White Bear Lake's Downtown Holiday Season Is Younger Than It Looks
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
This November will be only the third time White Bear Lake has lit the gazebo downtown, and the Festival of Trees at the Armory is in just its fourth year.
Those are the two biggest downtown holiday events. Volunteer groups and the Historical Society built them within the last few years, and they share one short stretch of Fourth Street. Their calendar also has an odd shape. The season opens on a Wednesday, and the only regular public evening hours for the trees fall on Thursdays. If you're counting on Saturday nights, you'll miss more than you think.
When the ceremony launched, Press Publications reported that it was the first event of its kind downtown. The 2025 ceremony was billed as the second annual, so the first one was held in 2024. It was set at the Railroad Park gazebo, and the paper noted the park dates back to its construction in 1868. Rotary Club member Ken Galloway explained to the paper why the group picked that spot:
"It's certainly an iconic gathering spot for a small town. Most of us on this project believe that. It's idyllic, and a real gathering place."
The first year kept things simple. The plan was white string lights wrapped around the gazebo and out into the nearby trees. The Lions Club collected donations for the White Bear Lake Area Food Shelf, the Rotary handed out cocoa, cider and cookies from a tent, and the mayor counted down to the lighting at 6 p.m. Half the cookies came from GoodThings Café. Galloway told the paper the group had been "noodling around with" the idea for a few years. He also said he hoped to add things like s'mores at the fire pits if it went well.
It went well enough to come back. In its 2025 year in review, Press Publications reported that hundreds of visitors came downtown for the Second Annual Gazebo Lighting Ceremony. Downtown Main Street, the White Bear Lake Lions Club, the Rotary Club and the City of White Bear Lake put it on together.
Here are the details for the third year, from the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake's calendar:
The City's page for Railroad Park describes a small downtown park with a gazebo, gardens, hanging plants, benches and a water fountain.
The lighting is also the first night of the season at the Armory. The White Bear Lake Area Historical Society is holding a preview of its Festival of Trees from 6 to 8 p.m. on November 18. It's timed with the gazebo lighting and open to Society members and Festival participants. The Society says it will serve light holiday bites, and no reservation is needed. If you're a member or your business decorated a tree, you can see the countdown and then go see the trees the same evening.
The building has a longer history than the festival does. Press Publications reports that the Armory went up in 1922 and 1923, formally opened February 27, 1923, and first housed a Minnesota National Guard infantry headquarters company. The Historical Society moved into the building in 2013, when the city still owned it, after leaving its old home in the train depot. In 2022, the City Council agreed to sell the Armory to the Society for $1. Press Publications covered that sale, which made the Armory the Society's permanent home.
The Festival of Trees opens to the public Thursday, November 19 and runs through Saturday, December 19 at the Armory, 2228 Fourth Street. The Society calls this the 4th Annual Festival. Local businesses and nonprofits decorate the trees, and entry is free. The Society promises more than 50 community-decorated trees and says the festival has welcomed over 9,000 visitors so far.
The hours are where people get tripped up:
| Day | Festival of Trees hours |
|---|---|
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Thursday | 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Friday | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the doors close at 3 p.m. Outside the members' preview on November 18, Thursday is the only day the public can go after work. A Sunday afternoon visit won't work at all, and neither will a Saturday evening stroll down Fourth Street that ends at the Armory.
The Society uses Thursday evening for its musical event, too. "Music in the Trees" is Thursday, December 17, with holiday music by the John Eckhardt Trio while you tour the trees. The Society says cookies and cocoa are free, and so is entry, with no registration needed. Two days later, the festival closes for the year.
Weekends do get their turn, just in daylight. Most of the family-friendly events fall on December 5 and December 12, both Saturdays, along with a weeklong hunt in between.
The Elf Hunt connects the two open houses. If you start hunting on the first Saturday, you'll still be at it by the second, which gives you two reasons to come downtown during one week in December.
Everything on this calendar sits close together, so you can easily fit a meal in. The Armory is at 2228 Fourth Street, and two places in the Downtown White Bear Lake business directory are on the same block. Keys Café & Bakery is at 2208 Fourth Street, and 4 Deuces Saloon is at 2222 Fourth Street.
The directory also lists these spots on Fourth and Third Streets:
Rudy's Redeye Grill is a little farther out at 4940 Highway 61 North. The Rotary, which runs the cider tent at the lighting, holds its Friday afternoon get-togethers there all through November. Holiday hours change, so check with a restaurant before you plan a 5:30 dinner around the 6 p.m. countdown.
For a Thursday after work, it might go like this. Get to the Armory before 8 p.m., walk the trees, and then head down the block to eat. On November 18, you'd do it in the other order: eat first, then be at the gazebo by six.
At Samuel Boatman, we enjoy watching new local traditions like these take hold. If you're thinking about what your White Bear Lake home is worth this winter, request a free home valuation. We'll give you a number grounded in appraisal experience and in how well we know this town.
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