Larkspur Landing Wraps Up Its Fall Season in One Weekend

Marin Country Mart has run its fall programs on separate schedules, and all of them end within about 24 hours of each other. The Friday Movie Night series started in June and ends tomorrow night. The heirloom pumpkin patch opened October 1 and closes Saturday evening. The giant pumpkin has been sitting at the Trading Post since October 3, and its weight gets announced Saturday. The Halloween Spectacular is a one-day event, and it falls on the same Saturday hours as the weekly farmers market.

So the whole fall season at Larkspur Landing ends in one stretch, from Friday at 6 p.m. to Saturday at 6 p.m. If you live nearby, this is the weekend to plan around.

Four calendars, one finish line

Here is how the season lines up, based on the Mart's own events calendar.

The movie series ran for nearly 19 weeks. The pumpkin patch ran for a month. Both end within a day of the Halloween event.

Friday night: Coco closes the series

The final film of the season is Coco, Friday, October 30, at 6 p.m., according to the Visit Marin listing. Admission is free.

The series has shown family favorites since June 19, including Babe, The Aristocats, Toy Story and The Lion King. Coco is the last one this year. The Mart's invitation has stayed the same all season: bring blankets and friends, and buy dinner, snacks, sweets, beer and wine from the Mart's eateries and shops. The Mart's listing for the screenings runs from 6 to 9 p.m.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so this is the one weekend when the closing movie night and the trick-or-treating are back to back. A family can do both without taking a school night.

Saturday morning: the market and Halloween share the same hours

Saturday is the busiest day because two events overlap. The farmers market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. The Halloween Spectacular runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market is on its usual schedule, so the costume contest, the trick-or-treating and the weekly shopping all happen in the same three hours.

Here is how Saturday, October 31, runs, from the Mart's posted schedules:

1. 9 a.m. The farmers market opens: organic produce from dozens of local purveyors, plus meat, seafood and baked goods.
2. 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Mart Littles Music, free children's programming.
3. 11 a.m. The costume contest starts in the Courtyard, with prizes for standout looks. Trick-or-treating around the Mart runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Live music at the market also starts at 11.
4. During the Halloween festivities. The Guess the Weight of the Giant Pumpkin winner is announced. The Mart's listing for the contest runs until noon.
5. 2 p.m. The market and the trick-or-treating both end.
6. 6 p.m. The pumpkin patch closes for the season.

If you're shopping for groceries, the window from 9 to 11 a.m. has the market and the Littles hour but none of the costume crowd yet. Kids who want to compete need to be in costume and at the Courtyard by 11. If you haven't guessed the pumpkin's weight yet, stop at the Trading Post before noon. The Mart describes it this way: "Stop by the Trading Post, take your best guess at its weight, and enter for a chance to be crowned our pumpkin-weight champion."

The pumpkin patch stays open four hours after everything else wraps up. Its heirloom pumpkins are sold on the honor system: you pick one and pay on your own. After the 2 p.m. rush, the late afternoon is the quiet time to choose one.

Eating at the Mart through a full Saturday

All of this fits at one address because the Mart's food tenants can cover a family's day from breakfast through dinner. The movie night listing points people to these counters for dinner and snacks. On Saturday they cover the hours before, during and after the trick-or-treating.

Grouped by when they fit, here are the food tenants the Mart currently lists:

• Before the market or the Littles hour: Rustic Bakery for bread, lavosh and sandwiches. Johnny Doughnuts for handmade doughnuts. Starbucks for coffee and pastries. SunLife Organics for organic juice.
• Quick food during the trick-or-treating: Shake Shack for burgers, hot dogs, fries and shakes. Souvla for Greek-style rotisserie meat in pita or salads, plus Greek fries and frozen yogurt. El Huarache Loco for Mexican food, including huaraches. Loveski Deli for sourdough bagels, deli meats and pickles.
• A sit-down meal after 2 p.m.: Farmshop, with a 50-foot wooden bar, an open kitchen with a pizza oven, a patio and Saturday hours starting at 10:30 a.m. Hog Island Oyster Co. for oysters and local seafood. Le Marais Bistro for French dishes and pastries. Sushi Ko for nigiri, sashimi, tempura and noodles.
• Something sweet to take home: Miette for cakes and pastries.

Hog Island also has a seafood counter, so you can pick up dinner on the way out.

What changed on the roster since summer

When the movie series started in June, the Mart's dessert options were a little different. KRON reported in August that Frankie & Jo's, the vegan ice cream shop, would close its Larkspur location at the end of that month, with August 31 as the last day to visit.

The Mart now lists Salt & Straw as coming soon, with hours and contact information still to come. No opening date has been posted. Until it opens, the sweets this weekend come from Johnny Doughnuts, Miette and Souvla's frozen yogurt.

After Saturday, the Mart's calendar goes quiet

Once the pumpkin patch closes Saturday at 6 p.m., the Mart's events calendar has nothing listed until a Yaser Shaw trunk show at Hero Shop on December 11 and 12. The farmers market keeps its weekly schedule, every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. Through November, that makes the market the Mart's only regular program.

The next big community event in town moves away from Larkspur Landing. The Larkspur Chamber of Commerce lists Holiday Magic, a tree lighting at Larkspur Community Park, for Saturday, December 5, from 4 p.m. until dusk. The Chamber says it will have more than 50 trees, Santa photos, hot drinks, caroling and a bonfire.

That leaves about five weeks between the last pumpkin at the Mart and the first lit tree at Community Park. During that stretch, the Saturday farmers market is the only thing on the Mart's schedule. Coco and the costume contest are the last special events there before December, and both happen this weekend.

Tell me which part of the Mart's weekend you're going to, and I'll pass along what I hear about Salt & Straw's opening. Aimee Labagh Tenente is always happy to talk Marin, whether you're staying put or starting to think about your next move. Find your San Francisco, or your corner of Marin, and contact Aimee.