Local Events
What's Happening This Week: Ponte Vedra & Nocatee, Sept 29-Oct 5
By Mollie Younger September 29, 2026 4 min read
The verified Sept 29-Oct 5 list: both farmers markets, Of Monsters and Men, First Friday Art Walk, a GTM guided hike, the Grazie Gala, and the Home + Patio Show.
This week has passed
This edition has passed: it covered September 29 through October 5, 2026. The newest verified weekly list is live: What's Happening This Week: Ponte Vedra & Nocatee, Oct 6-12.Here's the thing: this is a two-county week. The verified list for September 29 through October 5, 2026, pulls from both St. Johns and Duval, because the honest truth is that your Saturday might start with a guided hike in Ponte Vedra Beach and end at a gala ten minutes from your front door, with a market or two in between. Every event below is real, checked against the organizer or an official listing, and within about a 25-mile drive of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Palm Valley Farmers Market
Tuesday, September 29, 10 AM to 1 PM at the Palm Valley Community Center, 148 Canal Blvd in Ponte Vedra Beach: local produce, seafood, baked goods, and crafts, the smallest and friendliest market on this list and the one I pointed you to last week. Grab a Saturday-brunch guest gift and call it a productive lunch hour. Market details
Of Monsters and Men at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Tuesday, September 29, doors at 7 PM, show at 8, at 1340C A1A South in St. Augustine: the Icelandic band brings The Mouse Parade Tour to the oaks, a headliner-size show on a school night that is actually worth the late bedtime. Tickets on The Amp's official site
Ponte Vedra Friday Farmers Market
Friday, October 2, 10 AM to 2 PM at Palm Valley Outdoors, 377 S. Roscoe Blvd in Ponte Vedra Beach: produce, honey, baked goods, and artisans set up on the Intracoastal lawn every Friday, and this one finally feels like fall, which on the First Coast means you might add a long-sleeve to the cart. Market details
First Friday Art Walk in St. Augustine
Friday, October 2, 5 to 9 PM in downtown St. Augustine: more than 25 galleries open late along George and Hypolita Streets, artists set up in the doorways, and the whole historic district out walking. Free, and the easiest way to feel like a local in a town most people only visit twice a year. Art Walk details
GTM Research Reserve guided hike
Saturday, October 3, 9 to 11 AM at the Trailhead Pavilion west of the Guana Dam, 505 Guana River Rd in Ponte Vedra Beach: the monthly first-Saturday Guided Exploration Hike covering the history and wildlife of the Guana Peninsula. Parking is $3 per vehicle, and the trailhead fills early, so give yourself time. Hike details
Riverside Arts Market
Saturday, October 3, 10 AM to 3 PM under the Fuller Warren Bridge at 715 Riverside Ave in Jacksonville: more than 100 artists and makers plus the farmers stalls, river views, and lunch trucks, rain or shine. Twenty minutes up the highway and it feels like a different city, in the best way. Market details
The Grazie Gala at Marsh Landing
Saturday, October 3, 6 to 9 PM at Marsh Landing Country Club, 25655 Marsh Landing Pkwy in Ponte Vedra Beach: the fourth annual night of gratitude and giving for Mission House, the Jacksonville Beach day center that serves people experiencing homelessness with food, clothing, medical care, and case management. Fine dining, live music, and a silent auction, with the proceeds going straight to that work. Tickets and details on the Mission House events page
Jacksonville Home + Patio Show
Friday through Sunday, October 2-4, at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, 1000 Water St in Jacksonville: three days of home, kitchen, and outdoor-living vendors, contractors, and patio inspiration. Hours are 10 AM to 8 PM Friday and Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM Sunday. If you are weighing Nocatee new construction against a resale with a renovation budget, this one is worth the trip. Show details
Mollie says
Let's be honest: Saturday is packed, and that is the point. Start at the GTM hike, loop north to Riverside Arts Market for lunch and handmade things, then make the Grazie Gala your grown-up finish. That is northeast Florida in one sun-up-to-sundown swing, and it will teach you more about whether this area fits your family than a month of listing photos.
Nocatee, straight talk: the Nocatee Farmers Market does not run this week. It is the third Saturday of the month, so the next one is October 17 at Nocatee Station Field, 400 Nocatee Center Way, and the community's calendar for the first weekend of October had not posted confirmed events when I checked, so the Nocatee count stays at zero rather than me guessing. And if your weekend is built around music, the St. Augustine Amphitheatre has three headliners: Sugarland Thursday night, Whiskey Myers Friday, and Gov't Mule with Ziggy Marley Saturday, full schedule here. Everything on this list was checked against organizer or official listings the week of September 29, 2026; events can still move or sell out, so confirm before you drive. Last week's edition, covering September 24-27, has passed and stays archived here. Know something I missed? Tell me, and it goes in next week's list.
Written by
Mollie Younger
Ponte Vedra real estate advisor, dual-state broker, mother of a relocated family. 25+ years in real estate, 400+ homes sold. She sees the whole move, not just the house.
About MolliePlanning a move to northeast Florida?
Bring me your situation and I'll bring you the truth: which communities fit, what the budget math looks like, and how the whole move comes together.
