{"id":26924,"date":"2025-11-06T18:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/26924\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T18:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:39:09","slug":"when-is-light-up-night-2025-plus-the-holiday-markets-new-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/26924\/","title":{"rendered":"When is Light Up Night 2025, plus the Holiday Market\u2019s new location"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pittsburgh\u2019s holiday season kickoff event is two weeks away.<\/p>\n

City stakeholders gathered in Heinz Hall this morning, Thursday, Nov. 6, to announce the dates of and events attached to this year\u2019s Light Up Night and other seasonal festivities. In its 64th year, the Highmark Christmas Tree at the corner of Stanwix Street and Penn Avenue will be set aglow on Saturday, Nov. 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you all know, things are a little bit different this year,\u201d says Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of event organizer the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. \u201cMarket Square, which has been a fixture of the holiday season for almost 15 years, is under a little bit of construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

To account for the lack of space, the People\u2019s Gas Holiday Market will move to three lots at the intersection of Seventh Street and Penn Avenue in the Cultural District: Agnes R. Katz Plaza, the Cultural Trust Oasis and the lot across from the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

The Three Rivers Arts Festival and Pittsburgh\u2019s Oktoberfest \u2014 which is also hosted by the Downtown Partnership \u2014 have made similar moves this year, but it hasn\u2019t affected attendance. Waldrup tells NEXTpittsburgh that this year\u2019s Oktoberfest generated revenue \u201cvery comparable to\u201d or \u201cslightly up from last year,\u201d even though construction pushed it out of Market Square.<\/p>\n

Holiday festivities brought over 3 million visitors Downtown last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The PPG Place Christmas tree and skating rink are already installed and ready for Light Up Night, which is Saturday, Nov. 22, this year. Photo by Roman Hladio.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean Market Square won\u2019t be on the map this holiday season,\u201d Waldrup says. \u201cStarting on Light Up Night, Market Square will transform into a Yinzer wonderland with free, family-friendly activities thanks to our friends at Space Bar and Citizens Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, two Downtown stages will set the tone for the night. At the intersection of Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street, the Highmark Main Stage will feature Pittsburgh CLO Mini Stars, Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers and Kahone Concept, alongside the Highmark tree-lighting ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Xfinity Riverside Stage at the intersection of Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Sixth Street will feature Slim Tha DJ, Justin Fabus and a to-be-announced headliner.<\/p>\n

It will also be the host site for the firework finale at 9 p.m. and the Sister Bridge Lighting ceremony at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Following the installation of LED light fixtures on the Sister Bridges in 2023<\/a>, the Light Up Night debut of new displays has become a Pittsburgh tradition, of sorts. This year\u2019s display is titled \u201cThree Scores in Blue\u201d by local visual artist Shikeith.<\/p>\n

Allegheny County commissioned the piece with support from Shiftworks Community + Public Arts<\/a>. County Executive Sara Innamorato says the display draws inspiration from the jazz musicians \u2014 like Mary Lou Williams, Bill Strayhorn, Art Blakey and Ahmad Jamal \u2014 who helped shape the Steel City\u2019s cultural identity.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"A trial lighting of \u201cThree Scores in Blue\u201d by Shikeith, which will debut on the three Sister Bridges on Light Up Night, Saturday, Nov. 22. Photo by Roman Hladio.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach bridge becomes like a line of music, together forming a melody that flows across the Allegheny River,\u201d Innamorato says. \u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that art, like our rivers, connects us to our past, to each other and to the creativity that truly defines our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on Light Up Night, including the full calendar of events and a map, visit the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh\u2019s holiday season kickoff event is two weeks away. City stakeholders gathered in Heinz Hall this morning, Thursday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13851,73,75,74],"class_list":["post-26924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-light-up-night","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}