Portland Holiday Events
Revel in the city’s holiday spirit with these events and activities.
Visiting Portland for the holidays? From Thanksgiving through year’s end, Portland offers an abundance of celebrations, from the traditional to the unexpected.
Holiday Events & Festivals
The city’s official holiday season kicks off the day after Thanksgiving with the hugely popular tree-lighting ceremony held in Pioneer Courthouse Square. Top-notch performers like Pink Martini help lead the festivities and count down to the moment the towering tree is set aglow.
High above the city, the historic Pittock Mansion creates an equally enchanting scene. Each December, the mansion’s 16 rooms are filled with a breathtaking display of lights, trees and decorations revolving around a chosen theme.
Nearby, the Oregon Zoo provides a dazzling display of twinkling cheer with its ZooLights display, featuring more than a million colored bulbs. (Don’t miss BrewLights, an opportunity to experience ZooLights kids-free while sampling from dozens of beer, cider and seltzer vendors.)
Looking for more tree inspirations? Stroll through a yuletide forest comprising dozens of uniquely adorned Christmas trees at Providence Festival of Trees.
A storybook world comes to life each winter thanks to the Mount Hood Model Engineers. Each November the group allows a coveted glimpse at their elaborate model railroad display, which encompasses nearly 1,200 square feet. Train fans can hop aboard the Holiday Express Train, a vintage steam locomotive that carries Santa and his elves on a yuletide ride from on the Oregon Pacific Railroad in Southeast Portland.
Need some grown-up time? Toast the season with pals at the Holiday Ale Festival in Pioneer Courthouse Square, which boasts more than 50 seasonal craft brews and a special Sunday Beer Brunch.
Holiday Festivals & Events
Get into the spirit with these local festivities.
Holiday Light Displays
In addition to the Oregon Zoo’s dazzling display of twinkling cheer during ZooLights, other beloved holiday light displays include Winter Wonderland at the Portland International Raceway, the Christmas Festival of Lights at The Grottoand Southeast Portland’s Peacock Lane.
Holiday Music
Anyone who appreciates a good carol will love Portland’s Singing Christmas Tree, an annual showcase of both traditional and contemporary holiday music, performed by more than 350 singers, dancers, local actors and a live orchestra. Choir lovers should also catch The Most Wonderful Season by the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus. And get ready to clap and shout along with the region’s premier gospel singers at Gospel Christmas, another annual Oregon Symphony production.
Traditionalists may prefer to ring in the season with more classical fare, such as Handel’s Messiah performed by the the Portland Baroque Orchestra. They’ll also enjoy Comfort & Joy, a concert of classical Christmas music presented by the Oregon Symphony.
For a creative twist on holiday tunes, try the annual Tuba Christmas Concert, where more than 300 tubas play in the middle of downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Holiday Shopping
Check off everyone on your gift list at these festive craft fairs, bazaars and artisan markets.
Holiday Shopping Events
Do your holiday shopping for locally made gifts at hip parties, makers' fairs, sprawling sales and garden grounds filled with handcrafted items.
Portland Saturday Market
Open every Saturday and Sunday from March–December, Portland Saturday Market is the largest arts-and-crafts fair in the U.S.
PDX Pop-Up Shops
PDX Pop-Up Shops return to downtown Portland ever winter, making it easy to find locally made gifts for your holiday shopping list.
Holidays on Stage
What better way to celebrate the holidays than with circus performances backed by a 15-piece orchestra playing the Beatles’ White Album in its entirety?! It makes perfect sense in Portland, where White Album Christmas at the Alberta Rose Theatre has been a tradition since 2008.
Portland Revels launched its beloved Christmas Revels production in 1995. Since then, the troupe has celebrated historic winter solstice traditions each year, often focusing on different historical periods with themes like Commedia Italiana, Nordic Lights and Highland Voyage.
Last but not least, if there’s one can’t-miss seasonal event, it’s the Oregon Ballet Theatre presentation of The Nutcracker — the only George Balanchine-choreographed production of the holiday classic west of the Mississippi.
More Holiday Events
Holiday Express Train
Join Santa Claus and his elves for a magical ride behind Portland’s famous steam locomotives. Vintage rail cars transport you along the Willamette River in the heart of the city.
PDX Pop-Up Shops
PDX Pop-Up Shops return to downtown Portland ever winter, making it easy to find locally made gifts for your holiday shopping list.
ZooLights
As you walk around the zoo, you’ll see a dazzling display of more than 1.5 million lights and experience the zoo in a whole new way. In addition to visiting elephants, mountain goats and other wildlife, you can ride the popular lighted train and carousel, and enjoy hot drinks and local food carts. Photos with…
Cinnamon Bear Holiday Cruises
A holiday tradition for generations, the Cinnamon Bear Cruise brings magic to life. Be the guests of honor on this two-hour cruise. Enjoy holiday treats while a cast of fanciful characters entertains you with storytelling, music and magic. Have your picture taken with the Cinnamon Bear himself atop his magical throne. Make this a holiday…
A Pittock Mansion Christmas: Wonderful World of Books
From children’s classics to modern-day mysteries, this year’s Pittock Mansion Christmas explores the wonderful world of books. Experience the literary visions of local decorators as they transform the Mansion’s rooms into magical storybook settings.
America's Largest Christmas Bazaar
The Christmas Bazaar has 1000 booths, with half of those being handcrafted vendors. The other half of the show consists of selected commercial items geared towards holiday shopping. The Christmas Bazaar started in 1982, and to this day remains small and local, with three employees. During its 38 years the show has kept pace with…
Holiday Ale Festival
The Holiday Ale Festival, set beneath the region’s largest decorated holiday tree, returns every year with more than 50 big, bold beers designed to keep revelers warm on cold winter nights.
A Christmas Carol
Ebenezer Scrooge is a prosperous curmudgeon who believes that personal wealth is far more valuable than the happiness and comfort of others. With an infuriated “Bah! Humbug!” Scrooge summates his feelings of Christmas tidings and charitable giving, but he’s forced to face his selfish ways when three ghosts on Christmas Eve lead him through his…
It Happened One Christmas
Take a fanciful trip to “Santa’s Chalet” in the heart of Grimble’s department store one snowy Christmas Eve. As Walter, the security guard and Frances, the cleaner, make their evening rounds, their holiday fantasies spring to life in this merry, musical spectacle. The two enjoy a tuneful Christmas dinner together, remembering the magic of the…
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
Delicious as a mug of frothy eggnog, meet your new favorite holiday classic! Middle sister Mary finally takes center stage in this charming and clever sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. While happy in the company of books and her piano, Mary has grown tired of her role as the dutiful daughter. When the…
White Album Xmas
White Album Xmas has become a tradition – a way to keep Portland weird during the holiday season. The Nowhere Band – a full 15-piece Beatles orchestra plays the White Album in its entirety, while the jugglers, aerialists, clowns and acrobats of the Portland Circus Allstars present feats of remarkable strength, focus and dexterity. Guaranteed…
Black Nativity 2019
By Langston Hughes. The show was originally first performed off-Broadway on December 11, 1961 and the first play written by an African American to be staged there. Traditional holiday carols are sung in gospel style with a few additional songs selected for the show. This powerful holiday musical will appeal to everyone regardless of their…
Scrooge the Musical
Come and enjoy the magic of Scrooge during the Christmas Holiday. This kid-friendly show will have you laughing, crying and fully interacting with the characters on stage. There’s dancing and singing, along with some very fun audience participation. Don’t miss the opportunity to see this show on its 13th year.
The Grotto’s Christmas Festival of Lights
Presenting the sights, sounds and sensations of the season, The Grotto’s Christmas Festival of Lights is the largest Christmas choral festival in the world. The festival features nearly 160 indoor holiday concerts performed by many of the region’s finest school, church and civic choirs. Offering a family-oriented blend of traditional celebration and serene reflection, the…
Winter Wonderland
Recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest as the “Largest Holiday Light Show West of the Mississippi”, the 26th annual Winter Wonderland will grab your attention with glimmers and glows around every corner. Since 1993, a journey through Winter Wonderland has become a holiday tradition for many families, friends, and social organizations to celebrate the spirit of…
Christmas Ship Parade
The Christmas Ship Parade started in 1954 with one lone sailboat from Portland Yacht Club. Bows of green with some ribbon where tied along the rails and it paraded on the rivers. The next year the parade started to grow Today, the Christmas Ship Fleet averages about 55 to 60 boats between the Columbia and…
The Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition
Together, Pioneer Courthouse Square and Portland Mall Management, Inc. are hosting the Sixth Annual Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition that was originally held throughout Downtown in the early ’90s. The Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition is a fun and festive event that will bring caroling groups of all ages to the heart of downtown.
Tuba Christmas Concert
Downtown will pulse with the melodic sounds of big brass as nearly 300 tubas play in unison for the 29th Annual Tuba Christmas Concert in the heart of downtown. This event is free and open to the public.
Peacock Lane
Each house in this quaint Southeast neighborhood has been decorating for Christmas for decades. Mostly Tudors, the houses are adorned with not only beautiful sparkling lights, but also nativity scenes, rotating Christmas trees and stunningly life-like replicas of Santa and Frosty. Come see the lights on Peacock Lane and you’ll find nothing but good, old-fashioned…
Oregon Symphony Presents Comfort and Joy: A Classical Christmas
Join the Oregon Symphony for an evening of good cheer with seasonal classics, a very merry sing-along and a jubilant celebration sure to put you and yours in the holiday spirit.
Holiday Spirits Fest
Portland Saturday Market presents their Holiday Spirits Fest, Dec. 21 and 22. Spirits Fest highlights local distillers who are shaking up Portland’s vibrant scene. It’s all about meeting the makers of the local crafted spirits and the wonderful concoctions people can create using local spirits. Each distiller will have a signature cocktails to tantalize your…
Stumptown SantaCon
Starting at 2 p.m. at Ankeny Alley and Candy Ultra Lounge, Stumptown SantaCon spans 30 venues, a dance party in the street and three channels from Heartbeat Silent Disco at Santa’s Playground brought to you by the Barrel Room. 100% net proceeds go to support local charities. Last year, over $20,000 was raised. Costumes required….
Warm Up With Whiskey Holiday Cocktail Class
Focus on cocktails perfectly designed for the holidays. Guests will learn how to make whiskey cocktails and a few holiday favorites. This hands-on cocktail class will have each participate making up to five different delicious cocktails from ingredients found in most kitchens.
Cappella Romana – Christmas in Constantinople
This Christmas, journey through time and space with Cappella Romana to experience the holiday in Constantinople. Hear Byzantine music in Greek for Christmas, first performed in the Great Cathedral of Hagia Sophia. Spyridon Antonopoulos, regular singer in Cappella Romana, Byzantine music scholar, and founder and director of Boston-based Byzantine chant ensemble Psaltikon, conducts the men…