The holiday season at Seattle Center starts Nov. 20, when the Seattle Christmas Market opens at Fisher Pavilion. A week later Winterfest fills the rest of the grounds. This year the fountain lawn at the middle of the campus also serves as the public's viewing area for the Memorial Stadium rebuild. The stadium's footprint has changed how people get around the fountain, and several of the season's best free evenings take place on that lawn. If you walk down from Queen Anne for the train, the carols, or the New Year's Eve countdown, you'll also be walking past a stadium going up. Next December that probably won't be true.
The walk has changed since last winter
Seattle Center's September 2026 construction bulletin is the most recent one posted. It says 3rd Ave N is closed between Harrison St. and Thomas St., so pedestrians on the west side are routed around the International Fountain. The covered walkway has been removed. The same bulletin says these changes to the project perimeter will stay in place for the rest of the project.
Some other changes affect how you get in:
- The north entrance to the Seattle Public Schools parking lot from Republican Street is closed.
- Construction vehicles use the Seattle Center maintenance courtyard at the southwest corner of 4th and Republican.
- Seattle Center's construction page also lists closed sidewalks on Republican Street and 4th Ave N from 5th Ave N to Mercer Street.
- Crews work 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends when needed, so a Saturday ice-carving visit could come with some equipment noise.
All of this is as of the September update. Seattle Center has the bulletins on the construction page, so check there before a December outing in case the routes have moved again.
The fountain lawn is where you can see in
According to the September bulletin, structural steel and precast erection were "nearing completion" and interior buildout was underway. That puts the visible frame of the new stadium at or near its full size this winter, while the interior is still being finished.
There are two places to look through the wall. One set of viewing windows is on Harrison St. across from Artists at Play, put back after Labor Day when the project wall was reinstalled. The other is in the center of the International Fountain lawn. The same bulletin planned murals by local artists and students for the south and west sides of the project, to go up before the end of September.
The fence has public art on it too. Seattle Center's Sculpture Walk puts installations at Theatre Commons, Artists at Play Plaza, Founders Court, the Poetry Garden, the Fisher Pavilion rooftop, and the Memorial Stadium construction fence. Some of those pieces were commissioned for the World Cup celebration this summer. That celebration, Let's Play SEA '26, ran June 11 through July 19. The art made for it is still on the grounds for the holidays.
The free nights cluster at the fountain and the Armory
The detour, the viewing windows, and the main free events all sit within a few hundred feet of one another. Winterfest runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 31, and the 2026 Winterfest brochure lists most of its events as free admission. Campus lighting, presented by Climate Pledge Arena, is up from November through February.
The season's longest-running fixture is the Winter Train & Village inside the Armory. It's a late-19th-century model train and village display, and Seattle Center says it has been an annual tradition for 50 years. Visitors can run the train themselves between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The display is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Nov. 27 through Dec. 31. A scavenger hunt entry sheet is available at the Train Station, and donations keep the train running. The display's own event listing says "nearly 50 years," so the anniversary depends on which Seattle Center page you read.
Here are the dated free events, all listed in the brochure:
| Date | What | Where, when |
|---|---|---|
| Fridays Nov. 27–Dec. 18 | Symetra holiday films: The Polar Express, Prancer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf | Armory, 6:30 p.m. |
| Saturdays Nov. 28–Dec. 19 | Ice sculpting | Mural Amphitheatre, noon–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | SANCA Youth Performance Company, Northwest Boychoir, KlezKidz | Armory Stage, 12:30, 2:30, 4 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Garfield Jazz Band | Armory Stage, 12:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Classical Holiday Sing-Along | International Fountain, 6 p.m. |
| Dec. 20 | Washington Trumpet Guild's Trumpet Christmas, then Tubachristmas | 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. |
| Dec. 26 | The Dickens Carolers, Seattle Civic Band | 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. |
At Friday movie nights, Symetra is working with Ceres and Seattle Fudge to provide hosted hot drinks and snacks. Seattle Center names Chan Kitburi and James Royal among the ice carvers. The brochure says events, dates, and times can change, so check the day before.
The Dec. 12 sing-along stands out this year. It happens at the International Fountain, at night, with the stadium's frame on one side of the lawn.
The Christmas Market is the one ticketed piece
The Seattle Christmas Market fills Fisher Pavilion and the South Fountain Lawn with more than 60 local and international vendors. There's live entertainment every day, plus hot chocolate and Glühwein. Single-day admission is timed entry with no re-entry. Children 6 and under get in free, and youth ages 7 to 14, seniors, and military get discounts. The ticket site also sells a $31.99 Season Pass, a $64.99 Family Season Pass, and a $47.99 Tuesday/Thursday Date Night bundle.
Hours change several times over the season, according to Seattle Center's market listing:
- Nov. 20–Dec. 13: weekdays 4 to 9 p.m., weekends 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Thanksgiving, Nov. 26: closed. Black Friday, Nov. 27: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Dec. 14–18: weekdays 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Dec. 19–23: 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Christmas Eve: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Christmas Day: closed.
- Dec. 26: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 27: 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Until Dec. 14, weekday hours start at 4 p.m., so a weekday visit that early in the season means dark skies and the evening crowd. The ticket site gives the season as Nov. 20 through Dec. 26, one day shorter than Seattle Center's listing. If you're planning around Dec. 27, confirm with the market first.
New Year's Eve ends the season at the fountain too
The brochure's Dec. 31 program has three parts. Copastetic plays the Armory from 8 to 11:45 p.m. The Fountain of Light show starts at 9 p.m. with video artists Collide-O-Scope. A Space Needle drone show and fireworks start before midnight. The brochure lists DJ Sharlese for the fountain show, and the Winterfest web page lists DJ Arson Nicki. Either way, someone will be playing music at the fountain.
The fountain is the center of the holiday season and the stadium's main public window at the same time. Getting to the fountain from the west now means taking the detour. The year's last free event happens on the same lawn where the viewing windows are.
Why this is probably the last season like it
Seattle Center's Memorial Stadium project page gives fall 2027 as the stadium's planned completion. Its April 2026 FAQ says "by the end of 2027." Seattle Public Schools says graduations in 2026 and 2027 will be held at other venues while the work continues. If the schedule holds, this is the last full holiday season with an open construction site beside the fountain. By the 2027 holidays, the stadium may be finished or in its final weeks of work.
Closer to home, Queen Anne Ave N has its own events on the calendar. The Queen Anne Fall Wine Walk runs Nov. 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. between McGraw and Galer, with check-in at Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1818 Queen Anne Ave N. The Queen Anne Farmers Market holds a Thanksgiving Harvest Market on Nov. 21 at West Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. The Queen Anne Chamber's calendar lists a Grand Tree Lighting on Dec. 4 from 5 to 6 p.m., the same evening the Armory shows Prancer at 6:30.
On your next walk through the grounds, stop at the viewing windows on the fountain lawn to see how far the stadium has come before it opens. If you want to talk about how this project and other changes around Uptown are affecting home values on the hill, we're happy to put together a free home valuation for you.