Downtown Edmond's Holiday Season Opens Tonight, and the Shops Wrote Most of the Calendar

At 5:30 this evening, Thursday, Nov. 12, Festival Market Place at 26 W. First St. fills up for Deck the Downtown. The free tree lighting runs until 7:30 p.m. and brings Santa and Mrs. Claus, reindeer, horse-drawn wagon rides, music and cocoa, according to Visit Edmond's event listing. It is the most visible night of the city's Miracle on 2nd Street season, which runs November 7 through January 31. The theme comes from Route 66, which follows Edmond's 2nd Street, and 2026 is the route's centennial year.

For someone coming down from Oak Tree for an evening or a Saturday, the rest of the season matters more than one night, and most of it is hosted by the businesses on and around Broadway, Main and Campbell.

Five of November's listings come from Downtown Edmond itself

The City of Edmond's holiday release lists 13 events and activities for the whole season. They range from the ice rink and Luminance at Mitch Park to Cops & Claus at the police station. The Edmond Downtown Business Association's holiday calendar shows the season at street level. In November alone it carries more than 40 events hosted by individual shops, galleries, restaurants, a museum and a music school. Five carry the star the association uses for events it hosts itself: the Hope Center Food Drive, Deck the Downtown, the Remember Christmas kickoff, a Downtown Edmond Social Club night at Madeline's Flowers and Small Business Saturday.

Here is how the next three weekends break down:

Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28 shows how the two halves fit together. Downtown Edmond supplies the framework: free wagon rides from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting, the Grinch at noon and live music, per Visit Edmond. The individual storefronts supply the reasons to walk from one block to the next.

Even the city's own merchandise runs through local shops. The limited-edition Miracle on 2nd Street candle comes from a partnership with Edmond candle maker Thomas Blonde. It is sold at Silver Leaf Gems, Cinnamon Bears, Urban Retreat Salon, Sherry's Drug and Hilton Garden Inn.

The giving happens inside the shopping

Because so much of the calendar comes from businesses, a lot of the season's fundraising runs through shop doors, not stand-alone galas. On the association's calendar:

• Hope Center Food Drive, hosted by Downtown Edmond, runs Nov. 1 through 28.
• Silver Leaf Gems holds VIP Shopping benefiting Free to Live on Friday, Nov. 20, from 5 to 8 p.m., then a shopping day benefiting the Edmond VFW on Friday, Dec. 4.
• Frenzy runs a Giveback with Frenzy Feast drop-off on Nov. 20.
• First Christian Church Edmond hosts a Holly Jolly Morning of Service on Sunday, Dec. 6.

The Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot follows the same pattern. The current RunSignup registration page says 100% of proceeds benefit Turning Point Ministries and the YMCA. The 1-mile Family Wobble starts at 8 a.m. and the 5K at about 8:35 a.m., both from 19 N. Boulevard. The 5K costs $29, or $15 for ages 3 to 12. The 1-mile costs $15, or $10 for ages 3 to 12. Order by noon on Wednesday, Nov. 18 to get a T-shirt. Packet pickup and in-person registration are at Russell Dougherty Elementary on Nov. 25 from 3 to 7 p.m., and online registration stays open until 9 a.m. on race day.

After Thanksgiving, December runs on Saturdays

Once Small Business Saturday passes, downtown settles into a weekly rhythm. Christmas in Downtown runs every Saturday from Nov. 28 through Dec. 19, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free horse-drawn wagon rides leave from Campbell and Broadway, weather permitting. Around those wagon hours, each Saturday picks up its own business and community events.

Saturday, Dec. 12 is the fullest day on the calendar so far:

1. Citizens Bank Santa visit, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
2. Cops and Claus pictures with Santa, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3. Downtown Edmond wagon rides, live music and carolers, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
4. Edmond Community Chorale Christmas caroling, noon to 2 p.m.
5. Critter Tales Storytime: All About Deer at the Edmond History Museum, 2 p.m.
6. Downtown Edmond's Holiday Pooch Parade, Visit with Santa at The Stables at the Old Icehouse, and American Solera's Christmas at the Icehouse Project, with Santa photos, a holiday beer release and vendor pop-ups. These three are listed without times.

The weekend before brings Downtown Edmond's It's a Wonderful Life outdoor movie night on Saturday, Dec. 5, the same day as the Holiday Hop at the Edmond History Museum, Rodkey House and 1889 School. American Solera's Holiday Market follows on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m. Weeknights get busy too. Downtown Edmond's Gingerbread Contest and the Frenzy Holiday Market both fall on Thursday, Dec. 10, and Santa and Mrs. Claus are at Frenzy from 6 to 6:30 p.m. The next evening, Redemption Church organizes the Main Street Carol Sing at 117 W. Main St., from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with food trucks and children's activities. On the same night, Jackopierce plays The Old Icehouse with Creede Williams.

Getting downtown from the north side this month

The drive south has improved since summer. According to KFOR, all lanes at Danforth Road and Kelly Avenue reopened July 28 after a safety project. It added turn lanes, a raised median, new sidewalks and signals at Hawthorne Lane and Kelly Avenue. Closer to downtown, two projects still affect access:

• Edmond Road and Broadway. Phase 2 began Monday, Nov. 2. It closes westbound Edmond Road between Broadway and Fretz Avenue and reopens the eastbound lanes. The city's project notice expects this phase to take about two weeks, weather permitting.
• W. Hurd Street near the BNSF tracks. Edmond Electric utility work started as early as Oct. 26 and is expected to finish Jan. 20, 2027, weather permitting. The city's traffic alert warns that Hurd east of the tracks may be fully closed during construction.
• Parking. The Downtown Edmond Parking Map shows a municipal garage and public lots, and all public parking downtown is free.

During the first phase in October, the city said Broadway curb-lane work had temporarily cut nearby parking but downtown "remains fully accessible and open for business."

Why Hurd Street is torn up during the holidays

The Hurd closure arrives at an awkward time, but it is tied directly to the businesses that host this calendar. The City of Edmond describes the Edmond Electric work this way:

"The project is designed to increase electric system capacity and reliability and provide additional capacity to support continued development in Edmond's downtown area."

Two projects at Hurd were approved weeks before the crews arrived. At its Sept. 14 meeting, according to the city's council update, the Edmond City Council voted 5-0 to approve a development agreement with Hurd Courts, LLC. The townhome and retail project at North Santa Fe Drive and West Hurd Street is valued at about $11 million when complete. The council also voted 4-1 to approve an agreement for 19 Broadway, at the southwest corner of Broadway and Hurd. That building is set to become Class A retail and office space on its second and third floors, with a restaurant on the first floor and a food-and-beverage "speakeasy" in the basement. Its agreement sets a commencement deadline of Dec. 31, 2027 and a completion date of Dec. 31, 2028.

So a block that is fenced off for this season's wagon rides and Santa visits is being wired for future storefronts. If those projects reach completion, the restaurant and basement speakeasy at 19 Broadway would sit about a block from where this year's calendar already clusters.

Whether you are planning a December Saturday downtown or thinking about how Edmond's core is changing for your own move, the team at Stetson Bentley follows these blocks closely. Book an appointment to talk through what downtown's next few years could mean for you, or request your home valuation to see where your Oak Tree home stands this season.