"Keep your eyes peeled for posters featuring our two little ghosts." That line comes from the City of Mercer Island's listing for Town Center Trick or Treat. It explains that a business with the poster in its window is handing out treats. Tomorrow afternoon, those posters will be in dozens of Town Center windows within a few blocks of each other.
For about six months, Sunday at the Mercer Island Farmers Market was a fixed weekly date. Now the season's shared events sit closer together. Between tomorrow afternoon and the second week of December, almost every community date falls in Town Center or in one building, the Mercer Island Community and Event Center at 8236 SE 24th Street.
The Sunday Market Closed October 11
The Mercer Island Farmers Market ran its 2026 season "10AM-2PM EVERY SUNDAY THRU OCT. 11TH" at 7700 SE 32nd Street. That date marks the change. The market was a weekly event in one place, outdoors, open to anyone walking by. Nothing on the fall calendar happens every week. Instead the City, the Chamber, the bookstore and the library are spreading single events across November and early December, almost all in or next to the commercial core.
The first of them is tomorrow.
Friday Afternoon, Town Center Becomes the Gathering Place
Town Center Trick or Treat is Friday, October 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. The City describes it as "a stroll throughout Town Center." The list of participating businesses is long enough to read like a directory of the district. Here's a partial list from the City's page, sorted loosely by what the stop is:
- Food and drink: Macrina, Mioposto, Vivienne's Bistro, Crawlspace Gastropub, Pagliacci, Sushi Joa, Haps Burgers and Fries, Hub Boba & Creamery, Teazzi, Barrels, Island House, Terra Bella, Drizzle and 77 Central
- Shops and services: Island Books, True Value, Mercer Island Florist, Mercer Island Eyeworks, The UPS Store, Great Clips, Koko Nail Studio, Mercer Head Spa and Mercer Island Auto Spa
- Fitness and studios: Club Pilates, Stretch Lab, 1 on 1 Fitness, Mercer Island Martial Arts, Zen Dragon Martial Arts and Helix Sport and Spine
- Pets: Mercy Vet, Island Cats Veterinary Hospital and All the Best Pet Care
- Civic and community: Mercer Island Parks & Recreation, Mercer Island Library, Mercer Island Youth & Family Services, the City Manager's Office, the Congregational Church and Island Square
The list keeps growing. The City asked businesses to sign up by October 23 and told families to check back, since more businesses would join right up to the day of the event. It also said a downloadable event map and participant list would go up the week of the event, which makes this the week to grab it.
The next morning has a quieter option. The City is holding a Halloween-themed restoration event at Ellis Pond on Saturday, October 31, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., with planting and mulching. It's two hours outdoors in a season that otherwise moves inside.
One Building on SE 24th Street Hosts Most of the Season
After Halloween, the Community and Event Center becomes the main venue. Two of the season's City and Chamber events are booked there, along with the Mercer Island Art Gallery's holiday opening:
| Date | Event | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, Nov. 4 | Mercer Island Art Gallery holiday show opening reception and pop-up sale | 5–7 p.m. | Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th St. |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Holiday Makers Market | 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Community & Event Center |
| Friday, Dec. 11 | Community Holiday Party | 6–8:30 p.m. | Community & Event Center |
The Holiday Makers Market has the most going on. The City runs it with the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber lists the cost as free. The Chamber bills it as shopping from local artisans. Its roster includes Mochi & CO for food, Unity Coffee Shop for coffee, and makers such as 11 Olives, AK Creations and All Paws Bakery. It also lists dance performances by Creation Dance Studio, Island Youth Ballet and the Children's Dance Conservatory, and a Pixel Perfect Memories photo booth. Vendor spots filled early. The Chamber says the market is full and closed applications as of September 21. That makes it the closest thing to the farmers market for the rest of the year: one Saturday, under one roof, with a vendor list set months ahead.
The Community Holiday Party a week later is sponsored by BECU and Puget Sound Energy. The City's page gives the date, time and place but doesn't yet list activities or registration details.
Between those two dates, the City's Holiday Tree Lighting is Thursday, December 3, at 5:30 p.m. The program names the High School Choir and Creation Dance Studio, and BECU and Puget Sound Energy are sponsors again. The listing doesn't say where it will be held, so check the City's event page closer to the date. Creation Dance Studio performs at both the tree lighting and the Makers Market two days later.
Island Books Hosts the November Evenings
Most of the City's events land in December, which leaves a gap in November. Island Books, at 3014 78th Ave SE, fills two dates.
On Thursday, November 12, the store and the Mercer Island Historical Society host David B. Williams for In the Range of Fire and Ice, his book on the human and natural history of Washington's Cascades. The Mercer Island Reporter reports that Mercer Islander Katy Sewall of KUOW will join him. The Reporter says the talk covers land stewardship and examples of resilience amid climate change, including the return of wolverines and wolves and Mount St. Helens' rebirth. The start time differs between sources. Island Books lists 6 to 7:30 p.m., and the Reporter gives 6:30 p.m. The bookstore is hosting, so plan for 6.
On Sunday, November 22, from 2 to 4 p.m., local author Sophia Kouidou-Giles presents her novel Ariadne, which retells the story of the Cretan princess against the backdrop of ancient Athens. It's on a Sunday afternoon, the slot the farmers market held all summer, and it's a block from the Town Center storefronts that hand out candy tomorrow.
The store's December calendar has storytimes, book clubs and school book fairs, with no extra author event listed so far. That leaves the City's three December dates as the main events of the month.
The Library Added Two Mornings a Week
Since October 20, the King County Library System opens most branches from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the Mercer Island Library at 4400 88th Ave SE is one of them. Those days used to start at noon, so the branch now has two extra hours on each of them, and the posted branch page may still show the old schedule for a while.
Here's the full week at the branch now:
- Monday, Thursday and Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Tuesday and Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
KCLS says it chose the new hours after reviewing circulation, door counts, geography and patron feedback. It also notes that this follows the 2025 addition of Sunday hours at Sammamish, Mercer Island and Vashon libraries. Mercer Island is one of three branches named in both expansions, so its library is now open seven days a week with two longer midweek days. The library is also on the trick-or-treat list for tomorrow afternoon.
The Calendar From Here
All of the dates in this post, from tomorrow through December 11, fit on one card:
- Fri., Oct. 30, 4–6 p.m. Town Center Trick or Treat
- Sat., Oct. 31, 8:30–10:30 a.m. Ellis Pond restoration event
- Wed., Nov. 4, 5–7 p.m. Art Gallery holiday reception and pop-up sale, Community & Event Center
- Thu., Nov. 12, 6 p.m. David B. Williams with Katy Sewall, Island Books
- Sun., Nov. 22, 2–4 p.m. Sophia Kouidou-Giles, Ariadne, Island Books
- Thu., Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m. Holiday Tree Lighting
- Sat., Dec. 5, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Holiday Makers Market, Community & Event Center
- Fri., Dec. 11, 6–8:30 p.m. Community Holiday Party, Community & Event Center
Of those eight dates, six are at a Town Center storefront or the Community and Event Center. The other two are the Ellis Pond work party and the tree lighting, whose venue the City hasn't posted yet.
Our family has worked on the Eastside for more than four decades, through many of these Mercer Island winters. If you're planning a move on or off Mercer Island this winter and want help with timing, the team at Whittlesey Properties is happy to sit down with you. Schedule a consultation whenever it suits you.
