What happens to the corner of 37th Ave S and S Edmunds St once the Wednesday produce tents come down for the year? The Columbia City Farmers Market has run there every Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m. since May 6, and its last day of the 2026 season is October 28. After that, the only recurring event the published calendars show at that intersection is the Columbia City Night Market. It runs every third Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m., year-round, rain or shine.
This fall, the corner's oldest anchors are changing too. Tutta Bella will close its Columbia City pizzeria on October 2, the location where founder Joe Fugere began serving Neapolitan-style pies in 2004. The neighborhood's weekly rhythm is moving from a Wednesday afternoon market to a Saturday night one, and October is the month that handoff happens.
October is the last month both markets share the corner
Since May, the corner has hosted a Wednesday market and a third-Saturday one. October is the last month of 2026 with both, and the arts calendar a few blocks up Rainier Ave S is full. Here is how the month lines up:
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 2 | Tutta Bella's last day in Columbia City | Columbia City pizzeria |
| Sat, Oct 3 | The Great Debate '26, noon to 5 p.m., free | Rainier Arts Center |
| Wed, Oct 7 | Applelooza at the farmers market | 37th Ave S & S Edmunds St |
| Wed, Oct 7 | Two fall exhibits open, running through Nov 15 | Columbia City Gallery, 4864 Rainier Ave S |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Gurleen Pannu stand-up, 7 to 9 p.m. | Rainier Arts Center |
| Wed, Oct 14 | Chef demo with Jose Garzon of Bad Chancla, 3 to 7 p.m. | Farmers market |
| Sat, Oct 17 | Night Market with CHONK, 6 to 10 p.m. | 37th & Edmunds |
| Sat, Oct 17 | "Khushiyan" storytelling with Laksh Maheshwari, 7:30 to 9 p.m. | Rainier Arts Center |
| Wed, Oct 28 | Final farmers market of 2026 | 37th Ave S & S Edmunds St |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Jaspreet Singh Live 2026, 7:30 to 9 p.m. | Rainier Arts Center |
The farmers market spends its final month on harvest themes. Applelooza on October 7 focuses on Washington-grown apples, and the October 14 demo brings in Chef Jose Garzon of Bad Chancla. The same day as Applelooza, Columbia City Gallery opens two shows that run through November 15. "Timeless Euphoria" is a community exhibit. "Shifting Horizons" is a member exhibit featuring Jacqui Beck, Barbara Flye, and Tara McDermott.
October 17 is the busiest evening on the list. The Night Market runs from 6 to 10 p.m. with CHONK on the live music lineup, and "Khushiyan" starts at Rainier Arts Center at 7:30.
A market that was born in December
The Night Market holds up after the produce season ends because it was built for winter from the start. Its first market was in December 2020, with fewer than 20 vendors. By a May 2024 account in The Seattle Medium, its largest markets had grown to about 75 vendors. The same account says the market got its current site after an invitation to use a Seattle Department of Transportation Healthy Streets location, under a one-year permit with no fees.
The idea came from Southeast Asia. Founder Reginald "Doc" Wilson told KUOW that, years before the market existed, he was walking through Trà Vinh in Vietnam when he turned a corner into streets full of families shopping and spending time together. Back in Seattle, Wilson founded Peace Peloton, a nonprofit focused on supporting Black-owned businesses, and saw a night market as a way to advance that mission.
Columbia City's was also early for the region. KUOW's June 2026 report on Western Washington's night markets dates Columbia City's first to late 2020. Puyallup followed in 2021, Lacey in 2022, and Renton's Fairwood neighborhood in 2023. The format that later spread to other parts of the region started on this corner, and it started in the dark season.
What the corner looks like on a third Saturday
The market is free and open to all ages. Peace Peloton describes it as a four-block gathering of food, music, art, and local makers. The stage and a 21+ beer garden sit in the Bank of America parking lot. A 2025 Seattle Met neighborhood feature also mentions a loading-dock stage alongside food trucks and artisan vendors.
The vendor categories Peace Peloton lists explain why the market works as a December stop as well as a July one:
- Food trucks and a range of cuisines
- Candles, bath and body, and wellness goods
- Jewelry and wearables
- Books and paper crafts
- Plants, plus arts and crafts
The 2024 Seattle Medium piece mentioned boba, quesabirria, barbecue, and empanadas alongside books, artwork, body-care products, and handmade jewelry. It named participants including VILOS, South 2 West Boiled Peanuts, Texier Chocolate, Queens 'N' Things, and DanDans Taste of Street. That list is two years old. The article said many vendors come back monthly, but Peace Peloton is the place to confirm who is on this month's roster.
The 2004 anchor steps back as the 2020 one settles in
Tutta Bella has been part of Columbia City for 22 years. Its announcement said "Columbia City has been part of our story since 2004." The company said it "considered many options before deciding it was time to say goodbye." The brand keeps its pizzerias in Wallingford, Bellevue, and Issaquah, its two concession stands at Lumen Field during Seahawks home games, and its take-and-bake pizzas in grocery stores. The closure coverage doesn't say what will move into the Columbia City space.
The neighborhood's newer openings are small and local. Curry's Culture Indian Cuisine was already serving near Columbia City station by May 2026, offering vegetarian and Indo-Chinese dishes. The Seattle Times listed its address as 4525 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S in its June 29 roundup of new restaurants.
Some institutions on the strip are marking milestones instead of exits. The Columbia City Business Association calendar lists Rookies' 15th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, November 14, at 6 p.m., at 3820 S Ferdinand St. Ferdinand also hosted the summer's last big street event. The Beatwalk's "Anything Goes" edition took over Ferdinand Festival Street on September 13, and the South Seattle Emerald described it as the summer wrap-up.
Planning a winter around third Saturdays
Once October 28 passes, the corner's standing date moves to the third Saturday of each month. Here is how the rest of 2026 lines up around it:
- Saturday, November 14. Rookies celebrates 15 years at 3820 S Ferdinand St, starting at 6 p.m.
- Through Sunday, November 15. Last chance to see "Timeless Euphoria" and "Shifting Horizons" at Columbia City Gallery, 4864 Rainier Ave S.
- Saturday, November 21. Night Market, 6 to 10 p.m., with CC Groove on the music lineup.
- Saturday, December 19. Night Market, the last scheduled date of 2026 and close to the market's sixth anniversary.
The weekend of November 14 is the closest pairing. Rookies' anniversary falls on Saturday, and the gallery shows close Sunday, a week before the November Night Market. December 19 lands almost exactly six years after a market of fewer than 20 vendors first set up on a winter evening, and it is the latest date on any of the neighborhood calendars listed here.
If you're thinking about buying or selling in Columbia City this winter and want someone who follows this corner month to month, I'd love to talk it through over coffee before the next third Saturday. You can reach me through Savanna Taylor. Let's Connect.
