Santa Arrives in Bath on Nov. 28. November Has Its Own Calendar.

The outdoor Bath Farmers' Market at Waterfront Park is listed as running through Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. Main Street Bath's Santa's Arrival & Jingle Bell Walk is on Nov. 28. That leaves four weeks without the river-market Saturdays and without the downtown lights, and they are full. Between the Freight Shed on Commercial Street, the museum on Washington Street, the Chocolate Church stages and the library on Summer Street, November in Bath runs on its own indoor calendar.

None of it is built for visitors. Each event runs on a weekly or monthly rhythm, and the holiday season is the last piece to arrive.

Saturday Mornings Move Indoors

The first change is the Saturday market. According to the Bath Farmers' Market, the outdoor market runs Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon "April 19 through October" along the Kennebec in Waterfront Park. The winter market moves into the Bath Freight Shed at 27 Commercial St. and runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon, "Nov through April 12."

Indoors, the market opens half an hour later. The winter season runs from November to April 12, about five and a half months, and the outdoor market opens again a week later on April 19. That makes the Freight Shed Bath's Saturday market for close to half the year. The organizer's page doesn't list the first indoor date, so check before you head down on the first Saturday of November.

The second Saturday change is on Summer Street. On Saturday, Nov. 7, Patten Free Library at 33 Summer St. hosts a Repair Café from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in its Community Room. You can shop the market, then bring the lamp with the loose switch to the library, and still be done before lunch.

The Weekend-by-Weekend Version

November in Bath gets easier to plan once you see the dates side by side. Each weekend has at least one anchor event, and most are a short drive or walk from downtown.

The Chocolate Church carries most of the evenings. The Chocolate Church Arts Center calendar has five shows between Nov. 6 and Nov. 20, split between the Main Stage and the smaller Annex. The Stavans conversation on Monday, Nov. 16 is the outlier. It's a literary evening about translation and fiction in the Annex, starting at 6:30 p.m. instead of the usual 7:30.

Washington Street Takes the Weeknights

Maine Maritime Museum at 243 Washington St. puts much of its November schedule on weekdays, so the month's calendar spreads past Saturday.

• Homeschool Days, Friday, Nov. 6, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Cocktails on the Kennebec, Thursday, Nov. 12, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Story Time with Splash, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 10 to 11 a.m., one of the museum's free events
• 51st Albert Reed & Thelma Walker Maritime Symposium: Tides of Toil, Friday, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Full Moon Gathering with Maya Rook, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• Boatshop Workshop: Build a Shaker Box, Wednesday, Dec. 2 and Thursday, Dec. 3, 5 to 8 p.m. each night

Friday, Nov. 20 is the fullest single day of the month. The symposium fills the museum from morning into early afternoon, and Mythic Migrations opens on the Chocolate Church Main Stage at 7 p.m. that evening. The symposium is in its 51st year, so it has been on the town's November calendar far longer than any holiday promotion.

The Sunday, Nov. 8 story time is the best family pick of the month. Author Chris Van Dusen joins a museum educator and Splash the sea monster to read one of his stories inspired by Maine, followed by a book signing. The museum's event page lists it as free, and it's part of the programming for the exhibit Upon That Isle in Maine: The Story and Works of Chris Van Dusen. Preregistration is required, and it opened on Oct. 26.

Tuesdays Belong to the Library

Patten Free Library adds a weekly thread through the month. The Sharing Table gives out free gleaned produce on Tuesdays, Nov. 3, 10, 17 and 24, from noon to 2:30 p.m. The event listing names the Library Park Gazebo as the location, but the description says the table sits outside the Children's Room from September through May. Call the library before your first visit.

Put that next to the Nov. 6 First Friday Coffee, the Nov. 7 Repair Café, a Tuesday, Nov. 17 evening program called "Die Well Death Education: Preparation is Key" from 5 to 7 p.m., and Read to a Dog on Nov. 28. That puts something at the library in every week of the month.

The Handoff Starts Before Thanksgiving

Main Street Bath's holiday program doesn't switch on all at once. It starts five days before Santa arrives.

The two Magic Letter Boxes go up downtown on Nov. 23, one in front of Island Treasure Toys and the other in front of Loyal Biscuit. Through Dec. 18, they take letters to Santa and also collect cards for area senior homes. That's the first holiday sign downtown, and it comes the same week as the Full Moon Gathering at the museum and the last Sharing Table of the month.

This year has its own theme. Main Street Bath says 2026 marks its 25th anniversary, and it named this season's Old Fashioned Christmas "Silver Bells" for the silver anniversary. Saturday, Nov. 28 shows the handoff in a single afternoon. Read to a Dog runs from noon to 1 p.m. in the library's Children's Room. At 3:45 p.m., people gather at Library Park to pick up a silver jingle bell. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at 4 p.m., and the Jingle Bell Walk heads through downtown to the Custom House lawn for cookies, cocoa, entertainment and photos with Santa by Soggy Dog Designs.

From there, December has its own schedule:

1. Dec. 1 to 25: Main Street Bath's "25 Days of Holiday Spirit" on social media at @MainStreetBath features a different downtown business each day, like opening an advent calendar.
2. Dec. 4 and Dec. 11: Six stuffed squirrels move into downtown storefront windows for the Silver Squirrels Scavenger Hunt, then change spots for the second week. Tally forms are available at Bath Savings, First Federal Savings & Loan, Island Treasure Toys and Patten Free Library. Entries with every location correct go into a drawing for four $25 downtown gift certificates.
3. Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 8 p.m.: Free trolley caroling leaves from the City Bus Stop and tours the historic residential neighborhoods around downtown.
4. Dec. 11, 4 to 8 p.m.: Bright Night Bath, which Main Street Bath calls "the one night of the year ALL our shops stay open until 8:00pm," with live music, the Silver Bells Bench photo spot, and cocoa by donation.

The Chocolate Church fills in the first weekend of December: Palaver Strings Quartet in the Annex on Dec. 3, ¡Hanukkah Mexicana! on the Main Stage on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m., and The LeeVees on Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. The museum's Shaker Box workshop runs on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. Early December keeps the same weeknight and weekend pattern November set, now with holiday lights downtown.

One Newer Stop on Shaw Street

One new addition this year is worth checking before winter sets in. The Parlor, a four-seat oyster tasting room from Lady Oyster Tours & Tastings, opened on May 2, 2026, at 1 Shaw St., as the Portland Press Herald reported ahead of the opening. Its own page lists hours of Thursday through Sunday, noon to 7:30 p.m. With four seats, it fits between a Saturday market and a Chocolate Church show. Confirm the hours as the season changes, since small rooms often adjust schedules in the colder months.

Bath's warm-weather routine looks different, and our earlier piece on a Bath summer Saturday covers the Waterfront Park version. In November, the same Saturday starts at the Freight Shed at 9 a.m. and can end with the Songwriters in the Round set in the Chocolate Church Annex at 7:30 p.m.

If November has you wondering what your own place on these streets is worth heading into winter, Marsha DeCosta can put together a clear, local read on your Bath home. Start with a free home valuation, or browse more about the town on the Bath neighborhood page.