The Bainbridge Island Farmers Market will close its season for the year on Saturday, November 21. Three blocks of Winslow Way and Madison Avenue will be busy long after that. This weekend, November 6 through 8, several downtown galleries open shows that run into December. BIMA puts up an ofrenda for a week, and Bainbridge Performing Arts starts a stretch of shows that lasts until just before Christmas. The outdoor season and the indoor season only overlap for a few weekends, and this is the first one.
If you live within walking distance of the ferry, you can see the handoff on one map. Most of the weekend happens on Winslow Way East, between the 150 and 180 blocks, and on Madison Avenue North, where City Hall's Town Square and Bainbridge Performing Arts sit a short walk apart.
What Opens This Weekend, and How Long It Stays
The closing dates explain the weekend best. Here is when each thing opens and when it ends.
| What | Where | Opens | Runs through |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bainbridge Island Farmers Market | Town Square @ City Hall, 280 Madison Ave. N | Season began April 4 | November 21 |
| O'Niell, Bergstrom, Morgen | Bainbridge Arts & Crafts, 151 Winslow Way E | November 6 | November 29 |
| Beyond Paint | JG Art Gallery, 176 Winslow Way | November 6 | December 3 |
| Jen Angaiak Wood, Randi Purser, Patrick Ives | Jeffrey Moose Gallery, 181 Winslow Way E, Ste. F | October 2 | December 1 |
| Día de los Muertos ofrenda | BIMA | November 7 | November 15 |
| Pratt Fine Arts Center @ 50 | BIMA | October 2 | January 31, 2027 |
| Booking: Artists' Books by Black Artists | BIMA | October 2 | February 21, 2027 |
| Shrek the Musical | Bainbridge Performing Arts | November 27 | December 20 |
When the market closes on November 21, the three gallery shows and both long BIMA exhibitions are still open, and Shrek opens six days later. The ofrenda is the one thing with a shorter window than the market.
Friday, November 6: The Shows Open on Winslow Way
The First Friday ArtWalk starts at 6 p.m. The Bainbridge Island Downtown Association describes it as galleries, shops and businesses along Winslow Way and Madison Avenue opening their doors with artists, exhibits and refreshments. The Bainbridge Currents listing says it is free.
Four stops sit close together on Winslow Way East. They are listed here in address order, which is also the easiest way to walk them.
- Bainbridge Arts & Crafts, 151 Winslow Way E. The November show opens with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. and runs through November 29. BAC describes the three artists as a painter, a sculptor and a ceramist, and says more details are coming. The exhibition page spells the title O'Niell, Bergstrom, Morgen, and the homepage panel spells it O'Neill Bergstrom Morgan. See the exhibition page before you go.
- Eagle Harbor Book Co., 157 Winslow Way East. Poet Kathleen O'Brien reads from Novena to Loss and Other Love Poems and talks about the book from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with a signing. The event listing says it is free.
- JG Art Gallery, 176 Winslow Way. Beyond Paint, with work by Elizabeth Hilton and Tamera Abaté, opens as part of First Friday and stays up through December 3.
- Jeffrey Moose Gallery, 181 Winslow Way E, Ste. F. This show, featuring Jen Angaiak Wood, Randi Purser and Patrick Ives, opened October 2. Friday's reception runs 6 to 8 p.m., and a Facebook livestream runs from 5:20 to 5:40 p.m. for anyone who wants a preview first, according to Bainbridge Currents.
All three gallery shows outlast the market by at least a week. There's no rush to see them all on Friday night. If First Friday gets crowded, you can come back on a quiet weekday in late November and see the same work.
Saturday, November 7: Market Morning, Museum Afternoon
Saturday has the most going on, and it's also when the outdoor and indoor seasons overlap most clearly.
The market runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Town Square @ City Hall, which the market's newsletter lists at 280 Madison Ave. N. After this Saturday, only November 14 and November 21 are left. The most recent published lineup was for October 24. It included Bainbridge Vineyards, Butler Green Farms, Farmhouse Organics, Fuentes Fresh Farm, Laughing Crow Farm and Winney Farm, and that week's spotlight went to local craftsman Yori Seeger. Vendors change week to week this late in the year. The market's weekly newsletter is the place to check who will be there.
The market closes at 2 p.m., and BIMA's Día de los Muertos community celebration is already underway by then. It runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is part of BIMA's PRISM program. The day starts with a procession of children dressed as butterflies, who lead guests along a flower-lined path into the museum. Butterfly-wing making begins at 9 a.m., and processions step off at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The ofrenda is at the center of the day. Artist Araceli Cruz created it, a colorful multi-paneled shrine where visitors can add mementos and stories honoring loved ones who have died. Alice Mendoza and Araceli Cruz lead the remembrance ceremonies:
- 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.: free, registration required. The ceremonies are also livestreamed to the BIMA Auditorium, where seating is limited.
- 5 p.m.: a ticketed evening celebration, new this year. It's a candlelit ceremony inspired by cemetery traditions honored throughout Mexico, with food and drink for purchase. It runs until 7:30 p.m.
You don't need a ticket for the ofrenda or the galleries between and after the daytime ceremonies. BIMA lists atole, which is a masa-based drink, and pan de muerto, along with make-and-take art, face painting and strolling musicians playing Mexican folk songs. Student art inspired by the holiday hangs in the galleries too. The second-floor galleries stay open as usual. That's where Pratt Fine Arts Center @ 50 and Booking: Artists' Books by Black Artists are on view, and both run into 2027.
If Saturday is too busy, the ofrenda stays on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 15. That gives you eight days to bring a photo of someone you've lost, more than the single day of the celebration itself.
Sunday, November 8: A Slower Day on the Same Streets
Sunday is quieter, and both events are close to Friday's and Saturday's stops. Bainbridge Arts & Crafts hosts a free artist talk with Carl Morgan from noon to 2 p.m. at 151 Winslow Way E, the same gallery that opened its November show on Friday.
At 3 p.m., Bainbridge Performing Arts lists the Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestras Fall Concert. BPA's event page has a ticket link. That page is the place to check the room and the program, since this year's details haven't been posted there yet.
The Rest of November on Madison Avenue
The calendar keeps filling while the market winds down. Here are the dates to watch on Madison Avenue and at BIMA through the end of the month:
- Tuesday, November 10: BIMA hosts Rebecca Wells for a Ya-Ya Sisterhood 30th anniversary event.
- November 12 to 15: Bainbridge Performing Arts stages Red, with a preview on the 12th and performances November 13 through 15.
- Saturday, November 14: The BIMA Mercado runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's free and features Latine makers from across Puget Sound. It's also the market's second-to-last Saturday, so the two run at the same time on the same morning. The ofrenda is still up that day too.
- Sunday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.: BPA hosts the Seattle International Comedy Competition. The ofrenda closes the same day.
- Saturday, November 21: The last farmers market of the season, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- November 27: Shrek the Musical opens at BPA. The theater describes it as family-friendly, and it runs through December 20.
That last date is when the gallery shows, the BIMA exhibitions and the BPA season are all running and the market is closed for the year. Between now and then, Town Square has three more Saturdays. The galleries, the theater and the museum have weeks and months.
For more on the streets these events share, the Winslow neighborhood guide covers Winslow Way block by block. Our summer look at Winslow's two newest kitchens covers where to eat between stops.
The Amy McFarland Team keeps track of the island's calendar the same way we keep track of its streets. If you'd like a hand planning a weekend like this one for visiting family, or want to hear what we see happening downtown this season, contact your Island Life Concierge.
