When Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village describes its December 19 Holiday Sweet Stroll, it calls one detail "new this year": "luminaria-lined walkways and courtyards," with guests invited to help light them at 5 p.m. The luminarias are scheduled for a Saturday two weeks after most of Sedona's holiday events have already happened.
Leave aside Enchantment Resort's recurring holiday schedule and count the dated public events around town for December 2026, and they cluster. Six of them happen between Friday, December 4 and Sunday, December 6. Two more follow, a concert on December 10 and the Sweet Stroll on December 19.
Six dated events in three days
| Day | Time | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Dec 4 | 4–6 p.m. | Celebrate Sedona and Holiday Market opening | Sedona Arts Center, upper parking lot | Not listed |
| Fri, Dec 4 | 5–6:30 p.m. | Tree Lighting | Tlaquepaque North | Not listed |
| Fri–Sun, Dec 4–6 | Daily | Holiday Market, up to 40 regional artists | Sedona Arts Center | Not listed |
| Sat, Dec 5 | 8–10 a.m. | Breakfast with Santa | The Hub, Posse Grounds Park | Free |
| Sat, Dec 5 | 7:30 p.m. | A Celtic Christmas | Sedona Performing Arts Center | $45.88–$93.49 |
| Sun, Dec 6 | 5–6:30 p.m. | Lighting of the Menorah | Tlaquepaque, Patio del Norte | Not listed |
The weekend also starts with a scheduling conflict.
Friday starts with an overlapping hour
The Sedona Arts Center's Celebrate Sedona runs from 4 to 6 p.m. on December 4 in the center's upper parking lot. It includes ceramics department demos, a ceramics sale, live music and the opening of the Holiday Market exhibition. Celebrate Sedona happens every month. December's edition is the one tied to the holiday market, which brings together up to 40 regional artists working in painting, ceramics, jewelry, fiber art, book arts, photography, glass, woodwork and mixed media.
At 5 p.m., an hour before the arts center wraps up, Tlaquepaque starts its Tree Lighting at Tlaquepaque North. There's entertainment, children's activities and complimentary hot chocolate while families wait for Santa and the 26-foot tree. It ends at 6:30 p.m.
The two events share the hour from 5 to 6 p.m. Anyone who wants both has to choose which one to catch only in part. The Holiday Market stays up through Sunday, so Friday's arts center opening is the easier one to trade away for the tree. The ceramics demos and live music, though, are on Friday's schedule only.
Saturday runs from 7:30 a.m. to after dark
Saturday is the longest day of the weekend. Its daytime events run one after another, and its only overlap comes in the evening.
- 7:30 to 7:55 a.m. The City of Sedona opens Breakfast with Santa at The Hub in Posse Grounds Park with a sensory-friendly session.
- 8 to 10 a.m. The main Breakfast with Santa follows at the same location. Breakfast is free.
- During the day. The Sedona Arts Center Holiday Market is in its second day.
- 6 to 8 p.m. Enchantment Resort's Red Rock Holidays schedule lists the Dickens Carolers, who appear on Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19.
- 7:30 p.m. A Celtic Christmas, from the touring production A Taste of Ireland, comes to Sedona Performing Arts Center. Tickets are listed at $45.88 to $93.49.
The carolers and the Celtic Christmas show overlap from 7:30 to 8 p.m. The carolers come back on December 12 and 19, so December 5 is the easier night to give them up for the show.
Sunday ends back at Tlaquepaque
December 6 is the Holiday Market's last day. It also brings the weekend's last event, the Lighting of the Menorah at Tlaquepaque's Patio del Norte, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The weekend begins and ends at Tlaquepaque, with the tree lighting on Friday evening and the menorah lighting on Sunday evening, both at the same hour.
After the weekend, two more dates
The week after December 6 has one event, on a Thursday. The Sedona International Film Festival presents A Winter's Eve with David Arkenstone & Friends at Sedona Performing Arts Center on December 10 at 7 p.m. General admission is $30, or $25 for Film Festival members. VIP seats are $45, or $40 for members.
Then comes December 19, the evening the opening of this post started with. The Holiday Sweet Stroll runs throughout Tlaquepaque from 3 to 7 p.m. Tlaquepaque's own description adds more than the luminarias:
"At 5:00 p.m., guests are invited to help light the luminarias throughout Tlaquepaque."
Tlaquepaque lists these other features for the afternoon:
- Galleries and shops staying open late, with holiday discounts and giveaways
- Christmas cookies, chocolate truffles and holiday candies
- Hot spiced cider, eggnog, hot chocolate and seasonal liqueurs
- Santa Claus, strolling Dickens-era carolers and The Grinch
- Free face painting and Christmas ornament painting for children
The Sweet Stroll is the second high point of the season. It lands two weeks after the first and is the evening the luminarias are scheduled. A household that misses December 4 to 6 still gets one full Tlaquepaque evening before Christmas.
The rink runs all season
Enchantment Resort's Red Rock Holidays page lists complimentary skating daily from November 28 through January 31, from 3 to 7 p.m., with skates, hot chocolate and cider provided, set against the red rocks of Boynton Canyon. The same schedule lists complimentary holiday sugar cookies at the rink from 4 to 5 p.m. daily through December 24. It also lists live music on the Activities Lawn from 4 to 7 p.m., Sunday through Friday in December, plus December 26 and January 1, 2 and 3.
Before the rink opens, the schedule also includes a donation-based Post-Thanksgiving Vinyasa Flow Yoga session at the Mii amo Movement Studio on Friday, November 27, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Proceeds go to the Verde Valley Sanctuary, and no reservation is needed.
Uptown parking this December uses the current lots and meters
Holiday errands in Uptown come with a timing question. The Uptown Parking Garage on Forest Road isn't part of this season's planning yet. Sedona Red Rock News reported in September that construction began in May 2025, aiming to open by spring break 2026. That target moved to June, and the garage is now expected to open in December or January. Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey put the total project cost at about $28.25 million.
The work still standing between the garage and opening began this month. In a November 2 notice, the City said Banicki Construction was starting a new, larger water main along Forest Road, running from the garage to Van Deren Road. The project also adds sidewalks on both sides of Forest Road out to State Route 89A, new curbs and gutters, and new asphalt. Crews work Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with occasional Fridays. Forest Road keeps one lane open in each direction, with flaggers, reduced speeds and temporary driveway restrictions. According to the City, the garage still needs water and fire-protection improvements plus final inspections and approvals. Safe pedestrian and vehicle access will be in place by opening day, even if the roadwork isn't finished. The project hotline is (928) 852-4164.
The money was approved earlier. Sedona City Council voted 6-0 on August 25 for a $3,741,285.50 contract with J. Banicki Construction. About $2.54 million covers the Forest Road improvements and roughly $1.2 million covers water-system upgrades.
In the meantime, Uptown parking works the way the City's Uptown parking page describes it today:
| Option | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Two free all-day lots | Free |
| Four free three-hour lots | Free for three hours |
| Main Street meters, first 15 minutes | Free |
| Main Street meters, hours one through three | $2 per hour |
| Main Street meters, hour four | $4 |
| Main Street meters, hour five | $6 |
Main Street meters run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Under that rate schedule, a five-hour stretch of holiday shopping on Main Street costs $16 in meter fees. The first three hours cost $6 together, so hours four and five make up most of the total. The free three-hour lots cover a typical Uptown errand at no cost. Whether the garage opens in December or January, most of the season's dated events will be over by then.
If you're new to Sedona and want help planning your first December here, or you're a longtime resident who wants to know how projects like the Uptown garage affect daily life in town, the Justin Bemis Real Estate Team is happy to talk about the town we live and work in. Contact us anytime.
