St. Helena's winter calendar moves north and onto Main Street. The St. Helena Farmers' Market wraps up its 40th season at Crane Park with its Friday, Oct. 30 market. Starting in November, the Friday market runs at Farmstead, 738 Main St. The town's biggest holiday evening happens a few blocks up the same street, and the 150th-anniversary year that opened at Lyman Park in March has one of its biggest nights there.
Crane Park still gets one more big morning on the calendar. It falls on Thanksgiving.
Same day of the week, different end of town
The Crane Park market's final 2026 date is Oct. 30. It runs every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The St. Helena Chamber of Commerce made the market its featured member this fall. The Chamber pointed to four decades of linking residents with family farms and small businesses. The market's own site already calls it "a great season" and tells shoppers to stay tuned for next year.
The winter version keeps Friday and moves downtown. According to Long Meadow Ranch, the Farmstead Farmers' Market runs Fridays, November through April, from 8 a.m. to noon. The state's certified farmers market directory, dated Oct. 1, 2026, lists both markets in St. Helena. Both are Friday markets with opposite seasons.
| St. Helena Farmers' Market | Farmstead Farmers' Market | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Crane Park, S. Crane Ave. | Farmstead, 738 Main St. |
| Season | May through October | November through April |
| Friday hours | 7:30 a.m. to noon | 8 a.m. to noon |
| 2026 dates | Final market Oct. 30 | Fridays from November |
The hours shift by half an hour, so anyone used to arriving right at 7:30 will be early. The winter market closes at noon, same as the summer one. The winter market also fills the other half of the year at almost the same weekly hour. Shoppers who go only in summer may not realize the routine has another home.
What the Main Street market carries
Long Meadow Ranch says the farmers market is where the Hall family started, with their first garden at the Long Meadow Ranch Mountain Estate. The ranch still sells its organic produce, beef and honey there each week. The vendors Long Meadow Ranch lists for the Farmstead market fall into a few clear groups:
- Produce and fruit: Long Meadow Ranch, Aloha Organix, and two vendors marked new, Medina Berry Farm and The Fruit Tree
- Protein: Santa Rosa Seafood and Woodlands Charcuterie
- Bread, pasta and prepared food: West Won Bread, Pasta Prelude, The Greek Table, Natalia's Dacha and Ray Ray's Taco
- Sweets and pantry: Katryana Zide Chocolates and Gerard'z Honeybees
A seafood vendor, a charcuterie maker, a bakery and fresh pasta add up to most of a dinner. That matters more in November and December, when people are cooking at home for guests. Farmstead also takes Thanksgiving orders. Long Meadow Ranch lists turkeys from poultry breeder Frank Reese, seasonal pies from the Farmstead culinary team, and produce boxes from its organic Rutherford Farm. Confirm this year's order deadline with Farmstead directly before Thanksgiving week.
The 150th year comes back to Main Street
St. Helena's sesquicentennial started on Main Street. The City's calendar shows a Sesquicentennial Plaque Dedication at Lyman Park, 1498 Main St., on March 24, 2026, at 4 p.m. The day included downtown festivities, musicians and birthday cupcakes.
Eight months later, one of the anniversary year's major evenings comes back to Main Street. The Wine Barrel Tree Lighting is Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Hunt Avenue. It's hosted by the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce, Beringer Vineyards and the City of St. Helena, and the centerpiece is Beringer's 38-foot holiday wine barrel tree. The listing names a winter market, lighted holiday cars, simulated snowfall, Santa, food, wine, live music and a Kids Zone.
The event page says both St. Helena and Beringer Vineyards are celebrating their 150th anniversaries this year. Its tagline reads "One iconic town. One iconic winery. 150 years. One magical night." The town marked its anniversary with a plaque in Lyman Park in March and marks it again in November with a barrel tree on Hunt Avenue, both on the same stretch of Main Street.
The date matters for planning. The lighting falls the night before Thanksgiving, when many households are hosting or expecting guests. The Chamber's homepage says more activities will be announced.
Crane Park gets one more big morning
Less than a day after the lighting, the calendar returns to the park the market just left. The St. Helena Hospital Foundation's Turkey Trot is Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, at Crane Park. Check-in opens at 8:30 a.m. and the start is at 9. The foundation calls it a family-friendly walk, run or ride. Suggested contributions are $25 per person and $100 per family, and the money supports cancer care at St. Helena Hospital.
December heads up-valley
After Thanksgiving, the events move north of downtown, to the historic properties that give St. Helena its anniversary story.
Old Mill Holidays is Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park, 3369 St. Helena Highway. Admission is $5, children 2 and under are free, and you don't need to register. The program includes holiday crafts, cookie decorating, quill-pen calligraphy, live milling demonstrations, folk music and cider. The artisan market depends on the weather.
The next day is Beringer's turn. The winery's 150th anniversary page lists a Holiday Member Celebration and 150th Time Capsule Ceremony for Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026. It also lists Build a Gingerbread Rhine House every Sunday in December. That would mean Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27. The page doesn't give times. Check with Beringer about times and who can attend before you go. The Dec. 6 ceremony is billed as a member event.
The winter calendar, in order
- Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 a.m. to noon: Final St. Helena Farmers' Market of the season at Crane Park
- Fridays, November through April, 8 a.m. to noon: Farmstead Farmers' Market, 738 Main St.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 5 to 7 p.m.: Wine Barrel Tree Lighting on Hunt Avenue, marking the 150th anniversaries of both St. Helena and Beringer
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 9 a.m. start: St. Helena Hospital Foundation Turkey Trot at Crane Park
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Old Mill Holidays at Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park
- Sunday, Dec. 6: Beringer's Holiday Member Celebration and 150th Time Capsule Ceremony
- Sundays in December: Build a Gingerbread Rhine House at Beringer
From November through the end of the year, every Friday market is on Main Street. Crane Park's next big date after Oct. 30 is Thanksgiving morning, and the market itself returns there in May.
In winter, St. Helena's calendar moves to Main Street and the up-valley landmarks. If you're thinking about how a St. Helena home, or a second home here, fits the town's year outside harvest season, the principals at SagePoint Real Estate Company would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a private consultation.
