The city's rendering of 13th Street shows vendor stalls and people on foot. The caption says it shows the street during a farmers market, redesigned as "a flexible, multi-use public amenity" for "everyday activity and special events." That version is scheduled to open in early 2029. This November, the last Saturday market on 13th Street, a Council decision on the park's bandshell and the start of the holiday lights on Pearl all fall inside four days.
The park has a new name and a street plan built around the market
The downtown area many locals still call the Civic Area or Central Park is now officially Boulder Creek Park. The City of Boulder's project page says the name was one of eight that came out of teen engagement work. That work involved Boulder High School's Zonta Club, Growing Up Boulder, RIOS Boulder and CU Boulder's Department of Environmental Design.
The rename comes before the construction. Phase 2 plans include expanded garden walks, nature play areas, community gathering spaces, storytelling features and a pedestrian-first festival street. Work is scheduled to begin in late 2027 and run through late 2028, and the city notes that the dates depend on permitting.
The city designed that festival street with the market in mind. The Boulder County Farmers Markets Saturday market already sets up at 13th Street and Canyon Boulevard. The market's 2026 season ends this month.
November 19 to 22, block by block
The four days run in order across a handful of downtown addresses.
| Date | What's scheduled | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 19 | City Council meeting with a public hearing on the bandshell seating, tentatively scheduled | Council Chambers, Penfield Tate II Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway | Regular meetings start at 5:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Last Boulder Saturday Farmers Market of the season | 13th Street and Canyon Boulevard | 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | Downtown Cookie Crawl | Downtown Boulder | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | Switch on the Holidays performances and activities | 1300 block of Pearl Street | Starts at 2 p.m.; TUBACHRISTMAS at 3:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | Lighting of the Boulder County Courthouse and the Pearl Street Mall | Pearl Street Mall | Program begins at 5 p.m. |
The market's last Saturday is the day before the holiday kickoff. On Saturday the stalls fill 13th Street at Canyon. On Sunday the action moves to the 1300 block of Pearl.
What the Council is deciding Thursday night
The Thursday hearing is about the Glen Huntington Bandshell, the historic structure inside the park's landmark boundary. As part of Phase 2 design, the city submitted a Landmark Alteration Certificate application for changes to the landscape and bandshell seating "based on community feedback." On Sept. 2 the Landmarks Board denied it 3–2. On Sept. 17, City Council voted 8–0 to call the application up for its own review, and the city tentatively set the public hearing for Nov. 19. The city's calendar shows a Council meeting that night.
The seating is the core of the dispute. A Citizen Portal summary of the Landmarks Board meeting reports that Parks & Recreation proposed replacing the bandshell's historic wooden benches with terraced concrete benches and lawn. Historic Boulder and other preservation advocates argued that the wooden benches are character-defining and should be kept or carefully modified.
This hearing shapes how the bandshell will seat people once the redesigned park opens. The city's project page says it will post any date change there. You can attend in person at 1777 Broadway or watch on the city's YouTube channel, its website, or Comcast Channels 8 and 880 in Boulder. Community members can testify in person or virtually.
Where the lights go once the stalls are gone
Once the market closes for the year, the lights move into the same part of the park. The city's Snow Much Fun display runs from November through mid-January and stretches from 13th Street to the library. The city's event page still uses the old name for the area, "historic Central Park and Civic Area." Visit Boulder lists the display from mid-November to mid-January. It describes hundreds of thousands of LED lights around the park near the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, plus lights along Pearl Street.
Sunday's program adds the downtown lighting to the park display. Downtown Boulder's holiday page describes the 5 p.m. program on Nov. 22 as the "grand illumination" of the Boulder County Courthouse and the Pearl Street Mall. The holiday events are produced by Downtown Boulder Community Initiatives, the nonprofit affiliate of the Downtown Boulder Partnership.
If you start at the Cookie Crawl at 11 a.m., you'll have a full afternoon downtown before the lights come on at 5. Snow Much Fun runs through the park from 13th Street to the library, so it can be the last stop after the lighting.
The weekend before belongs to Pearl Street's own market
Pearl Street gets a market of its own the weekend before 13th Street's big week. The free Firefly Handmade Holiday Market sets up outdoors on Pearl Street between 11th and 15th streets on Nov. 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more than 80 artists, makers and designers. That covers four blocks of Pearl, including the 1300 block where the lights get switched on eight days later.
The rest of the early-month calendar, per Visit Boulder, looks like this:
- Thursday, Nov. 12: The Warren Miller film premiere, the yearly ski film that kicks off winter in Boulder.
- Saturdays, Nov. 7, 14 and 21: The last three Saturday farmers markets, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 13th and Canyon. The Wednesday market ended Oct. 7.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14–15: Firefly on Pearl in the daytime. On Saturday it overlaps with the farmers market at 13th and Canyon.
After the 21st, the market moves to Longmont and Thanksgiving weekend fills Pearl
After Nov. 21, Boulder County Farmers Markets moves to Longmont. Its Winter Market runs Dec. 5 and 6, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. BCFM says the market brings together 150 local farmers, ranchers, food producers and artisans.
If you drive east toward Longmont before then, plan around the Dry Creek bridge project. Boulder County's project page says Baseline Road between Cherryvale Road and 75th Street is closed through November and expected to reopen Monday, Nov. 30. The Dry Creek Trailhead stays closed while the project continues.
Downtown is busy over Thanksgiving weekend:
- Small Business Saturday Weekend, Nov. 27–29. The Downtown Boulder Partnership asks people to shop and dine downtown all three days. The shops it features include Where the Buffalo Roam, Art + Soul Gallery, Bobbles & Lace and Savannah Bee Company.
- St. Nick on the Bricks. Free visits with Santa at the Visitor Information Center on the Pearl Street Mall, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 27, Nov. 28, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. The suggested donation is $10 per group.
- Tebo Train's Snowflake Express, Sunday, Nov. 29. An all-electric train ride down Pearl Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for children 10 and under and the adults with them.
- The Nutcracker, Nov. 27–29. Boulder Ballet and the Boulder Philharmonic perform at Macky Auditorium.
For a meal between stops, the Daily Camera's restaurant listings put Costa Brisa's opening date at Nov. 2. It's a Baja-inspired Mexican food stall at Avanti Boulder. Axios Boulder reported in late September that BuffHouse at 2860 Arapahoe Ave. was aiming for a November opening. North of downtown, Boulder Reporting Lab's look inside Cinq a Sept covers the French bistro that opened at 4580 Broadway in July.
The redesigned 13th Street is still years away. The city's timeline has construction starting in late 2027 and the park opening in early 2029. The Council's decision on the bandshell seating is scheduled for Nov. 19, two days before the last Saturday market of 2026.
At Vara: The Real Estate Collective, we follow how projects like Boulder Creek Park change the blocks around them. If you'd like to talk about what the plans for downtown could mean for your part of Boulder, take a look at our Boulder neighborhood page and let's connect.
