Napa Valley's resident fall calendar for 2026 is lopsided. Five towns plan separately, and most of their events still land on the same two dates. Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 bring a new Yountville wine walk, a Calistoga trunk-or-treat, a late-afternoon tour of Napa's Tulocay Cemetery, a downtown trick-or-treat, a $5 folk festival and a rooftop party. Two weeks later, Saturday, November 7 brings DÃa de los Muertos, a harvest hoedown and an Adam Ant concert, all in downtown Napa.
The useful question for the weeks ahead is which events can share an afternoon. The second question is what fills the quieter days on either side.
The weekend everything lands on
The newest event on the calendar is in Yountville. On Saturday, October 24, from noon to 4 p.m., the town holds its first Hallowine Walk. Adults 21 and over walk Washington Street and stop at participating tasting rooms and partner locations for wine and seasonal treats. Costumes are encouraged, and dogs are welcome. Details are on the Town of Yountville's Hallowine Walk page.
That same Saturday, Calistoga runs its free, all-ages Trunk or Treat at the Fairgrounds, 1435 N. Oak St., from 2 to 4 p.m. It has decorated cars, candy and free hot dogs. In Napa, the Napa County Historical Society leads its Heritage Halloween tour of Tulocay Cemetery, 411 Coombsville Road, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., sponsored by Napa County Landmarks. In American Canyon, the Parks and Recreation Department hosts a Halloween Blaster Battle at the Mikolajcik Center, 300 Napa Junction Road. Grades K–5 play from 6 to 7 p.m., and grades 6–8 play from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m.
Sunday shifts to downtown Napa, and the day lines up neatly.
| Sunday, Oct. 25 | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Halloween Hometown Party | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Downtown Napa and First Street, trick-or-treating at participating businesses |
| Napa $5 Folk Festival | 2 – 5 p.m. | Native Sons of the Golden West, downtown Napa |
| Halloween on the Rooftop | 5 – 8 p.m. | Wilfred's Lounge, 967 First St. |
None of the three overlap. The Hometown Party ends an hour before the folk music starts, and the rooftop opens just as the festival ends. Not Loud Concerts presents the folk festival, and admission is $5. Wilfred's lists CongaKing and DJ Kirill for the evening, and the event is free on the rooftop.
Routes that actually fit
Saturday involves more trade-offs than Sunday. Here are three ways to spend the weekend without double-booking yourself.
- Family Saturday up valley, downtown Napa Sunday. Calistoga's Trunk or Treat from 2 to 4 p.m., then Sunday's 11 a.m. Hometown Party on First Street. Both are free and all-ages.
- Adults' Saturday down valley. The Hallowine Walk in Yountville from noon to 4 p.m., then the Tulocay Cemetery tour on Coombsville Road starting at 4 p.m. The walk ends exactly when the tour starts, so this works best if you leave Washington Street a little early.
- The all-downtown Sunday. Hometown Party, folk festival and rooftop, back to back, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Halloween night itself repeats the pattern on a smaller scale. On Saturday, October 31, Yountville's Halloween Block Party runs from 3 to 9 p.m., with live music, food, drinks, local business offerings and children's activities from 4:45 to 7:30 p.m. Calistoga's free Halloween Parade starts at Pioneer Park at 6 p.m. and travels down Lincoln Avenue to Fair Way, ending at 7.
November 7, the second pileup
The two pileups have the same geography. On Saturday, November 7, three downtown Napa events fall within a few hours of each other.
The Harvest Hoedown at First Street Napa, 1300 First St., runs from 12:30 to 5 p.m. It is free and all-ages, with country music, local wine and food, and dancing. Napa DÃa de los Muertos, on the City of Napa calendar, runs from 3 to 8 p.m. at Veterans Park and along Brown Street. Adam Ant plays the Uptown Theatre, 1350 Third St., that night. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8.
The Hoedown and DÃa de los Muertos overlap for two hours, from 3 to 5 p.m., so you can catch both in one afternoon. The 8 p.m. show starts as the celebration at Veterans Park winds down. Check the City of Napa event listing for program details closer to the date.
In the days before November 7, the Napa County Library sets up a public DÃa de Muertos altar in the Napa Library Community Meeting Room, open from October 25 through November 2. The altar and the November 7 celebration together carry the season through the gap between the two crowded weekends.
The quieter dates around them
Outside the two pileups, each town has its own events, and none of them compete with each other.
St. Helena goes first. The Hometown Harvest Festival, which St. Helena calls its most beloved fall event, fills Library Lane on Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It has live music, wine and beer, a food alley, a kids' zone and arts and crafts vendors. The Pet PAWrade is open to costumed pets "of all shapes and sizes," as long as they weigh under 300 pounds, and registration is already open.
Yountville spreads out over the month. Yountville Arts sponsors the annual Scarecrow Making Contest, with entries displayed on the Community Center plaza from October 5 until voting ends November 2. The Pumpkin Hunt runs on weekdays, Monday, October 26 through Thursday, October 30. Pick up a map at the Community Center, 6516 Washington St., find all eight hidden pumpkins, and return the completed map for a prize. On Thursday, October 29, at 1 p.m., local historian Rebecca Yerger presents "The 3rd Annual Napa Valley Haunts" at the Yountville Library. The program is aimed at adults.
Napa fills the weeknights. The EEK!-O-Friendly Costume Exchange is tomorrow, Monday, October 5, in the Napa Library Children's Room. The City of Napa is giving away gently used costumes and accepting donations. At the Uptown Theatre, Brian Regan performs Friday, October 9, and Movie Night screens The Shining on Wednesday, October 14, with doors at 6 p.m. and the film at 7. On Saturday morning, October 10, Festival Napa Valley's Arts for All series brings Jay Benson and Jesse Micek to the Napa County Library at 580 Coombs St. for a free MusicTime set at 10:30.
American Canyon has its own October. The American Canyon Fire Protection District holds its annual open house at 911 Donaldson Way East on Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. That afternoon, Manila Munchies: Pasko Vibes comes to Shenandoah Park, 100 Sonoma Creek Way, from 3 to 9 p.m.
Tables for the in-between nights
The quieter weeks are also a good time to try the restaurants that opened this summer.
In Calistoga, Five Senses opened in July at 1227 Lincoln Ave., a few blocks along the same avenue the Halloween Parade travels on October 31. It serves modern Japanese food under chef Spencer Conaty and executive chef Benjamin Cereghini.
In Napa, chef Alex Soto's Lencho's Food Truck has been parked outside St. Clair Brown Winery & Brewery, 816 Vallejo St., since July 3. It serves Thursday through Monday, noon to 6 p.m. Nicolas Valencia has moved his former Valencia Market from West Imola Avenue to a restaurant, Valencia Cafe, at 1408 Clay St. downtown. It was already open when the Napa Valley Register visited on July 24.
Matchplay Kitchen + Bar opened recently at Silverado Resort, 1600 Atlas Peak Road, replacing The Grill. It is open to the public, with Executive Chef Patrick Prager in the kitchen and dart boards and shuffleboard in the lounge. The patio overlooks the North Course and has fire pits, which suit late-October evenings. Its locals' night runs Tuesdays from 5 to 9 p.m., with $2 oysters and 20 percent off sparkling wine.
Tuesdays also bring the Napa Farmers Market to the city lot at 1100 West St., from 8 a.m. to noon. The Tuesday market runs through December 22, and the Saturday market runs year-round. One more Napa restaurant is still to come. The Elene's dining page lists Vetra and its café at 5091 Solano Ave. as opening in late 2026. Phillip Moratin is executive chef, and Matthew Accarrino is directing the menus. On West Imola, the storefront at 1335 that housed the family-owned Clemente's Authentic Italian was empty as of September 28.
The valley's fall goes on long after the last grapes come in. If you're planning friends' visits or a family weekend around October 24 and November 7, the Kathleen Leonard Team is glad to share where we'll be along Washington Street, First Street and Lincoln Avenue this season. Request a private Wine Country consultation.
