The City of Napa's Día de los Muertos gathering at Veterans Park is on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 3 to 8 p.m. By then, the city's most personal part of the season will already be over. The community ofrenda at Napa Library and the bilingual altar exhibit on Coombs Street both close on Monday, Nov. 2.
So this season in Napa runs on a nine-day window that starts this Sunday, Oct. 25, and Halloween weekend falls entirely inside it.
Three ofrendas, one street
Three of the public altars on this fall's calendar are on Coombs Street, and all of them are gone before the park event. Their hours differ enough that you should check them before heading out.
| Where | Address | Open | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa Library, Community Meeting Room | 580 Coombs St. | Oct. 25 to Nov. 2 | Library hours |
| Altar exhibit, Napa Valley Latino Heritage Committee and Napa Valley Center for Spiritual Living | 1249 Coombs St. | Oct. 26 to Nov. 2 | Weekdays 5 to 8 p.m.; Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Nov. 1, 1 to 6 p.m.; Nov. 2, 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Bonita Bonita "Spookeasy" | 1207 Coombs St. | Oct. 31 | 1 to 5 p.m., ages 21+ |
The exhibit at 1249 Coombs is bilingual. On weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. it also takes group and school visits by appointment, which is why public hours on most days don't start until evening.
The library altar is the one you can add to
The Napa Library ofrenda is a community altar. You can bring copies of photographs, written stories and memories and leave them there. The listing asks for copies, so keep the originals at home.
That makes the timing matter more than it would for an exhibit you only look at. Anything you want on the altar has to get to 580 Coombs between Sunday, Oct. 25, and Monday, Nov. 2. You can't take it to Veterans Park on Nov. 7 and expect the same thing.
Halloween weekend falls inside the window
The altar window and Halloween share two weekends. Here is how they fit together, day by day.
Saturday, Oct. 24
The Napa County Historical Society's Heritage Halloween tour runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Tulocay Cemetery, 411 Coombsville Road. The cemetery was founded in 1857 on the Juarez Tulucay Rancho and is one of the oldest public cemeteries in California. The 90-minute walk starts at the Juarez Building, just inside the original gates, and loops through the oldest sections. Guests get maps and whisper headsets. Tickets are $30 for members and $45 for everyone else at napahistory.org/events. The listing says the tour always sells out, and it warns that some of the paved paths are steep.
Earlier the same afternoon, there's a staged reading of "Mary Shelley's Body" with a Q&A at 3 p.m. at Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, according to the Napa Valley Register's Halloween calendar.
Sunday, Oct. 25
The library altar opens today, and the river gets busy. The Second Annual Witches Paddle meets at the Main Street Dock at 9:45 a.m. and leaves at 10:30 a.m. sharp. The group paddles to Oxbow and back. Bring your own kayak, canoe or paddleboard, or rent one. Costumes are encouraged.
You can also book a seat on a Venetian gondola with Napa Valley Gondola. Its check-in is the dock behind the River Front Building at 700 Main Street. Its standard private cruise lasts 55 minutes, holds up to six people and is listed at $175. Confirm the price and availability with the operator before you book.
That evening, the Napa Hometown Band plays a free Halloween Extravaganza from 6 to 7 p.m. at The Garden by Tannery Bend Beerworks, 1500 First St. Drag Chateau's Halloween show follows at Folklore, 1226 Third St., from 7 to 9 p.m. It's for ages 18 and up, and tickets are $13.
Friday, Oct. 30
The library's Halloween Open House runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at 580 Coombs, and kids can trick-or-treat at the service desks on Oct. 30 and 31. Friday also has crafts, refreshments and a movie. The altar is in the same building all weekend, so one trip covers the open house and the ofrenda.
Families with younger children can start at 10 a.m. at No Sweet Trick-or-Treat at Community Resources for Children, 3299 Claremont Way, Suite 1. The treats are non-candy, and there's pumpkin voting, prizes and free oral-health screenings for kids.
Saturday, Oct. 31
This is the busiest day of the window, and the times line up well.
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Hometown Halloween downtown. More than 100 businesses put out black and orange balloons to welcome trick-or-treaters. The Goodman Library at 1219 First Street goes "haunted" for the day and hands out candy.
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Boys & Girls Clubs of Napa Valley run pumpkin painting, face painting and craft stations at First Street Napa, 1300 First St.
- 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The altar exhibit at 1249 Coombs keeps Saturday daytime hours, its only daytime opening that isn't a celebration day.
- 1 to 5 p.m.: Bonita Bonita's Spookeasy at 1207 Coombs pours a complimentary glass of wine for costumed guests 21 and over, and it has a Día de los Muertos ofrenda.
- 8 p.m.: Blood Orange Liqueur and Hella Doubtful play the Halloween show at Napa Music Hall, 1030 Main St. Advance tickets are $25, and it's 21 and over. At 9 p.m., The Garden by Tannery Bend hosts a Haunted House Party with a $10 cover.
Sunday, Nov. 1, is the window's one full afternoon
From 1 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 1, the exhibit at 1249 Coombs hosts a free community celebration. Iván Quimes plays live music, the folklórico group Amor al Arte performs, and there's face painting, art activities and Mexican food for sale. The Eventbrite listing has the details.
After Sunday, you're down to evenings. The exhibit reopens one last time on Monday, Nov. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. The library altar also closes that day.
Nov. 7 at Veterans Park
The city's 2026 Napa Día de los Muertos is at Veterans Park and Brown Street, 800 Main Street, from 3 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. City of Napa Parks and Recreation hosts it. According to the event listing on DoNapa, it's built around art, tradition, music, dance and food, as a family event where Napa's community feels "seen and heard."
There will be altars at the park too. Community Health Napa Valley has invited its staff, volunteers, participants and grief clients to visit its altar and make ofrendas at the Nov. 7 gathering. Even so, the Nov. 7 event is an evening in a park. The weeklong community altars on Coombs Street will have closed five days earlier.
Where to eat between stops
A few recent openings and moves covered by the Napa Valley Register fit the route.
- Roman Holiday Gelato has opened a shop at Oxbow Public Market, 610 First St., run by owner and chef Elisha Smiley. Oxbow is the turnaround point for the Witches Paddle, so it's an easy stop on Oct. 25.
- Valencia Cafe, from Nicolas Valencia, is now open at 1408 Clay St. in the space Petit Soleil used to occupy.
- Petit Soleil, owned by Trena Madrigal, outgrew Clay Street and moved to 1000 Imola Ave., according to the Napa Valley Register.
- Matrix, a late-night lounge at 1045 Franklin St. from John Truchard with partners Dante and Meg Javar, is now open for after the Oct. 31 shows end.
One more date to note. Riza Plants closes its retail shop at 1300 First St., Suite 355, on Friday, Nov. 13. Owner Alyssa Piombo will keep the business going as Riza Indoor Plant Maintenance and Design Studio, and the studio is planned to open in November.
I keep a calendar like this one for clients who are getting to know Napa past its tasting rooms. If you're thinking about a home in Napa and want to talk it over somewhere along Coombs Street or the riverfront, Daniel Casabonne would be glad to meet you there. Request a private consultation.