It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Following is a curated list of upcoming holiday parties, shows, races and events in Madison, WI.

Holiday Shows

• A Madison Symphony Christmas takes place Dec. 5-7 at the Overture Center. Tickets are $28-$131.
• “A Christmas Carol” runs Dec. 6-21 at the Overture Center. Tickets are $58.50-$89.91.
• The Capitol Christmas Pageant takes place Dec. 7 at the State Capitol. Free to attend.
• “The Nutcracker” runs Dec. 12-21 at the Overture Center. Tickets are $37.91-$124.50.
• The TubaChristmas Concert will be held at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the State Capitol. Free to attend.

Holiday Parties and Celebrations

• The Downtowners Social Club Hark the Holiday Party takes place Dec. 2 at the Tinsmith. Free to attend.
• The Magnet Winter Charity Fete is held Dec. 5 at the Loxley. Tickets are $75-$100.
• The Elvehjem Holiday in the Park takes place Dec. 13 at Elvehjem Park. Free to attend.
• An Ugly Sweater Party is held Dec. 13 at all Nitty Gritty locations. Free to attend.
• The Wheelhouse 11th Annual Ugly Sweater Party takes place Dec. 21 at High Noon. Tickets are $19.25.

Holiday Races and Bar Crawls

• The Santa Cycle Rampage starts and ends at Breese Stevens Field on Dec. 13. Tickets are $7-$18.
• Run, Santa, Run 5K takes place Dec. 13 on the Capitol Square. Fee is $40.
• The Christmas Bar Crawl starts at Red Rock Saloon on Dec. 20. Tickets cost $25.

Other Holiday Events

• The Holiday Fantasy in Lights runs Nov. 15-Dec. 31 at Olin Park. Admission is free.
• Zoo Lights is held Nov. 22-Dec. 23 (Fridays-Sundays) at Henry Vilas Zoo. Tickets cost $12.
• Winter Wonderland in the Village takes place Dec. 6 in McFarland. Free to attend.
• The Fair Trade Holiday Festival takes place Dec. 6 at Monona Terrace. Free to attend.
• The HolidayFest Arts & Crafts Fair is not taking place this year due to the Warner Park Community Recreation Center’s expansion project.
• Holiday Express runs Dec. 6-31 at Olbrich Gardens. Tickets are $6-$10.
• Flixmas with the movies “Elf” and “National Lampoon Christmas Vacation” showing on several dates in December at Flix Brewhouse. Tickets are $7.50 + booking fee.
• Fitchburg’s Holiday Lights Tour & Jubilee takes place Dec. 12-14. Free to attend.

 

Photo by Madison Symphony Orchestra

Tags: downtown, east side, Fitchburg, McFarland, Middleton, near east, near west, south side, Sun Prairie, west side

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2025 at 6:00 am and is filed under Holidays and Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.