From 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays this fall, Friends of Waterfront Park lights a large fire pit out on Pier 62 and invites anyone walking by to sit down. It's free and weather-permitting, and the posted listings carry it through December 27.
That fire pit matters more than any single holiday event on the waterfront this year. It shows up every weekend, so every one-off event on a nearby pier or up at Pike Place has somewhere to end. You don't have to make one big holiday trip to the waterfront. You can come back weekend after weekend: go to whatever is happening that day, then walk to the fire for the last hour of daylight.
The park behind it is finished now. The City of Seattle's Waterfront Seattle program page lists Overlook Walk as completed in 2024. In 2025 it adds the Park Promenade and protected bike lane, the public restroom, Pier 58, all the public artwork and the end of program construction. Friends of Waterfront Park is marking the milestone with a ticketed Dinner with Friends on Friday, November 13, at 5:30 p.m. at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, billed as a celebration of "the first full year of the completed Waterfront Park."
The fixture, and why 3 p.m. is the hinge
Most of the season's ticketed and headline events close by mid-afternoon or start after dark. The fire pit fills the hours in between. That timing is what makes it useful.
The Seattle Aquarium's Diving Santa goes into the water at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on its scheduled weekends. The 2:30 dive gets you out just as the fire pit opens next door. The Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition at Pike Place Market wraps its awards at 3 p.m. The Waterfront Writing Workshop at Pier 56 on December 6 runs noon to 3 p.m. Pike Place Market's free Santa photos at Magic in the Market end at 4 p.m.
So the afternoon nearly plans itself. Pick the event, then head down to Pier 62.
How each weekend pairs up
Here is what shares the fire pit's weekends from November 14 through the end of December. Every Firepit Social runs 3 to 6 p.m. at Pier 62.
| Weekend | What else is on | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 14–15 | No other major waterfront events | Fire pit only, 3–6 p.m. |
| Nov. 21–22 | The Stories Water Keeps, a film series on Indigenous knowledge, maritime heritage and the changing waterfront | Pier 66, free; Saturday 12–8 p.m. |
| Nov. 28–29 | Magic in the Market; Diving Santa | Pike Place Market Saturday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Aquarium dives at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 5–6 | Great Figgy Pudding; Waterfront Writing Workshop; Diving Santa | Pike Place Saturday noon–3 p.m.; Pier 56 Sunday noon–3 p.m.; Aquarium dives both days |
| Dec. 12–13 | Diving Santa | Aquarium dives at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 19–20 | Waterfront Winter Solstice Market; Diving Santa | Pier 66, Saturday 12–6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Aquarium dives both days |
| Dec. 26–27 | No other major waterfront events | Fire pit only, 3–6 p.m. |
The quiet weekends on either end are a feature. If you want the fire pit without the crowds, mid-November and the weekend after Christmas are the times to go.
November 28 is the Saturday with the most going on
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the season, and you'll get the most out of it by working downhill through the day. Pike Place Market's 31st Annual Magic in the Market runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- 11 a.m. Free Santa photos open at the Market and run until 4 p.m. The first holiday busker set starts at MarketFront Plaza.
- 12:15, 1:30 and 2:45 p.m. More busker sets at MarketFront Plaza.
- 2:30 p.m. Diving Santa's afternoon dive at the Seattle Aquarium.
- 3 to 6 p.m. Firepit Social on Pier 62.
- 5 p.m. The lighting ceremony under the Public Market Center sign, with the Can Can dancers and Carly Ann Calbero.
You can't do everything on that list at full length, and you don't need to. One workable plan is Market photos in the morning, the Aquarium's 2:30 dive, an hour by the fire, then the 5 p.m. lighting back up the hill. Overlook Walk, which the City lists as completed in 2024, connects the Market to the waterfront.
The Aquarium's Diving Santa dives also run November 27 and 29. Dry-side Santa photos inside the Aquarium run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 27 through 29, December 5 through 7, December 12 through 14, and December 19 through 24, with Santa leaving at 2:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. A professional photo is available to buy. Members get extra 9 a.m. dives on November 29 and December 15. A quiet 9 a.m. dive is set for December 6, and the Aquarium's Diving Santa page says tickets and reservations for it are coming soon.
Two weeknights to leave work early for
The weekends repeat. Two weeknights don't.
Thursday, December 10. Pike Place Market's Holiday Night Market with Santa runs 5 to 9 p.m., mostly on MarketFront and the DeSimone Bridge. You enter the event zone at Pike Place and Stewart. The Market promises dozens of craftspeople and farmers, plus free candid Santa photos.
Thursday, December 17. Argosy's Christmas Ship Festival runs November 27 through December 23. On December 17, the 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. sailings leave from Pier 55 and stop at Pier 62, where choirs perform from 5:10 to 5:30 p.m. and 8:10 to 8:30 p.m. You don't need a ticket to listen from the shore. The fire pit doesn't run on weeknights, but on that one Thursday, Pier 62 still gets music after dark.
The year closes inside the Ocean Pavilion. The Aquarium's 21+ After Hours: New Year's Fishes runs December 31 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is ticketed.
The holiday market to plan around is at Pier 66
If you remember last year's announcement for a holiday market on Pier 62, that event didn't happen. Friends of Waterfront Park had partnered with Northwest Marketplaces on a Pier 62 Holiday Market for November 29 and 30, 2025, then canceled it "due to unforeseen circumstances."
The market on this year's calendar is the Waterfront Winter Solstice Market. The Port of Seattle presents it, with Friends, in the Waterlink Atrium and Gallery at Pier 66. A winter market also ran at Pier 66 in 2025. This year's runs Saturday, December 19, from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday, December 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's free, and Friends asks visitors to RSVP. Plan on local small businesses, food and drink, and music. The detailed schedule is still being confirmed, so check the event page closer to the weekend.
It falls on a fire pit weekend and a Diving Santa weekend, so December 19 and 20 join November 28 and 29 as the weekends when a market, the Aquarium and the fire all line up.
What the park doesn't have, and where to find it nearby
Waterfront Park's own calendar has no ice rink and no park tree lighting. Both are within walking distance, just not on the piers.
- Tree lighting. The closest big lighting is Pike Place Market's 5 p.m. ceremony on November 28, under the Public Market Center sign.
- Ice skating. Visit Seattle's 2026 holiday release lists Snow Globe at Pacific Place, an indoor rink running November 27 through December 24. The rink's own page puts it on Pacific Place's third floor, with 45-minute sessions on November 27 running from 11 a.m. through 8 p.m.
- A warm drink between events. The Seattle Aquarium Café is on the second level of Pier 59 and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ticket prices aren't posted yet for several of the paid events, including the Aquarium's holiday programming, New Year's Fishes and the rink. Check each organizer's page before you go.
If the finished waterfront has you rethinking where you'd like to spend future winters, or wondering how your current home would fit into that plan, I'm glad to talk it through. Sam Burke answers quickly and keeps the conversation practical. Request a free home valuation or contact Sam today.
