Glendale Glitters Has a Weekend Version and a Weeknight Version This Year
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, November 25, the streets around Murphy Park close. They stay closed until 6 a.m. on Sunday, November 29. The city's plan then repeats a shorter version of that closure every weekend for the rest of the season, from Friday at 6 a.m. to Sunday at 6 a.m.
That schedule tells you how Glendale Glitters works in 2026. The lights are on every night from November 27 through January 1, 5 to 10 p.m. Opening night is the one exception, when the lights come on at 6 p.m. right after the ceremony. The festival around them only runs on weekends. On Fridays and Saturdays you get closed streets, a stage program, Santa at the gazebo, and food and craft vendors. From Sunday through Thursday it's lights, open streets, and downtown at its ordinary pace. Both are worth going to, but they're different evenings, and it helps to know which one you're planning.
This is the 33rd Glendale Glitters, and the first one held in the rebuilt Murphy Park. The city spent three years and nearly $100 million rebuilding the civic campus: City Hall, the Council Chambers, the E. Lowell Rogers Amphitheatre, and Murphy Park. The ribbon-cutting was June 18, and the park reopening party on June 20 already had performers on the new amphitheatre stage, according to the City of Glendale's June 2026 announcement.
The amphitheatre is the main change for Glitters. In 2025 the city held the lighting ceremony in front of the Glendale Civic Center. This year the ceremony is at the E. Lowell Rogers Amphitheatre, and the city's design team has said the whole campus was laid out to face it. The redesign also added clearer walking paths through the park, more gathering space, more native plants, a ground-floor café, and an entry plaza under a public art installation as tall as the building. With the park built around a stage, the city has booked a different show for each of the first three weekends in December.
Glitters opens Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving. The city's October 27 update to council lays out the first night:
Friday's lineup is Marilyn's Dance Academy, Lori Ford's Vocal Studio, and the St. John Paul II Catholic High School cheer team. Saturday's starts at 6 p.m. with The Dance Shoppe Performing Group, Spotlight Youth Theatre, and Fiesta Mexicana Dance Company. The city calls the two kickoff nights a celebration with light displays, interactive attractions, photo spots, carolers, holiday shopping, and Santa.
Vendor numbers show how big kickoff is. The city got 150 vendor applications for the season, 6 of them from downtown merchants, and approved 71. The city notes those 71 won't all be there at once. The event area runs from 59th Avenue to 57th Avenue and from Myrtle Avenue to Glendale Avenue. The kickoff closure starts on Wednesday, two full days early, so crews have time to set up.
Saturday, November 28 is also Small Business Saturday downtown, starting at 10 a.m. Downtown docents will hand out walking maps at the Arizona Information Center, 5836 W. Palmaire Ave., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the first 50 visitors get a free gift. The Historic Downtown Glendale Merchants Association encourages shoppers to stay for the lights after dark. With more than 70 independent shops in the district, kickoff Saturday can easily fill a whole day.
After kickoff, the city's entertainment schedule fills the Friday and Saturday nights from December 4 through December 19. It's marked subject to change.
The Fridays are mostly local dance studios, and the Saturdays are concerts. The December 11 Elf screening is part of the city's Movies by Moonlight series, which also stops at Rose Lane Park on November 13 and comes back in 2027 with Foothills Park South on January 22 and Paseo Sports Complex on February 19. The city describes LiVE! as its downtown concert series, with bands plus yard games and interactive art booths.
Santa is on the same weekend schedule. The city's September plan makes the park gazebo the weekend home of Santa's holiday display, and staff were looking at adding entertainment there when Santa isn't in. City code compliance inspectors are assigned to Friday and Saturday nights from 5 to 10 p.m. For staffing, closures, and programming, the city treats Glitters as a weekend event.
Christmas weekend and New Year's weekend are quieter. Those two weekends around Christmas and New Year's still have the lights from 5 to 10 p.m., right up to the January 1 finish.
From Sunday through Thursday you get the same lights, with no stage program and the streets open. If you'd rather walk slowly, take photos without a crowd, or bring someone who doesn't like big crowds, this is the version to plan around. The lighting plans cover Murphy Park itself plus a separate "bead and plaza" area. Both are lit every night, weekend or not.
Parking is the easy part on a weeknight. The Merchants Association lists free covered parking at the Palmaire Parking Structure, 5835 W. Palmaire Ave. The district covers about 10 walkable blocks in two parts. Old Towne has brick-trimmed sidewalks, gaslights, and Restaurant Row. Catlin Court has shops in early- and mid-century bungalows with picket fences and mature shade trees.
Plan dinner around when places are open. Haus Murphy's, the German restaurant at 5739 W. Glendale Ave., is right on the edge of the event area. The Pink Door Tea House at 7153 N. 59th Ave. takes walk-ins Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Since it closes before the lights come on, it suits a daytime visit, before a weekend shop or a weeknight walk. The Spicery at 7141 N. 59th Ave. hosts tea events through the season.
The weekend schedule actually begins before Glitters does. The 30th annual Holiday Open House is Saturday, November 14, starting at 10 a.m. in the Old Towne and Catlin Court shopping districts. That's two days after this post goes up and almost two weeks before the lights.
Several Open House traditions are coming back this year:
Start at the Arizona Information Center, 5836 W. Palmaire Ave., where you can pick up the activity list, a commemorative sticker, and a walking map. If the new charm is your first, you can buy a starter bracelet for $5 at Glendale Flowers & Gifts, 7163 N. 58th Drive, Memory Lane Trinkets and Treasures at the Information Center address, or Pink House Boutique, 7009 N. 58th Ave. More charms around Old Towne and Catlin Court are $2 each.
The busiest weekend after kickoff is December 5 and 6. The Mega Ran show plays the amphitheatre Saturday night. On Sunday, December 6, the West Valley Foundation holds the Tamale Festival & Christmas Marketplace from noon to 7 p.m. at The Lot, 57th Avenue and Glenn Drive, with music by New Destiny and Mariachi Rodriguez. The Spicery also has a tea event that day. Since the weekend closures end Sunday at 6 a.m., the festival runs after the streets reopen.
If out-of-town family is visiting over Thanksgiving, kickoff weekend fits that week well. For a quieter night with the lights, pick a Tuesday in mid-December.
If one of these December nights downtown has you thinking about life closer to Murphy Park, Erica would love to talk about which parts of Glendale fit the way you live. Erica Cherry Homes can help you sort out what matters before you start looking. Schedule your free consultation.
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