December 4 Is the One Night Queen Anne's Two Holiday Calendars Meet

At 5 p.m. on Friday, December 4, the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce lights its holiday tree on top of the hill. Ninety minutes later, Prancer starts on a free screen in the Armory at Seattle Center. Across the campus, Urban Craft Uprising opens the doors of Exhibition Hall for its ticketed preview night. The Seattle Christmas Market keeps serving Glühwein at Fisher Pavilion until 9.

Queen Anne has two holiday calendars this year. The top of the hill has a short one with two dates on it. The base of the hill has a long one that runs nearly every day for five weeks. December 4 is the only night the short calendar lands inside the long one. Plan around that Friday and the rest of the season falls into place.

The top of the hill gets two dates

The upper calendar is small, and it starts first.

Saturday, November 21: Thanksgiving Harvest Market. The Queen Anne Farmers Market returns to West Crockett Street and Queen Anne Avenue North from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The market calls itself Seattle's only independent farmers market. Its regular Thursday season ran from May 28 to October 8, 2026. After that came three extra Saturdays: a Spring Preview Day on May 9, a Halloween Harvest Market on October 31, and the Thanksgiving market. That makes November 21 the last market day of 2026 at Crockett Street. It falls five days before Thanksgiving, so it is the final chance this year to shop the market's all-food lineup of farmers and local producers before the holiday table.

Friday, December 4: Grand Tree Lighting. The Chamber's events calendar lists the lighting from 5 to 6 p.m. In 2024 the Chamber held its lighting at The Towne Square, 1920 Queen Anne Avenue North. Check the Chamber's event page for this year's location before you head out.

Those two dates are the whole upper calendar. Everything else in the season happens at the bottom of the hill, and it starts the day before the Harvest Market.

The base of the hill runs nearly every day

The Seattle Christmas Market opens Friday, November 20 at Fisher Pavilion and the South Fountain Lawn and runs through December 26. Seattle Center describes a European-style outdoor village with more than 60 local and international vendors, daily live entertainment, hot chocolate and Glühwein. The event listing also mentions holiday karaoke and visits with Santa. There is an entry charge, and tickets are sold through the listing.

The market's hours change four times over the season. Through mid-December it opens at 4 p.m. on most weekdays, which shapes any weeknight plan. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the one exception:

A week later the rest of the campus starts up. Seattle Center Winterfest, presented by Symetra, runs from November 27 to December 31. Its pieces repeat on a fixed weekly schedule, so you can sort them by day of the week:

The train has been a Seattle Center tradition for 50 years. It is a late 19th-century model train and village, with a scavenger hunt you start by picking up an entry sheet at the Train Station. Donations keep it running. The ice carvers this year include Chan Kitburi and James Royal. Climate Pledge Arena sponsors the campus lighting. The Friday films run in this order: The Polar Express on November 27, Prancer on December 4, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas on December 11, and Elf on December 18. Symetra is partnering with Ceres and Seattle Fudge on hosted hot drinks and snacks for movie nights.

Why December 4 stacks up

The Friday movie is what lines the two calendars up. Because the Chamber chose a Friday for the tree lighting, it falls on a Winterfest movie night, on a weekday when the Christmas Market is open until 9, and on the night Urban Craft Uprising holds its preview. Here is the evening in order:

1. 4 p.m. The Seattle Christmas Market opens for its weekday evening hours at Fisher Pavilion.
2. 5 p.m. The Grand Tree Lighting begins on top of the hill and runs until 6. At the same hour, Urban Craft Uprising's ticketed preview night opens in Exhibition Hall and runs until 9.
3. 6 p.m. The Winter Train & Village closes for the day in the Armory.
4. 6:30 p.m. Prancer starts in the Armory, free.
5. 9 p.m. The Christmas Market and the UCU preview both close. The campus lights stay on after dark.

Since the tree lighting runs from 5 to 6, the Winter Train closes before anyone coming from the lighting can reach the Armory. If the train is on your list, go a different day, since it runs daily from 10 a.m.

The next day is just as full at the base of the hill. On Saturday, December 5, Urban Craft Uprising's 22nd annual Winter Show opens to the public for free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and again on Sunday. The ice sculpting starts at noon at Mural Amphitheatre. On the Armory Stage, SANCA performs at 12:30 p.m., the Northwest Boychoir at 2:30 p.m., and KlezKidz at 4 p.m. The Christmas Market's weekend hours run from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. No other weekend this season packs in this much at Seattle Center.

After December 4, the season is all at the base

Once the tree is lit, the top of the hill's calendar is done, and the rest of the season happens at Seattle Center. The weekends that follow each have their own anchors:

• Thanksgiving weekend, Nov 27 to 29. Winterfest's opening day brings the Zaniac Comedy Show at 12:30 p.m., Holiday Harmony Pop at 2 p.m., DJ Fishlure at 3:30 p.m., and The Polar Express that evening. Saturday adds the first ice sculpting, the Twelve Tones of Christmas, and Seattle School of Rock. Sunday features Xmas Maximus, Luis Cano singing mariachi, and Bailadores de Bronce.
• Dec 11 and 12. The Grinch screens Friday. Saturday has Rain City Tap at 12:30 p.m., Seattle Center Classical presenting the Swedish Singers of Seattle at 2:30 p.m., and a Holiday Sing-Along at 6 p.m.
• Dec 18 to 20. Elf closes out the movie series on Friday. Saturday, December 19 is the last ice sculpting day, with the Rainbow City Concert Band & Orchestra at 5 p.m. On Sunday, Greater Seattle Tubachristmas plays at 5 p.m. The Christmas Market stays open until 9:30 p.m. from December 19 through December 23.
• Dec 26 and 27. The Dickens Carolers and the Seattle Civic Band play on the 26th, the Christmas Market's last day. The Armory Stage wraps up on the 27th with the Zaniac Comedy Show and Tlalokan.

Seattle Center's free New Year's Eve Celebration closes the season. The band Copastetic plays the Armory from 8 p.m. to midnight. At 9 p.m., the Fountain of Light show at International Fountain features DJ Arson Nicki and the video artists Collide-O-Scope. Just before midnight comes Alaska Airlines New Year's at the Needle, the Space Needle's show.

If you plan to list your home after the holidays, the weeks between the Harvest Market and New Year's are a good time to get pricing, staging and pre-inspections in order so you can launch early in the year. I'm glad to walk through your Queen Anne home on that schedule. Seattle Premier Properties invites you to Request a Complimentary Home Valuation.