"The world sends us garbage, we send back music." That is the motto of the Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura. The orchestra plays violins made from oil cans, flutes made from water pipes and cellos built from tin and wood scraps. On Saturday, October 3, at 11 a.m., it plays the Bon Air promenade.
This performance comes at the end of a Marin run that has mostly happened elsewhere. It is also the only Marin date left on the schedule. Four weeks later, on October 31, Bon Air holds its free Halloween Bash during the same 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. window. In between those two Saturdays, the center has a new 100-seat dining room in a space many Greenbrae residents knew as Patxi's Pizza. Taken together, October at Bon Air is a month-long calendar on one promenade, not a single festival weekend.
The orchestra's Marin run ends on the promenade
Marin Sanitary Service publishes the orchestra's local schedule and bills every performance as free. The hosts vary. The Novato Unified School District and the Liberation Legacy Collective hosted Novato, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Marin hosted the September 24 San Rafael date, and Marin Sanitary Service hosted its own Customer Appreciation Day. Two of the earlier dates still required tickets, though, and all three are now past. Here is the full 2026 Marin schedule as Marin Sanitary Service published it:
| Date | Time | Venue | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Sept. 20 | 4:30 p.m. | Novato High School Theater, 625 Arthur Street | Required |
| Thursday, Sept. 24 | 5:30 p.m. | Marin Shakespeare Theater, 514 4th Street, San Rafael | Required |
| Sunday, Sept. 27 | 11:30 a.m. | Marin Sanitary Service, 535 Jacoby Street, San Rafael | None |
| Saturday, Oct. 3 | 11:00 a.m. | Bon Air Center, Greenbrae | None |
That leaves the Greenbrae date as the last free, walk-up chance to hear the group in Marin this year. The orchestra's story became the documentary Landfill Harmonic, which follows music director Favio Chávez. The musicians have also performed alongside Metallica and Megadeth. Bon Air describes the repertoire as a mix of classical pieces, Latin American folk, and Beatles and Sinatra favorites. That is a set list a mixed-age crowd can enjoy on a Saturday morning.
The performance opens Bon Air's Fall Festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mollie Stone's Markets is curating the food vendors. Bon Air's merchants are planning sidewalk specials and pop-up tastings along the promenade, with live music running through the afternoon. You can see the full listing on Bon Air's event page.
Lunch after the set, at the restaurant that replaced Patxi's
The festival wraps up at 2 p.m., and the newest place to sit down afterward is about a month old. Tipsy Dumpling opened in August at 340 Bon Air Center, according to the Marin Independent Journal's September 8 review. It comes from chef Peter Wang and his wife, Jessica Li, who already own Oyama Sushi in the same center. Before opening, the couple traveled to four cities in Wang's native northeast China and learned dumpling technique from 20 chefs.
Diners walk in past a large glass window that fills almost an entire wall. Through it, you can watch Li and her team knead, fill, wrap and pleat three styles of dumplings. A screen above the window plays a short animated story about a girl making dumplings with her granny. It doubles as a lesson in eating xiao long bao: set one on a wide spoon and break it gently so the broth runs out before you take a bite.
The menu, per the IJ review:
- Steamed or boiled dumplings, eight to an order, with four fillings: vegetables, beef and onion, Kurobuta pork with corn, or Kurobuta pork with shrimp and chives
- Xiao long bao, six to a bamboo steamer, filled with Kurobuta pork alone or with crab or black truffle
- Entrees including mapo tofu, braised pork belly, black pepper beef short ribs and Chongqing spicy crispy chicken
- A whole sweet-and-sour squirrel fish, butterflied and scored so that it curls into a pinecone shape in the fryer
- Cocktails built on Japanese spirits, such as the Sakura Sour with Roku Gin and Aperol, plus alcohol-free options
What matters for an October calendar is the patio. Tipsy Dumpling has 45 fenced outdoor seats around a fire pit. In September, the restaurant was adding sail shades and heat lamps, which is the kind of fit-out that makes evenings outside possible once the weather cools. Inside, the backlit liquor shelves and the three televisions over the bar stayed from the Patxi's era. Almost everything else is new, including dark green leather chairs, curved banquettes and a large sculptural light fixture under the exposed-beam ceiling. The IJ reported that a daily happy hour was expected to launch later in September, so it is worth checking with the restaurant on its current status.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. You can order online at tipsydumpling.com or call 415-886-8909.
Wednesdays fill the gap between the two Saturdays
Between the festival and Halloween, Bon Air has one standing weekday gathering. Every Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m., Marin Mahjong hosts Mahjong Social Play at the bocce ball court on the south side of the center, between Gott's Roadside and Mollie Stone's Market. No registration is required, and Bon Air says players of every level are welcome.
That spot sits a short walk from both ends of the October calendar. It is the same south-side stretch where the festival's Mollie Stone's vendors set up. It is also in the cluster of businesses Bon Air highlighted after this summer's awards.
The merchants on the trick-or-treat route
In July, Bon Air announced 15 wins and mentions in the 2026 Marin Magazine Best of the County awards. The full list appears on Bon Air's winners page, and it doubles as a map of the storefronts children will visit on October 31, when the Halloween Bash includes trick-or-treating at every Bon Air merchant.
The food stops on that list are Gott's for Best Burgers, Oyama Sushi for Best Sushi, Squared Pizza for Best Pizza, and Peet's for Best Coffee & Coffee Shops. SusieCakes and Victoria Bakery are both listed for Best Bakeries. The rest of the list includes Bella for women's clothing, Johann Paul Fine Jewelry, Luxton Optical, McConnell Design for home furnishing and decor, Fingers & Toes for nails, Orangetheory for fitness classes, and The Ranch for barbershops.
Two of the honorees connect directly to the Halloween schedule. Woodlands was the category winner for Best Pet Stores, and the Bash's pet parade is billed as Woodland's Pet Costume Contest & Parade. Dr. Kat Olsen of Bon Air Pet Hospital won Best Veterinary Services.
October 31, by the clock
The Halloween Bash is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the same window as the Fall Festival. Bon Air's published timeline:
- 11:00 a.m. Dance with E.N.A. kicks off the day with performances and leads the all-ages family parade
- 11:10 a.m. Family Costume Contest & Parade
- 12:00 p.m. Woodland's Pet Costume Contest & Parade
- Also on the program Professional DJ, photo booth, face painting, balloon twisting, kids' pumpkin decorating crafts, and trick-or-treating at Bon Air merchants
With the family parade at 11:10 and the pet parade at noon, a household with both children and a dog can join both by staying for the first hour. The event ends at 2 p.m., so there is still time to head home and get ready for evening trick-or-treating on Greenbrae's own streets. Tipsy Dumpling opens at 11:30 a.m. that Saturday, during the gap between the two parades.
Greenbrae's October at Bon Air
- Saturday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m. Recycled Instruments Orchestra of Cateura opens the Fall Festival; no tickets
- Saturday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fall Festival, with food vendors curated by Mollie Stone's
- Wednesdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Mahjong Social Play by the bocce court
- Daily from 11:30 a.m. Tipsy Dumpling at 340 Bon Air Center
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Halloween Bash, with the family parade at 11:10 and the pet parade at noon
Bon Air's event page was first posted in January and has been updated since, so check times there before you go.
Bon Air Center is woven into daily life in Greenbrae, and I pay attention to how this corner of Marin spends its weekends because it shapes how homes here are lived in and valued. If you're curious about what your Greenbrae home is worth this fall, Raquel Newman is happy to prepare a private market valuation. Request yours whenever the timing feels right.
