November trades the last of the harvest for the first of the holidays. The hills green up after the early rains, the evenings arrive sooner, and the calendar fills with the kind of gatherings that make a place feel like home.
November in Marin is a reminder that local living is often about the small things close by — a weekend spent finding handmade gifts, a night of live music in a room that holds a hundred people, or a creek-side walk to witness something that happens nowhere else quite like it does here.
Here are a few events worth adding to your November calendar.
MARIN ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW
Date: Friday, November 6 – Sunday, November 8, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily
Location: Marin Center Exhibit Hall, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, CA
Holiday gift season opens here. More than 200 artisans and makers fill the Marin Center Exhibit Hall for one weekend of handmade jewelry, ceramics, textiles, woodwork, fine art, and specialty foods — the antidote to mass-produced shopping. Admission and parking are free, which makes it an easy first stop on the gift list and a reminder of how much is made right here in Marin.
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LIVE MUSIC AT SWEETWATER MUSIC HALL
Date: Select nights throughout November 2026
Time: Showtimes vary by event
Location: Sweetwater Music Hall, 19 Corte Madera Avenue, Mill Valley, CA
Sweetwater has been Mill Valley’s living room for live music since 1972 — an intimate, nonprofit room where touring names share the stage with Marin’s own. November’s lineup runs from roots and Americana to rock and tribute nights, including Freestone Peaches’ take on the Allman Brothers Band on November 21. It is the kind of small-room night out that only gets better as the evenings turn cold.
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WHEN SIMON MET RALPH: A RETROSPECTIVE
Date: On view through January 7, 2027
Time: Monday – Friday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Marin County Civic Center, 1st & 3rd Floor Galleries, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA
Marin designers Simon Ungless and Jody Niederkohr fill the Civic Center’s first- and third-floor galleries with reworked fashion, graphic prints, felted wall hangings, and a ceramics series inspired by the building itself. Free to visit and open on weekdays, the exhibit pairs two Marin icons in a single stop — bold local design inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark Civic Center.
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COHO SALMON VIEWING AT LAGUNITAS CREEK
Date: Late November, following the first heavy rains
Time: Best viewing one to three days after rainfall
Location: Lagunitas Creek, near the Cronin Fish Viewing Area at Shafter Bridge, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, West Marin
After the first hard rains, endangered coho salmon fight their way up Lagunitas Creek to spawn — one of the largest wild runs left on the Central Coast, unfolding right in Marin’s backyard. The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) leads naturalist creek walks as the fish arrive near the Cronin Fish Viewing Area in Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Register ahead, keep your distance from the spawning fish, and time your visit for a day or two after rain.
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BANK OF MARIN TURKEY TROT
Date: Thursday, November 26, 2026 (Thanksgiving Day)
Time: Thanksgiving morning; start times staggered by race
Location: Indian Valley College, 1800 Ignacio Boulevard, Novato, CA
For 27 years, Marin families have started Thanksgiving at Indian Valley College with the Bank of Marin Turkey Trot. Take your pick of the Youth 1-mile, the 5K, or the Pilgrim 10K — all benefiting local charities, and all finishing well before the turkey comes out of the oven. It is a relaxed, community-minded way to earn the second helping.
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CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING AT A MARIN RESTAURANT
Date: Thursday, November 26, 2026 (Thanksgiving Day)
Time: Varies by restaurant
Location: Participating restaurants throughout Marin County
Not in the mood to spend the day at the stove? Plenty of Marin restaurants open for Thanksgiving lunch and dinner, and others offer full Thanksgiving-to-go spreads to bring home. It is a lower-stress way to gather — and to put the day’s spending back into the local businesses that keep Marin’s towns humming. Tables and to-go orders fill quickly, so it is worth planning ahead.
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Event information is current as of October 2026. Dates, times, availability, and other details may change, so we recommend confirming directly with event organizers before attending.
