Tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, October 13, the vendor tents go up for the last time this year in the Murphy's Taproom parking lot at 393 State Route 101. The Bedford Farmers' Market has run there every Tuesday since May 12, from 3 to 6 p.m., and its posted 2026 schedule ends with this date. The market's site lists no winter or indoor season.
Over the next seven weeks, Bedford's dated events spread out across town. They head indoors to the library on Meetinghouse Road, then out to Christmas tree lots on Boynton Street and, in past years, back to that same Route 101 parking lot. Everything comes together on Saturday, December 5, on Bedford Common. Here is the sequence in order.
The Short Version, By Date
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tue, Oct 13 | Final 2026 farmers market, 3 to 6 p.m. | Murphy's Taproom lot, 393 State Route 101 |
| Thu, Oct 22 | Light-Up Tumbled Sea Glass Holiday Tree workshop, 6:30 p.m. | 25 S. River Road |
| Sat to Sun, Oct 24 to 25 | Bedford Boomers Train Show | Bedford Public Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road |
| Mon to Fri, Oct 26 to 30 | Halloween week programs | Bedford Public Library |
| Sun, Nov 8 | Bedford Handmade, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Venue not yet posted |
| Sat, Nov 21 | Christmas tree season opens | Merrymac's Bedford lot, 400 Boynton St.; Bedford Men's Club sale |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving dinner seatings, noon to 6 p.m. | Bedford Village Inn |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Holiday Artisans Market, 2 to 6 p.m., alongside the town tree-lighting | First Parish on Bedford Common, 75 The Great Road |
| Jan 2027 | Flatbread Co. targeted opening | Former IHOP, Bedford Highlands |
Late October Moves Into the Library
After the market closes, the library becomes the main venue. The Bedford Public Library's events calendar has the Bedford Boomers Train Show at 3 Meetinghouse Road on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and again on Sunday, October 25, from 1 to 5 p.m.
The following week, the library has a Halloween program every weekday:
- Monday, October 26: Halloween Crafty Corner, 4 to 4:45 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 27: Spooky Collage, 4 to 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 28: Halloween PJ Storytime, 6:30 to 7 p.m.
- Thursday, October 29: Monster Lab, 4 to 4:30 p.m.
- Friday, October 30: Monster Mash Dance Party, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Most of these start at 4 p.m. on a weekday, about the time the Tuesday market used to open. The two exceptions are the Wednesday storytime, which starts after dinner, and the Friday dance party, which runs in the morning.
The first holiday-themed event of the season comes before Halloween. According to its Patch Bedford listing, The Canvas Roadshow is holding a Light-Up Tumbled Sea Glass Holiday Tree workshop on Thursday, October 22, at 6:30 p.m. at 25 S. River Road.
November Hands the Calendar to Makers and Tree Sellers
November starts with a craft fair. The Bedford Handmade page lists its fair for November 8, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The page doesn't give a venue yet, so check it again closer to the date.
Two weeks later, the season moves outdoors. Saturday, November 21, is opening day for Christmas trees in two places.
Merrymac Christmas Tree Farm grows its trees in Merrimack but runs a seasonal retail lot in Bedford at 400 Boynton St. Merrymac's site says the 2026 season opens Saturday, November 21. Weekday hours run from 5 to 7 p.m., and weekend hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Because the lot is only open two hours on weeknights, a weekday visit has to fit into the window right after work.
The Bedford Men's Club lists its fresh-cut tree sale for November 21, 2026, on its club homepage. It describes the trees as New Hampshire grown and arriving just before Thanksgiving. The club says its Shopify storefront will open in early November for preorders and delivery scheduling, and that all proceeds go back into the community.
The Men's Club sale ties this season back to where the market season ended. The club's separate tree-sale storefront lists the sale at Murphy's Taproom and Carriage House, 393 State Route 101, the same address where the farmers market closes on October 13. That storefront still shows dates from an earlier year, so it confirms where the sale has been held in the past, not the 2026 location or hours. Watch for the club's November storefront launch to confirm. If the sale returns to the Murphy's lot, that parking lot will have hosted the farmers market until mid-October and then the tree sale from late November on.
Thanksgiving week also starts the holiday dinner calendar at Bedford Village Inn, which lists the following seatings:
- Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26: seatings from noon to 6 p.m.
- Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24: dinner from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- New Year's Eve, Thursday, December 31: seatings from 4:30 to 9 p.m.
December 5 Brings It All Back to the Common
After seven weeks spread across Meetinghouse Road, South River Road, Boynton Street and Route 101, the season comes back to one place for one afternoon.
The Bedford Citizen reported in August that Bedford's fifth annual Holiday Artisans Market takes place Saturday, December 5, from 2 to 6 p.m. at First Parish on Bedford Common, 75 The Great Road. The Bedford Cultural District, the Gallery@First Parish, and Suzanne & Company cosponsor it, and it runs alongside the town's holiday tree-lighting and other seasonal events. Vendors sell original work such as paintings, photography, pottery, jewelry, greeting cards and printed pieces. Food vendors are in a heated tent outside, not inside First Parish.
The town hasn't posted a time for this year's tree-lighting. Last year gives a reference point. The Bedford Citizen's coverage of the 2025 lighting describes the Town Common trees lit on Saturday, December 6, with a countdown just before 5 p.m. and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. If 2026 follows the same pattern, the lighting will happen while the artisans market is still open, but treat that as an estimate until the town announces a time.
The One Place That Never Goes on the Calendar
Joppa Hill Educational Farm at 174 Joppa Hill Road doesn't follow this calendar. Its biggest fall event, the Fall Fair, took place on Saturday, October 10, with live music, animals, tractor rides, vendors and food trucks. No farm programs are posted yet for November or December.
The farm itself stays open, though. Joppa Hill says visitors can come free every day from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year, and asks that dogs be leashed. Shorter days mean "dawn to dusk" gets shorter too, so a weekend morning works better than an after-work visit through December.
What the Calendar Points to in January
Two restaurant projects are also in the works, one with a January target and one with no date posted yet.
The Union Leader's New Business column reported on September 18 that Flatbread Co. plans to open in the former IHOP building at Bedford Highlands. That plaza also has Lowe's, Target and Pressed Cafe. A sign at the site reads "Coming January 2027." The Union Leader describes the brand as starting in Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1998. It cooks pizzas in handmade clay and stone earth ovens using organic ingredients and free-range meats. Its other locations include North Conway, Portsmouth, Providence, Portland, Maine, and Paia on Maui. January is the date on the sign, not a confirmed opening day.
Closer to the Canvas Roadshow workshop on South River Road, Jersey Mike's lists a Bedford location at 1 South River Road, Unit D, with hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. The Union Leader reported the plan on July 31. We couldn't find a published opening date, so call ahead before planning a lunch around it.
If the weeks between the tree-lighting and the first farmers market in May are when you start thinking about a spring sale, it helps to have a clear number to work from. Chris Pascoe will walk you through what your Bedford home is worth today, directly and with no runaround. Get Your Home Value.
