Christmas list 2024: 15 things to do in Duluth

DULUTH — It's impossible to do every holiday event that takes place each year in the Christmas City of the North, but here are 15 mainstays that are not to be missed if you want to make the most of your November and December here.

Keep reading the News Tribune for information about more events throughout the season, but here's your starter list, arranged by date. Think of it as a sort of Zenith City Advent calendar.

For much of the country, the holiday season officially starts when Santa comes down Central Park West at the end of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — but here in the Northland, Father Christmas flies in six days earlier to pay homage to Mother Superior. The iconic Christmas City of the North Parade brings everyone from local brands to high school bands together in a spirited celebration (facebook.com/christmascityparade).

In Bergen, Norway, the annual "Pepperkakebyen" is known as "the world's largest gingerbread town." Duluth's version of the tradition is a little bit lower-key, but it's still worth swinging by the Nordic Center to enjoy a community-built assemblage of buildings that often include gingerbread interpretations of local landmarks. The venue offers craft-making opportunities during viewing hours — so you have something to do with those hands that might otherwise be tempted to snag a piece of, say, Enger Tower (nordiccenterduluth.org).

The Congdon family celebrated Christmas in style, and the memory of their warm displays is kept alive at the historic mansion they called home. This year's holiday decoration theme at Glensheen is "Classic Christmas Tales," with "12 themed rooms focused on classic Christmas books and stories." Even Scrooge came in from the cold to enjoy an evening beside the Christmas tree, but in the absence of an invitation from nephew Fred, you can make your reservations for either a daytime or candlelight tour at glensheen.org.

The country's largest free walk-through holiday light display gets a little more glam every year. This year, all 150,000 of the lights on Bentleyville's 128-foot tree have been removed and replaced with RBG lights capable of displaying "millions of different colors," according to a news release. What will they do with all that color power? You'll have to swing by and see, though it's hard to miss the tree from anywhere in town with a view of Bayfront Festival Park (bentleyvilleusa.org).

There's just something about trains at Christmas. "Rescuing Christmas" viewers on the Hallmark Channel have been swept away to Santa's workshop by the sight of two elves sitting on the locomotive William Crooks, but in Duluth, you can be bodily swept away aboard the North Shore Scenic Railroad's Christmas City Express. The 30-minute storybook experience is "designed for young children with limited attention spans," organizers assure parents who are presumably wondering if they have to reserve an extra seat for their Elf on the Shelf (duluthtrains.com).

Not technically a holiday celebration, Small Business Saturday is nonetheless an important date on the calendar for people who want to patronize Duluth's many entrepreneurs during the year's biggest shopping season. Numerous small businesses throughout the city are offering discounts or special events for those who held their gift budgets past Black Friday.

From downtown, you can head a couple of blocks up the hill to hit AICHO, which is hosting its annual winter market Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (10-11 a.m. reserved for elders and those who require accessibility), with an ugly sweater contest at noon (facebook.com/indigenousfirst).

Live theater holds a special appeal during the holidays, and two Duluth companies are planning productions that fit the festive mood. After last year's December production of "The Sound of Music," Duluth Playhouse is returning to Rodgers and Hammerstein with "Cinderella" — the 1957 musical now refitted with a new script and fresh slant, onstage at the NorShor Theatre from Dec. 6-22 (duluthplayhouse.org).

Down Superior Street, Boat Club productions is hosting the Harper's Hardware Holiday Party as dramatized in "Winter Wonderettes," a story set in the '60s with "classic seasonal tunes and holiday cheer." It runs Dec. 5-15 at the Spirit of the North Theatre in the Fitger's Complex (boatclubrestaurant.com).

"Red One" may be bringing Frank Cross' most lurid dreams to life in movie theaters, but if a red panda is more your vibe, you can swing by the Lake Superior Zoo for the annual Zoo Lights event series. Giant inflatable animals are the marquee attractions, and real ones will also be on hand for the zoo's after-dark transformation. Santa will be there every night, and you know how busy his calendar gets this time of year, so what further testimonial do you need? (facebook.com/lakesuperiorzoo)

Musically, what sound defines Christmas? Jingle bells? Mariah Carey's whistle tone? The guitar thunder of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra? Yes, yes and yes — but for many, there's nothing like a classic symphonic sound to evoke the full majesty of "the most wonderful time of the year." The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra is here to supply that sound with a pops concert at the DECC, "featuring traditional holiday music that will leave you feeling festive and joyful." So, probably not "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" (dsso.com).

Since launching in 2016 at Glensheen, the Duluth Winter Village has grown into an epic production that fills a good portion of the DECC and spills onto Harbor Drive. It's a holiday market in the European tradition, with a distinctly Duluth vibe alongside the William A. Irvin as shoppers relish hot beverages and pull their hats tight against the harbor winds. Other activities include ice skating, hen hugging (precisely what it sounds like) and cocktail sipping at Vikre's "Tinsel Tavern" (duluthwintervillage.com).

When Boubville launched as "a punk version of Bentleyville" in 2022, it wasn't obvious that the community would embrace the alternative celebration and its elaborate mythology involving another planet's skewed interpretation of the holiday. The concept took off, though, and in year three Boubville is not only back, it's bigger than ever with an expanded family night and an "alien dogsled experience." As a wise man from Vulcan once said, live long and prosper (instagram.com/feelslikeboubville).

Minnesota Ballet's localized interpretation of the classic Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ballet has all the festive chaos of the original, with a historical setting that places the action at Duluth's Union Depot in the early 20th century. Characters include a traveling magician, gingerbread people (perhaps visiting from Norway), leaping lumberjacks and, of course, the central Clara — whose story arc takes quite a turn by the time the train leaves for St. Paul (minnesotaballet.org).

The holiday season wouldn't be complete without a bunch of people putting on Santa suits and doing something silly. In Duluth, that means running 5 kilometers through Lincoln Park, and then warming up with a glass of the good stuff at Wild State Cider. There's also a 0.4-kilometer Reindeer Run — yes, with antlers — for kids under 8. Joggers of any age are allowed to join the Santa Run if they can go the distance, but organizers caution that when issued a red suit, "kids should plan to wear the jacket only to avoid tripping hazards" (wildsantarun.com).

There's no shortage of makers' markets throughout Duluth during the holiday season, but the St. Louis County Depot's Great Hall Marketplace is notable for both its size and its relative lateness on the calendar — making it perfect for last-minute shoppers. Dozens of local vendors are expected for the annual event (facebook.com/stlouiscountydepot).

Even though George F. Handel's "Messiah" gets to the Nativity part about a third of the way through and goes on to chronicle other biblical events that are a little less fun, the 1741 oratorio has become a holiday season staple around the world. Here in Duluth, Borealis Chamber Artists present the work live at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, a fittingly grand setting for a composition that music writer Jan Swafford called "a harvest of goosebumps ... Handel knew exactly where the heartstrings were and pulled them as well as anyone ever has" (borealischamberartists.com).