The Pavilion's First December: How Healdsburg's Holiday Weekends Fit Together This Year

At 3 North Street, the old Cerri warehouse from 1922 now has a roof over the farmers market, a raised stage at one end and a patio out front. The Healdsburg Tribune described the project as the end of "a 100-year history, 25 years of active discussion and five years of construction." It also said the space was long planned as an alternative to the over-used Healdsburg Plaza. The Foley Family Community Pavilion opened the weekend of March 21 and 22. This is its first December.

That changes how the holiday season is laid out. The Pavilion has Saturday mornings through Dec. 19. The Plaza has the evenings. Each one has its own hours, and they only overlap on the first weekend of December.

A covered Saturday morning, into December

The Healdsburg Certified Farmers' Market runs at the Pavilion every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The season ends Dec. 19. The Tuesday market closed for the year on Sept. 29, so the Saturday market is the only one left until spring. The City of Healdsburg runs it in partnership with the market organization and calls the Pavilion "your new Saturday morning community gathering space."

The roof matters most in late-season weather. The market has always run rain or shine, but its visitor page notes it had to close twice in the last 10 years because of extreme rain and wind. With some vendors now under cover, the market expects to stay open in that kind of weather from here on. Market manager Janet Ciel explained how the stage would handle it when she spoke to the Healdsburg Tribune before the opening:

"If there's heavy rain and vendors want to relocate, there's space for at least a dozen booths on the platform."

In the same interview, Ciel said the Info Booth and the nonprofit vendors would go on the stage. Musicians would play at the front left, with plenty of seating. A few practical details for winter Saturdays:

• Dogs: Sonoma County Health Department rules keep dogs away from food and farm booths. Dogs can go on the platform, in the open area below it and on the outside patio. They enter and leave through the last aisle, the craft aisle, where Fruity Moto and the coffee vendors are.
• Parking: There's free public parking across the street, with entrances from Matheson Street or North Street. North Street is closed right in front of the market. There's more parking on Grove Street and in the City Hall lot.
• Restrooms: There are four unisex restrooms on site.
• Payment: Most vendors take cards or Venmo, and some produce vendors take cash only. The Information Booth sells Market Bucks that work at every booth. The market also matches up to $20 in CalFresh/EBT purchases through Market Match.

Who plays the Pavilion through Dec. 19

The market lists a musician for each Saturday from mid-November through the end of the season.

The City's Pavilion calendar also lists the Thanksgiving-weekend market on Nov. 28 at the usual hours. The market's annual events list includes a Fall/Holiday Craft Market running through December.

The Plaza keeps the evenings

The Pavilion has the mornings. The City's biggest holiday night stays where it always has been. Merry Healdsburg takes over Healdsburg Plaza at Matheson Street and Healdsburg Avenue on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. It's free. City of Healdsburg Community Services hosts it with the Healdsburg Chamber and Stay Healdsburg. The City's published schedule:

1. Holiday Night Market, 5 to 9 p.m.
2. Horse-drawn carriage rides, 5 to 8 p.m.
3. Healdsburg Chorus, 5 to 5:30 p.m.
4. Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony presented by Jewish Healdsburg, 5:45 to 6 p.m.
5. Tree lighting, with arrival suggested by 6 p.m.
6. Photos with Santa after the lighting
7. The Sugarplums, 6:45 to 8:45 p.m.
8. Holiday crafts for children all evening

The same date also appears on the Raven Theater's 2026 calendar. The theater, at 115 North Street, lists Mostly Kosher on Dec. 4, so the street the Pavilion shares has its own event that Friday.

Dec. 5 is the day both schedules fill up

The first Saturday in December is the only day this season that starts at the Pavilion and ends on the Plaza, with a third event in between.

The morning is the regular market, 8:30 a.m. to noon, with Bob Culbertson playing.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Appellation Healdsburg holds its first Holiday Artisan Market indoors at 101 Dovetail Lane. It runs again Sunday, Dec. 6, at the same hours. Appellation describes hand-picked makers selling jewelry and accessories, natural beauty products, homewares, apparel, art, printed goods and gourmet foods from Sonoma County and beyond. The weekend also includes the hotel's own holiday tree lighting. This lighting belongs to Appellation and is separate from the City's Plaza ceremony the night before.

From 4 to 7 p.m., the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce brings back its Holiday Sip & Shop downtown. The event page lists "New for 2026" next to a line inviting guests to explore the Plaza and its businesses. It promises more downtown tasting stops than ever. Check-in is outside Healdsburg Spa, across from Lucky Heron. Presale tickets cost $20 through Sunday, Nov. 22, at 11:30 p.m. After that the price is $30, including at the door. A ticket gets you every stop on the map, unlimited wine tastes, special offers and a souvenir tasting glass. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite. The Chamber says "this year is all about Sipping & Shopping" and suggests booking dinner reservations separately.

The Healdsburg Museum fills Sunday, Dec. 6, with its Holiday Homes Tour of five Healdsburg homes decorated for the season. The museum starts the season earlier. Its annual toy and model-train exhibition, this year called "A Very Boomer Holiday" and featuring toys from the 1950s, opens Nov. 20, according to the Healdsburg Chamber events calendar.

North Street on Dec. 19

After the first weekend, the calendar returns to North Street. The Raven's 2026 lineup has the Healdsburg Chorus in "Winter Illuminations" on Dec. 12 and 13, and the Christmas Jug Band with Shana Morrison on Dec. 18.

Saturday, Dec. 19, has two events on that street. The Pavilion holds the last farmers market of the year at 3 North Street from 8:30 a.m. to noon, with Jacob Philip Benning playing. The same day, Healdsburg Jazz presents the Harlem Nutcracker Suite at the Raven, 115 North Street.

Before December, there's one more gallery show downtown. "Endless Inspiration," with new and classic paintings of landscapes, wildlife and birds by Sonoma County artist Ron Sumner and small works by Karen Miller, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 22. It's upstairs at Levin & Co., 306 Center St., as listed in the Healdsburg Tribune's weekly calendar.

At SagePoint Real Estate Company, details like where Saturday morning happens and which street the theater is on shape how we advise owners and buyers in Healdsburg. If you'd like to talk through how the Pavilion and the Plaza fit into your plans for town, schedule a private consultation.