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Sunday Drives with Mike: I Came for a One-Day Festival. Martinez Gave Me a Whole Sunday

By SF Bay WeekendSeptember 17, 2026 6 min read

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*What started at Art in the Park turned into a farmers market, a waterfront windsurfing show, railroad and baseball history—and several reasons to return.* By Mike MacPherson SF Ba

What started at Art in the Park turned into a farmers market, a waterfront windsurfing show, railroad and baseball history—and several reasons to return. By Mike MacPherson SF Bay Weekend I went to Martinez for Art in the Park. I expected to walk through the festival, take a few pictures and head home. Instead, I stayed long enough for Martinez to turn one event into an entire Sunday. ## Art, Music and a Bull Dog from Lil’s Big Dogs The Martinez Arts Association’s annual Art in the Park filled Susana Park with local artists, live music, food trucks, beer, wine and some of the friendliest people I met all afternoon. The festival is held every August as the association’s largest annual fundraiser. (Martinez Arts Association) It felt like something the community had built for itself and was happy to share with anyone who wandered in. I stopped at Lil’s Big Dogs and talked with the woman working the stand. I did not catch her name, but she told me it had been a good day with a strong crowd. I asked the most important question. “Are the hot dogs good?” “They’re great,” she said. I ordered the Bull Dog, a beef hot dog, and loaded it with onions, peppers, relish and just about everything else available. She was right. It was excellent. That small exchange captured the mood of the festival: friendly people, good food and a community event that did not need to oversell itself. ## The Farmers Market That Feels Like the Town After the festival, I made my way into downtown Martinez and through the farmers market. The Martinez Farmers’ Market runs every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round, along Main Street between Ferry and Castro streets. It is intimate, easy to walk and unmistakably local. The farmers and producers are identified, the people working the stands are approachable, and the market feels connected to the businesses and sidewalks around it. You can buy something, stop for a conversation and still notice the town around you. Once I started walking, Martinez kept giving me reasons to continue. ## The Show Scheduled by the Wind From downtown, I headed toward the railroad tracks and the marina. The Martinez waterfront sits along the Carquinez Strait, with the marina, fishing pier, trails, open space and regional shoreline gathered near the edge of downtown. The city’s waterfront area includes a working marina and a large stretch of adjoining parkland. Numbers do not explain what made it memorable. The wind does. I walked toward the point and found the strait full of windsurfers. They raced across the water, turned, fell and climbed back onto their boards before heading out again. The colorful sails against the water were spectacular. I talked with a few of the windsurfers. They told me it was a particularly good, windy day and that Martinez was one of their go-to places to get out on the water. I stayed much longer than I expected. There was always something happening: another sail catching a gust, another rider cutting across the whitecaps, another turn that either worked beautifully or ended with someone in the water. It felt less like watching an organized event and more like discovering a show that the wind had scheduled. That may have been my favorite part of the day. ## A Town Built Around the Tracks The railroad is not background scenery in Martinez. It runs directly through the city’s identity. I have been in and out of the current Martinez station many times, including Capitol Corridor trips to Sacramento for an A’s game. On those trips, the station was usually a departure point—not part of the destination. Walking through Martinez changed that perspective. Near the current station is the old train depot, built in 1877. The present Amtrak station opened two blocks away in 2001, leaving the original depot vacant. Martinez is now working toward returning the building to active use while preserving its character. (City of Martinez) Nearby, a large outdoor mural honors Joe DiMaggio, who was born in Martinez in 1914. The volunteer-led Joe DiMaggio Hometown Hero Project is preserving that connection through the mural, a proposed museum, a statue and a walking tour. I am a baseball fan, so this was not a detail I was going to walk past. Martinez’s history is not sealed behind museum glass. You find it beside the railroad tracks, on the side of a building or while walking from downtown to the water. ## A Bar Worth Coming Back To Eventually, I wandered into Hillside Tap Room. It had exactly the look I want from a place I discover on a drive: comfortable, local and more interesting than I expected from the outside. Hillside features live music, including performances in its beer garden. Its events page gave me a reason to come back, have a beer and listen to a band near the waterfront. Those are the discoveries I look for: places that make you think, I should come back here. ## A Northern California Gem Hiding in Plain Sight Martinez is not arranged around tourists or built to deliver one polished postcard view. It is better suited to local visitors who arrive with a reason and give the town enough time to reveal itself. The massive Benicia–Martinez Bridge rises above the strait. Tankers move through the water near the industrial shoreline and refineries. Trains pass beside downtown. The marina is a real working marina—not a shopping district decorated with boats. The waterfront is not lined with coffee shops, restaurants and souvenir stores. What you get instead is open space, parks, fishing, boats, wind and the possibility of stumbling onto a windsurfing show. It has a blue-collar, all-American feel. It feels used rather than staged. Come for the Sunday farmers market. Take a morning walk through the waterfront parks. Bring your dog and visit the city’s dog park near the marina, while following the posted restrictions around the marsh and duck pond. If you are catching an Amtrak train, arrive early and spend some time downtown instead of waiting inside the station. Parking makes the outing easier. Downtown meters are currently enforced Monday through Friday, which means parking is free on Sundays. Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline also has no parking fee. Check posted signs before leaving your car, since parking rules can change. There is also the John Muir National Historic Site. Muir’s Martinez home is one of the city’s most important historical destinations, although the main site is currently open Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sundays and Mondays. That stop will require a different day. Martinez does not demand that you build an entire vacation around it. It simply rewards the detour. ## The Event Was Only the Excuse I chose Martinez because Art in the Park gave me a reason to go. The better story was the town I found around it. The festival introduced me to the community—and to a very good Bull Dog. The market showed me the town’s small-scale character. The waterfront gave me an unexpected afternoon of windsurfing. The bridge, tankers, marina and railroad revealed a working California town. The Joe DiMaggio mural gave a baseball fan something personal to stop for. Martinez is not a blockbuster destination. That is exactly why it belongs in Sunday Drives with Mike. Sometimes you need to choose a road, show up and stay awhile. Martinez rewarded me for doing exactly that. Next stop: Clayton. Ed’s Mudville Grill will be home base, but the whole town is in play. It’s out there. Let’s go find it. Find the Magic.