On Saturday, October 24, Novato's Día de los Muertos celebration takes over the Civic Green at 901 Sherman Avenue. Three days later, the Downtown Novato Community Farmers' Market sets up on that same stretch of Sherman Avenue for the last time this season. On Saturday, October 31, downtown businesses hand out candy for the Downtown Novato Business Association's Safe Trick or Treat.
That puts three events in eight days, all within a short walk of City Hall. A year ago they were spread further apart. The tighter schedule comes down to one date change.
The date that moved
Last year the City held Día de los Muertos on Saturday, November 1, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. In 2024 it was on November 2. The 2026 celebration moves up to Saturday, October 24, from 3 to 6 p.m.
Safe Trick or Treat moved too. Its listing says it falls on "the Saturday closest to Halloween." In 2025 that was October 25, according to Visit Novato's event page, which put trick-or-treating a week before the Día celebration. This year Halloween is itself a Saturday, so the two events have switched order. Día de los Muertos opens the week and Safe Trick or Treat closes it. The market's final Tuesday sits in between.
Earlier in the month, on October 10, the Nostalgia Days Classic Car Show filled Grant Avenue with more than 300 classic cars across 10 blocks. That was a Grant Avenue event. The next two events are a block over, on Sherman.
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Día de los Muertos | 3–6 p.m. | Civic Green, 901 Sherman Ave. |
| Tue., Oct. 27 | Final farmers' market of 2026 | 4–7 p.m. | Sherman Ave. between Grant and De Long |
| Tue., Oct. 27 | City market survey closes | 11:59 p.m. | Online |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Safe Trick or Treat | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Participating downtown businesses |
Saturday, October 24, on the Civic Green
The City's celebration centers on a community ofrenda, an altar where people can add remembrances of loved ones who have died. The program also includes a community procession, music, face painting and crafts. The City lists sugar-skull decorating and magnet making among the activities.
The new addition this year is the City's first Día de los Muertos Car Ofrenda Display. Participants turn the trunk or back of a vehicle into a traditional altar, decorated with photographs, marigolds, LED candles, papel picado and favorite foods. Entry was free but limited by application, and the deadline was September 25. On the day, the displays are there to see, not to sign up for.
The performers and food vendors this year are mostly North Bay names:
- Ireri Ballet Folklórico, a Petaluma studio that teaches Mexican folk dance, according to the Press Democrat.
- Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca, which the City lists as a 2026 performer.
- Tommy's Salsa, a Novato Mexican restaurant at 1553 S. Novato Blvd. It has operated since 1992 and also runs a taco truck for events. It was the food vendor at last year's celebration as well.
- Manny's Tacos, a Marin taco truck and catering business that sets up at events around the county.
Last year's program had one food vendor and one music act, Cascada de Flores. This year the City lists two of each, plus the car displays.
Tuesday, October 27, the market's last evening
The Downtown Novato Community Farmers' Market is hosted by Agricultural Community Events Farmers Markets and the City of Novato. It runs on Sherman Avenue between Grant and De Long, right in front of City Hall. October hours are 4 to 7 p.m., an hour shorter than the 4 to 8 p.m. schedule it kept from May through September. The final evening follows the October hours.
This is the market's third season on Sherman Avenue. In 2023 it was held at the Downtown Novato Center on Seventh Street. Since the move, the market and the City's own events have shared the same block. In June, for example, the City held its Juneteenth celebration on the Civic Green during the Tuesday market, with music from accordionist Andre Thierry.
The City is also collecting feedback on the market experience. Its survey closes at 11:59 p.m. on October 27, the same night as the season's last market, and responses are anonymous. Anyone who wants a say in how the market runs next spring can fill it out after shopping that evening.
Marin Magazine names Holy Chile Mole as one stop at the Tuesday market. It's a mobile truck run by Mark Adams and his wife, Deanna. The City notes that the market sits between the Novato Downtown SMART Station and the Redwood Boulevard and Grant Avenue Transit Station. Bike racks are on Sherman Avenue at Cain Lane and in the City Administrative Offices parking lot.
Saturday, October 31, store to store
The Downtown Novato Business Association invites families to bring "ghosts and goblins to trick or treat at all the businesses in Downtown," from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Because it runs midday, it doesn't overlap with evening trick-or-treating on residential streets, so a family can do both.
The association doesn't publish a list of participating storefronts or a set route. The event covers downtown as a whole, which means Grant Avenue's shops and cafes are part of it. That leads to the stops between events.
Grant Avenue between events
Marin Magazine's Novato dining guide, updated in August 2026, lists a run of restaurants and cafes on Grant Avenue within a few blocks of the Civic Green. The guide suggests confirming current hours, and that's especially useful on event days. Listed in street-number order, they read like a walk up Grant:
| Address | Spot | What Marin Magazine lists |
|---|---|---|
| 800 Grant Ave. | Dr. Insomniac's | Cafe with patio seating overlooking Grant |
| 807 Grant Ave. | La Maison de la Reine | Vietnamese |
| 819 Grant Ave. | Blue Barn Gourmet | Salads and sandwiches |
| 850 Grant Ave. | Flour Chylde | Gluten-free bakery |
| 877 Grant Ave. | Finnegan's Marin | Pub and restaurant |
| 905 Grant Ave. | Mi Pueblo | Mexican |
| 1112 Grant Ave. | Marvin's Restaurant | Breakfast and lunch |
| 1200 Grant Ave. | The Village Italian Restaurant | Italian |
| 1301 Grant Ave. | HenHouse Brewing Co.'s Record Room | Taproom, beer garden, rotating food trucks |
| 1401 Grant Ave. | Carmen's La Hacienda | Mexican |
The Marin Independent Journal's review of La Maison de la Reine describes its Vietnamese-fusion menu after the restaurant's move to 807 Grant.
For shopping, Made Local Marketplace at 881 Grant Ave. sells goods from local makers. Pacific Sun reported that it is owner Willow Fish Peterson's second store. It's next door to Finnegan's, steps from Sherman Avenue, and Marin Magazine included it in its June 2026 roundup of new Marin shops.
On a Saturday, that makes for an easy loop. Start on the Civic Green, walk the 800 and 900 blocks of Grant for coffee or a meal, then head north toward HenHouse's beer garden at 1301. On Tuesday the market itself is dinner, with Grant a block away if you want a table.
After the eight days
Once the market packs up on October 27, the Civic Green's regular season is over. Next on the City calendar, the Novato Classic gymnastics meet comes to the Novato Gymnastics Center on November 7 and 8. The Holiday Crafts Faire follows on Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more than 50 artisans at the Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road.
For a dinner outside downtown, Fox Pizza opened in August at 528 Alameda del Prado in Ignacio. The Marin Independent Journal reported that Anna and Jeff Fox's pop-up pizzeria had found a permanent home there, open 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday as of that August report.
If you'd like to talk about the parts of Novato that sit an easy walk from Sherman and Grant, or what that proximity means day to day, Alexandra Cowley is glad to share what she knows about the area. Let's Connect.
