Tiburon's holiday season has two big public afternoons this year. Diwali by the Bay is Saturday, November 7, at Zelinsky Park. The Holiday Festival on Main Street and Ark Row is Saturday, December 5. Each one takes place at the downtown end of Tiburon Boulevard, where the Caltrans work zone ends, and on a Saturday, which keeps it outside the weekday hours when crews may flag traffic down to one lane.
That timing sets the shape of the season. On weekdays, the boulevard is a construction corridor with crews moving slowly east. On those two Saturday afternoons, the waterfront end of town fills with dhol drums, chestnuts, Santa photos and mulled wine. It also meets a Main Street that lost one tasting room in October.
The season, date by date
Date | Event | Where | Inside the weekday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. work window? |
|---|---|---|---|
Mon., Nov. 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | 1920s Murder Mystery Evening | Belvedere-Tiburon Library | No, starts after 5 p.m. |
Thu., Nov. 5, 11 a.m. to noon | Monthly Qigong | Belvedere-Tiburon Library | Yes |
Thu., Nov. 5, 6 p.m. | Trivia Café | Belvedere-Tiburon Library | No |
Sat., Nov. 7, 1 p.m. | Día de los Muertos crafts, all ages | Belvedere-Tiburon Library | No |
Sat., Nov. 7, 1 to 4 p.m. | Diwali by the Bay | Zelinsky Park, 1505 Tiburon Blvd. | No |
Sat., Dec. 5, 2 to 5 p.m. | Holiday Festival | Main Street and Ark Row | No |
You can find the library programs on the Belvedere-Tiburon Library calendar. The early November events give the month a lead-in before the town's big Saturday.
November 7 puts two celebrations on one afternoon
The Town of Tiburon's announcement for Diwali by the Bay was posted October 16. It describes the event as the Town's annual celebration of light, organized by its Diversity Inclusion Task Force. The program includes Bollywood and bhangra performances, among them a set from Reed Elementary students, plus live music and a roaming dhol drummer. There will be henna, rangoli designs drawn on the sidewalk by kids, and a display of traditional diyas. It runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at Zelinsky Park, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, and admission is free.
The library's Día de los Muertos crafts session starts at 1 p.m. the same day. Both events offer hands-on crafts for families, so a family can do the craft table at one and catch performances at the other in the same afternoon.
December 5, door by door on Main Street and Ark Row
The Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce lists the Holiday Festival for Saturday, December 5, from 2 to 5 p.m., and notes that activities are subject to change. Last year's festival ran on December 6, 2025, which was also a Saturday, so the event keeps its early-December Saturday slot.
The Chamber's activity list covers:
- A toddler train on Main Street, canceled if it rains
- Photos with Santa on Ark Row
- Face painting at Servino's
- Holiday crafts
- Roasted chestnuts on Ark Row
- Hot chocolate and popcorn from the Belvedere-Tiburon Rotary
- Holiday music from DJ Yuka Yu
- Gingerbread house decorating, with details and tickets through The Ranch
Several shops are running their own offers, and the street numbers make it an easy loop. Christopher Salon & Home at 88 Main St. has 20% off all holiday ornaments. Ruth Livingston's studio on Ark Row at 74 Main St. is pouring bubbly, serving cookies and taking 10% off all sales. Squalo Vino at 34 Main St., a wine bar focused on European and California wines, has a mulled wine special.
Next door at 32 Main St., Highlow Larder is running a Holiday Sardine coloring contest with muralist and art teacher Laura Palmer. There are five age groups: under 5, 5 to 7, 8 to 10, 10 to 12, and 12 and up. Winners get Swedish Fish of their choice, and their work stays up in the shop through the holiday season.
This will be Highlow Larder's second December on Main Street. The Ark reported that founder and owner Elizabeth Smith-Finders opened the cooking and home-goods shop on May 31, 2025. The shop calls itself "part shop, part gathering space" and lists hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, so it stays open after the festival ends at 5.
Servino's at the Ark Row end hosts face painting and is also the obvious dinner stop afterward. The Ark reported that the Servino family reopened Trattoria Servino at 114 Main St. on September 30, 2023, with the Enoteca next door at 116. The restaurant's website lists Enoteca service from 4 to 10 p.m. and Trattoria dinner from 5 to 9 p.m., seven days a week. The Enoteca opens an hour before the festival wraps up.
One storefront went dark in October, and one kitchen changed hands
This festival comes to a Main Street with one fewer tasting room than last December. The Ark reported on October 14 that The Caviar Co. would close its tasting room at 46A Main St. after service on October 18, ending a run of more than five years on lower Main Street. The final weekend included hot dogs and treats as a thank-you, and the company said local delivery and online ordering would continue. No new tenant for 46A Main St. has been announced.
Farther along the boulevard, Tiburon Tavern now has new operators. Marin Magazine's August 2026 Tiburon dining guide reports that Luna Blu owners Renzo and Crystal Azzarello took over the Tavern's bar, restaurant and other on-site dining at 1651 Tiburon Blvd. Chef Babak Nasser handles breakfast, brunch and dinner. Last December, The Ark listed gingerbread house decorating with Santa and The Ranch at the Tavern on festival day. For 2026, the Chamber directs gingerbread questions and tickets to The Ranch, so check with them for this year's venue and times.
The weekday boulevard between Strawberry and Main Street
On weekdays, Tiburon Boulevard is a work zone. Caltrans' September traffic advisory for the State Route 131 project said curb ramp and sidewalk work could start as early as Monday, September 21. Crews begin near the US-101 interchange and work east toward the Tiburon waterfront. Phase one includes 28 curb ramps. The advisory said intermittent one-way traffic control may be needed Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with flaggers directing traffic, possible pedestrian detours and some bus stops affected. Caltrans said future advisories will give details on more intersections, so its District 4 news page is the place to check which stretch is active in a given week.
The project map shows what phase one covers. It includes pavement repair from the US-101 interchange to the Tiburon Boulevard and Main Street intersection, plus bikeways from Tower Drive near the interchange to Blackfield Drive. It also adds a temporary two-way Class 1 bike path on the inbound side of the boulevard between Strawberry Drive and Blackfield Drive.
Paving comes later. Caltrans has scheduled it for spring 2027, and its Marin County newsletter says the paving will be done overnight, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sources give different finish dates. The Caltrans project page lists completion in winter 2027. In August, The Ark reported Caltrans spokesperson Matt O'Donnell saying construction was expected to last until July 2027 because the agency planned to pause work during the winter months. Caltrans hasn't announced dates for that pause, so the advisories are the place to check whether crews are on the boulevard in December.
People coming by water should check the schedule before they go. Golden Gate Ferry has been running temporary weekday Tiburon schedules "until further notice" because of mechanical issues. Some trips have been replaced by buses that can take up to 55 minutes, and the posted changes are updated week by week. Diwali by the Bay and the Holiday Festival are both on Saturdays, which the temporary weekday schedules don't cover.
Caltrans has scheduled overnight paving on the boulevard for spring 2027. If a sale is on your calendar for that season, Sharon Kramlich can walk you through how the construction schedule fits with the timing for preparing and launching a listing. Request a Complimentary Home Evaluation, and we'll start with what your home looks like today.
