Downtown Los Altos Spends Its Holiday Season on Fridays Once the Farmers' Market Closes

At 4 p.m. today, the vendor tents go up on State Street for the last time this year. The Downtown Los Altos Farmers' Market wraps its 2026 season with Fall Fest, which the Los Altos Village Association bills as "extra special fun and games at the final market of the 2026 season." Last Thursday brought seasonal produce, hot food vendors, wine by the glass from Single Row Wines and live music from Loose Gravel. The market runs until 8 p.m. tonight.

Since April, Thursday evening has had a fixed shape downtown. After tonight it no longer does. For the next six weeks, downtown's gatherings move to Fridays and one Saturday afternoon, and a Thursday evening on State Street doesn't return until the second week of December.

Twenty-Seven Thursdays, Then Five Without One

The Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association runs this market with the Los Altos Village Association. This year's season ran every Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m., from April 30 through October 29. That makes 27 consecutive Thursday evenings with State Street given over to the market. The market's sponsors are State Street Market, the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation and the City of Los Altos.

Earlier this year, a spring business roundup in the Los Altos Town Crier said the market would end October 15. The organizers' current listing extends it two weeks, to today. Anyone working from the older date lost those two weeks for nothing.

After tonight, five Thursdays pass without a scheduled evening event on State Street:

• November 5
• November 12
• November 19
• November 26, which is Thanksgiving
• December 3

In those weeks, the downtown calendar fills in around the empty Thursdays.

Fridays Carry the Season

The three biggest dates on the Los Altos Village Association's fall and holiday calendar all land on a Friday. The first is tomorrow.

Each of the three draws on a different part of downtown, and in order they move later into the evening.

A BOO-tiful Downtown Halloween runs in daylight. Starting at noon, children trick-or-treat at the stores that have an orange pumpkin sign in the front window. From 2 to 4 p.m. Veterans Community Plaza has games, a balloon artist and "creepy crafts." Bring your own treat bag. The Cranberry Scoop sponsors the event. Since Halloween falls on Saturday this year, the downtown version comes a day early and finishes by 4 p.m., which leaves Saturday evening open for the neighborhood version.

The Holiday Stroll moves downtown into the evening. It runs 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, November 13, with "sparkling lights, strolling carolers, shopping specials and fun at Downtown shops and restaurants," and the association suggests starting or finishing the night with dinner downtown. As of this week, the lists of participating shops, restaurants and musicians still read "TBD," so the lineup will likely be posted closer to the date.

The Holiday Tree Celebration returns to the plaza that hosted the Halloween games. From 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, December 4, Veterans Community Plaza at Main and State has student performances, trolley rides and photos with Santa. The association first posted this listing in January, so check it again in the days before.

Over five weeks, the season goes from an afternoon on the plaza to an evening in the shops to a night under the tree. All three happen on Fridays.

One Saturday Afternoon in Between

The single non-Friday date before December is Small Business Saturday on November 28, two days after Thanksgiving. Veterans Community Plaza has an activity from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is the only event on the calendar that starts in the morning, and it is over by early afternoon. It also fills the slot right after the Thanksgiving week, when there is no Thursday market.

Thursday Comes Back for Two Nights

Thursday evening returns to State Street on December 10. The Holiday Market runs there on December 10 and December 17, 4 to 8 p.m. These are the same street and the same hours as the farmers' market that closes tonight, now with live music and visits from Santa.

Exactly six weeks separate the last farmers' market from the first Holiday Market. Like the tree listing, the Holiday Market page went up in January, so confirm the dates before you go.

Two First and State Street Addresses to Check Before the Stroll

The Holiday Stroll is the longest evening downtown this season, and it may be the first holiday event for two businesses that have been on the way for a while.

The first is LUNA Mexican Kitchen at 145 First St. In the Los Altos Town Crier, chef and co-owner Jo Lerma-Lopez said she expected an early September opening after more than two years of construction. The restaurant had first been expected to open in early 2025. The building is the 1920s Craftsman with the redwood trees and white picket fence that House on First, and Bumble before it, occupied until 2022. Lerma-Lopez told the Town Crier she "pictured that patio bringing the energy of Valle de Guadalupe or Napa Valley." This is the restaurant's third location, after The Alameda in San Jose in 2017 and the Pruneyard in Campbell in 2019. As of this week, LUNA's own hours and locations page still lists only those two, so call ahead before planning a Stroll dinner around it.

The second is Coffeebar at State Street Market, 170 State St. The Town Crier reported a target opening by the end of September, with coffee, pastries, breakfast and lunch, and patio seating. State Street Market also sponsors the farmers' market closing tonight, so a new morning tenant there would sit on the same block the Thursday market uses.

The Parking Plazas Under Study Stay as They Are This Season

Many visitors to these events park in the downtown parking plazas. Those lots are also the subject of the city's long-range downtown park planning.

A summer Town Crier report described five concepts for Plazas 1 through 3. Four pair new park space with a three-level parking garage, and the fifth improves the existing plazas without a dedicated park. Public feedback was planned through September, followed by a Council discussion of next steps. The city's project page reflects Council direction from February 24, 2026: no underground parking, only replacement parking that keeps the count the same or adds to it, and a focus on "Meadow" and "Garden" themes. The page calls all the concepts preliminary.

The same page puts the timeline at more than four years, with at least two years of design planning followed by at least two years of possible construction, and says no construction start date has been set. The October 27 City Council agenda does not list a downtown park item. This holiday season, the Stroll, the tree lighting and the Holiday Market will all happen with the parking plazas laid out as they are now.

For more on how the downtown blocks changed hands this year, see our summer look at downtown Los Altos. Our local happenings page follows the calendar in other towns too.

If you're weighing whether a home near Main and State fits the way you'd use downtown on these Friday nights and December Thursdays, Janet Souza would be glad to walk the blocks with you. Schedule a Chat, and we'll compare notes over coffee once Coffeebar opens on State Street.