"The many options to choose from ensure we can carry this tradition forward," Downtown Association of Yakima Executive Director Curt Wilson said in the City of Yakima's release when the 2025 tree came downtown. Those options are evergreens on private property around town. The centerpiece of downtown's holiday season starts out as somebody's backyard tree.
Today, the 2026 tree is still standing wherever it grew. On October 23, the City and the Downtown Association of Yakima opened nominations, and the dates that followed set the season's schedule. The pick happens November 9, a crane lifts the tree out on November 18, and it's lit on December 6. The middle date is the one that's new. The tree reaches Millennium Plaza earlier this year than in any of the last four, so it'll be standing downtown for most of the events that fill the second half of November.
The tree has a deadline before it has an address
The City's October 23 release is specific about what makes a tree eligible. Height is only part of it. The crew needs room to work, so the property counts as much as the tree.
- Shape and size: a well-shaped evergreen, 35 to 50 feet tall
- Access: easy to reach for removal
- Crane space: a spot that fits a 25-foot by 45-foot crane
- Trailer space: room nearby for a 50-foot trailer
- Timing: nominations stay open until the final pick on November 9
- Contact: Cally Price, Assistant to the City Manager, at 509-575-6040
Once a nomination comes in, someone from the Downtown Association contacts the owner and sets up a time to look at the tree and how easy it is to reach. The tree is "cut and lifted by crane, not felled," and it's removed in a single day. Russell Crane and Carrell Crane are coordinating the removal, transport and installation with the City, the Downtown Association and the Yakima Police Department.
Picking a tree is an actual selection, with more than one candidate. For 2024, the City said it got more than a dozen entries. Barry and Jan Rosenkranz donated both the 2023 and 2024 trees. In 2025 the tree came from Saul Parraga, who lives downtown. NBC Right Now reported it at 45 feet tall and more than 7,000 pounds.
Four years of the same tradition on four different calendars
The lighting has always been tied to the Holiday Lighted Parade, which is held on a Sunday in early December. The install date is the part that moves, and the City's past releases show how much.
| Season | Tree arrives at Millennium Plaza | Lighting ceremony | Days standing before lighting | Donor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Monday, Nov. 27 | Sunday, Dec. 3 | 6 | Barry and Jan Rosenkranz |
| 2024 | Friday, Nov. 22 | Sunday, Dec. 1 | 9 | Barry and Jan Rosenkranz |
| 2025 | Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Sunday, Dec. 7 | 12 | Saul Parraga |
| 2026 | Wednesday, Nov. 18 | Sunday, Dec. 6 | 18 | To be selected Nov. 9 |
In 2023, the tree stood at the plaza for less than a week before the lighting. This year it'll be there for two and a half weeks, three times as long. An install the week before Thanksgiving puts the tree across from the Capitol Theatre during the Nutcracker, through the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and into the first trolley weekend. In 2023, all of those events happened before the tree arrived.
The Yakima Herald-Republic describes Millennium Plaza as the park across from the Capitol Theatre. From November 18 on, anyone heading into a show walks right past it.
What downtown looks like around the tree's dates
Read in order, the November and December calendar falls on either side of the tree's three key dates. Here is the sequence as of publication.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, noon to 5 p.m. The 10th annual Sip & Stroll, a 21-and-over beer, wine, cider and spirits tasting run by the Downtown Association and Drink Yakima. Tickets are $25 and come with a commemorative glass and five tasting scrips. Extra scrips cost $3 each. Check-in is at the Downtown Association office, 14 S. 1st St., from noon to 4:30 p.m., and the event goes on rain or shine. The same day, State Fair Park hosts the Yakima World's Vintage Fair in the Modern Living Building from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 9. Final tree selection.
- Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11 and 12. "The Music Man" at the Capitol Theatre, part of the 2026–27 Capitol Best season.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The first of two Holiday Markets at Single Hill Brewing Company, 102 N. Naches Ave., with local makers, food and coffee.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18. The tree is lifted out and installed at Millennium Plaza.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m. NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet at the Capitol Theatre, two days after the tree goes up across the street.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Downtown Yakima's Small Business Saturday. The Downtown Association says the list of participating businesses is still being finalized. Yakima Valley Trolleys starts its Santa Trolley and Candlelight Trolley Rides the same weekend. Rides run Nov. 28–29, Dec. 5–6, Dec. 12–13 and Dec. 19–20.
- Saturday, Dec. 5. Single Hill's second Holiday Market runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the Yakima Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops Spectacular opens at the Capitol Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
The Downtown Association hasn't posted a 2026 date for its own Holiday Market yet. Its holiday page still shows last year's placeholder. If that market lands in the same stretch, it'll be another event with the tree already in place.
November 18 on Third Street
The 2026 install-day logistics haven't been announced. Last year's release shows what the day involves. On November 25, 2025, the tree was moved between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and planted at Millennium Plaza around 12:30 p.m. Traffic from North 6th Street west along Yakima Avenue to 3rd Street could be affected for 15 to 30 minutes. Third Street between Yakima Avenue and Chestnut Avenue was closed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., along with the parking spaces on 3rd next to the plaza. The City noted that transport plans could change depending on weather and equipment.
In 2025, the Downtown Association also hung lights on the plaza's other trees on December 2 and asked for volunteers through its office at 509-571-1328. No 2026 volunteer call has gone out yet. Last year's timing suggests it would come between the install and the parade.
The route changes with the donor's address. In 2023, the City's photo of the week showed crews hauling the tree in from Gleed. In 2024, the published transport route started near 40th Avenue and Fruitvale Boulevard. The 2026 route depends on whose tree gets picked on November 9.
December 6 ends at the tree
The 27th Annual Yakima Holiday Lighted Parade steps off Sunday, December 6, at 6 p.m. The parade organizers describe the route this way. It starts at the Salvation Army, goes down Yakima Avenue, turns onto 3rd Street and finishes in front of the Capitol Theatre. After that, Yakima's holiday tree is officially lit. Santa rides at the end of the parade and poses for "Selfies with Santa" in front of the theater, and Yakima Federal Savings and Loan is this year's parade partner. Entering a float or group is free, and the parade's contact is Holly Cousens at 509.759.4872.
This year, a matinee lands on parade day. The Yakima Symphony Orchestra's second Holiday Pops Spectacular performance starts at 4 p.m. on December 6, two hours before the parade begins. The trolleys are running that weekend too.
The Capitol keeps going after the lighting. A Celtic Christmas with Everdream plays December 12 at 7:30 p.m., and "The Wiz" runs December 17 and 18. Both shows will have the lit tree across the street. Our summer post on downtown Yakima's Thursday nights covers the same few blocks at a warmer time of year.
If you have a 35-to-50-foot evergreen with room around it for a crane, you have until November 9 to call Cally Price at 509-575-6040. Your tree could be the one standing across from the Capitol Theatre this year. At Rau Peterson Team, we follow the dates like these that shape life in Central Washington's towns, and we're happy to talk about what your own Yakima property is worth whenever you're curious.
