Where does Kirkland light its tree? Two Decembers ago, it lit it on the shore of Lake Washington. On December 7, 2024, the Winterfest Tree Lighting ran from 3 to 8 p.m. at Marina Park, with vendors, food and live music by the water, according to the City of Kirkland's This Week in Kirkland newsletter. Now the tree lights at Peter Kirk Park. This year the City is adding a second holiday night on the same lawn, and the evening that opens the season starts earlier than it did last year.
Put together, the 2026 calendar has a new center of gravity. Most of downtown Kirkland's holiday season now runs along a short line from the Kirkland Urban plaza through Peter Kirk Park to Feriton Spur Park beside the Google campus.
The 2025 move that set up this year
The move inland happened in 2025. The City's November 26, 2025 newsletter placed Winterfest at Kirkland Urban on Saturday, November 29, 2025, from 4 to 8 p.m. The annual tree lighting followed at 7:30 p.m. at nearby Peter Kirk Park.
The same season brought something downtown had never had. The Kirkland Downtown Association ran the city's first winter ice rink on Lee Johnson Field inside Peter Kirk Park, open November 26 through January 11. "This is REAL ice, so bundle up!" the City wrote. Seattle's Child listed last season's tickets at $15 Monday through Thursday, $20 on weekends and $25 during holiday hours, with skate rental included.
So Peter Kirk Park did more than host one evening in 2025. From late November to mid-January, the park also had skaters on the ice.
The 2026 clock runs earlier
This year's opening weekend keeps the same two-venue format and moves it up on both the calendar and the clock. Kirkland Urban's WinterFest 2026 page sets the free event for Saturday, November 28, from 3 to 7 p.m. at 425 Urban Plaza. The Kirkland Downtown Association's tree lighting follows at Peter Kirk Park at 6:15 p.m.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| WinterFest date | Saturday, Nov. 29 | Saturday, Nov. 28 |
| WinterFest hours | 4 to 8 p.m. | 3 to 7 p.m. |
| Tree lighting at Peter Kirk Park | 7:30 p.m. | 6:15 p.m. |
The tree now lights 75 minutes earlier than last year, and the plaza program opens and closes an hour earlier.
Kirkland Urban's lineup for the afternoon includes:
- Photos with Santa in his sleigh
- Live ice sculpting and snowfall on the promenade
- Holiday carolers from Premier Vocal Entertainment
- Line dancing tutorials with the Boot Boogie Babes
- Balloon creations by Hoopla
- Alpacas from Enchanted Farms
- Kids' crafts, sweet treats and giveaways while supplies last
Kirkland Urban notes that minors must be with an adult at all times while on the property.
Peter Kirk Park gets a night of its own
Kirkland Parks and Community Services is launching Reindeer and Reels, which the City calls its "brand-new winter celebration." It runs Friday, December 11, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Peter Kirk Park, 202 3rd Street.
The program has kids' crafts, food trucks and an outdoor screening of Disney's Frozen on the City's large LED movie screen. Real reindeer will be on hand, and the City hints at a surprise visit from some winter princesses. Admission is free, and questions go to 425-587-3336.
That gives the park two December-season evenings run by two different organizers. The KDA hosts the tree lighting on November 28, and the City's parks department hosts Reindeer and Reels two weeks later. The lakefront tree lighting of 2024 was a single evening. In 2026, the inland park has a recurring role.
The southern end of the line: Feriton Spur Park
Head south from Peter Kirk Park and you reach the other half of the season. The Kirkland Downtown Association's winter events page lists the Google Lights kickoff at Feriton Spur Park, 509 6th Street S, on Friday, December 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. More than 10,000 lights cover the Google campus and the adjoining park.
The kickoff features festive music and a petting area set up on the pickleball court. A moose named Mortimer will walk the grounds posing for photos.
The kickoff is a two-hour event, but the display has stayed up much longer. During the 2025 season, the City reported that Google Holiday Lights shone nightly from 4 to 9 p.m. through January 9 and hosted an ornament swap, where visitors brought a gently used ornament and took home a "new to you" one. That long run is why Feriton Spur works as the season's second anchor. For more than a month, there's something lit up at both ends of this short stretch of downtown.
Lake Street still has a role, in smaller pieces
From November 19 to December 19, the KDA will have two Santa-letter mailboxes out. One stands at the corner of Kirkland Avenue and Lake Street, and the other is at Urban Plaza. The KDA reminds families to include a return address so Santa can write back. Having one box near the lake and one at Kirkland Urban mirrors the season's new layout.
The KDA Sips and Sweaters Wine Walk on Thursday, December 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. covers downtown storefronts. Ticketed stops include Purpose Boutique, Lake Street Diamond, Heyday, Via Lago, Vision Music School, The Remontant, Mermaid Hair Extentions and Moss Bay Hall. It's the one evening on this calendar that's mostly about the shops, not the parks.
The 2026 season in date order
- Thursday, Nov. 19: Santa-letter mailboxes go out at Kirkland Avenue and Lake Street and at Urban Plaza, and stay through Dec. 19.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: WinterFest at Kirkland Urban, 3 to 7 p.m. The tree lighting at Peter Kirk Park is at 6:15 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Google Lights kickoff at Feriton Spur Park, 5 to 7 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 11: Reindeer and Reels at Peter Kirk Park, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 17: Sips and Sweaters Wine Walk downtown, 5 to 8 p.m.
Three of the four evening events fall on Fridays or Saturdays between November 28 and December 11, and two of them take place in Peter Kirk Park itself. If you'd like to see how this compares with the city's other districts, our October look at how Kirkland Urban and Totem Lake run on different calendars covers the fall side of that split. For more on the city overall, see our Kirkland neighborhood page.
Hosting family over the holidays or building your December around these dates? The Sessoms Group is happy to share the Kirkland spots we like best on a WinterFest or Google Lights evening, from dinner nearby to the easiest way home. Schedule your concierge consultation.
