"Glitters has still been going for the last few years, but in a modified space, way smaller than what people would be used to if they've seen any of its previous iterations." Danny Williamson, Glendale's special events administrator, said that to the Glendale Star this fall. He added that "Murphy Park itself was under so much construction that it was really hard to hit the nail on the head for what we wanted to provide."
That construction is finished. The 2026 Glendale Glitters is the first one since the City Hall campus and Murphy Park renovations were completed. A full-size Glitters behaves differently from the version locals have had lately, because it splits into two events. The lights stay on every night from Nov. 27 through Jan. 1. The stages, the vendors and the extra staffing show up on only four Friday-Saturday pairs. The night you pick decides which of the two you get.
The footprint is back to where it was before construction
In a June update to the City Council, Glendale said the 2026 event "returns to the pre-DCRP footprint," meaning its size before the Downtown Campus Reinvestment Project. That runs from 57th Avenue to 59th Avenue and from Glendale Avenue to Myrtle Avenue. The Glendale Star describes the display as more than two million lights and decorations spread across about 16 city blocks.
The city reopened the renovated campus with a ribbon-cutting on June 18, which was also Glendale's 116th birthday, after a four-year rebuild. In July, the city said the new City Hall and the renovated Murphy Park were already hosting community gatherings. Glitters will be the biggest test the new park has faced so far. Even the scaled-down editions drew "tens of thousands" of visitors, according to Williamson.
The vendor count shows how much bigger the weekends got
In June, the city's plan called for 25 to 30 vendors. By late summer, Williamson told the Glendale Star the team was planning for roughly 50 vendors at the kickoff and hoped to keep a similar number on the remaining weekends. He also said about 50 applications arrived on the first day alone.
The final numbers in the city's Oct. 27 council update came in higher. The city received 150 vendor applications and approved 71. The other 79 were waitlisted or turned down. Six of the applications came from downtown merchants.
The city is also managing those weekends more tightly. Only authorized vendors may sell inside the event footprint. The October update schedules four to five Code Compliance inspectors on Friday and Saturday nights from 5 to 10 p.m., along with Downtown Squad and Special Events police coverage for the season. The June plan added more trash cans and scheduled trash pickup during event hours. All of that staffing is on the same nights the crowds are expected, so the weekends are the full event.
What each weekend holds
The October council update sets out all four weekends by name. Each one has its own character, which makes it easier to choose.
Nov. 27–28: the kickoff
The kickoff is free and runs 5 to 10 p.m. both nights, centered at 5850 W. Glendale Ave. The city's Oct. 27 run-of-show schedules the opening ceremony for early evening on Nov. 27 and the lights for 6 p.m., so anyone who wants to see the switch flipped should plan to arrive by late afternoon. On Friday, Marilyn's Dance Academy, Lori Ford's Vocal Studio and St. John Paul II Catholic High School Cheer perform. Saturday features The Dance Shoppe Performing Group, Spotlight Youth Theatre, Fiesta Mexicana Dance Company and Creative Edge Dance.
These are the nights to go if a friend's kid is dancing, and the nights to skip if you don't like crowds.
Dec. 4–5: the first headliner
Purely Dance Performance Team performs Friday. On Saturday, the LiVE! @ Murphy Park program has Mega Ran and Buddy's Magic Holiday on the same bill. Saturday has the most varied lineup of the season, with a rapper and a magic act on one park stage.
Dec. 11–12: the movie and the acoustic night
On Friday, Movies by Moonlight screens Elf. Saturday is LiVE! @ Murphy Park: A Winter's Evening With Ryanhood. For families with younger kids, Friday is probably the easiest night of the season: one film, one spot on the lawn and the lights all around.
Dec. 18–19: the last weekend before Christmas
Michaela's Dance Magic and Cachito Dance Project perform Friday. LiVE! @ Murphy Park: New Destiny closes out the Saturday programming. New Destiny also plays the Tamale Festival on Dec. 6, so this is a second chance to see them if you miss that one.
The other nights are a different event
From Nov. 27 through Jan. 1, the lights are on every night from 5 to 10 p.m., including the Sunday-through-Thursday stretches that have no stage schedule. On those nights, the restored footprint is mostly lights and the shops and restaurants that operate downtown year-round. For a resident, a Tuesday walk through Murphy Park may be the better way to see the 16 blocks than a Saturday spent in the vendor lines.
Those nights rely on the downtown merchants, and the Downtown Glendale merchants' dining directory lists the following within the Historic Downtown blocks around the park:
- Haus Murphy's, 5739 W. Glendale Ave. Its website notes a one-day closure on Nov. 7, with regular hours resuming Nov. 8.
- Cornish Pasty Co., 5747 W. Glendale Ave., which the directory describes as a British-pub setting
- Blue Corn Cafe & Bakery, 7015 N. 58th Ave.
- Bitz-ee Mama's Restaurant, 7023 N. 58th Ave.
- Packer Family Ice Cream, 7146 N. 58th Ave.
- A Touch of European Cafe, 7146 N. 57th Drive, Suite C
- The Pink Door Tea House, 7153 N. 59th Ave.
- The Spicery in Our 1895 Home, 7141 N. 59th Ave.
For gift shopping, the merchants' shop directory lists Cerreta Candy Company at 5345 W. Glendale Ave., Drawn to Comics at 5801 W. Glendale Ave., Cactus VHS at 7011 N. 58th Ave., Bears & More at 7146 N. 58th Drive, 2 Share A Unique Boutique at 5805–5807 W. Glendale Ave., and The Cottage Garden, which has shops at 7162 N. 58th Ave. and 5890 W. Palmaire Ave. Check each business's hours before an evening visit, since the lights stay on until 10 p.m.
Three daytime dates on the same blocks
The full footprint is the evening event, and the downtown calendar has its own daytime anchors around it.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: The 30th Annual Holiday Open House starts at 10 a.m. in Old Towne and Catlin Court. The eight-foot wooden nutcrackers and the Patriotic Community Tree ornament station return, and a new holiday charm and make-and-take stations are advertised.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday starts at 10 a.m. The downtown association counts more than 70 independent shops and offers docents and maps from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Glitters opens its second kickoff night at 5 p.m. the same day, so you can shop in the morning and see the lights that evening on the same blocks.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: The Tamale Festival & Christmas Marketplace takes place at The Lot, at 57th Avenue and Glenn Drive, with music from New Destiny and a mariachi band.
Getting there
Experience Glendale lists free covered parking for Historic Downtown at the Palmaire Parking Structure, 5835 W. Palmaire Ave. That is the district's general parking guidance, so expect it to fill up on kickoff weekend. For transit riders, the city's transit page lists a 109-space park-and-ride at 59th and Myrtle avenues, on the edge of the event footprint. Valley Metro Route 59 and the Grand Avenue Limited serve the two corners. The free GUS 1 shuttle serves downtown and Murphy Park but runs only Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., so it ends just after the lights come on.
If you're hosting family over the holidays and need to know which weeknight is calmest before relatives arrive, or how downtown Glendale's renovated core is changing life around Murphy Park, John Rowan is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
