At 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 28, the Kirkland Downtown Association lights its tree at Peter Kirk Park. That's just steps from Urban Plaza, where Kirkland Urban's WinterFest closes at 7. At the same hour, the Argosy Christmas Ship is out on Lake Washington with the choir Travelin' Lite aboard, on the evening sailing that left Carillon Point at 5:00.
The rest of Kirkland's 2026 holiday calendar follows the same pattern. Downtown's biggest events on land happen on that one Saturday, within a few blocks of each other. After that, the season moves to the lake. The Christmas Ship leaves from Kirkland on seven days of a festival that runs November 27 to December 23. The fullest December evenings are the ones that line up with a sailing.
Santa Gets to Totem Lake First
Before downtown gets going, The Village at Totem Lake starts its season a week early. Santa's Arrival Party is Saturday, November 21, at 10:30 a.m. on the Village Green near Cinemark. Photos with Santa start that day and run through Thursday, December 24, at Santa's Workshop in Suite 199 at 12675 120th Ave NE, and families can reserve a time online or walk up.
Two other formats are on the Village calendar:
- Santa Paws pet nights for dogs and cats, on Tuesdays November 24, December 1, December 8 and December 15, by reservation.
- Silent Santa, sponsored by EvergreenHealth, is a set of sensory-friendly visits on Sundays November 29 and December 6, starting at 10 a.m.
Also on November 22, the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland opens its Christmas tree lot at Juanita Beach Park, 9703 Juanita Drive. Hours are 2 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, while supplies last. The lot comes up again in December, because the same park hosts one of the season's two free shoreline nights.
November 28, Hour by Hour
On land, the season's busiest day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Here's how it runs, in time order:
- All day at The Village at Totem Lake. Small Business Saturday is for shopping and eating at the center's small businesses, including 203°F Coffee Co.
- 2:00 p.m. at Carillon Point. The first Christmas Ship sailing of the day leaves with Travelin' Lite and Cookies with Santa for kids. Its shoreline performance is at O.O. Denny Park from 2:35 to 2:55.
- 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Kirkland Urban. WinterFest is free and presented with the KDA. It has photos with Santa in his sleigh, live ice sculpting, a "Magical Snowfall on the Promenade," carolers from Premier Vocal Entertainment, line dancing lessons with the Boot Boogie Babes, balloon creations by Hoopla, and alpacas from Enchanted Farms.
- 6:15 p.m. at Peter Kirk Park. The KDA's annual tree lighting.
- 8:00 p.m. at Carillon Point. The last sailing of the night, listed with Argosy's "Jolly Hour."
WinterFest's organizers require minors to be with an adult at all times on the property. The KDA's Santa mailboxes are already out by then. One is at the corner of Kirkland Avenue and Lake Street, and one is at Urban Plaza. Both stay up from November 19 to December 19, and letters need a return address for Santa's reply.
That one Saturday covers nearly all of downtown's big events on land. The KDA's winter events page lists only two more for December: Google Lights on December 4 and a wine walk the night before the Marina Park sailing.
December Leaves From Kirkland City Dock
After November 28, the Christmas Ship moves its Kirkland departures to Kirkland City Dock, and the December dates bunch up in the last stretch before the festival ends. On the 2026 schedule, Argosy marks shoreline stops with an asterisk when a public bonfire, lighting or onshore event is planned there. Stops without an asterisk are still open places to gather and listen. Private events are closed to the public.
| Date | Departs | Choir | Shoreline stops with a planned public event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Carillon Point | Travelin' Lite | None marked; O.O. Denny Park is open to listen at 2:35 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Kirkland City Dock | MixCapella | Juanita Beach Park, 5:35 to 5:55 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Kirkland City Dock | Holy Names Vocal Ensemble | Kirkland Marina Park, 5:10 to 5:30 p.m.; Log Boom Park, 8:40 to 9:00 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Kirkland City Dock | Emerald City Voices | Madison Park; Warren G. Magnuson Park |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | Kirkland City Dock | Bellevue Chamber Chorus | None; all three stops are private events |
| Mon., Dec. 21 | Kirkland City Dock | Choir of the Sound | Matthews Beach; Yarrow Point |
| Tue., Dec. 22 | Kirkland City Dock | Jet Cities Chorus | Madrona Beach Park, 8:40 to 9:00 p.m. |
Most of those seven days begin in Kirkland, but the choir performs for people on shore somewhere else. Only two dates bring a planned public event to a Kirkland park. For anyone listening from land, those are the two Kirkland nights on the calendar.
Saturday, December 12: Juanita Beach Park
MixCapella sings on all three sailings from Kirkland City Dock that day. The 5:00 p.m. boat performs off Juanita Beach Park from 5:35 to 5:55, and that stop has an asterisk. The Kiwanis tree lot at the same park is open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays, so the choir performs while the lot is still selling trees. The 2:00 p.m. boat that day stops at Medina Beach Park, and the 8:00 p.m. boat stops at Meydenbauer Bay.
Friday, December 18: Kirkland Marina Park
This is the only date when the Christmas Ship performs for a public event at Kirkland's downtown waterfront. The Holy Names Vocal Ensemble sings off Kirkland Marina Park from 5:10 to 5:30 p.m., on the 5:00 sailing from Kirkland City Dock. The 8:00 p.m. sailing goes north to Log Boom Park, which also has an asterisk, from 8:40 to 9:00. Both sailings offer a 21+ Follow Boat.
The Marina Park performance ends at 5:30. At 7:00 that night, Kirkland Performance Center at 350 Kirkland Avenue stages the second of three evenings of The Nutcracker: Symphony of Lights, which runs December 17, 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. That's the busiest evening in downtown Kirkland's December.
Argosy notes that shoreline details can change and that onshore events are organized by local shoreline communities, not by Argosy.
The Rest of December's Evenings
The rest of the December calendar fills in around Kirkland's Christmas Ship dates. Three events come in early December, one lands the night before the Marina Park sailing, and one shares a sailing day.
Friday, December 4. Google Lights fills Feriton Spur Park at 509 6th Street S with more than 10,000 bulbs, from 5 to 7 p.m. The KDA's listing includes festive music, animals to meet at the pickleball court, and a visit from Mortimer the moose.
Saturday, December 5. Geoffrey Castle's Celtic Christmas plays Kirkland Performance Center at 2 and 7 p.m. on its 20th Anniversary Tour, with The Seattle Irish Dance Company, The All-Star Celtic Band, Irish tenor Dan Connolly and singer Emily McIntosh, a former Miss Kirkland.
Wednesday, December 9. Christmas With The Carpenters, with Sue Nixon and Carpenters Once More, at 7 p.m. at KPC.
Thursday, December 17. The KDA's Sips and Sweaters Wine Walk runs through participating downtown shops from 5 to 8 p.m. The Nutcracker run at KPC opens at 7 p.m. that same night, the evening before the Marina Park sailing.
Sunday, December 20. Bellevue Classical Ballet's Nutcracker Suite, a one-act program with dancers from the company's children's, pre-professional and adult groups, plays KPC at 4 p.m. The Christmas Ship sails from Kirkland City Dock that afternoon and evening, but all three of its shoreline stops are private events.
If you're planning a winter listing or purchase around the holidays in Kirkland, the Pacific Northwest Partners team can help you set your timeline around these dates. Request a complimentary home valuation or schedule a consultation.
