Old Town Newhall Events This Fall: What Moved After the Fire

The August 24 fire on the 24200 block of Main Street took more than a restaurant and a boutique. It took The MAIN, the city-run theater where outside companies booked dates when they had no stage of their own. Six weeks later, those companies have spread out across the valley. What's left on Main Street this October is programming from venues that own their rooms and set their own schedules.

That split explains why a show you expected to see on Main Street is now playing in Valencia. It also explains why Canyon Theatre Guild's marquee hasn't changed at all.

What the Fire Actually Removed

The fire was reported at 2:54 a.m. that Monday. It destroyed Newhall Refinery, The MAIN and several other businesses on one side of the block, along with the site of the former El Trocadero restaurant. The city's own list of losses also includes Care Tucker Style House. Reporting after the city council's August 25 meeting described the addresses from 24254 to 24274 Main Street, plus 24274 Railroad Avenue, as reduced to rubble.

In the Sheriff's Department statements from August 24 and 25, the cause had not been determined.

The building that survived matters as much as the ones that didn't. Mayor Laurene Weste said so the same afternoon:

"We are grateful that the beloved Canyon Theatre Guild — in its beautiful historic brick building — was left intact, so theater can continue to thrive on Main Street."

The Signal described the downtown as one that had spent "the past decade and a half" becoming an arts and entertainment district. The MAIN, at 24266 Main Street, was the flexible piece of that plan. Canyon Theatre Guild runs its own season. The MAIN was the room other groups could book.

Three Bookings, Three Different Destinations

The clearest way to see what changed is to follow the events that were already booked into The MAIN when it burned. Each one landed somewhere different.

1. The Big Sandwich Theatre Company's Change the Station stayed on the block. It moved next door to Canyon Theatre Guild at 24242 Main Street for October 2 through 4. KHTS reported that 25% of ticket sales would go to Santa Clarita Shakespeare Company. Today is the last day of that run.
2. Hope Theatre Arts' The Velocity of Autumn moved to Valencia. It plays The Olive Branch at the Patios at Valencia Town Center, 24201 Valencia Blvd., on October 9 to 11 and 16 to 18.
3. Enchanted Gallery of Spirits: A Night of Readings with Terrie Huberman moved to the Carly Boyer Room at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd., on October 1.

Only one of the three stayed on Main Street. That fits the venue list the city published after the fire.

Why Most Displaced Shows Can't Stay Downtown

The MAIN's website now says the theater building is no longer standing. It points visitors to a production page and a "Venue Resource Tracker" built for groups that lost their dates. The tracker states plainly that "any associated rental costs and fees would be the responsibility of the production company."

Canyon Theatre Guild is listed first, as an "established theatre environment suited to displaced productions," with the caveat that its "active performance schedule limits available dates." The Newhall Family Theatre at 24607 Walnut Street is also listed. Its posted rate is a $450 flat fee for a performance under six hours, and its availability is limited by school and scheduled theater programming. Beyond Newhall, the list includes College of the Canyons, CalArts and the SCVi / iLEAD campus on Hasley Canyon Road in Castaic.

Most of those rooms already have a primary user with its own calendar. Canyon Theatre Guild is a good example. Its schedule shows The Outsider running September 25 through November 1, Dial M for Murder running September 26 through October 31, and its Goldies Award Show on October 9. Auditions are set for Saturday, October 10. Its 2026–27 season page lists It's a Wonderful Life for November and December 2026, though exact performance dates aren't posted yet.

Valencia stepped in to absorb some of the overflow. City Councilmember Bill Miranda told SCV News that Mosaic, at the Patios at Valencia Town Center, was offering space for performers. Valencia Town Center lists Mosaic as an arts and culture center on the second floor of The Patios.

On August 25, the city council discussed rebuilding The MAIN, finding other stages and painting a temporary mural. Those were proposals, not an adopted plan. So far, the city's public response for theater groups is the tracker.

What Still Runs on Main Street in October

The venues that kept their calendars all have the same advantage. They run their own rooms, and most sit within a few hundred feet of the fire line. October in Old Town Newhall looks like this:

• Every Saturday: The Old Town Newhall Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Old Town Newhall Library, year-round.
• October 9: Canyon Theatre Guild's Goldies Award Show.
• October 11, 18 and 25: Hart Mansion tours at the William S. Hart Museum. Tours last 45 minutes and start at 11 a.m., noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Registration is required.
• October 28: The Haunted Mic: Halloween Edition at Eighth & Rail, 8 p.m., hosted by Cosmic Chemistry Karaoke, 21 and over.
• October 29: The Old Town Newhall Library's Halloween Parade, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a Día de los Muertos workshop from 6 to 7 p.m.
• October 30: DJ SophEnom and DJ Ever Ed-E at Eighth & Rail.
• October 31: Nightmare After Dark at Eighth & Rail, 9 p.m., 21 and over, with an extended outdoor area and an outdoor bar.
• Through October 31 and November 1: Dial M for Murder and The Outsider at Canyon Theatre Guild.

Plenty of places are open without a special event. Old Town Junction at 24275 Main Street is posting regular hours and ran the on-street bar at the September 17 SENSES block party. Brewery Draconum at 24407 Main Street is a working brewery and restaurant. Laemmle Newhall at 22500 Lyons Avenue has current showtimes, and Eighth & Rail is at 22505 Eighth Street.

Don't wait for SENSES. The 2026 season ran on third Thursdays from April through September, and the September 17 block party was the last one. After that, the next city event on Main Street is Light Up Main Street on Saturday, November 21, from 4 to 8 p.m., with the tree lighting at about 5:30. The entertainment schedule hasn't been posted yet.

Hart & Main Became the Block's Fallback Room

Hart & Main at 24217 Main Street is across the street from the fire site, and it has quietly become the venue that hosts whatever else needs a space. On September 17 it held Love on Main, a ticketed benefit that ran alongside the final SENSES night. According to event planner Tricia Maldonado, about 230 tickets sold at $100 each, and the proceeds went to employees of the affected businesses. Newhall Refinery's owners took over Hart & Main's kitchen for the night. Care Tucker ran a boutique, and artist Jane Mick displayed work, much of it pieces she had shown nearby before the fire. Hart & Main's website says it is accepting bookings through 2027.

That night also showed the limits of what's left. The Signal reported that fences still covered the debris while the Oktoberfest-themed block party went on, "with a faint smell of burnt debris."

Where the Displaced Businesses Stand

In their September comments, neither Newhall Refinery nor Care Tucker Style House gave a reopening date. Christine Muñoz, who owns Newhall Refinery with her fiancé Ralph Gonzalez, put it this way in September:

"We want to stay in Newhall, but we don't know what that means or looks like yet. Once we know, we'll start announcing and putting it out, especially to our customers."

Newhall Refinery's homepage says the owners are still working out what comes next. Jonny Tucker said Care Tucker Style House hopes "to be back soon." In the meantime, the brand held a one-day recovery pop-up on September 13 at Tribute Beauty Lounge, 24423 Walnut St., and has pointed customers to its online store.

The city's most lasting change so far is a shopping incentive, not a building. Its free Open Rewards program now covers Old Town Newhall. It gives 5% cash back on eligible purchases at participating businesses, either through a linked card or by uploading receipts in the app. On a downtown that has lost its rentable stage for now, that cash back goes to the businesses that kept the October calendar running.

The team at Dan Regan Properties is following the Main Street recovery block by block, including what gets rebuilt and when. If you own a home near Old Town Newhall and want to know what the past few months mean for its value, get your free home valuation.