Diwali's main day this year is Sunday, November 8, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Bon Air marks it on Friday, November 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. That's tomorrow evening for anyone reading this on publication day. The performers are Dance with E.N.A., and they don't have far to come. Their studio is at 151 Bon Air Center.
Most of Bon Air's November and December comes from businesses and partners already based at the center or long tied to it, and the dates fall where the center's week puts them. Diwali is on a Friday evening, Santa visits are Saturday afternoons, and the Hanukkah lighting is a Wednesday night. If you live in Greenbrae and use Bon Air as your downtown, that's why the dates below may not match the ones you expected.
Friday's Diwali comes from down the promenade
Dance with E.N.A. stands for Elite Naach Academy, a Marin dance-education group founded in 2015. According to Bon Air's event listing, the Diwali evening centers on an E.N.A. performance with colorful costumes and choreography drawn from Indian dance traditions, billed as a night of light, prosperity and togetherness.
The same studio shows up all season. E.N.A. opened the Halloween Bash on October 31 with an 11 a.m. performance and led the all-ages family parade. Woodlands Pet Food & Treats sponsored the pet parade that day, trick-or-treating ran through Bon Air's merchants, and merchants supplied the family parade's prizes. The center's 2026 Fall/Holiday magazine lists Diwali as the only November event. So when Friday evening arrives, the people performing are part of the center's daily traffic, and they set the timing.
The season, date by date
These are the dates in Bon Air's published 2026 calendar, plus the outside schedules that matter.
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 6 | Diwali "Festival of Lights" Celebration | 5:30–7:30 p.m. | Bon Air |
| Fri, Nov 20 | Vitalant blood drive | 10 a.m.–2:15 p.m. per Vitalant | Bloodmobile at Bon Air |
| Fri, Nov 27 | Pronzini's Trees returns | Opening day | Bon Air |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Santa Saturdays | Noon–3 p.m. | In front of Mollie Stone's |
| Wed, Dec 9 | Latkes & Lights with Chabad of Marin | 6–7:30 p.m. | Bon Air Greenbrae Plaza, 50 Bon Air Center |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Santa Saturdays | Noon–3 p.m. | In front of Mollie Stone's |
| Sat, Dec 19 | Santa Saturdays | Noon–3 p.m. | In front of Mollie Stone's |
The magazine's December list has Santa Saturdays and the Hanukkah lighting. It doesn't list a tree-lighting ceremony or an evening shopping stroll.
Mollie Stone's storefront becomes the set
Santa Saturdays begin with Santa's grand entrance to the promenade in front of Mollie Stone's Market. Photos with Santa in his sleigh are free from noon to 3 p.m., and kids can write a letter to Santa that gets posted "directly to the North Pole." The center invites "kids, grandparents, and even your pets" to the photos. Mollie Stone's has its own reason to feel festive this year. Bon Air's magazine describes 2026 as part of the market's 40th anniversary celebration.
The schedule follows a set rule. In 2025, Bon Air held Santa visits on December 6, 13 and 20. In 2026, the magazine calls the dates "the first three Saturdays in December," which fall on the 5th, 12th and 19th. The dates moved back a day because the calendar did. The rule stayed the same, so next year you can work out the dates yourself.
Pronzini's Trees is the other fixture. The magazine calls the tree lot "a tradition of many years" that comes back to Bon Air the Friday after Thanksgiving. With Thanksgiving on November 26 this year, that's November 27. Bon Air hasn't printed 2026 lot hours. For reference, the 2025 lot opened daily from November 28 through December 24, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Both the Christmas tree lot and Santa's sleigh stay on the same promenade for most of December.
Latkes & Lights moved up eight days
The Hanukkah evening shows best that the dates come from the partners. Bon Air's 2025 magazine listed Latkes & Lights on Wednesday, December 17, at 6 p.m. This year it's on Wednesday, December 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. That's eight days earlier, and it's still on a Wednesday.
Chabad of Marin co-hosts. Its event page places the celebration at Bon Air Greenbrae Plaza, 50 Bon Air Center. The evening includes a giant menorah lighting, latkes and hot cocoa. Chabad also asks each guest to bring a nonperishable food donation. Bon Air's magazine adds holiday activities and music, and calls it the center's "annual" celebration. If December 17 is still on your calendar from last year, change it now.
The weekday Bon Air between events
The center keeps a smaller schedule between the big dates, and it runs on the same tenant-and-neighbor model.
- Mahjong, Wednesdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Marin Mahjong and Bon Air host social play every week near the bocce ball court on the south side of the center, between Gott's Roadside and Mollie Stone's Market. You don't need to register, and all levels are welcome. On December 9, people will already be gathering at the center in the afternoon, hours before the menorah is lit.
- The Cashmere Sale, Suite 126. A pop-up on the west end of Bon Air, next to Wells Fargo, selling cashmere for fall and holiday gifts. Bon Air says to shop "before it's gone," and it hasn't given a closing date.
- Vitalant blood drive, Friday, November 20. Bon Air's listing says 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and also mentions "the 23rd" in its text. Vitalant's own signup page confirms Friday, November 20, with the bloodmobile open 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Book through Vitalant's Bon Air appointment page, and go by its hours.
Dinner after the lights, and two arrivals still on the way
The newest place to eat after an evening event is Tipsy Dumpling at 340 Bon Air Center, in the space Patxi's used to occupy. The Marin Independent Journal reported in September that it opened in August. Chef Peter Wang and Jessica Li run it, and they studied dumpling-making with chefs in four cities in northeast China. Menu highlights from the IJ include steamed or boiled dumplings and soup dumplings with pork, crab and black truffle. The IJ also points to honey walnut shrimp, sweet-and-sour squirrel fish and Chongqing spicy crispy chicken, along with cocktails. The IJ lists hours of 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. That leaves time for dinner after the 7:30 p.m. Diwali finish or the Latkes & Lights wrap-up.
The magazine's merchant news has more changes inside the center:
- StretchLab and Meader's Cleaners both have new owners.
- BMO Bank was "expected to open in late October 2026," according to the magazine's October issue.
- MarinHealth Urgent Care | A UCSF Clinic is listed as "opening soon." The magazine describes it as non-emergency care for illnesses and injuries, easy to reach from Sir Francis Drake.
Check with either one before you drop by, because in mid-October both were still listed as coming soon.
For a bigger light display after Pronzini's opens, Marin County's free Holiday Light Spectacular runs daily from 5 to 9 p.m., November 27 through January 3, at the Marin Center fairgrounds. The official entrance is at 20 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael. The light display is outdoors. According to the county's page, the movie screenings are indoors, starting with Hook on Saturday, November 28, at 6 p.m. It opens the same Friday Pronzini's Trees returns to Bon Air, so you could pick up a tree and see the lights in one evening.
When she advises clients in Greenbrae, Carla keeps up with what's opening at Bon Air, including the urgent care clinic and the new bank branch. If you're thinking about the Greenbrae market this winter, Carla Giustino can tell you what she's seeing in the neighborhood. Request a complimentary Marin market consultation.
