On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the Lighting Ceremony Parade forms at 8th and Sherman at 5 p.m. and heads west down Sherman Avenue toward Government Way and Northwest Boulevard. Carols, fireworks and the big switch-on follow. Down at the lake, The Coeur d'Alene Resort lights more than 1.5 million bulbs that same night, Nov. 27, with what it calls the most magnificent fireworks display in the Pacific Northwest.
The Christmas show, the Festival of Trees and the downtown scavenger hunt all open on that date or right after it. That leaves three weeks of November with a different set of hosts in charge: the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association, a church on Wallace Avenue, a high school booster club, a ski swap at the fairgrounds, and a Santa cruise the Resort itself sells as "before the crowds."
Where the calendar splits
Here's how November falls on either side of the lighting:
| Before the lighting | Date | Lighting week and after | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine for the Holidays, downtown | Nov. 7 | Lighting Ceremony and parade | Nov. 27 |
| Santa's Sneak Peek Week cruises | Nov. 13–25 | Journey to the North Pole cruises, regular season | Nov. 26–Jan. 3 |
| Snowflake Faire, St. Luke's Episcopal | Nov. 14 | "My Favorite Things" Christmas show | Nov. 27–Dec. 20 |
| CHS Holiday Craft Faire and Ski Swap | Nov. 21 | Festival of Trees at the Resort | Nov. 27–28 |
| Elf On The Shelf hunt, downtown | Nov. 28–Dec. 20 |
Nearly everything in the right-hand column is built for people who planned a trip around it. The left-hand column runs on local organizers and Saturday mornings, and the first of those Saturdays lands two days after this post goes up.
Saturday, Nov. 7: Sherman Avenue goes first
The Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association's Wine for the Holidays runs Nov. 7 from 1 to 6 p.m. Check-in is at the Plaza Shops, 210 E. Sherman Ave. A $25 presale ticket gets you eight 1-ounce tastings and a commemorative glass. If any door tickets are left, they may cost $30. Bring a toy for Toys for Tots and you get extra tasting tickets. The ticketing page shows $26.90 at checkout once the processing fee is added. The association hasn't announced which shops will pour yet. It describes the lineup as boutiques, home-decor shops, bakeries and ice-cream shops, so the tasting doubles as a walk through downtown's gift stores before the holiday crowds show up.
The same Saturday has two daytime options away from Sherman:
- Rebel Junk Holiday Market, now in its 11th year, at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Jacklin Building #25. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is $5.
- Midtown Home & Vintage Market at 1003 N. 4th St. holds its annual Holiday Open House Nov. 7 and 8, with live music, food and drink vendors, fresh decor and gifts.
For an evening stop after the tasting, two of downtown's newer rooms are close by. River & Rye opened Aug. 5 at 422 E. Sherman Ave., in the old Crickets space, as the Coeur d'Alene Press reported. Four blocks north on Fourth Street, The Patriot Bar held its grand opening Oct. 3 at 406 N. Fourth St. It's VFW Post 889's bar, in the former Mik's space, with a 200-seat event center upstairs, according to the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The Santa cruise runs early, and for less
The Resort's Journey to the North Pole cruises start Nov. 13, almost two weeks before the regular season. The Resort calls this stretch Santa's Sneak Peek Week, Nov. 13 through 25, and its holiday light show page pitches it in plain terms: "Experience the wonder before the crowds. It's the same Journey to the North Pole - same lights, same Santa, same MAGIC." Sneak Peek tickets are 25% off.
Regular-season fares, Nov. 26 through Jan. 3, are $30.50 for adults, $29.50 for seniors 55 and over, $15 for ages 6 to 12, and free for children 5 and under. Taking 25% off the adult fare saves about $7.60 a ticket. For two adults and two children ages 6 to 12, the regular price is $91, and the same discount brings it to roughly $68 before fees. The cruise operator says preview sailings are priced separately, so check the total when you book.
The trip itself doesn't change between the two seasons:
- Check in inside the Resort Plaza Shops at 115 S. 2nd St. at least 30 minutes before your sailing. Staff walk guests from there to the marina.
- Pick a 40-minute cruise. Standard departures are 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., with extra times on some dates.
- Park at McEuen Park, Independence Point or the Resort's garage. The operator doesn't validate parking.
- Expect Santa's floating North Pole, a 60-foot LED Christmas tree, and Santa reading children's names from his Nice List.
The Resort bills this year's preview as a first look at "Santa's NEW North Pole." Keep in mind that the official switch-on, with fireworks over the lake, is still Nov. 27. The Sneak Peek sells the same cruise, the same Santa and the same North Pole stop a couple of weeks early. It doesn't promise the ceremony.
Nov. 14: The bazaar Saturday
The Saturday after the cruises start is the busiest day for small holiday markets inside Coeur d'Alene. Three are within a few miles of each other, and their hours overlap enough to hit all three:
- Snowflake Faire Christmas Bazaar, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 501 E. Wallace Ave., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., free. Expect one-of-a-kind crafts, raffle baskets, and a lunch of chili, cornbread and homemade pie, plus lightly used household items and artwork for sale.
- Community Market, Silver Lake Mall, 200 W. Hanley Ave., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with artisan goods for home and health.
- Holiday Craft Fair, Brookdale Senior Living, 205 E. Anton Ave., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
These are small events run by volunteers, and hours can change, so check with each host before you go. Start at St. Luke's for lunch, since the pie is the one thing on this list likely to sell out. That puts you downtown with plenty of time to make a 4:30 Sneak Peek sailing.
Nov. 21: Gifts and gear on the same Saturday
The third Saturday is the busiest of the run. Coeur d'Alene High School's Holiday Craft Faire turns 35 this year and fills the school at 5530 N. 4th St. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with more than 100 vendors, food and raffle prizes. Vendor booths are sold out.
Farther up Government Way, the Coeur d'Alene Ski Swap takes over the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, 4056 N. Government Way, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. You can buy and sell new and used ski equipment, clothing and accessories, and seller registration is open through The Ski Swap. On the same day, Lake City Center at 1916 Lakewood Dr. holds a Fall Arts & Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bestland Senior Living, 606 E. Best Ave., runs its Annual Bazaar & Craft Fair Nov. 20 and 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with handmade gifts and homemade canned and baked goods.
That evening shows up on the cruise operator's ticket calendar too. Nov. 21 has extra departures at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. on top of the usual half-hour sailings, making it the one Sneak Peek date with that many. If you're hoping to ride while the boats are quiet, any weeknight between Nov. 13 and 25 is a better bet than this Saturday.
When the 27th arrives
Sneak Peek ends Nov. 25, and regular-season cruises start the next day, Thanksgiving. Friday the 27th piles almost everything into one evening. The parade leaves 8th and Sherman at 5 p.m., and the Resort lights the lake and sets off fireworks. Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises runs 90-minute Lighting Ceremony Cruises that night, with the North Pole stop and fireworks views from the water. The Kootenai Health Foundation's 38th Festival of Trees fills the Resort Nov. 27 and 28.
"My Favorite Things," the Resort's annual Christmas show, opens the same night. It stars the Shotwell Family and runs through Dec. 20, with shows at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. This year's production also includes a story picked from the community's own Coeur d'Alene Christmas memories. The Coeur d'Alene Press reported that the Resort asked for first-person stories from 1960 to 1965, so for one scene the show is drawing on local history. The next morning, the Downtown Association's Elf On The Shelf hunt starts hiding Scout Elves along the downtown corridor, running through Dec. 20.
The cheaper cruise, the Wallace Avenue pie and the swap tables at the fairgrounds are all done by the time the parade forms at 8th and Sherman.
At Overland Reizen, we track the North Idaho calendar the same way we track the market, one Saturday at a time. If friends or family are thinking about a Coeur d'Alene holiday visit, or a longer stay, we're glad to help them line up the weeks that suit them best. Discover Your North Idaho Lifestyle.
