Healdsburg Crush was held this past Sunday, October 11, and for the first time it wasn't on the Plaza. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin fundraiser moved to Bacchus Landing. Its July 2026 announcement on WineBusiness expected more than 60 wineries and 800 guests, with general admission at $150 and VIP at $200. Crush isn't the only event that moved. The City has been shifting public events off the Plaza, and the 2026 events calendar now shows just two fall gatherings on the Plaza and its surrounding streets. Both carry the City's "2026 Signature Event" asterisk. The first is Corazón Healdsburg's free 10th-anniversary Día de Muertos on Sunday, October 25. The second is the free Merry Healdsburg on December 4.
That changes how the Plaza works between harvest and the holidays. The gazebo is now reserved for a short list of City-backed celebrations that anyone can walk into, and most of the other gatherings meet at the Foley Family Community Pavilion.
Why Crush left, and why it still matters downtown
The Healdsburg Tribune explained the move on October 8. The City's Community Services Department changed direction on public events and asked them all to leave the Plaza in favor of the new Foley Family Community Pavilion. Crush was one of the last to give up its spot, the Tribune reported, partly because it would have been the only paid-admission event on the Plaza all year. The Tribune also noted that the Healdsburg Arts Festival scaled down this year. On September 26, it lined up its vendors mostly on East Street, in the block just north of the Plaza. According to the same article, the only other place Crush could have gone was the Pavilion, which made a site a mile down Westside Road the natural choice.
Bacchus Landing sits at 14210 Bacchus Landing Way. It opened in July 2021, as WineBusiness reported then, and the Bacchus Landing site now lists six tasting rooms and seven boutique wineries. For locals, the useful details are the bocce courts and picnic space. Wood-fired pizza is served Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. The visit page also lists artisan food offerings and says you're welcome to bring your own picnic.
Crush still has a downtown connection, even with the tents set up elsewhere. The money goes to the Boys & Girls Clubs, whose operations started in Healdsburg 80 years ago. Its flagship Healdsburg Clubhouse is being rebuilt, with an opening date of summer 2027.
October 25: the gazebo becomes an altar
On the City's Día de Muertos event page, the Plaza's role that day reads like this:
"Each year, on the last Sunday of October, the Healdsburg Plaza gazebo becomes a community altar of shared remembrance, filled with bright marigolds, flickering candles and the photos of loved ones who have passed away."
This year's celebration runs from noon to 6 p.m. at Matheson Street and Healdsburg Avenue. It's free and listed as ADA accessible. The City lists the anchors: a community altar where anyone may add a loved one's photo, free kids' activities, live music, a car show, and food for purchase. If you plan to add a photo, bring a print you're comfortable leaving on the gazebo for the afternoon.
The organizers' own pages haven't posted a detailed 2026 performer lineup, procession route or street-closure map. Corazón Healdsburg's events page promotes culture, music, food, art, remembrance and community but doesn't post a running order. The City calendar says the event covers the Plaza and surrounding streets under a special event permit, but it doesn't list closure hours or parking changes. Questions go to Corazón at 707-540-1601.
Ten years from a first altar
The City dates the partnership between Corazón Healdsburg and the City to 2016. The Press Democrat traced the Plaza celebration to that same year in its 2025 regional roundup. In 2017, the Healdsburg Tribune named Ari Rosen as the event's initiator and the founder of Corazón Healdsburg.
The Plaza event is the most visible thing Corazón does, but it's only part of the nonprofit's work. Year-round, Corazón runs a bilingual family resource center, family-centered case management, cradle-to-career education, and community events and trainings. The 2026 sponsors listed on its site are Encore Event Rentals, Comcast, First 5 Sonoma County and Dr. Kate Kinsella. The City calls this year's event a celebration of "a decade of remembering loved ones."
The weekend starts Saturday morning at the Pavilion
Día de Muertos is the last stop of a two-day weekend, and the first day runs through the Foley Family Community Pavilion at 3 North Street.
| When | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24, 8:30 a.m. to noon | Healdsburg Farmers Market, with added craft vendors | Foley Family Community Pavilion | Not listed |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 4 to 6 p.m. | Howl-O-Ween pet costume parade | Foley Family Community Pavilion | Free |
| Sun., Oct. 25, noon to 6 p.m. | Día de Muertos, 10th anniversary | Healdsburg Plaza | Free |
The Humane Society of Sonoma County and the City are putting on Howl-O-Ween. Registration runs from 4 to 4:45 p.m., the parade starts at 4:45, and prizes and raffle winners are announced at 5:30. The City's listing adds games and costume prizes. It asks for pet food donations for the Humane Society's Pet Food Pantry and for dogs to be well behaved and on leash.
The Saturday market is the steady thread through all of this. The Healdsburg Farmers Market wrapped its Tuesday season on September 29, but Saturdays at the Pavilion continue through December 19. The market's craft-vendor schedule adds craft sellers on October 17, 24 and 31 and on November 7, 14 and 21. The market's November and December application page lists dates that fall on Sundays in 2026, so check with the market directly before planning around a specific holiday market.
November moves to the street, then the Plaza takes over again
Between Día de Muertos and the tree lighting, the City calendar shows one downtown event, and it starts early on Thanksgiving morning.
The Healdsburg 5K Turkey Trot is a fun run and walk. It starts and finishes at Healdsburg Running Company, 333 Center Street, at 8 a.m. on Thursday, November 26. The Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise hosts. The City names the Live Like Drew / Drew Esquivel Scholarship Fund, which supports Healdsburg High School scholar-athletes, as the beneficiary, and registration lists other local nonprofits too. Registration is $25 for adults and $20 for kids under 12, with $5 off if you skip the shirt.
Nine days later, the Plaza hosts the City's other free signature event. Merry Healdsburg runs Friday, December 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. City of Healdsburg Community Services hosts it with the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce. Here's the published schedule:
- 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.: Healdsburg Chorus performance
- 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.: horse-drawn carriage rides
- 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.: holiday night market and crafts for all ages
- Arrive by 6:00 p.m.: tree lighting ceremony, with photos with Santa afterward
- 6:45 to 8:45 p.m.: special musical performance
The City's asterisk puts the two Plaza events in the same category. Both are on the 2026 calendar as signature events, and both run on the Plaza and surrounding streets. Both are also free. One is built around a gazebo full of photographs and marigolds, the other around the lights going on. The rest of the season's calendar is a dog parade, a Thanksgiving 5K and a Saturday market at the Pavilion through December 19.
My family has spent a lot of fall Sundays on Healdsburg Plaza, and the 10th Día de Muertos is one I'm especially looking forward to. If you're there on October 25 and want to talk about what your own Healdsburg home is worth this season, come say hello or reach out to Jennifer Klein. Get your free home valuation, and I'll send you a local's read on the market to go with it.
