreation Center page says snacks, candy and drinks are available while supplies last, so an early arrival makes sense for families.
One more project on the corridor's list hasn't arrived yet. CD3's update said Phase II of Aliso Creek Confluence Park, which adds walking paths and a pedestrian bridge, was still seeking permits, with construction expected to begin in 2026. We haven't seen a confirmed start date.
Reading the street after the festival
When the barricades come down on Oct. 25, Sherman Way goes back to being a commuter street. But the parts that stay are the parts the money paid for. The Great Street improvements between Lindley and Wilbur stay. So do the refreshed fronts at 18557 and 18559, and the new murals across Reseda and its neighbors. The theater shell at 18447 is still under construction, with a 2027 opening reported. Each project gives people another reason to come to Sherman Way. The festival shows what the street looks like when all of those reasons are in use at once.
If you live near Sherman Way, the corridor's ten years of investment is part of your home's story too. If you're curious how projects like the Great Street, the façade grants and the theater renovation show up in what your home is worth today, Homes by Meghan and Christine can walk you through it over coffee or after the festival. Make that move: get your free home valuation and find out where your place stands.
