For years a Healdsburg December started on the first Friday, on the Plaza, when the tree lights up. That still happens in 2026. Merry Healdsburg is on the City's 2026 master calendar for Friday, December 4, on Healdsburg Plaza and the streets around it. City Community Services and the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce organize it, and the City lists it as one of the year's signature events.
This year, though, more of the season happens later. A new market called Healdsburg Bazaar fills the second and third weekends of December. Its last Saturday, December 19, is also the final day of the season for the Saturday farmers market at the pavilion on North Street. So the busiest stretch of the season has moved from the Plaza's one evening toward the middle of the month, and from the square toward two pavilions a few streets away.
The first Friday keeps its tree
Merry Healdsburg still opens the season, and nothing on the 2026 calendar replaces it. The details for this year are still thin. The City's calendar gives the date, the location, and the organizers, but no hours.
Last year's event is the best guide until the 2026 schedule comes out. The Healdsburg Tribune described the 2025 Merry Healdsburg as a night market and holiday celebration from 5 to 9 p.m., with the tree lit at 6:30 p.m., plus Santa, carriage rides, and live music. Those were the 2025 times. Check them again before you plan dinner around the countdown.
The same weekend has a few anchors that are already confirmed. Raven Performing Arts Theater at 115 North St. lists Mostly Kosher for December 4, the same night as the tree lighting. Stay Healdsburg lists a Holiday Tea on Saturday, December 5. On Sunday, December 6, the Healdsburg Museum holds its Holiday Homes Tour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
That's a full first weekend. Under the old pattern, the calendar would have quieted down after it.
What arrives on the second weekend
Healdsburg Bazaar is new this year. It runs December 12 and 13, then December 19 and 20, at 55 W Grant St. Entry is free and open to all ages. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, according to the Stay Healdsburg listing, which calls the venue Grant Street Pavilion.
The format comes from Portland. The Bazaar's site says the BAZAAR brand started in Portland, Oregon, in 2011 to showcase that city's artists, makers, and small businesses. Healdsburg is a new 2026 edition. Vendor applications for Healdsburg go through House of Commons, a company whose events include Portland Bazaar.
Plan on a medium-sized market, somewhere between a craft table and a convention hall. The two published vendor counts differ. The official site promises 65-plus makers across the two weekends, and Stay Healdsburg says 50-plus makers, artists, and small businesses from Sonoma County, Marin, and the Bay Area. Beyond shopping, the site lists a photo booth, a postcard station, and gift wrapping, along with cocktails, coffee, and local bites. No vendor names or food partners have been announced yet.
The 55 W Grant St. address is not the Foley Family Community Pavilion. The farmers market lists that building at 3 North Street. They are separate venues, so check the address before you head out.
The second weekend has plenty else going on. The Healdsburg Chorus performs Winter Illuminations at the Raven on December 12 and 13. Merry Mahjong at Montage Healdsburg is on December 13.
December 19, the day the calendars overlap
This is where the new market changes how the month works. The City's 2026 calendar runs the Saturday Healdsburg Certified Farmers' Market at the Foley Family Community Pavilion and on North Street every Saturday from April 11 through December 19. That's 37 market days, ending on the Bazaar's third day.
On that Saturday, Healdsburg has its last farmers market of the year at 3 North Street and a 65-plus-maker holiday market at 55 W Grant St., both on the weekend before Christmas. The night before, Friday, December 18, the Raven hosts Christmas Jug Band and Shana Morrison. Sunday, December 20, is the Bazaar's last day.
A few practical notes for that weekend:
- The farmers market's 2026 hours aren't on the City calendar, so check healdsburgfarmersmarket.org before you build a morning around both markets.
- The Bazaar opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. both days, so a late-afternoon arrival leaves a short window.
- Gift wrapping is on the Bazaar's list of activities, which helps if the shopping turns into last-minute gifts.
- Raven showtimes for the December 18 concert haven't been posted on its events page yet.
The season, weekend by weekend
With the Bazaar on the calendar, December has a second center of gravity. Here's the full run from early November through the week before Christmas, based on current event listings.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 1 to Jan. 5 | Garrett's Holiday Pop Up, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Garrett Ace Hardware |
| Nov. 20 to Jan. 10 | A Very Boomer Holiday exhibit | Healdsburg Museum, 221 Matheson St. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Sparkle Party, 5:30 to 8 p.m. | Barndiva |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Healdsburg Turkey Trot | Downtown streets |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Merry Healdsburg; Mostly Kosher | Plaza; Raven, 115 North St. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Tea | Listed by Stay Healdsburg |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Holiday Homes Tour, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Healdsburg Museum |
| Dec. 12 and 13 | Healdsburg Bazaar; Winter Illuminations | 55 W Grant St.; Raven |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Merry Mahjong | Montage Healdsburg |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Christmas Jug Band and Shana Morrison | Raven |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Final Saturday farmers market; Healdsburg Bazaar | 3 North Street; 55 W Grant St. |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | Healdsburg Bazaar, final day | 55 W Grant St. |
Stay Healdsburg brands the whole stretch as A Season to Sparkle, running November 21 through December 31. The Sparkle Party at Barndiva on November 21 is billed as a joint Barndiva and Stay Healdsburg event. The Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving is organized by the Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise.
Smaller changes from last year
The new market isn't the only difference from 2025. A few familiar events have quietly changed too.
At the Healdsburg Museum, the 2025 holiday exhibit was Our Favorite Toys, which ran November 29, 2025, to January 4, 2026. This year's is A Very Boomer Holiday. It opens November 20 at 11 a.m. and closes January 10, 2027, at 4 p.m. That's a longer run that starts more than a week earlier.
At the Raven, the Healdsburg Chorus's December show was Christmas Chorus last year, on December 13 and 14, 2025. This year it's Winter Illuminations, on December 12 and 13. The 2025 Raven holiday lineup also included a Healdsburg Community Band holiday concert and The Klezmatics. Neither appears on the theater's current 2026 list.
Before the holidays start, there's one more chance to catch the fall art calendar. Upstairs Art Gallery at 306 Center St. is showing Endless Inspiration through November 22, with a reception on Saturday, November 7, from 3 to 6 p.m.
Planning around the middle of the month
For anyone hosting family in December, the first weekend now does a different job. Merry Healdsburg on December 4 and the Holiday Homes Tour on December 6 open the season, and they come early enough that out-of-town guests may not be here yet. Guests who come for the week before Christmas will find more going on than they would have in past years. They'll get two days of Bazaar, the farmers market's last Saturday, and a Raven concert in a single stretch from December 18 to 20.
Merry Healdsburg times, Raven showtimes, and Bazaar vendor names are all still to be announced. The City's master calendar, the Healdsburg Museum events page, and Stay Healdsburg's holiday guide are the places to watch as December gets closer.
If family visits this December have you wondering what it would be like to live closer to all of this, I'm happy to talk through what that could look like, whether that means a home near the Plaza or a little farther out. Sue Winton is always glad to share a local's view of Healdsburg. Let's Connect.
