At 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, the holiday lights at City Center Park will come on again at 7700 Market Boulevard. It will be the first time the ceremony has been held there since construction began on the Civic Campus. The tree being lit is new as well. A permanent holiday tree was planted in the park in October 2025, and this year it hosts the city's ceremony for the first time.
The city put a lot of work into getting the park ready for that night. It is less ready for the rest of the winter. The civic half of the new downtown is done. The commercial half and some of the cold-weather features are still months out. For this season, that means downtown hosts the big moment, and the Arboretum, the Dinner Theatres and your own neighborhood streets fill most of the other nights.
Why last December happened somewhere else
The 2025 ceremony took place on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Chanhassen Recreation Center. The city's council recap from that November said the move was "due to ongoing Civic Campus construction." The Rec Center at 2310 Coulter Boulevard did the job, but it gave a downtown tradition a temporary home away from downtown.
That construction is now largely finished. Finance & Commerce reported on Oct. 7 that Kraus-Anderson completed the $30.47 million Civic Campus. It includes a two-story, 40,945-square-foot building with City Hall, the council chambers and the senior center, plus parking under the building, new surface lots and a paved courtyard. The project was designed by BKV Group, and construction started in June 2024. This year's tree lighting is the first since then that the campus can host the way it was meant to.
What is open at City Center Park, and what is still coming
The park sits where the old City Hall used to be. It was planned as a "dynamic, multi-use park" with a playground, a playable splash fountain, an event plaza, a skate park, pickleball courts, and a park building with restrooms and concessions, all "for gatherings, performances and year-round enjoyment." According to the city's Civic Campus page, some of that is ready now and some is not.
Open now:
- The new playground
- The pickleball courts
- The refreshed skate park
- The "outdoor living room" under the large canopy just north of the park building
Still in progress:
- The splash pad, which has not opened
- Lights for nighttime pickleball, which are not working yet
- Landscaping and other finishing work around the park
Winter use is the part still undecided. The city's skating rink page lists City Center Park rink information for the 2026/27 season as coming later. Until the city posts details, plan on the new park as a place to gather on Dec. 5, not yet as a place to skate.
How Dec. 5 actually runs
Even with the ceremony back downtown, the day still happens in two places. The city's free Holiday Market stays at the Recreation Center, and the lighting moves to the new park. The full Saturday looks like this:
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Holiday Market at the Chanhassen Recreation Center. Admission is free.
- 5 p.m.: Tree Lighting Ceremony at City Center Park. It's free and includes live reindeer, treats, bonfires, s'mores, carolers and a visit from Santa. The Southwest Metro Chamber of Commerce, Buy Chanhassen and SouthWest Transit are partners, and The Mustard Seed is a sponsor.
- 5 to 9 p.m.: The first night of the free Tour of Lights, which runs every evening through Dec. 31 across Chanhassen neighborhoods.
The Tour of Lights is the part of December that mostly happens outside downtown. Homeowners register their displays with the city, and registration for the 2026 tour opens in November on the city's holiday events page. If your street goes all out every year, register before Dec. 5 so your display is on the tour from the first night.
The commercial half arrives later
Most of the cold-weather appeal of a downtown comes from its storefronts. In Chanhassen, those are still under construction across the intersection.
Roers Companies is redeveloping about 4 acres near West 78th Street and Market Boulevard, the site of the former Country Inn & Suites and the closed Chanhassen Cinema. The approved plans call for two buildings with about 310 market-rate apartments upstairs, five first-floor commercial spaces totaling nearly 15,000 square feet for restaurants, retail or other services, and about 408 underground parking stalls. Some of those stalls will be open to the public for people visiting the commercial tenants.
The opening dates depend on which source you check. The city's project page lists December 2026 for Harlow, the east building, and September 2027 for Bennett, the west building. Roers' own Harlow page says "Opening Winter 2027." No commercial tenants have been named publicly for either building. Even if Harlow opens on the city's earlier date, its ground-floor restaurants and shops aren't part of this holiday season.
The street is close to done. The city's Market Boulevard project lists November 2026 for completion. On the day this post goes up, one more paving closure is still in place. A city notice posted Oct. 13 said westbound West 78th Street and Market Boulevard north of West 78th would be closed through Friday, Oct. 23. November is a schedule target, not a confirmed finish date, but the timing suggests Market Boulevard should be in better shape for Dec. 5 traffic than it was most of this year.
Where the rest of the season's evenings land
With the park's winter plans still pending and the storefronts not yet open, most holiday plans between now and New Year's center on the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.
| What | Where | Dates | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween Party, 42nd year | Chanhassen Recreation Center | Sat., Oct. 24, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | $6 per child ages 2 to 12 |
| Scarecrows, Pumpkins & Harvest Fun | Minnesota Landscape Arboretum | Daily through Nov. 1 | Arboretum admission |
| Music in the Garden | Minnesota Landscape Arboretum | Sun., Oct. 25, and Sat., Oct. 31 | Arboretum admission |
| ANNIE | Chanhassen Dinner Theatres | Now through Feb. 27, 2027 | Ticketed |
| Northern Lights | Minnesota Landscape Arboretum | Nov. 20 to Jan. 3, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. | $25 members, $35 nonmembers |
| A Three Tenors Christmas | Chanhassen Dinner Theatres | Nov. 27 to 29 | Ticketed |
| Dashing Through the Snow Plows | Chanhassen Dinner Theatres | Nov. 28 to Dec. 31 | Ticketed |
| Tree Lighting and Tour of Lights | City Center Park, then neighborhoods | Dec. 5 to 31 | Free |
The Halloween Party is the city's last big Rec Center event before the Dec. 5 Holiday Market. It includes trick-or-treating, games, hayrides, bounce castles, crafts and refreshments.
Northern Lights is the new event on the list. The Arboretum calls it a "brand-new light display" with 18 new interactive installations along a one-way path. It uses professional light projection, uplighting and synchronized sound on the oaks and pine canopies. The event's FAQ says it uses custom-designed lighting instead of traditional string lights. The ticketing details are worth reading before you go. Children through age 15 get in free but still need a ticket and must be with a paid adult. Parking is free. Gate tickets, if any are left, cost $10 more and are credit card only. The Arboretum expects the most popular times to sell out because the event is new. It is closed Nov. 26, Dec. 24 and Dec. 25.
If you want a full holiday weekend in town, Dec. 5 and 6 work well. Spend Saturday at the market and then the park. On Sunday evening, go to Northern Lights at the Arboretum or a holiday show at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. The park and the light display are both new this year.
The new downtown was built to change how people spend time in the middle of the city, and that kind of change also tends to show up in what nearby homes are worth. If you live near Market Boulevard or West 78th Street and want to know how the finished Civic Campus and the upcoming Roers buildings could affect your home's value, Steve Pemberton Realty Group can put together a candid valuation. Ask us "What's My Home Worth?" and we'll walk you through it before the storefronts open.
