"Shop early, shop local, and keep more holiday spending in our community." The Fairfax Chamber of Commerce put that line on its listing for Shop Local, Shop Late, set for Friday, November 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. The listing gives a reason too. It points to "a potentially stormy winter ahead."
That moves the start of Fairfax's holiday season forward. The big downtown block party is still the Fairfax Winter Market on Saturday, December 12. But the Chamber has opened the season three weeks before that, on a Friday night, with stores encouraged to stay open late. That leaves November as the in-between month. The outdoor season is over and the December events haven't started, so downtown's evenings now happen mostly on Broadway.
October was the last outdoor month
Think back a few weeks. On October 10, the Mercury News listed the 20th annual Biketoberfest, which opened with a group mountain bike ride from 9 to 11 a.m. and then beer tastings from about 20 breweries from noon to 5 p.m. The same article notes that the Wednesday farmers market in the redwoods of Bolinas Park, with food trucks and live music from 4 to 8 p.m., runs through October.
Both of those events are over now. The next time downtown gathers outdoors on a big scale is December 10 at Bolinas Park, then December 12 on Bolinas Road. Until then, weeknights happen indoors, mostly on Broadway.
Broadway's November, room by room
Broadway's pull isn't new. The Mercury News writes that "Fairfax nightlife comes alive at Macs at 19 Broadway and Peri's on both weekdays and weekends," with the neon marquee of the 1950s-era Fairfax movie theater as the anchor. November's calendars on that block are already filling up.
- Mac's at 19 Broadway. Mac's events calendar lists Redwood Nights: Seedlings, an open-mic storytelling night, on Thursday, November 5. Alvie & The Breakfast Pigs and Skip The Needle play punk and rock on Friday, November 6. Then come two album-release nights: Lindsay Everly & The Evergreens on Friday, November 13, for Fool's Gold, and The New Suburbans with The Sleepers AD on Saturday, November 14. The calendar also lists 90 Seconds Comedy Time Bomb, billed as free Tuesday comedy.
- Peri's Tavern, 29 Broadway. Peri's lists live shows on November 4, 5 and 6. Its site also says the tavern is now under new ownership and management.
- Fairfax Theatre, 9 Broadway. The theater is run by Cinema West and keeps a current showtimes calendar. The Mercury News describes it as solar-powered, fully remodeled with comfortable seating, and $6.50 all day on Tuesdays.
Tuesday turns out to be a strong night on this stretch. A $6.50 movie, free comedy at Mac's, and the $2 oysters the Mercury News says Stillwater serves on Tuesdays add up to a whole evening out for not much money.
You can also eat outside without leaving Broadway. The same article describes Cowboy Bento, the walk-up window on the side of My Thai. It's open from 3 p.m. "until late" Wednesday through Sunday, a Thai bento box costs $10, and after 8:30 p.m. the outdoor tables pick up the music coming from Peri's next door. On a November Friday, that might be the only outdoor table in town with a live band within earshot.
The street under the season
Broadway also has a sewer project running on it this fall. On October 19, the Town of Fairfax said the Ross Valley Sanitary District was starting permanent patching on Broadway between Pacheco Avenue and Bolinas Road as part of the Fairfax Capacity and Creek Crossings Project. The work was expected to take about two weeks, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Town was clear that this is not a full repaving. The sanitary district is restoring pavement only where it dug, and final restoration will come later in the project along with the rest of the work on Broadway. The same bulletin says the contractor's handwritten "No Stopping" signs on Broadway were replaced with clearer "No Parking" signs on October 16. That matters if you're hunting for an evening parking spot near the theater.
The work hours help. Daytime weekday crews mean the patching and the nightlife hardly overlap. When Mac's opens its doors, the workday on that block is over.
Bolinas Road is in a different situation. According to the Town's October 19 update, Marin Water's pipeline replacement project on Bolinas Road was put on hold in June 2026 and is expected to resume sometime in 2027. During the week of the update, crews were restoring the trench near Porteous Avenue so the steel plates could come off the road before winter, and patching the small squares cut along the pipeline route. The Marin Independent Journal reported that work stopped in June after remains were found at the site. The county's chief deputy coroner said a forensic anthropologist determined the remains to be of Native American descent and historical age, and the Native American Heritage Commission was notified.
When the Town first described the project in March, it planned for crews to move north from Deer Park Villa toward Broadway, with the downtown section near the end. With the project paused until 2027 and the plates coming up before winter, this winter's Bolinas Road work comes down to restoring what's already been dug. If you have questions about either project, the Town lists Marin Water's construction team at 415-945-1560 and the sanitary district's senior engineer at 415-259-2949 x212.
Then December goes back outside
The December events bring people back to the places the farmers market used in the warm months. Here's how the season lays out from the Chamber's early start onward.
| Date | Event | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 20 | Shop Local, Shop Late | Downtown Fairfax, 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Thu, Dec 10 | Fairfax Chanukah Festival | Bolinas Park, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., menorah lighting at 6 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Fairfax Winter Market | Bolinas Road between Broadway and Bank Street, 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Sun, Dec 13 | Fairfax Craft Faire | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
The Chanukah Festival lists the Pavilion as its rain location, which fits the Chamber's own weather caution. The Town describes the Winter Market as a downtown block party with live music, kids' activities and community booths, "powered by our schools and community groups." The Chamber's Craft Faire listing gives the date and hours but not a venue yet, so check it again before that Sunday. As of the Chamber's posting, Shop Local, Shop Late doesn't have its list of participating businesses and specials yet.
Where the November 20 shopping lands
The Chamber is asking people to start their holiday shopping a few weeks early. That points the November 20 evening at Fairfax's long-running stores more than at its newest ones. The Mercury News calls Fairfax Variety, on Broadway down from the theater, a 90-year-old "five-and-dime"-style store selling Beeman's gum, Charleston Chew, Turkish Taffy and board games like Operation and Parcheesi. The same article lists Revolution 9 for gifts and Fairfax tees, Tommy Breeze Art & Apparel for designer trucker hats, and Good Earth, the natural foods store founded in 1969. If someone on your list rides, Splitrock Tap & Wheel is a full-service bike shop that also pours craft beer, and Gestalt Haus serves bratwurst a short walk away.
The newest storefront downtown is out on the Sir Francis Drake end. La Flōr says it opened on Friday, August 7, at 1601 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in the former Mauro's/Top Hat space. The Mercury News called it "brand new in town" in September. La Flōr's visit page lists daily hours of noon to 8 p.m. and says the storefront is limited to medical-card holders.
Put it together and November runs on a few dates. Broadway shows fill the first two weekends. The Chamber's late shopping night is Friday the 20th. The week of December 10 brings people back outdoors, starting at Bolinas Park and moving to Bolinas Road that Saturday.
At Morgan Team Real Estate, we follow Fairfax's calendar and its construction updates the way our neighbors do, one notice at a time. If the Broadway sewer work or the paused Bolinas Road project comes up as you plan a move in the year ahead, we're happy to walk through what we're seeing on these streets. Book an appointment and we'll sit down together.
