The fall calendar in downtown Bradenton came back on its usual dates this year. Many of the places people used to go before and after those events did not. The Saturday market is back on Old Main. Art Walks still fall on the first weekend of each month, and the Festival of the Skeletons is set for early November. Over the summer, though, the west side of downtown lost one evening anchor and moved another. The food and music that used to be split between Ninth Street West and the Village of the Arts now meet at one brewery on 14th Street West. Daytime plans picked up a new stop on 12th Street West.
The dates are below, followed by where each one fits in a fall weekend now.
The Dates That Came Back
The Bradenton Public Market, run by the nonprofit Realize Bradenton, is held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Old Main Street, October through May. The Village of the Arts holds its monthly Art Walk on the first Friday and Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with open galleries and studios, live music and local makers.
Here is what comes up between now and the holidays:
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31, during market hours | Halloween at the Market | Old Main Street |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. | Free Halloween Trick-or-Treat | Village of the Arts |
| Thu., Nov. 5, first pitch 6:30 p.m. | Police vs. Fire charity softball, $10 | LECOM Park |
| Fri., Nov. 6, 6 to 9 p.m., and Sat., Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 22nd Festival of the Skeletons | Village of the Arts |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Chef At The Market with Chef Tim, Manatee Memorial Hospital | Bradenton Public Market schedule |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Youth Booth Holiday Market | Old Main Street |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Mayor Santa at the Market | Old Main Street |
All of these are on the calendar every year. What's different this season is where people go before and after them.
Ninth Street West Has Gone Quiet Until At Least February
Motorworks Brewing at 1014 Ninth St. W. has been a downtown default for years, both for the beer garden and as a place to start or end an evening. In August, the brewery announced it was closing right away for an extensive remodel. According to the Bradenton Herald, it hopes to reopen Feb. 1, 2027, under new ownership and management. The Motorworks homepage still shows the Bradenton taproom as closed for remodeling.
That means Motorworks will miss the whole stretch from Halloween through the December market dates. February 1 is a target, so plan around it as one.
On the other side of downtown, Sage Biscuit Café announced it would close its location at 1401 Manatee Ave. W. on Sunday, Sept. 27, the Bradenton Herald reported. Its Cortez Road location was to stay open. For anyone who used to have breakfast downtown before a Saturday at the market, that's one less option within walking distance of Old Main.
The Music Moved to 14th Street West
Cottonmouth Southern Soul Food opened in 2020. Owner Dave Shiplett closed its restaurant and live music space in the Village of the Arts in July. He didn't end the business. He moved it into Flamingo Bay Brewing Company at 1910 14th St. W., where the two now share a space as a restaurant, brewery and live music venue, according to the Bradenton Herald.
Shiplett described the deal to the Herald like this:
"That's when I went to them and said, 'Hey, listen, if you build a stage and some structures and so some landscaping where we make this beer garden into something nice, I'll move over here permanently."
In the Herald's July story on the partnership, Shiplett said he hoped Cottonmouth would be running full time by October, during Flamingo Bay's Wednesday-through-Sunday hours. Cottonmouth's own site now lists its hours as Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It describes the new spot as having indoor and outdoor seating, with work by Village of the Arts artists on display. Flamingo Bay's website says Cottonmouth provides the food and music there and points to its events page and social accounts for the weekly lineup.
On the west side, the place to go for a beer, Southern food and a live set on the same night is now one address. Motorworks is closed and Cottonmouth has moved into Flamingo Bay, so that evening that used to be split between Ninth Street and the Village is now at one spot on 14th Street. For an Art Walk Saturday, that makes 1910 14th St. W. the obvious stop when the galleries close.
Shiplett is still part of the market calendar too. Realize Bradenton has him down for Chef At The Market on March 18, credited to both Birdrock Taco Shack and Cottonmouth.
Mornings Got a New Address on 12th Street West
While the west side lost an evening spot, it gained a daytime one. Au P'tit Bonheur, a French café at 312 12th St. W., opened this summer and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Bradenton Herald reported in August. Owners Fanette and Maq Maquet came to Florida earlier this year from French Guiana. Fanette is from Brittany and Maq is from Guadeloupe. The menu sticks to French staples: Croque Monsieur, Quiche Lorraine, Sandwich Parisien and croissants.
"All our recipes are simple," Fanette told the Herald. "It's a family recipe."
Those hours fit the daytime calendar almost exactly. The café closes at 2:30, half an hour after the market packs up at 2 p.m. Art Walk runs 11 to 4. A Saturday that starts with a croissant on 12th Street, moves to Old Main by mid-morning and ends in the Village by afternoon works without a car. The only stop on that list that didn't exist last fall is the café.
Two Weekends Show the New Pattern
Two dates this fall bring both halves of this together.
Saturday, Oct. 31. Halloween at the Market is on Old Main during market hours. The Village of the Arts free Trick-or-Treat runs from 6 to 8 p.m. that evening. The gap between the two is the afternoon, and Cottonmouth's Saturday kitchen at Flamingo Bay opens at 5, an hour before trick-or-treating starts.
Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7. This is the first weekend of the month, so it's an Art Walk weekend. The 22nd Festival of the Skeletons, run by the Village of the Arts Merchants, falls on the same two days. It runs Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the same as the Saturday Art Walk hours. The festival listing includes food vendors, music, art, shrines and a tribute to Frida Kahlo. The Friday evening hours put the Village on the evening calendar in a way a regular Art Walk doesn't, and Cottonmouth's 5 p.m. Friday start at Flamingo Bay is a few blocks away.
The night before, on Thursday, Nov. 5, LECOM Park hosts a charity softball game between the Bradenton Police Department and Bradenton Fire Department. Gates open at 6 p.m., first pitch is at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $10, according to the City of Bradenton. Thursday through Saturday that week, there's something on the west side every day.
What Changes Before Spring
Three things on the calendar between now and spring:
- Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. The Chef At The Market series continues. Chef Tim, director of nutrition services at Manatee Memorial Hospital, is on the schedule for Nov. 19, and Realize Bradenton lists the Dec. 17 slot without a chef yet.
- Feb. 1, 2027. This is the Motorworks reopening target under new ownership. If it opens on time, Ninth Street West has its anchor back before the market season ends in May.
- Spring Training 2027. The city expects phase one of City Park at LECOM Park, which started construction in May 2026, to be finished before Spring Training. Full buildout is expected in mid-2028.
Until then, the fall pattern on the west side is mostly set. Daytime runs along 12th Street, Old Main and the Village galleries. Evenings center on 1910 14th St. W. For more on what's opening on the other side of downtown, see our summer look at what's opening next in downtown Bradenton and along the Riverwalk. Our Bradenton neighborhood page covers the rest of the city.
If you live within walking distance of Old Main or the Village and want to know what that location is worth in today's market, Ronnie DeWitt & Associates can tell you. Start with a free market valuation, and talk with Ronnie today.
