Tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 23, Market Street hosts the first of Palencia's two big fall evenings. The second is three Fridays later at the Palencia Club. Most of the season's big draws in St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra land on Saturdays, so Friday stays in the neighborhood and Saturday goes out.
There is one exception. On Saturday, Nov. 21, two big events land on the same night. Below is the season in order, weekend by weekend.
Friday, Oct. 23: The Harvest Moon Hullaballo on Market Street
The Harvest Moon Hullaballo runs Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Palencia community at 625 Palencia Club Drive. The Visit St. Augustine listing describes a market, a carnival, food trucks and family fun.
The name is new, but Market Street has a fall festival history. The December 2025 issue of Palencia Press called last year's Palencia Fall Festival on Market Street "annual." It described the evening as a mix of fall and Halloween fun, with hayrides, food, vendors and entertainment. The same issue reported costumed characters along the street, from Spiderman and other superheroes to Disney Princesses and villains, along with live music, acrobats and magicians. Palencia Press also covered a Market Street Fall Festival in its November 2023 issue.
For families with young kids, this falls a week before Halloween. Costumes that are ready by the 23rd get two outings this year.
The Same Weekend, Downtown and on Anastasia Island
Three other events share this weekend, and how they're scheduled is what keeps Friday free for Market Street.
The St. Benedict Blues Festival runs Oct. 23 to 25 at St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church, 86 M. L. King Ave. Admission is $10 per person per day. Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday. Since the festival runs three days, Hullaballo families can save the blues for Saturday without missing the music.
Creatures of the Night at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, 999 Anastasia Blvd., runs Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23 and 24. Online admission is $20 for adults and teens, $14 for ages 2 to 11, and free for children under 2. Gates open at 5 p.m. Since it has a Saturday night too, it doesn't compete with Market Street either.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, the St. Augustine Amphitheatre has Turnpike Troubadours at 6:30 p.m.
So the first weekend can include all of it: Friday on Market Street, and Saturday split between the blues, the Alligator Farm and the Amphitheatre.
The Season at a Glance
| Weekend | Friday | Saturday | Also that week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 23–25 | Harvest Moon Hullaballo, Market Street, 5–9 p.m. | Turnpike Troubadours, St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 6:30 p.m. | St. Benedict Blues Festival and Creatures of the Night run Friday and Saturday |
| Nov. 13–14 | Heritage Cares: Havana Night, Palencia Club, 6–10 p.m. | O.A.R., St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 6:30 p.m. | Sabrina cast reunion at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, Friday 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 21 | Light-Up! Night, 4–7:30 p.m., and The Revivalists, 7 p.m. | Nights of Lights begins nightly | |
| Dec. 1–8 | Beartooth, Amphitheatre, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. | Christmas Parade, Dec. 5, 9–10:30 a.m. | Unwrapped holiday show Dec. 1; Kenny G Dec. 6; Mindi Abair Dec. 8 |
Friday, Nov. 13: Havana Night at the Palencia Club
Palencia's second big Friday of the season is at the Palencia Club. Heritage Cares: Havana Night runs Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. The club lists live Latin music, chef-inspired live cooking stations, music under the stars and a silent auction. Tickets are $100 per person. The event is open to members and nonmembers, so you don't need a club membership to attend.
Half of the proceeds go to the Heritage Cares Foundation and the other half to the St. Augustine Society. The club describes both as organizations that help people in the community when they need it most. Registration is through the link on the club's homepage.
This Friday has more competition than Oct. 23. The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall has the Sabrina Cast Reunion 30 Year Anniversary Live at 7 p.m. that same night. Saturday still works as the night out. O.A.R. brings its Three Decades Tour to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m. A neighbor could do Havana Night on Friday and O.A.R. on Saturday.
Saturday, Nov. 21: The One Night That Splits Two Ways
The Saturday pattern breaks down on Nov. 21, a week later. Two events that would each fill an evening fall on the same night.
The first is Light-Up! Night downtown, which is free and runs 4 to 7:30 p.m. The opening program is at City Hall, 75 King St., and the celebration continues at the Plaza de la Constitución and Cathedral Place. The detailed schedule puts the lighting at 6:30 p.m. That night also starts the Nights of Lights season, which runs nightly through historic downtown from Nov. 21, 2026, to Jan. 18, 2027, at no cost.
The second is The Revivalists at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, starting at 7 p.m.
On paper, the times nearly line up. The lighting is at 6:30 and the concert starts at 7, which leaves 30 minutes between the downtown plaza and the Amphitheatre on the opening night of the city's holiday lights. Light-Up! Night is the only night with the opening program, but the lights themselves stay up for about eight weeks. A household that picks the concert on Nov. 21 can still see Nights of Lights on any of the following evenings through Jan. 18.
December: Parade Morning, Then a Run of Weeknight Shows
In December, the Saturday night slot goes quiet.
The Amphitheatre opens the month with 107.3 Planet Radio & 101one WJRR Presents Unwrapped: An Acoustic Holiday on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. Beartooth plays Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m.
St. Augustine's annual Christmas Parade is Saturday morning, Dec. 5, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., and it's free. It starts at 27 Ocean Avenue at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche and ends at the Visitor Information Center, 10 West Castillo Drive. Since it's in the morning, the rest of the day stays open.
The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall has two holiday-season shows. Kenny G plays Sunday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m., and Mindi Abair brings I Can't Wait For Christmas on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m.
Where the Calendar Leaves Open Space
Put the season on a single page and Friday is the pattern. Market Street on Oct. 23 and the Palencia Club on Nov. 13 are the two nights Palencia hosts itself. Each one sits next to a Saturday with a headliner at the Amphitheatre, and the Oct. 23 weekend adds festivals that run more than one day. Nov. 21 is the one date when two big Saturday events overlap. December's parade is in the morning, and only one of its four concerts falls on a Friday.
Last December, Palencia Press reported a free Santa visit at The Tooth Cottage, 250 Paseo Reyes Drive, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. The Palencia dates on the 2026 calendar so far are the Market Street Friday on Oct. 23 and the Palencia Club Friday on Nov. 13. Everything else in this guide is a short drive away.
If you're planning this fall around a move, a visit from family or a home that's about to change hands, Laura Worrell knows Palencia's calendar and the timing around it. Request a consultation, and we can plan your next steps so you don't miss a Market Street Friday.
