LoDo's Three Holiday Plazas Overlap on One Weekend This Year

Last year, Union Station's Urban Holiday Market packed up on Nov. 23, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. McGregor Square opened its rink five days later, on Nov. 28, and Larimer Square held its Larimer Lights kickoff the next day. By the time the rink and the lights were running, the station's market was already gone.

In 2026 the dates line up. Union Station's market holds its last weekend on Nov. 28–29. Larimer Lights runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 31. McGregor Square's rink, tree and Merry Market all open Nov. 27. That means the weekend after Thanksgiving is the one stretch of the season when you can walk Wynkoop, Wazee and Larimer and find all three plazas running.

How the calendar shifted

McGregor Skate barely moved. Its 2025 opening on Nov. 28 was also the Friday after Thanksgiving, so this year's Nov. 27 opening falls on the same day of the week. The bigger change is at Union Station. Last year the market skipped Thanksgiving weekend. This year there is no market on Nov. 21–22, and the final weekend lands on the same Saturday and Sunday as Larimer Lights and the first weekend of McGregor's Merry Market.

Two November weekends at Union Station first

Before the plazas line up, Union Station has its own lead-in. The free Urban Holiday Market opened Nov. 7–8 and has one more early weekend, Nov. 14–15. It runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day with local makers and vendors. In 2025 the market set up on Wynkoop Plaza, 1701 Wynkoop St.

Then the evenings start on Friday, Nov. 20. Miracle Bar at Denver Union Station opens on the station's lower level and runs daily from 4 p.m. to midnight through Dec. 26. It's 21+ only. Reservations have been open since Nov. 1, and the station recommends booking. Last year's version had a "Holidays at Grandma's House" theme, Hanukkah décor among the over-the-top holiday decorations, and a run in the lower-level Gallery Bar. This year the station is billing it as "over-the-top Christmas décor, holiday cocktails, and plenty of nostalgic cheer."

The same weekend, Larimer Square has an opening of its own a few blocks south.

Scarpaletto comes back to the 1400 block on Nov. 20

Scarpaletto is a high-end fashion retailer focused on footwear. Phil Vivinetto opened it in 1979, and it has been in Market Station on the 16th Street Mall since 2022. In May, owners Dragana and Logan Allenbaugh told BusinessDen they were moving the shop back to the 1400 block of Larimer Street this fall. BusinessDen also reported that the Allenbaughs bought the business from its founder the previous November.

The grand reopening celebration runs from 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 20, through 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22. Larimer Square lists a Robert Barakett trunk show on Friday and Saturday, small bites, and gifts with purchase while supplies last. Anyone who spends $200 or more over the three days is entered to win a Mauritius leather jacket valued at $350 to $450.

So Larimer Square has a new storefront open the week before its lights go up on Nov. 27.

Friday, Nov. 27, block by block

McGregor Square at 1901 Wazee St. has the busiest schedule of the day. Its free, all-ages grand opening and tree lighting runs 1 to 8 p.m. and is built around the Broncos game.

1. 1 p.m. The Broncos game goes up on the Big Screen.
2. 2 to 4 p.m. Dinger poses for photos in his Santa suit.
3. Halftime. The McGregor Square holiday tree is lit.
4. After the Denver Colorado FSC on-ice performance. McGregor Skate officially opens for the season.
5. After the final whistle. Elf plays on the Big Screen.

A holiday market of local vendors runs on Wynkoop the same afternoon. That's the start of McGregor's free Merry Market, which runs Nov. 27–29, Dec. 5–6, Dec. 12–13 and Dec. 19–20, with free Santa Dinger photos on selected dates.

After opening day, McGregor Skate stays open through Jan. 25. Adult admission with skate rental is $15, and admission is $6 if you bring your own skates. Both prices are the same as Westword reported for 2025.

Larimer Lights starts the same day. Larimer Square's events page lists festive décor, Santa visits, ornament decorating and seasonal treats from the block's restaurants and shops, running through Dec. 31. That's a five-week season. The 2025 listing centered on one Saturday, Nov. 29, with Santa photos, a signature Christmas tree, Small Business Saturday offers and a nightly projection-mapping light show.

Saturday, Nov. 28, adds Union Station's final market weekend, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For those two days, the station, Wynkoop and Larimer all have something running at once.

What changed on the walk between them

The route between the three plazas looks different from last December, and the changes cluster near the same corners the holiday events use.

• Rōmyō, 1401 Larimer St. The Bonanno group's Japanese-Italian restaurant opened in mid-September in the former Ted's Montana Grill space at the corner of Larimer Square. The Denver Post reported that Frank Bonanno described the menu as ingredient swaps between the two cuisines, such as Parmesan in chawanmushi and sake in a red-sauce pasta.
• Maria Empanada, Union Station Great Hall. The Argentine bakery opened its sixth location inside the Great Hall and is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the LoDo District's Oct. 27 newsletter reported. Lorena Cantarovici started the business in her garage in 2011.
• 1650 Wewatta St. Tupelo Honey closed on Oct. 16 after nearly a decade on the ground floor of the Griffis Platform building behind Union Station. The Denver Post reported that a sign on the door said the lease was ending and that the 5,900-square-foot space is being marketed for lease.
• 1442 Larimer St. Som Dee Signature's planned Larimer Square restaurant missed its summer target. Owner Orrapan Botthaisong told The Denver Post she expected it to open soon after the new year, so it will still be ahead during this year's Larimer Lights season.

In the same newsletter, Cantarovici explained why she chose the station: "When someone visits Denver, you want to take them somewhere that shows the city at its best. Denver Union Station is one of those places."

For a holiday season that kicks off on the Friday after Thanksgiving, that puts a new café at one end of the walk, a new restaurant on the Larimer corner at the other, and the rink and tree in between on Wazee.

After the overlap weekend

Union Station's market ends Nov. 29. After that, Miracle Bar keeps the station busy in the evenings through Dec. 26. McGregor's Merry Market comes back on three more December weekends, ending Dec. 19–20. Larimer Lights continues through New Year's Eve, and McGregor Skate stays open until Jan. 25.

We pay attention to which LoDo corners are filling up and which storefronts are open, and that tends to come up when neighbors start thinking about what their own place on these blocks is worth. If that's you this season, The Stairway Team is glad to talk through it over coffee near the station. Get Your Free Home Valuation.