Uptown Sedona's 2026 holiday season starts in a single hour. On Friday, Dec. 4, the Sedona Arts Center opens its Holiday Artist Market at 15 Art Barn Road at 4 p.m. Tlaquepaque's tree lighting starts at 5 p.m. on SR 179. For the 60 minutes between 5 and 6 p.m., both ends of Uptown are celebrating at the same time. After the market weekend, two later Saturdays complete the calendar: Dec. 12 on Jordan Road and Dec. 19 back at Tlaquepaque. None of these dates will see the change most of the neighborhood has been waiting on. The Forest Road parking garage is still under construction, and the permit program for the streets behind it has not been switched on. This December, Uptown's curbs work the way they always have.

Here is the confirmed calendar, followed by why the timing matters.

Friday, Dec. 4, at Both Ends of Uptown

The evening begins at the Art Barn. Celebrate Sedona is the Sedona Arts Center's recurring Friday party in its upper parking lot. It runs from 4 to 6 p.m. with local musicians, food, wine and beer, and artists demonstrating their work. Each edition opens a new exhibition. The 2026–27 schedule pairs the Dec. 4 date with the Holiday Market Opening, so this is the one Celebrate Sedona of the season built around holiday shopping. The previous edition was Aug. 21 and the next is Jan. 15, 2027, which makes December the only time this fall and winter that the party turns into a gift market.

At the other end of Uptown, Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village at 336 State Route 179 holds its tree lighting at Tlaquepaque North from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The village describes festive entertainment, children's activities and complimentary hot chocolate while families wait for Santa, all lit by a 26-foot Christmas tree. Visit Sedona lists admission as free.

Taken together, the two schedules make an easy evening. Arrive at the Art Barn at 4, when the music starts and the market opens, then head south in time for Santa at Tlaquepaque before 6:30. The tree lighting runs half an hour past the end of Celebrate Sedona, so nobody has to choose between the two. Anyone with only one free hour can still catch both events underway between 5 and 6.

The Market Keeps Going After the Tree Is Lit

Friday is the busiest night, but it is a poor time to shop carefully. The Holiday Artist Market continues Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Arts Center expects about 25 artists and makers selling handmade gifts and fine art, including ceramics, jewelry, paintings and textiles. With a group that size, one unhurried Saturday morning lap covers every table, something the Friday crowd makes difficult.

Tlaquepaque has a new shop to add to the weekend this year. Good Juju Boutique & Gallery has moved into the village, according to a Tlaquepaque news post from September. Owners Julie and Brent stock clothing chosen for quality fabrics and small surprises, such as an embroidered pocket or an unexpected burst of color, along with handmade goods, nature-inspired pieces and Brent's own artwork. The shop got its name when a young niece who couldn't say "Auntie Julie" called her "Auntie JuJu" instead. Between the Art Barn tables and a Tlaquepaque newcomer, it's possible to finish a holiday list without leaving Uptown that first weekend.

Jordan Road Gets the Middle Saturday

The calendar then shifts to the middle of the neighborhood. On Saturday, Dec. 12, the Sedona Heritage Museum holds Merry Music at the Museum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with music, crafts and food. Admission, activities and refreshments are all free. The museum is at Jordan Historical Park, 735 Jordan Road.

With Dec. 12 on the calendar, every part of Uptown gets its own day: the Art Barn on the first weekend, Jordan Road on the second and Tlaquepaque on the first and third. Merry Music is also the only daytime event on the calendar that is entirely free and doesn't center on shopping. That makes it the easiest one to bring visiting family to on a Saturday.

Dec. 19 Brings Something Tlaquepaque Calls New

The season closes on Saturday, Dec. 19, with Tlaquepaque's Holiday Sweet Stroll, held throughout the village from 3 to 7 p.m. Alongside the decorated courtyards and Christmas lights, the village's Sweet Stroll event page marks one addition as new this year:

"luminaria-lined walkways and courtyards, creating a warm and enchanting holiday atmosphere."

At 5 p.m., guests are invited to help light the luminarias across the village. The rest of the afternoon has Santa, strolling Dickens-era carolers, the Grinch and other holiday characters around the patios, and galleries and shops open late. They'll offer homemade Christmas cookies, chocolate truffles, hot spiced cider, eggnog, hot chocolate and seasonal liqueurs, plus holiday discounts and giveaways. Children get free face painting and Christmas ornament painting.

The 5 p.m. lighting matters most in the schedule. On Dec. 4, Tlaquepaque's main moment is a single tree at Tlaquepaque North. On Dec. 19, the light covers the whole village, walkway by walkway, and guests do the lighting themselves. Anyone planning only one evening at Tlaquepaque this December should base the choice on that difference. The tree lighting is mostly for children waiting on Santa. The Sweet Stroll is a slower walk through every courtyard as they light up.

Uptown's Curbs Stay the Same This December

Uptown's daily routine has been changing all year, which makes the holiday calendar's timing worth noticing. The project site for the Forest Road parking garage now estimates completion in "Early 2027" and says construction continues through 2026. In September, the Sedona Red Rock News reported that the garage was not expected to open until December or January, and that changes from the parking plan would not take effect soon.

The same applies to the streets behind it. The Red Rock News report lays out the proposed residential permit area: Van Deren, Price and Smith roads between Schnebly Road and Forest Road. Any of six triggers, including spillover from the garage or feedback from residents, could bring restrictions. A September 23 City of Sedona news roundup says council directed staff to get the Residential Permit Parking Program ready for possible future activation instead of putting it in place right away, and any activation would need a future council vote. The same roundup notes a $3,741,285.50 construction agreement for water-system work needed before the garage can open. Council minutes from Sept. 22 show the Uptown Parking Work Group preparing updated recommendations for a future council presentation.

Council has approved a rate framework for the garage and City Lot 5. It sets a maximum of $2.50 an hour, rising to $3.50 an hour during peak months, which council defined as March through May and September through November, with paid hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those rates don't apply to anything yet, because the garage is not open. Red Rock News reported a December or January opening, and the project site estimates completion in early 2027. Either way, December 2026 is likely to be Uptown's last holiday season before those rates take effect, and before the streets behind Forest Road have a permit program ready to switch on.

Plan around that. The Art Barn sits at one end of the neighborhood, Tlaquepaque at the other and the Heritage Museum on Jordan Road in between. On the Friday when two of them overlap, choose your parking spot with both stops in mind.

At Cindy Chapman Group, Uptown is part of our own December too, and we follow the garage and permit decisions closely because they shape daily life on the streets behind Forest Road. If you're weighing how those changes could affect a home you own nearby, or one you're considering, we'd be glad to walk through it with you. Schedule your complimentary Sedona home consultation.