The Port of Everett is holding its 19th annual Holiday on the Bay on Saturday, Dec. 5, and this year it is leaving out the holiday market. On its Holiday on the Bay 2026 page, the Port says that "after much consideration" it will not host one at the festival, and it points shoppers and vendors to a market at Hotel Indigo over Thanksgiving weekend.
The waterfront now handles the free family day, the tree lighting and the boat parade. Holiday shopping happens in downtown storefronts, plus one Saturday on the waterfront at Hotel Indigo. Over about four weeks the season moves back and forth between the two ends of town, and each place has its own job.
The Port Kept the Festival and Passed Off the Market
The Port's note is short:
"Please note: After much consideration, we have decided not to host a holiday market at this event. Hotel Indigo hosts a holiday market the weekend of Thanksgiving and can be contacted for more information regarding becoming a vendor or attending the event."
The free family activities the Port lists include winter-themed crafts with Imagine Children's Museum, face painting and balloon creations by Giggles Entertainment, live holiday steel drum music by Panessence, s'mores roasting at fire pits, touch-a-truck, and kids' activities from Everett Sail & Power Squadron. The Port also says that select waterfront restaurants will run holiday specials and that food vendors will be on site.
A holiday market isn't on that list this year, so the shopping happens on other days and in other places.
Downtown's Shopping Night Is Thursday, Nov. 19
The first shopping event of the season is downtown on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 4 to 8 p.m. The Downtown Everett Association's Wintertide Sip & Shop sends ticket holders through boutiques and galleries, with a different local, handcrafted beverage poured at each stop. Every ticket comes with one tasting glass, a six-compartment wine tote and 12 tasting tickets.
Tickets are sold through Zeffy for $35 plus tax. The $30 early-bird tier has already closed. Check-in is at the Downtown Everett Association office, 1511 26th Street, or at the Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Avenue.
The list of participating shops shows what downtown Everett's retail looks like this year:
- Petrikor
- Everett Mercantile
- Maintenance Salon
- Union Yoga
- Vision Quest Bookstore
- The Side Quest
- Brush & Bloom
- The Barkside Cafe
- Moss + Marigold
- Burkett's
- Funko
- The Cakewalk Shop
- Cassandra's Closet
The participating wineries and distilleries are Sin Banderas Wines, James Bay Distillers, Whidbey Island Distillery, Whitman Hill Winery, Tirriddis Sparkling Wines, TruthTeller Winery, Michael Florentino Cellars, Kasari Cellars, Naches Heights Vineyard, Glacier View Cellars and Evergreen Family Wines and Abacela.
There's no food truck court or festival stage. The evening runs through the shops themselves, and that's where downtown's part of the season is centered.
Thanksgiving Weekend Covers Both Ends of Town
The day after Thanksgiving starts the split. On Friday, Nov. 27, Everett's Wintertide season officially begins with the annual downtown tree lighting. Visit Everett has the event page with the evening's schedule.
The next morning, the shopping heads to the water. Hotel Indigo Seattle Everett Waterfront hosts its Annual Holiday Craft Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1028 13th Street. This is the market the Port pointed shoppers toward. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. The hotel describes handcrafted gifts, holiday décor and seasonal treats from local artisans and vendors, and the first 50 guests get a free Everett-inspired tote bag. Paid parking is available on-site.
The address matters here. Hotel Indigo is at 1028 13th Street, the same address the Port gives for Pacific Rim Plaza, where Holiday on the Bay takes place a week later. The holiday shopping the Port sends people to is on the same block as its festival, held a week earlier.
December 5 Is the Waterfront's Day
Holiday on the Bay runs from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, rain or shine, in and around Pacific Rim Plaza at Waterfront Place. The Port's page lays out how the afternoon goes:
- Noon. The festival opens with free crafts, face painting, fire-pit s'mores, touch-a-truck and steel drum music.
- Through 3:30 p.m. "Frozen"-inspired Ice Queen and Ice Princess characters from Enchanting Events do meet-and-greets, and the photo line closes at 3:30.
- Late afternoon. The waterfront tree lighting and Santa's arrival by boat.
- Around 5:30 p.m. The lighted boat parade, put on by Mukilteo Yacht Club, leaves Guest Dock 5 near Pacific Rim Plaza.
You can watch the parade from the waterfront trails and from select restaurants, and the Port has a viewing locations map on its site.
The Port also collects donations for the annual Marine Toys for Tots drive, which is accepting new, unwrapped toys. The drop-off is already open: from Nov. 2 through Dec. 4, toys can go to the lobby of the Port's Waterfront Center near Scuttlebutt Restaurant, and on Dec. 5 they can be brought to the festival.
The next morning, Sunday, Dec. 6, the waterfront hosts the fourth annual Holiday on the Bay 5K, produced with Snohomish Running Company. The race starts at 9 a.m. sharp on a flat route past the Port of Everett Marina, Port Gardner Bay and the Olympic Mountains, and the Port encourages blue and white winter-themed outfits. Registration is on the Port's site.
Then the Season Moves Back Downtown
After the 5K, the season goes back downtown for its last scheduled stop. The Downtown Everett Cookie Crawl is Saturday, Dec. 12, from noon to 5 p.m. It covers 12 downtown stops, with a specialty cookie at each and a crawl box to carry them in. Tickets and stop details will be posted on the Cookie Crawl event page.
Sip & Shop, the tree lighting and the Cookie Crawl all send people into downtown storefronts. The waterfront events gather people in one plaza for one day. In 2026, the only shopping event on the waterfront is the hotel's Saturday bazaar.
New Owners and a New Lounge Downtown
If you're looking for somewhere to eat between downtown events, a longtime pizzeria has new owners this fall and a lounge is serving on Hewitt.
Brooklyn Bros. Pizzeria has served Brooklyn-style pizza in Snohomish County for 20 years, and My Everett News reported in late October that husband-and-wife team Jonny Elia and Caitlin Hoover have taken over the downtown Everett restaurant. Elia started there in 2008 as a temporary dishwasher. The outlet also reports that the restaurant still refuses to put pineapple on pizza.
A few blocks away, The Alley Lounge is at 1709 Hewitt Ave. and serves breakfast through dinner, plus drinks. My Everett News identifies the owner as Hector Lizarraga, who also runs Tacos and Beer.
The waterfront had its own ownership change this fall. Harbor Marine, the marina retailer in the Port's Craftsman District on 10th Street, passed from founder Lauren Bivins to Steve Carver, CEO of Northwest Marine Services. My Everett News reported that the new lease began Sept. 1, Carver plans to keep the Harbor Marine name and services, and Bivins will stay on to help for three years.
The Port has also signed a new waterfront tenant that isn't part of this season. ATHLEISURE COLLECTIVE signed for about 4,000 square feet plus a patio in Marina Village, on the South Marina promenade between Anthony's HomePort and Woodfire, with plans for group fitness studios, a health-focused café and retail. The Port's announcement puts its expected opening in early to mid-2027.
Here's the 2026 season in order: Sip & Shop downtown on Nov. 19, the downtown tree lighting on Nov. 27, the Hotel Indigo Craft Bazaar on Nov. 28, Holiday on the Bay on Dec. 5, the 5K on Dec. 6, and the Cookie Crawl downtown on Dec. 12.
If a December 5 lighted boat parade or a Thursday-night Sip & Shop has you weighing whether downtown or the waterfront fits your day-to-day life, Milaina West Group knows both ends of Everett well. Book a free consultation to start your Seattle move.
