Martinez's October has two hosts. Waterfront Park on North Court Street gets the first Saturday, and Main Street gets nearly everything after it. The handoff comes on the weekend of the 10th and 11th, when a Saturday beer crawl and the last Open Air Market of the season land on the same stretch of downtown back to back.
The pattern shows once the dates sit side by side, and the details differ by host, from ticketing to parking to which events allow dogs.
The first Saturday belongs to the Waterfront
Saturday, October 3, is the 17th Annual Bike the Bridges | Bands & Brews, a fundraiser for Special Olympics Northern California. Four routes leave riders a choice of 25 miles, 50K, 50 miles, or the 100K, which is 62 miles. All of them cross the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and the Carquinez Bridge before returning to Martinez. Organizers set a target of 1,000 riders this year.
The event also includes a climb challenge, roughly two miles up Crockett Boulevard between Pomona Street and Cummings Skyway, with polka-dot jerseys for the male and female winner in each age group.
The afterparty at Waterfront Park, 245 North Court Street, is open to the public. Food trucks and local breweries are set up on the grass, with live music through the afternoon. Adults 21 and over can buy a commemorative pint glass, then beer tickets for 16-ounce pours. The Eventbrite listing runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dogs are welcome on a leash. Outside alcohol is prohibited.
After the 3rd, the calendar moves to Main Street.
Main Street takes over on the 10th and stays through the 11th
Saturday, October 10, is the 14th Annual Zombie Brew Crawl, hosted by Downtown Martinez & Co. and sponsored by Renewal by Anderson. It runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees sample more than 30 craft beers poured at participating small businesses along the downtown corridor. A costume contest is part of it, and winners are announced right after the tasting at Main Street Plaza. Zombie costumes are optional.
Tickets are priced on a schedule. The early-bird price of $45 ended July 31. The $50 general price applies from August 1 through October 9. A $55 day-of price exists only if the crawl hasn't sold out, and the 2025 event page told buyers that this event sells out. As of this writing, the event page still says the list of participating businesses is coming soon, so nobody can yet say which doors will have a pour.
The next morning, Sunday, October 11, downtown runs two markets at once.
| Day and time | Where on Main Street | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 10, 1 to 4 p.m. | Downtown corridor, finishing at Main Street Plaza | Zombie Brew Crawl, ticketed, 21+ to sample |
| Sunday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 600 and 700 blocks, Castro Street to Ferry Street | Martinez Farmers' Market, every Sunday all year |
| Sunday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 800 block | Open Air Market, final date of the 2026 season |
The Open Air Market has met on the second Sunday of each month since May 10, and the 800 block sits directly beside the farmers' market blocks. It sells vintage goods, collectibles, antiques, and arts and crafts. October 11 is its final date of the 2026 season, which ran May through October. The Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association lists the Martinez Farmers' Market at 700 Main Street, and it runs every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round.
What the two hosts have in common
The waterfront lawn and Main Street pour local beer within a week of each other. The two hosts have also been working together this year.
The city's Sesquicentennial Festival on August 29 covered Waterfront Park, the marina, and nearby East Bay Regional Park District space. Downtown Martinez & Co. planned it with the city and folded in the Bay Area Craft Beer Festival, which the organization describes as its main fundraiser of the year. The city's own events page has listed that beer festival at the waterfront in April. The organization that runs Main Street events already has a standing relationship with the waterfront lawn.
The city's waterfront and marina plan describes the same connection. Tucker Sadler Architects, which the City Council approved for an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement at its December 17, 2025 meeting, envisions a festival at the waterfront having a piece of itself downtown. The firm's chief executive, Gregory Mueller, described that to ABC7 in January as "nodes of activities" that complement one another. The agreement proposes hotels, restaurants, a community and event center, and an outdoor amphitheater, and it requires private financing with no city subsidy. It gives the two sides two years to reach a final development agreement.
No development agreement has been approved, so nothing about the plan changes what happens on the lawn or on Main Street this October. The calendar already sets the two locations up as relay partners, with the waterfront running its event first and downtown running the next several.
The 24th is the free one
The next entry after the 11th is Saturday, October 24, the Downtown Martinez Trick-or-Treat Spooktacular. It is free and open to the public. One event listing has it running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., so check downtownmartinez.org for final times before you plan around it.
Downtown Martinez & Co. describes it as trunk-or-treat with creatively decorated car trunks, kids' activity and game booths, and shops lining downtown handing out candy. It takes place inside participating businesses, on the street, and at the Plaza on Main Street. It is the only event on this list with no ticket.
That leaves the weekend of the 17th without a signature event. Downtown Martinez & Co.'s signature events page carries two October dates, the 10th and the 24th, and the weekend between them has only the Sunday farmers' market. After the 24th, the page jumps to November 20.
The small print for each date
- Bike the Bridges, Oct. 3: Waterfront Park, 245 North Court Street. Public afterparty, 21+ for beer tickets, leashed dogs allowed, no outside alcohol.
- Zombie Brew Crawl, Oct. 10: 1 to 4 p.m. downtown. $50 through October 9, $55 day-of only if tickets remain. Bring a valid ID, and beer is served only in the 2026 tasting cup.
- Open Air Market, Oct. 11: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the 800 block. The listing bars animals from the enclosure, the same rule as at the farmers' market.
- Parking on the 10th and 11th: Street parking downtown is free on weekends. A general lot sits at the corner of Marina Vista and Ferry.
- Spooktacular, Oct. 24: Free. Confirm the hours at downtownmartinez.org.
If you would like a number to keep in mind while you walk Main Street on the 10th, Jake Kemper and the Lupe Kemper Team will run a free home valuation for your Martinez address. Request a Free Home Valuation.
