At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28, the Capital City Christmas tree lights up in Peace Park on East Front Avenue. At 4 p.m. the next day, the State Capitol holds its own tree lighting in Memorial Hall, hosted by Governor Armstrong and the First Lady.
Bismarck has two official tree lightings, run by two different hosts, on back-to-back days. Most of the rest of the 2026 holiday calendar falls on a few weekends around them, and most of it happens at the Bismarck Event Center. So the season comes down to a short list of dates.
Saturday, Nov. 28 Is Three Events in One Day
Capital City Christmas calls this year's celebration its 8th annual. The organizer has packed the whole thing into a single Saturday:
- 9 a.m. to noon: Breakfast with Santa. This runs in all halls of the Bismarck Event Center, with breakfast served from 9 to 11 a.m. Tickets are $15, and children 2 and under get in free. The morning also includes photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Santa's Workshop and Elves Village, face painting and inflatables. Every guest needs a ticket, and children have to be with an adult 18 or older.
- 4 to 6 p.m.: Holiday Pizza Bash. Same building, same $15 price, and children 2 and under are free.
- 6 to 6:30 p.m.: Tree Lighting Ceremony. This one is at Peace Park, 400 E. Front Ave., and it's free.
North Dakota Tourism's listing shows the tree lighting running until 7 p.m. The organizer's own page says it ends at 6:30, so plan on 6:30.
Breakfast with Santa is where waiting costs you. Committee member Peggy Anderson told KX News in November 2025 that the 2024 breakfast drew 600 people. Committee member Julie Jeske told the station, "We always sell out," and said the cheapest way to buy tickets is directly from the Bismarck Event Center box office. Tickets for 2026 are on sale now, about seven weeks ahead.
The same KX News story described what happens at the Peace Park lighting. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in a horse-drawn sleigh, with popcorn, hot chocolate and hot apple cider, and the park is lit in partnership with the Bismarck Park District. Fireworks follow the lighting. For 2026, the organizer lists Santa and Mrs. Claus, CDCC carolers and fireworks.
Lorie Line also plays Belle Mehus Auditorium that afternoon. Her show, Christmas with Lorie Line, starts at 3 p.m., and Etix currently lists tickets at $85.15. That makes four separate options on the same Saturday, from breakfast to fireworks.
The Pizza Bash in Its Second Year
The Holiday Pizza Bash isn't new anymore. KX News called it "new this year" in its 2025 coverage. It's now back for a second year, and the format is the same: six local restaurants donate pizza, and guests taste every slice and vote for their favorite. For 2026, the organizer also lists holiday games, cookie decorating, dancing and a silent auction.
Two of the six restaurants are different this year:
| 2025 lineup, per KX News | 2026 lineup, per the organizer |
|---|---|
| The CraftCade | The CraftCade |
| Stonehome Brewing Company | Stonehome Brewing Company |
| Bruno's | Bruno's Pizza |
| New York To Go | New York To Go |
| A&B Pizza | Tiff's Pub & Grub |
| Blaze Pizza | Pizza Ranch |
The four returning restaurants cover different parts of town. The organizer describes The CraftCade on North Fourth Street as a downtown retro arcade bar that serves New York-style pies, Bruno's Pizza as a locally owned spot on East Front Avenue, and New York To Go as a north Bismarck pizzeria. Tiff's Pub & Grub is new to the lineup and is listed at 512 E. Main Ave.
The money goes somewhere specific. According to the 2025 KX News report, Capital City Christmas funds local arts and humanities nonprofits and had granted $240,000 over its first six years. So the $15 ticket also counts as a donation.
Sunday Belongs to the Capitol
The second tree lighting is on Sunday, Nov. 29, from 4 to 5 p.m. in Memorial Hall at the Capitol, 600 East Boulevard Ave. The official listing says Governor Armstrong and the First Lady invite the public, and it promises reindeer, holiday readings, music and carols. The state's page doesn't list a ticket price.
Because the lighting is indoors and in the late afternoon, it works well on a holiday weekend. Families with out-of-town guests still in Bismarck after Thanksgiving can go to both lightings in under 24 hours: the Peace Park lighting outdoors on Saturday evening, then the Capitol event indoors on Sunday.
Memorial Hall hosts one more event a week later. The state lists a Christmas Sing-along at the Capitol on Friday, Dec. 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. That Friday matters for another reason, too, covered below.
The Weekend Before Is Also Busy
Thanksgiving weekend gets the tree lightings. The weekend before has more going on.
The Big One Art & Craft Fair holds its 17th annual Bismarck Christmas Show at the Bismarck Event Center that Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5, and the organizer advertises 250 booths and more than 160 exhibitors. On both evenings, the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra performs An Elvis Christmas at Belle Mehus Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. That makes it easy to pair a craft-show afternoon with the symphony in the evening.
Here's the full list of holiday stage shows on the Bismarck Event Center calendar. Prices are Etix's all-in prices as of mid-October 2026 and may change as seats sell. Etix says its prices include fees, with taxes added at checkout.
| Date | Show | Venue | Listed price range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 13, 7 p.m. | Motown Christmas | Bismarck Event Center | $52.42 to $90.40 |
| Fri., Nov. 20, and Sat., Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m. | BMSO: An Elvis Christmas | Belle Mehus Auditorium | Friday reserved seats $40.10 to $57.55; students $25.73 |
| Mon., Nov. 23, 7 p.m. | The Wizards of Winter | Belle Mehus Auditorium | $50.29 to $79.76 |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 3 p.m. | Christmas with Lorie Line | Belle Mehus Auditorium | $85.15 |
| Tue., Dec. 15, and Wed., Dec. 16, 7 p.m. | Blue Violin's Retro Rock & Roll Christmas | Belle Mehus Auditorium | Dec. 15: $21.63 for the CDCC category up to $73.98 for VIP; standard $47.29 |
| Tue., Dec. 22, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. | Magical Medora Christmas | Belle Mehus Auditorium | Not listed |
Four of the six shows fall in the 16 days from Nov. 13 through Nov. 28. December has only Blue Violin's two nights and Magical Medora Christmas.
Dec. 4 Is the Last Busy Day
Friday, Dec. 4, is the last day on the calendar where two events overlap. The Capitol sing-along runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. At noon, the Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase opens at the Bismarck Event Center. It runs until 8 p.m. that Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Bismarck's showcase is the last of five the North Dakota Department of Agriculture is holding this year. The earlier stops are Dickinson in September, Minot in October, Grand Forks on Nov. 13 to 14 and Fargo on Nov. 20 to 21. In the department's January announcement, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said the 2025 showcases drew more than 47,000 people across the state, the second-highest attendance on record. For anyone in Bismarck buying gifts made in North Dakota, it's the last showcase stop of the year, about three weeks before Christmas.
The Event Center hosts all three of the season's big shopping and family events: the Big One on Nov. 20 to 21, Capital City Christmas on Nov. 28 and Pride of Dakota on Dec. 4 to 5. That covers every Saturday from Nov. 21 through Dec. 5. Expect parking and traffic around the building to be busiest on those days.
What Isn't on the Calendar Yet
As of mid-October, the Downtown Bismarck events calendar showed no events, so any downtown holiday dates are still to come.
Everything else above is confirmed by the organizer, the venue or the state. Breakfast with Santa on the morning of Nov. 28 is the one event its organizers say always sells out.
If you're hosting family over Thanksgiving weekend and thinking about selling or buying in the new year, the same few weeks matter for timing. Patrick Koski is a Bismarck native and can tell you what your home is worth before the holidays. Request a free home valuation and consultation.
