Jersey City's 2026 holiday calendar doesn't come from one central organizer. The Historic Downtown Special Improvement District, the Newport waterfront's events team, the Riverview Farmers Market crew in the Heights and Loew's Jersey Theatre in Journal Square each schedule their own events. This year their dates land on top of each other. Both tree lightings fall on Tuesday, December 1. Both of the season's large holiday markets open on Saturday, December 5. The hours are staggered, though, so one evening can take in two lightings and one Saturday can take in two markets.
That's why it helps to read the season as a set of neighborhood calendars running side by side. Several new bakeries, cafes and bars opened this fall within walking distance of these events.
Thanksgiving morning starts at the Colgate Clock
The Jersey City Turkey Day 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run are on Thursday, November 26, 2026, at the Colgate Clock. The 1-mile run starts at 9 a.m. and costs $18. The 5K starts at 10 a.m. and costs $45. Both prices go up after 11:59 p.m. EST on November 15, so a reader registering on publish day still has about ten days at the current rate.
The 5K is an out-and-back on the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. It starts at the clock, heads north past Grundy Pier, the Hyatt Regency and the Pier 1 Apartments pier, turns at the Merchant Ship Propeller and comes back the same way to finish at the clock. On race morning, that puts runners on the waterfront between Paulus Hook and Newport, which are the two areas that hold tree lightings five days later.
Tuesday, December 1: two lightings, an hour apart
The Historic Downtown SID's Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Ceremony runs from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the stage area of the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Mall. There will be gifts from Santa, cookies and hot chocolate. The sponsors are the Historic Downtown Jersey City Special Improvement District, Smile Preschool & Nursery and Whole Spectrum Autism.
The Newport Tree Lighting is the same evening, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Town Square Park on Town Square Place.
The two events overlap by an hour and a half. The Downtown ceremony starts first and ends half an hour before Newport's does. So families with young children and an early bedtime can pick the 5 p.m. start on Newark Avenue. Anyone heading home from work later can still reach Town Square Park before it wraps up at 8.
Each lighting has a new place nearby. On the Downtown side, House of Amrut opened this fall at 136 Newark Avenue. It's a whiskey tasting room from Sati Sharma, co-creator of the Brick Lane restaurant group, and it's on the same street as the lighting stage. At Newport, Carlitos Barbecue Taqueria opened in October at Newport Centre, 30 Mall Drive. Founder Carlos Castillo's pit-smoked barbecue tacos are now in the food court.
Saturday, December 5: the Heights in the morning, Downtown in the afternoon
The bigger overlap comes four days later. The Heights Holiday Market returns to Riverview-Fisk Park on Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Riverview Farmers Market team describes it as one of the city's biggest holiday shopping events. They expect more than 200 local makers, artists, food businesses and small businesses, plus music and the park's views.
That same Saturday, the HDSID Happy Holiday Market opens its first weekend at Grove Street PATH Plaza and The Ashford Rooftop, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It sells locally handmade goods and adds a live DJ, bounce house activities and holiday decor. A 360 photo booth from the Office of Cultural Affairs runs from 1 to 5 p.m., a live caricature artist works from 2 to 4 p.m., and Santa visits from 2 to 3 p.m. The 2026 vendor application closed after the market sold out.
The Heights market opens an hour earlier and closes two hours earlier, so you can do both in one day. Here's one way to do it:
- Morning in the Heights. Get to Riverview-Fisk Park near the 10 a.m. opening, while all 200-plus vendors are still fully stocked. Kitty O'Shea's at 49 Beacon Avenue soft-opened in October and is the closest new stop. It comes from a group whose members have been involved with Grace O'Malley's and Irving Public.
- Early afternoon coffee Downtown. Forum Coffee opened at 200 Greene Street in September. It's a New Jersey coffee brand from founders Courtney Foti and Phelan McGreal.
- Santa at 2 p.m. Families can time their arrival at Grove Street PATH Plaza for the 2-to-3 p.m. Santa visit and the caricature artist who starts at the same time.
- Something to carry home. Two new Downtown bakeries are a short walk from the plaza. Sinta at 240 Newark Street soft-opened at the end of October. It's the new Filipino bakery from the family behind Baking Mama, with founder Tina Rivera, according to Hoboken Girl. Feliz Deliz opened its permanent storefront at 336 Second Street in September. Founders Diana Valenzuela and Victor Johnson started the brand in 2022.
Neither market is a one-time chance to shop. The Heights event is a single day, but the Downtown market comes back for a second weekend.
The second weekend, and Journal Square's run of shows
After the December 5 overlap, the dates spread out. The Downtown market runs again on December 6, 12 and 13, and Journal Square takes over weeknights. Loew's Jersey Theatre has holiday programming on three straight evenings in the second week of December, then a Nutcracker the following Saturday.
| Date |
Event |
Where |
Time |
| Sun., Dec. 6 |
HDSID Happy Holiday Market |
Grove Street PATH Plaza and The Ashford Rooftop |
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 8 |
Derek Hough, "Dance For The Holidays" |
Loew's Jersey Theatre |
Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m. |
| Wed., Dec. 9 |
"Unwrapped: An Acoustic Holiday" |
Loew's Jersey Theatre |
Doors 6 p.m., show 7 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 10 |
"Christmas with Chris Tomlin" |
Loew's Jersey Theatre |
Doors 5:30 p.m., show 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 |
Triangle Park Community Center gift giveaway |
247 Old Bergen Road |
4 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat. and Sun., Dec. 12 and 13 |
HDSID Happy Holiday Market |
Grove Street PATH Plaza and The Ashford Rooftop |
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 |
Nimbus Dance, "Jersey Nutcracker" |
Loew's Jersey Theatre |
11 a.m. and 4 p.m. |
The theater's event pages say details can change, so check the listing before you go. Nimbus Dance's "Jersey Nutcracker" has an 11 a.m. performance as well as the 4 p.m. one, and the morning show is the one that fits a young child's nap schedule.
The Triangle Park Community Center gift giveaway on December 12 is its fourth annual. It overlaps with the second Saturday of the Downtown market. Shop Hudson County reports that the center also holds a Winterfest at Ferris Triangle Park, with a tree lighting, cocoa, holiday activities and gifts.
Dinner between events, Downtown
The lightings and markets cover the afternoons and early evenings. The fall's new dining rooms make it easy to stay in the neighborhood afterward. Vicoletto soft-opened in October at 357 7th Street. It's an Italian restaurant from the team behind Hoboken's Blue Eyes.
On the downtown waterfront, the team behind Battello, including chef Ryan DePersio, plans to open Barchino, a sister restaurant focused on pizza, at 502 Washington Boulevard in early December. That's the same weeks the markets and lightings are running.
So the season runs from a 9 a.m. fun run at the Colgate Clock on Thanksgiving to an 11 a.m. Nutcracker in Journal Square on December 19. Four of the dated events land on just two days: December 1 and December 5.
At Andrew Botticelli, we keep track of these neighborhood calendars because the people we work with in Jersey City ask about them. Which market fits a Saturday with kids, and which lighting fits a commute home? If you're hosting family this December and want a plan for the Heights, Downtown or the waterfront, contact us and we'll help you put one together.
