Tacoma’s Holiday Season Is Starting Before Halloween
If your holiday shopping usually begins in a December panic, the Tacoma Holiday Festival is offering a head start. Its 44th edition takes over the Tacoma Dome from Thursday, October 15, through Sunday, October 18. Vendors will bring handmade crafts, home décor, clothing, specialty foods and other gift ideas to the four-day show.
The festival is also designed for people who want to wander rather than work through a shopping list. A 25-foot living blue spruce will greet visitors as they enter the arena. Unlike a typical cut Christmas tree, organizers say this one will be kept alive during the show and replanted afterward.
Families can find Santa at the Dome each day, with photos available for purchase. Holiday workshops and live music add reasons to linger, including daily performances by pianist Kristin Fletcher. Friday evening brings a jazz performance alongside the festival’s Ladies Night hours.
One of this year’s more unexpected stops is Puppermint Lane, where a different rescue organization will introduce visitors to adoptable dogs each day. The groups will also accept pet food donations throughout the festival. For visitors who have room in their lives for a new companion, it could become more than a holiday shopping trip.
The festival is collecting new toys and books at the entrance for Toys for Kids at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. Donations should be suitable for ages 0–14; the organizers ask visitors to skip plush toys, sound books and items with religious or holiday-specific themes. There is also an option to donate money during online ticket checkout.
The show runs 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $19.50 at the door or $22.15 online including fees; children 12 and under are free. Friday’s Ladies Night admission is $5 at the box office starting at 4 p.m. For the workshop lineup, ticket offers and other planning details, visit the official Tacoma Holiday Festival information page here.
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