"We don't want to take down the fence while there's no lighting," Anchorage Parks and Recreation Director Shanna Gamble told Alaska's News Source in July. "Just because it will be really dark and people will feel unsafe." The new lighting may not arrive until spring. That means the block between Fifth and Sixth Avenues will stay behind a construction fence through the darkest weeks of the year, which are also the weeks it normally hosts downtown's holidays.
This year downtown's season still opens on the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 27. It just opens at three different addresses spread over several blocks. The event most closely tied to the square, the holiday tree lighting, has no announced venue four weeks out.
Why the Fence Stays Up Through December
Work started in June. In July, Alaska's News Source described a park leveled down to a muddy lot, with nearly every tree removed. The Municipality's Town Square project page lists the first phase: walkways and plazas, lighting, trees, garden beds, a lawn, a nature-play area and improved ADA access. The park's addresses are 544 W. Fifth Ave. and 551 W. Sixth Ave.
Voter-approved bonds pay for that first phase. The second phase is not yet funded. Gamble said the whole project should be finished by fall 2027. So the closure goes beyond this one holiday season. The park could reopen once its lighting is in, and work on the full design would continue for a while after that.
The design aims at winter use. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said at an Anchorage Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the city is "intentionally designing it to accommodate local music, public art and public events." Nina Bonito Romine owns the Kobuk, the shop next to the park. She told Alaska's News Source she expects the new paths to help in the dark months:
"The plan has a nice area for music and entertainment, little kid's play area and a lot of lighted pathways, which I think will be a big plus during the winter months."
The same lighting that should make the park work in winter is also the reason it can't open for this winter.
The Tree Lighting Is Confirmed, but Its Location Is Not
The city has said for a while how the season usually starts. Its parks maintenance page says the Town Square Winter Center "will begin after the Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration the day after Thanksgiving." In most years the tree lighting is both the start of the season and the start of the square's winter use.
For 2026, the city told Alaska's News Source that the tree lighting "will still take place this year." The location was undecided. As of late October, the Anchorage Downtown Partnership's events page still shows a tree-lighting tile, but no 2026 date or venue has been posted. If you have planned around the tree lighting before, keep that page bookmarked in November. Don't assume Black Friday at Town Square.
No announcement covers the Winter Center either. With the park fenced, the usual setup after the tree lighting doesn't have its usual site.
Friday, November 27: Three Venues Instead of One Square
The tree lighting is still unplaced, but the rest of the day after Thanksgiving is set. All three confirmed events are within walking distance of the fenced square.
| Event | Where | Hours on Nov. 27 | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crafted in Alaska | Anchorage Museum, 625 C St. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Nov. 27 and 28 |
| Downtown Anchorage Holiday Market | 49th State Brewing beer garden, 717 W. Third Ave. | Noon to 6 p.m. | Nov. 27 |
| The Nutcracker with Eugene Ballet | Atwood Concert Hall, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, 621 W. Sixth Ave. | Check show times | Nov. 27 to 29 |
The Anchorage Museum calls Crafted in Alaska a free annual holiday craft event. It is the only one of the three that also runs Saturday, which helps if Friday is already full. The Downtown Anchorage Holiday Market is free and outdoors. Its listing advertises local artisans, family activities, llamas and Santa. The Nutcracker is ticketed and runs through Sunday.
The market opens at noon and the museum event closes at 6 p.m., so both fit in one afternoon on foot. The museum and the brewery are a few blocks apart, and Atwood Concert Hall is on Sixth Avenue, the same street that borders the fenced park on its south side. If the tree lighting ends up on Friday evening somewhere downtown, the day could run from craft tables to the market to the lighting. That depends on an announcement that hasn't been made yet.
December Moves Indoors, Then to Midtown
After Thanksgiving weekend, the confirmed events shift to the Performing Arts Center, make one stop in Midtown, and come back downtown for New Year's Eve.
- The Ugly Sweater Holiday Show, December 4 and 5. Alphonso Horne & The Gotham Kings perform at the Discovery Theatre, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, 621 W. Sixth Ave. Details are on the Anchorage Concert Association's show page.
- Celtic Woman, December 11 and 12. The Silver Bells Christmas Tour 2026 plays Atwood Concert Hall.
- Winter Solstice Festival, Friday, December 18, 5 to 8 p.m. The city's free festival is at Cuddy Family Midtown Park, 201 E. 40th Ave. It has ice skating, horse-drawn wagon rides, a photo booth, Santa's reindeer, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
- New Year's Eve, December 31, 7 to 9 p.m. The Downtown Partnership's free celebration is at 445 W. Third Ave., in the lot at Third Avenue and E Street.
The Solstice Festival is the one confirmed public skating event on this list, and it's a separate city event at a Midtown park. For skating downtown this season, the city has announced nothing at Town Square.
The New Year's Eve event comes back downtown, two blocks north of the construction fence and outdoors at Third and E. Only the square itself is out of use this winter. Downtown's year-end programming still happens around it.
What the Fence Means for Next Winter
Gamble's timeline makes the reopening depend on the lighting. Once the lights are in, the fence can come down, possibly in spring. Full completion is projected for fall 2027. If that schedule holds, the 2027 holiday season would be the first in the rebuilt park, with a performance area, a children's play space and lighted paths built for the dark months.
For now, the shortest version of this season's calendar is that downtown's November 27 opening happens at the Anchorage Museum, 49th State Brewing and Atwood Concert Hall, and the tree lighting will be wherever the city and the Downtown Partnership announce it.
If you're thinking about a home near downtown's new public spaces, or just want to talk through how projects like Town Square are changing different parts of the city, Wolf Real Estate can help you look at it street by street. Start Your Anchorage Home Search.
