"The world sends us garbage, we send back music." That is the motto of the Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura. The ensemble's young musicians come from the neighborhood around Paraguay's largest landfill, and they play violins made from oil cans, flutes made from water pipes, and cellos built from tin and wood scraps. On Saturday, October 3, at 11 a.m., they open Bon Air's Fall Festival on the promenade in Greenbrae.
The month ends on Saturday, October 31, with two Halloween events that share the exact same hours. One is Bon Air's Halloween Bash and the other is Marin Country Mart's Halloween Spectacular, and both run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Between those two Saturdays, Greenbrae's October runs on two calendars at once. One belongs to Bon Air, on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The other belongs to Marin Country Mart at Larkspur Landing, on the other side of Highway 101. The two centers publish separately, but their big dates land on the same weekends, and in one case the same hours. A walking path of about a mile and a half connects them, which makes it possible to combine both calendars into one plan for the month.
The orchestra reaches Bon Air at the end of a Marin run
The Bon Air show is the last stop in a short run of Marin dates. Over the past two weekends, the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura played the International Day of Peace Festival at San Geronimo Valley Community Center on Sunday, September 20. A week later it played Marin Sanitary Service's Customer Appreciation Day on Sunday, September 27, at 535 Jacoby Street in San Rafael. That event also offered facility tours, free compost and textile recycling. A trash-to-music orchestra fits naturally at a recycling company's open house.
These shows are separate Bay Area bookings, not stops on a national tour. Paraguay's ABC Color reported in June that the orchestra's U.S. tour, which began in April, would wrap up with a Make Music Day performance in San José on June 21. The orchestra is led by environmental technician Favio Chávez. Bon Air's listing says the repertoire runs from classical and Latin American folk to Beatles and Sinatra favorites, all played on recycled instruments.
After the 11 a.m. performance, the festival continues until 2 p.m. Mollie Stone's Markets is curating the food vendors, and Bon Air merchants will offer sidewalk specials and pop-up tastings, with live music on the promenade. The Marin Independent Journal's September 30 events roundup lists it as free.
October 3 and 4 make one weekend across the freeway
The Mart's month starts the same Saturday. On October 3, its Giant Pumpkin arrives at the Trading Post, and visitors can guess its weight from then until Halloween. The winner will be announced at the Mart's October 31 Halloween festivities. The honor-system pumpkin patch opens two days earlier, on October 1, with heirloom pumpkins on sale through October 31. You pick one and pay on the honor system.
On Sunday, October 4, the Mart holds the second Sunday of Marin Oktoberfest under The Big Tent from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The first was on September 27. Black Forest Kitchen is serving Wiesn food in the biergarten, the Zicke Zacke Band plays all day, and the Marin Symphony Quartet makes a special appearance. The day also includes stein-holding and best-dressed contests, plus pretzel crafts.
That gives Greenbrae a full weekend split between the two centers: the orchestra and Fall Festival at Bon Air on Saturday, then Oktoberfest across the freeway on Sunday. You can drop off a pumpkin-weight guess at the Trading Post on either day and get the answer four weeks later.
Getting between Bon Air and the Mart
The connection is simple once you know it. Here are the three ways to get across, starting with the one the local chamber recommends.
- Walk or bike the Bay Trail. The Larkspur Chamber's Loop map puts Marin Country Mart and Bon Air 1.5 miles apart, a walk of about 32 minutes. It recommends the pedestrian and bike path near Highway 101 over busy streets. According to a Caltrans project document, that route includes a separated 8-foot path along the west side of the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard eastbound on-ramp. The path is part of the Bay Trail and crosses Corte Madera Creek. It connects with the Corte Madera Creek Pathway, which the County describes as a flat, wide, 3.5-mile multiuse route along the creek. If you start on the Bon Air side of the creek, the Bon Air Road bridge has a 10-foot multiuse path and bike lanes. The replacement bridge opened in 2022.
- Take the bus. Marin Transit Route 228 runs on weekends and holidays, with stops at Larkspur Landing and at Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Bon Air Road.
- Drive and park with care. Marin Country Mart's own lots have a three-hour limit, are for active Mart customers only, and do not allow ferry parking. The Mart's parking page also advertises free weekend overflow parking in both ferry lots. Golden Gate Ferry describes those same lots as free on weekends and first-come, first-served, but for ferry customers during service hours, with no overnight parking. The two pages don't fully agree, so check the posted signs before leaving a car there for a Halloween afternoon.
The weeks in between
Between the two big Saturdays, the calendar is quieter but more specific.
- Wednesdays, 1 to 4 p.m., Bon Air. Marin Mahjong runs social play near the bocce ball court on the south side of the center, between Gott's Roadside and Mollie Stone's Market. No registration is needed.
- Thursday, October 1, 6:30 p.m., Flora & Henri. Lee McIntyre Art Advisory and Flora & Henri hold an opening reception for a West Coast exhibition of seven European photographers represented by Bildhalle, a gallery based in Zurich and Amsterdam. Farmshop is providing wine and light bites.
- Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Farmers' Market. The Mart's 14th Annual Pie Baking Contest takes sweet and savory pies. Drop-off is at 10 a.m. and winners are announced at 2 p.m. First prize is $200, there are gift cards for second and third, and there is a category for kids under 14. If you'd rather not bake, Three Babes Bakeshop and Salt & Straw are selling pie by the slice à la mode.
- Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m., Copperfield's Books. Stanford professor of medicine Dr. Christopher Gardner discusses his new book, Food Sense: What to Eat and Why. The event is free, but seating is limited and you need to register.
- Saturday, October 24, 6 p.m., Outerknown. Outerknown and Salted Roots, an Oakland surf nonprofit, host a screening of Wipeouts with refreshments and a one-time 20% storewide discount.
The Saturday events at the Mart, on October 10 and 17, land between the two Bon Air Saturdays, so the month alternates between the centers almost weekend by weekend.
October 31, hour by hour
On Halloween the two calendars overlap completely. Here is how the published schedules line up.
| Time | Bon Air Halloween Bash | Marin Country Mart Halloween Spectacular |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m. | Dance with E.N.A. kickoff, leading the All-Ages Family Parade | Costume Contest in the Courtyard |
| 11:10 a.m. | Family Costume Contest & Parade | Trick-or-treating around the Mart begins |
| 12:00 p.m. | Woodland's Pet Costume Contest & Parade | Trick-or-treating continues |
| Through 2:00 p.m. | Merchant trick-or-treating, DJ, photo booth, face painting, balloon twisting, pumpkin decorating crafts | Trick-or-treating; Giant Pumpkin winner announced during the festivities |
Bon Air says everything at its Bash is free and encourages costumes. Golden Gate's own events listing gives the same October 31 date and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours for the Mart's Halloween festival.
The two costume contests are only ten minutes apart, with the Mart's in its Courtyard at 11 and Bon Air's Family Costume Contest & Parade at 11:10, so you have to pick one. After that, the schedules work in your favor. Bon Air's fixed events finish with the pet parade at noon. The Mart lists no fixed event after its 11 a.m. contest except the pumpkin announcement, and it doesn't give a time for that. A family could do the Bon Air parades, leave after the pet parade, and walk the 32-minute Bay Trail route or take Route 228. They would reach the Mart with more than an hour of trick-or-treating left and a chance to hear the pumpkin-weight result they guessed on October 3.
The listings don't say whether the path will have any maintenance on either Saturday. In August, Larkspur city staff recommended that the Council award a 2026 pathway repaving contract, but the staff report gives no dates for specific segments. Check the route that morning before setting out with small children in costume.
Every October, Carla's team watches how these two centers fill the same Greenbrae weekends. Knowing that local calendar also helps when a homeowner wants to time a listing around the busiest weekends near Bon Air. If you're thinking about a move this fall or next spring and want to know how the neighborhood's seasonal rhythm affects timing, Carla Giustino is glad to walk you through it. Request a complimentary Marin market consultation.
