Marin Events & Traditions

A year of local traditions, from Opening Day on the Bay to lighted boat parades

Last updated September 2026 · By Melissa DiVita, REALTOR®, Compass · DRE #01387955 · Marin native, in real estate since 2003

People ask me what life in Marin is actually like. The honest answer is that it runs on traditions. Some are a century old, like the Dipsea Race and the Mountain Play. Others are brand new. Most are small, local and free, and they are the reason neighbors here know each other. This is my month-by-month guide to the ones worth putting on your calendar, town by town.

Dates move a little every year, so I list the usual timing and link to the organizer. Check their site before you go.

Spring: March to May

When	Event	Town	What it is
March	Marin Powwow	Kentfield	A free Native American powwow at College of Marin, with a Miwok blessing, Grand Entry at noon and dancing.
Late April	Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival	West Marin	Dozens of guided field trips across the Point Reyes National Seashore.
Last Sunday in April	Opening Day on the Bay: Blessing of the Fleet	Tiburon / Belvedere	Decorated boats pass the Corinthian Yacht Club’s vessel in Raccoon Strait to be blessed for the season, a Corinthian tradition since 1963. The Bay-wide boat parade follows along the San Francisco waterfront.
Early May	Miwok 100K	Stinson Beach	A 62-mile trail ultra that starts and finishes at Stinson Beach.
Mother’s Day weekend	Sip & Stroll	San Anselmo	Wine tasting through the downtown shops on San Anselmo Avenue.
Second Saturday in May	May Madness Car Show & Parade	San Rafael	Hundreds of hot rods and classics on Fourth Street, billed as Northern California’s longest-running street rod show.
Memorial Day	Memorial Day Parade	Mill Valley	Floats, classic cars and a veterans ceremony downtown, with a firefighters’ pancake breakfast.

Summer: June to August

When	Event	Town	What it is
June weekends	The Mountain Play	Mt. Tamalpais	An outdoor musical in the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, staged since 1913.
First full weekend in June	Western Weekend	Point Reyes Station	A barn dance, a “Wild West” farmers market and a Sunday parade celebrating West Marin’s ranching roots.
Second weekend in June	Fairfax Festival & Ecofest	Fairfax	Three music stages, a Saturday morning parade and eco vendors. Pacific Sun readers voted it Marin’s best festival for 2026.
Second weekend in June	Festival of Art, Wine & Music	Novato	A free two-day street festival on Grant Avenue with multiple music stages.
Second Sunday in June	The Dipsea Race	Mill Valley to Stinson Beach	The handicapped trail race over the Dipsea, first run in 1905. More on it in my outdoors guide.
Two Fridays each summer	Friday Night on Main	Tiburon	Main Street closes for outdoor dining, live music and games, run by the Tiburon Peninsula Chamber.
Mid to late June	Tiburon Classic Car Show	Tiburon	A free show of pre-1975 classics on the downtown waterfront.
Sundays, June to September	Concerts in the Park	Belvedere	Four free Sunday concerts at Belvedere Community Park, a tradition since 1998. Bring a picnic.
Fridays, June to September	Jazz & Blues by the Bay	Sausalito	Free Friday evening concerts at Gabrielson Park on the waterfront, running since 1996.
Fri and Sat nights, June to September	Live on the Avenue	San Anselmo	San Anselmo Avenue closes for free concerts on two stages.
Sundays, mid-June to August	Summer Concert Series	Corte Madera	Free Sunday evening concerts from the Corte Madera Community Foundation.
Thursdays, July and August	Summer Concerts	Ross	Evening concerts on the lawn at the Marin Art & Garden Center.
July 1 to 5	Marin County Fair	San Rafael	Rides, music, exhibits and fireworks every night at the fairgrounds by the Civic Center.
Early August	Marin Century	Novato	A bike ride with routes from 37 to 127 miles, starting at Stafford Lake.
August	Chinese-American Heritage Day	San Rafael	Lion dances, acrobats and tai chi at China Camp Village, the old shrimp-fishing village on San Pablo Bay. More in my outdoors guide.
Second Saturday in August	Inverness Fair	Inverness	A pancake breakfast, rummage and plant sales, and a cake raffle on the Firehouse Green.
Late August	Double Dipsea	Stinson Beach	The Dipsea out and back, 13.7 miles.
Late August	Downtown Larkspur Wine Stroll	Larkspur	Wine tasting and bites along Magnolia Avenue.

Fall: September to November

When	Event	Town	What it is
Early to mid-September	Lions Club EV & Classic Car Show	Corte Madera	Classic cars, vintage motorcycles and the newest electric vehicles side by side at The Village, with live music. Free. In 2026 it was Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mid-September	Tiburon Challenger	Tiburon	A men’s ATP Challenger pro tennis tournament at the Tiburon Peninsula Club. It moved up to the Challenger 125 level in 2026.
Mid-September	Chili Cook-Off	Sausalito	Chili teams, live music and a pepper-eating contest at Dunphy Park.
Third weekend in September	Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival	Mill Valley	More than 130 juried artists under the redwoods in Old Mill Park.
Mid to late September	PorchFest	San Rafael	Dozens of bands playing on porches around the Gerstle Park neighborhood.
Early October	Mill Valley Film Festival	Mill Valley, San Rafael, Larkspur	Eleven days of films and filmmakers at the Sequoia, the Smith Rafael Film Center and the Lark Theater.
Early October	Tiburon Wine Festival	Tiburon	Dozens of wineries and local restaurants on the waterfront.
October	Nostalgia Days Classic Car Show	Novato	Hundreds of vintage cars across downtown Novato.
Halloween	Halloween Parade	Fairfax	Hundreds of costumed marchers through downtown to the Haunted Grove in Bolinas Park. See also the best Halloween neighborhoods in Marin.
Late October / early November	Día de los Muertos	San Rafael	Altars, dancers and an evening procession in the Canal neighborhood, a tradition of more than 35 years.
Saturday after Thanksgiving	Quad Dipsea	Mill Valley	Four crossings of the Dipsea, about 28 miles.

Winter: December to February

When	Event	Town	What it is
First weekend in December	Winterfest & Tree Lighting	Mill Valley	An electric train around Lytton Square, gingerbread houses and the downtown tree lighting.
First Saturday in December	Tiburon Holiday Festival	Tiburon	A toddler train on Main Street, photos with Santa and roasted chestnuts.
First Saturday in December	Holiday Tree Lighting Festival	Novato	Santa arrives on a fire ladder truck before the tree lighting.
First Saturday in December	Tree lightings	San Anselmo and Ross	San Anselmo lights its tree in Imagination Park, and Ross holds Winterfest at the Marin Art & Garden Center.
First Friday in December	Path of Lights	Point Reyes Station	Luminarias line Main Street, with caroling and a tree lighting, a tradition of more than 50 years.
Second Saturday in December	Lighted Boat Parade & Fireworks	Sausalito	Dozens of lit boats along the waterfront, then fireworks over the bay.
Mid-December	Lighted Boat Parade	San Rafael	Decorated boats along the San Rafael Canal, a tradition since 1966.
Late November to early January	Holiday Light Spectacular	San Rafael	A free walk-through light display at the Marin Center fairgrounds.

The Fourth of July in Marin, town by town

This is the question I get most every June. Every town does it differently, and not every town has fireworks.

Novato: one of the Bay Area’s biggest Fourth of July parades, down Grant Avenue, with a pancake breakfast beforehand.
San Rafael: the Marin County Fair runs July 1 to 5, with fireworks every night.
Sausalito: a morning parade along Bridgeway, a picnic at Dunphy Park, and its own fireworks over the water.
Corte Madera and Larkspur: a shared parade from Redwood High School to the Town Center, then a festival in Corte Madera’s Town Park.
Ross: a classic small-town parade on Ross Common, then a picnic.
Tiburon: a downtown party with a dog parade and live music. There are no local fireworks; people watch San Francisco’s show across the water.
Bolinas and Stinson: the famous tug-of-war across the lagoon channel, then a parade.
Woodacre: a firefighters’ pancake breakfast and a parade for the whole San Geronimo Valley.

For car people

Marin has a real car culture, and it has its own calendar: San Rafael’s May Madness in spring, the Tiburon Classic Car Show on the waterfront in June, the Corte Madera Lions show in September and Nostalgia Days in Novato in October. The newest addition is Club Wheelhouse on Paradise Drive in Corte Madera, a social club for car enthusiasts that combines a clubhouse, event space, co-working and vehicle storage. It bills itself as the first club of its kind in Northern California.

Farmers markets by day of the week

Day	Market	Where	Season
Sunday	Marin Farmers Market	Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.	Year-round
Sunday	Sausalito Farmers Market	Dunphy Park, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.	Check the market’s site for the season
Tuesday	Strawberry Village	Mill Valley, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.	Year-round
Tuesday	Downtown Novato	Sherman Ave at City Hall, 4 to 8 p.m.	May to October
Wednesday	Corte Madera	Town Center, noon to 5 p.m.	Year-round
Wednesday	Fairfax	Bolinas Park, 4 to 8 p.m.	May to October
Thursday	Marin Farmers Market	Marin Civic Center, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.	Year-round
Friday	Mill Valley	759 E. Blithedale Ave, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.	Year-round
Saturday	Marin Country Mart	Larkspur Landing, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.	Year-round
Saturday	Point Reyes	Toby’s Feed Barn, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.	May to September

San Rafael’s downtown evening market on Fourth Street has moved from every Thursday to one Friday a month in summer, tied to the 2nd Friday Art Walk.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see Fourth of July fireworks in Marin?

The Marin County Fair in San Rafael has fireworks every night from July 1 to 5, and Sausalito puts on its own fireworks show over the water on July 4. From the Tiburon waterfront, you can watch San Francisco’s fireworks across the bay.

When is the Dipsea Race?

The Dipsea Race is usually held on the second Sunday in June. It starts in downtown Mill Valley and finishes at Stinson Beach, about 7.5 miles away. The field is capped at 1,500 runners, and entry is partly by lottery.

What is Opening Day on the Bay?

It is the traditional start of the sailing season, held on the last Sunday in April. In Marin, the highlight is the Blessing of the Fleet in Raccoon Strait off the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon, a tradition since 1963.

What are the best free summer concerts in Marin?

Belvedere’s Concerts in the Park on summer Sundays, Sausalito’s Jazz & Blues by the Bay on Fridays, San Anselmo’s Live on the Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights, and Corte Madera’s Sunday series are all free. Ross’s Thursday concerts at the Marin Art & Garden Center are ticketed, and free for members.

Sources

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