Each month we highlight performances, poetry readings and open mics, arts and culture classes for children, teens, adults, and seniors, arts exhibitions and arts-related holiday celebrations. Our goal is to promote the essential and joyful events that our artists and arts/culture organizations provide for our community! ENJOY!
Submit events by the 20th of each month to:
https://bit.ly/SMCArtsandCultureEventsCalendar
November 2 - 8, 2026
Make & Take Thursdays
Date: 11/5/26 • Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00PM
Host: Center for Creativity
Description: Free, drop-in art sessions at the Center for Creativity.
Location: 800 Main Street, Redwood City
Cost: Free
Diwali Celebration
Date: 11/6/26 • Time: 5:00 PM
Host: Manisha Davesar
Description: Diwali is a time when the community comes together to foster peace, happiness, and new beginnings. We invite you to join us as we celebrate Diwali featuring South Eastern cultures, good food, great music, and amazing live performances. Kid-friendly activities too.
Location: MacDutra Plaza, Half Moon Bay
Cost: Free
Growing Hope Reception
Date: 11/6/26 • Time: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Host: Center for Creativity
Description: A Collaboration for Our Times: Artists Sue Bianchi, Kevin Daniels, and Barbara Kibbe have created a new body of work inspired by gardens that explores the themes of hope, renewal, and resilience.
Location: 800 Main Street, Redwood City
Cost: Free
First Fridays
Date: 11/6/26 • Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Host: City of Half Moon Bay
Description: Art on Main: Join us for a vibrant celebration of local art, culture, and community spirit! This monthly event invites art enthusiasts and visitors to explore the charming historic downtown area, where galleries and unique shops showcase a diverse array of creative works.
Location: Main Street, Half Moon Bay
Cost: Free
Author Meet and Greet, Asya M. Pereltsvaig
Date: 11/7/26 • Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Host: Peninsula Book Collaborative
Description: Join us to meet author Asya M. Pereltsvaig who will share her book In Murder in Petrograd. The book takes readers into the dangerous final years of Imperial Russia, where a young Oxford graduate working for British Intelligence is given a chilling assignment: stop Rasputin—and kill him if necessary.
Location: 441 Westlake Center, Daly City
Cost: Free
Holiday Boutique and Makers Faire
Date: 11/7/26 • Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Host: South San Francisco Senior Services
Description: Join us for a festive day of shopping and supporting local vendors! Browse a variety of unique, handcrafted items, including jewelry, ceramics, holiday crafts, and more. Enjoy complimentary beverages and candy canes while you shop and get into the holiday spirit.
Location: South San Francisco Library | Parks and Recreation Center, 901 Civic Campus Way, South San Francisco
Cost: Free
Día de los Muertos Celebration
Date: 11/8/26 • Time: 3:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Hosts: Casa Círculo Cultural, San Mateo County History Museum and the Redwood City Parks & Arts Foundation
Description: Join Casa Círculo Cultural as we celebrate Día de los Muertos! This year, we’re bringing the beauty and traditions of Tlaxcala, México to life! Experience incredible art installations by @fernando_escartiz , breathtaking traditional carpet art created by artists straight from Tlaxcala, and a special museum featuring our altar contest and beautiful artwork!
Location: Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City
Cost: Free
The Azar Lawrence Experience
Date: 11/8/26 • Time: 4:30 PM
Host: Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society
Description: Join us as internationally celebrated saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, and one of the great torchbearers of spiritual jazz. Emerging from the powerful Los Angeles music tradition, he’s known for his deeply expressive sound, high‑energy performances, and his belief in music as a force for healing, elevation, and cultural memory.
Location: 311 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay
Cost: Tickets: $50 - $60
November 9 - 15, 2026
Community Art Night
Date: 11/10/26 • Time: 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Hosts: Allcove San Mateo
Description: Join us for community art night for an evening of creativity, self-expression, and community connection! Everyone can create mood boards and collages using magazines, colorful paper, plus other provided materials. You’ll also have the opportunity to paint your own unique rocks to take home. This event is open to all ages and all experience levels, including beginners.
Location: 2600 S El Camino Real, Suite 300, San Mateo
Cost: Free
Menlo Park Storytelling Festival: StoryFest!
Date: 11/12/26 • Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Host: Menlo Park Library
Description: Our Storytelling Festival continues—online! Many tellers, many tales: join us for a confluence of storytellers, live via Zoom. This time, we’ll be Zooming in and around the state capital and beyond, collecting great tales from tellers in Sacramento, the Central Valley and Gold Country.
Location: On Zoom
Cost: Free, registration is required to receive the Zoom link
Make & Take Thursdays
Date: 11/12/26 • Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Host: Center for Creativity
Description: Free, drop-in art sessions at the Center for Creativity.
Location: 800 Main Street, Redwood City
Cost: Free
Collected Visions Exhibition
Date: 11/14/26 • Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Host: Coastal Arts League
Description: Local Bay Area Photographers is proud to announce that 12 photographers, including three from the coast, will showcase their work.
Location: 300 Main Street, Half Moon Bay
Cost: Free
Rock the Dock: Pop Rocks
Date: 11/14/26 • Time: 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Hosts: Port of Redwood City and Rock the Dock
Description: Join along the waterfront at the Port of Redwood City, to enjoy live dance party at festivities brought to you by Live Music Fostering Community.
Location: 459 Seaport Court, Redwood City
Cost: Free
Neave Trio
Date: 11/15/26 • Time: 6:00 PM - pre-concert talk; 7:00 PM - Concert; 9:00 PM - Celebrate with a complimentary glass of wine and dessert!
Host: Music at Kohl Mansion
Description: Since its founding in 2010, the GRAMMY-nominated Neave Trio has emerged as one of the most compelling chamber ensembles on the international stage. The trio is celebrated for its vibrant artistry, innovative programming, and commitment to contemporary music.
Location: 2750 Adeline Drive, Burlingame
Cost: Tickets: $68 (Adult), $65 (Seniors, age 62+) and $30 (youth under 30)
November 16 - 22, 2026
Speaker Series, Food As Art, Holiday Edition
Date: 11/19/26 • Time: 6:00 PM
Host: Odd Fellows Half Moon Bay
Description: Culinary historian Carolyn Tillie explores the remarkable intersection of food and art, tracing how ingredients such as eggs, wax, saffron, sugar, nuts, and vegetables have served as artistic materials for thousands of years.
Location: Old Fellows Hall, 526 Main Street, Half Moon Bay
Cost: Tickets: $10
Night Market - A Taste of Asia
Date: 11/20/26 • Time: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Hosts: Town of Colma and Lemon Nerds
Description: Join us for a night of food vendors, music and a parol lantern workshop.
Location: 1520 Hillside Blvd, Colma
Cost: Free
Saturday Afternoon Live Music
Date: 11/21/26 • Time: 2:00 PM - 600 PM
Host: The Hub RWC
Description: Looking for some great live music in the Bay? Look no further than our talented lineup of original and cover bands! Join us every Saturday afternoon for some amazing performances and keep an eye out for our evening shows.
Location: 2650 Broadway, Redwood City
Cost: Free
My Blue Soul
Date: 11/21/26 • Time: 7:30 PM
Host: Pacifica Performances
Description: My Soul Blue has performed in the Bay Area for the last 17 years, and specializes in “High Energy Horn-infused Danceable Soul and Blues” (1960’s-2000’s), Classic Rock with horns and a hint of Ska. My Blue Soul will give back to Pacifica by graciously offering this as a free concert.
Location: 11220A Linda Mar Blvd., Pacifica
Cost: Free
La Salsa
Date: 11/21/26 • Time: 6:45 PM
Host: Redwood Symphony
Description: Roberto Sierra is one of today’s fastest-rising composers, thanks in large part to his hugely popular third sinfonia, heard here in its Bay Area debut. The concert will take a detour to Daugherty’s fever dream of crazed motorcyclists, personified by a quartet of bassoons (Italian: fagotti), but conclude triumphantly with Britten’s popular tour of the modern orchestra.
Location: Cañada College Main Theater, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City
Cost: Tickets: Adults $35, Seniors $30, Students $15, Kids under 18, free
Fall Open Studios
Date: 11/21 - 11/22/26 • Time: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Host: Colony of Coastside Artists
Description: Join us for an art-filled weekend on the coast. 59 Artists in 33 locations will open their studios to the public.
Location: Half Moon Bay to Montara, See website for locations
Cost: Free
November 23 - 30, 2026
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Group: Untethered Sky
Date: 11/23/26 • Time: 6:30 PM - 7:45 PM
Host: Belle Haven Library
Description: Join our Science-Fiction & Fantasy Book Group online or in person to discuss Untethered Sky, by Fonda Lee. Hybrid event! Join us by Zoom webinar (register for link) or in person.
Location: 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park
Cost: Free
Lotus Lantern Making
Date: 11/23/26 • Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Host: Sharp Park Library
Description: Join us in celebrating Chuseok with local nonprofit Chopstick story as we make lotus lanterns! Learn about timeless traditions in Korean craftsmanship by creating your own gentle, graceful lotus light. This event is intended for children ages 6+.
Location: 104 Hilton Way, Pacifica
Cost: Free
Book Launch, Author Debby Rosenfeld
Date: 11/24/26 • Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Host: Peninsula Book Collaborative
Description: Join us to celebrate Debby Rosenfeld’s book launch. She will read a portion of her book along with a joint reading with Jan Steckel. Jan will also read some of her work.
Location: 441 Westlake Center, Daly City
Cost: Free
Sounds of the Season with The Birds
Date: 11/28/26 • Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Host: Downtown San Mateo Association
Description: Make Downtown San Mateo your destination! While you’re out shopping small and entering our Shop Small to Win Big giveaway, head to B Street to enjoy live “Sounds of the Season.” Local Aragon High School jazz ensemble The Birds will be setting the holiday mood with a lively performance you won’t want to miss.
Location: B Street, Downtown San Mateo
Cost: Free