Though trick-or-treating hasn’t even started yet, the holiday shopping season is already underway at the Old Sacramento Waterfront.
Visitors to Old Sacramento’s numerous small businesses, restaurants and museums can play a new seasonal bingo game and win prizes while exploring the historic district. The Small Business Spree Bingo kicked off in mid-October and runs through New Year’s Eve.
Every completed bingo submission is guaranteed a prize, according to organizers, with rewards ranging from gift cards to a chance to appear in a holiday theater production.
Here’s how to play and win prizes at small Sacramento businesses while getting an early start on holiday shopping.
The Christmas tree glows after the Theatre of Lights tree lighting ceremony on K Street in Old Sacramento on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. Watching the light show is one of 16 actions area residents can take to participate in the Small Business Spree Bingo through Old Sacramento for the 2026 holiday season. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS Sacramento Bee file How to participate in Old Sacramento’s holiday bingo
Bingo cards are available at participating Old Sacramento businesses and at the Sacramento Visitors Center, 1000 Second St.
Participants can complete 16 different activities to earn stamps on their bingo cards, ranging from purchasing a gift card at a participating business to riding the Polar Express at the California State Railroad Museum.
Some activities, such as riding the Polar Express, require photo proof to earn a stamp. For free activities, participants can show their bingo cards to staff members at the Sacramento Visitors Center on weekdays or to Holidays on K Street staff on weekends. The holiday event begins Nov. 28.
Players can complete four different bingo patterns to qualify for prizes, including the classic four-in-a-row in any direction; an X shape with two diagonal intersecting lines through the middle; a “railroad” path around the perimeter of the card; or a full card blackout with all 16 spaces marked.
Participating businesses include:
Pittador Brews, 1005 Second St.Peruvian Crafts, 1105 Front St.Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice, 1013 Second St.Wild Sisters Book Company, 1115 Front St., Suite 6Super Silver Sacramento, 1100 Second St.Old Sac Shirts & Gifts, 1104 Second St.Dearsisa Boutique, 1115 Front St., Suite 3Ink and Image, 1017 Front St., Suite BHello Sunshine Sac Collective, 108 L St.Artists’ Collaborative Gallery, 129 K St.Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, 1039 Second St.The Bier Projekt, 900 Second St., Suite DEvangeline’s, 113 K St.Blueprint Coffee Project, 1200 Second St.The Market, 1200 Second St.Stage Nine, 102 K St.Threadeco, 1029 Front St.What prizes can you win in Old Sacramento’s holiday shopping game?
Participants who complete a bingo card can enter to win one of six types of prizes for use around Old Sacramento. Players can submit up to four entries, earning another entry each time they complete a different bingo pattern. They can use the same card for all four entries.
The game’s prizes include a $100 parking voucher, a family four-pack of tickets to the Downtown Sacramento Ice Rink, membership to a Sacramento museum, a chance to play Mama or Papa in a December Theatre of Lights performance, Old Sacramento Waterfront merchandise and gift cards to area businesses.
Every submission is guaranteed a prize, according to organizers. Winners of the prize drawings will be selected at random and notified by email.
To enter, participants can email a photo of their completed bingo card to info@oldsacramento.com by Dec. 31.
This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 10:34 AM.
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Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee’s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.