What’s up, everyone? Happy weekend!
We are getting to that time of year.
October builds and builds and builds, and then suddenly it is November and everyone realizes there are still two whole months left in the year.
And we all know how fast those two months go by.
This weekend in Napa is huge. I’m going to say it, maybe even bigger than Halloween weekend.
We’ve got some bigger community events, some very niche ones, and one involving a whole lot of very serious dogs.
You know I always try to give you guys a mix.
But first, some Napa trivia.
Also, I mentioned this last week, but we’re bringing back the brief weekend recaps over on Instagram too.
So if you don’t have the time to read through the whole email but still want the CliffsNotes of what’s going on around town, check out our page here.
Which Napa institution opened first?
A. Napa Valley College
B. Napa Valley Expo
C. Napa County Library
D. Uptown Theatre
Día de los Muertos Takes Over Downtown
Let’s start with probably the biggest thing happening in Napa this weekend.
Napa’s Día de los Muertos celebration is back Saturday, and this year marks the fifth annual one downtown.
If you haven’t been before, this is much more than just another festival setup with food booths and music.
There will be community altars, live music, dance performances, face painting, food, art and plenty happening between Veterans Park and Brown Street throughout the afternoon and evening.
Dia de los Muertos in Napa, 2025. Photo from the City of Napa.
And there is something new this year too: a La Catrina Parade through downtown at 5:30 p.m.
Honestly, I love seeing this one continue to grow. It is one of those events that actually feels rooted in the community, while still being really easy to just wander into, learn something, grab some food and stick around for the performances.
And it is free.
So if you are downtown Saturday afternoon, this is probably the one I would make sure not to miss.
Saturday, November 7 | 3 to 8 p.m. | Veterans Park + Brown Street | Free
Apparently Napa Has a Three-Day Dog Show
This one caught me completely off guard.
The Wine Country Kennel Club is taking over the Napa Valley Expo for three straight days this weekend with an all-breed dog show.
There will be judging, junior showmanship, puppy competitions and, presumably, a whole lot of very well-behaved dogs having a much more organized weekend than the rest of us.
And the best part is…drum roll please…that admission is free (seeing a theme with these? 😉). Well, you do have to pay for parking, but otherwise you can just show up and watch.
So if you have kids, love dogs, or just want to spend part of your weekend watching extremely serious people evaluate extremely fluffy animals, this might be worth a stop.
Friday through Sunday, November 6 to 8 | 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Napa Valley Expo | Free admission | $10 parking
Best in Show at the 2025 Wine Country Kennel Club show in Napa.
For the Artists Trying to Make It Work
This is probably more of a Monday Town Notes thing, but I had to put it in here.
Mostly because I know so many of you are artists, makers, photographers, designers and generally creative people, and I think this is something really awesome happening locally.
Napa Makes has been running something called the Working Artist Accelerator, which is basically a seven-week program designed to help local artists with the part of being an artist nobody really romanticizes.
Pricing your work. Marketing yourself. Bookkeeping. Sales. Actually figuring out how to make the whole thing sustainable.
Which, as hard as that is, we all know is kind of the difference between making art and actually being able to keep making art.
And Friday night is the first showcase for the program.
The participating artists will be showing what they have been working on, talking about their businesses and basically getting a chance to put everything they learned into practice in front of the community.
I really like this idea.
We spend a lot of time talking about Napa’s restaurants, wineries and hospitality industry, but there are a lot of people here trying to build creative careers too, and I would love to see more things like this that actually help them figure out the business side of it.
So especially if you are one of the artists reading this, I wanted to make sure this one made it into the Lowdown.
Friday, November 6 | 5:30 to 7 p.m. | 2447 Old Sonoma Road, Napa | Free
A Quick Napa Bookmine Shoutout
Napa Bookmine does a lot of these little author meet-and-greets, and I always like giving them a shoutout when one catches my eye.
This Sunday, former Napa resident Jennifer Liss will be there for her new middle-grade book, Wide Eye.
Inside Napa Bookmine, 2023.
This one is probably best for kids who like weird stuff.
The story involves a quirky monster museum, a mysterious creature and a lake, which honestly sounds like a pretty good Sunday afternoon setup.
Sunday, November 8 | 2 p.m. | Napa Bookmine
And the answer was C. Napa County Library.
Napa County established its free public library in 1916, which puts it ahead of the Expo, Uptown Theatre and Napa Valley College.
And that’s it for this weekend.
Hey guys, and if you haven’t followed us on Instagram yet, go help me make the page look slightly less lonely ;)
Also, if there are any other fun kinds of posts you’d actually want to see over there, let me know.
I’m still figuring out what exactly to do with the Instagram, to be honest, so I’m very open to suggestions.
Have a great weekend, stay safe, and I’ll see you Monday for Town Notes.
Callie