North Bend's holiday season runs on four events between mid-November and the weekend before Christmas. In North Bend, each one has its home base within a few blocks of the corner of North Bend Way and Main Avenue. You can treat the season as one big outing, but it works better as four short trips to the same downtown blocks, each with a different door to walk through afterward.
That's especially true this year, because two of those doors are new. Mastrogiannis Distillery opened a downtown tasting room in March. Around the same time, the longtime Italian restaurant on Bendigo Boulevard got new owners and a new name. Both fit into the holiday calendar without any extra driving.
Four events, one corner
The season's dated events, as the City of North Bend's community calendar and the Northwest Railway Museum list them:
- Friday, Nov. 13, 2 to 4 p.m.: Holly Days Window Fest on downtown storefronts. Free.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: the Valley-Wide Holiday Open House at businesses in North Bend, Snoqualmie and Fall City.
- Weekends, Nov. 28 through Dec. 20: the North Pole Limited Santa train, leaving from the North Bend Depot.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 8 p.m.: Holly Days Winter Festival and Tree Lighting at North Bend Way and Main Avenue.
The first two land about a week after this post goes up. The tree lighting falls on one of the Santa train weekends.
Nov. 13: Window Fest starts outside Volition
The North Bend Downtown Foundation runs Window Fest, and 2026 is its third year. The setup is simple. Participants decorate storefront windows with snowflake window clings only, the Foundation supplies everything, and everyone meets outside Volition Brewing at 112 W North Bend Way by 2 p.m.
For a resident, that's a two-hour Friday afternoon commitment that leaves the 100 block of West North Bend Way looking different for the rest of the season. Volition is right there when the clings run out. On the way in, The North Bend Bakery at 127 W North Bend Way is a few doors down and posts Tuesday through Sunday hours on its own site.
Nov. 14: The open house is a shopping list for two blocks
The next day, the SnoValley Regional Chamber of Commerce kicks off holiday shopping across North Bend, Snoqualmie and Fall City. The Chamber posts updates on its Facebook page and frames the day around shopping local.
The Valley-wide reach is the point of the event. Still, for anyone already in downtown North Bend, the useful fact is how tightly the shops and food stops cluster. Here's how the downtown map, updated by the Downtown Foundation in October 2026, lays them out.
| Address | Stop | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 101 W North Bend Way | The Iron Duck Public House | A sit-down break |
| 106 W North Bend Way | Scott Rinckenberger Gallery | Art as a gift |
| 112 W North Bend Way | Volition Brewing Co. | Window Fest meeting point |
| 116 W North Bend Way | Cascadia Pizza Co. | Feeding a group |
| 125 W North Bend Way | DT Vintage & More | Secondhand finds |
| 127 W North Bend Way | The North Bend Bakery | Morning start |
| 137 W North Bend Way | Twede's Cafe | Classic diner stop |
| 201 W North Bend Way | Mastrogiannis Distillery | New tasting room |
| 202 W North Bend Way | Hartwood Cafe and Birches Habitat | Coffee and home goods |
| 111 E North Bend Way | North Bend Trading Company | Gift shopping east of Main |
| 107 Main Ave. N | Erika Laureano Design | Design shopping |
| 201 Main Ave. N | Pearl & Stone Wine Co. | Holiday bottles |
| 208 Main Ave. S | Pressed On Main | A lighter lunch |
A few more are a short walk off that grid. Arete Coffee Bar is at 112 W 2nd St., inside Pro Ski and Mountain Service. Huxdotter Coffee is on West Park Street. Bread & Bone is farther east at 468 E North Bend Way, and Chang Thai & Pho and North Bend Bar & Grill are at 131 and 145 E North Bend Way.
The two newest doors on the route
Mastrogiannis Distillery, 201 W North Bend Way
The Snoqualmie Valley Record reported that Mastrogiannis Distillery and Winery held a ribbon-cutting on March 5, 2026, for its new downtown location at 201 W North Bend Way. Before that, the distillery had been a hit at North Bend's Sip Suds & Si event. It's owned by Ilias and Bojana Mastrogiannis, who told the paper they hope to bring Greek hospitality to the Valley, and its lineup includes the award-winning Mastrogiannis Baton Brandy.
"We like to say we didn't find North Bend, North Bend found us," Ilias Mastrogiannis said at the ribbon-cutting, as quoted by the Valley Record.
For the holiday calendar, the location matters. The tasting room sits at the west end of the same stretch that hosts Window Fest and the open house, and it's a short walk from the Dec. 5 tree lighting at Main Avenue.
Paisan Ristorante, 133 Bendigo Blvd. N
The second change has a familiar menu under a new name. The Valley Record reported in March that the Burrows family, owners of the historic North Bend Theatre, closed on the purchase of the neighboring Il Paesano Ristorante in mid-February and renamed it Paisan Ristorante. The restaurant shares a parking lot with the theater. The family kept the staff, including the chef, who is the son-in-law of original owner Gianfranco Bafaro.
Beth Burrows told the paper that people keep asking them not to change the food. "We'll say, 'We don't plan to. Why mess with success?'" The family also described plans for theater-friendly items like handheld calzones and pasta cups that moviegoers could pre-order.
That pairing gives December a second evening shape downtown. Dinner and a show now come from the same family, on the same parking lot.
Nov. 28 onward: the Santa train leaves from behind North Bend Way
The Northwest Railway Museum's North Pole Limited departs from the North Bend Depot at 205 E McClellan Street, which the museum describes as just behind the Shell station off North Bend Way. Trains run on the weekends after Thanksgiving, from Nov. 28 through Dec. 20. Tickets are $39 for everyone age 2 and up.
According to the museum's Santa Trains page, the outing goes like this:
- A 10- to 15-minute ride from North Bend to the museum's campus
- About an hour there, with Santa seated in a restored Chapel Car
- Hot chocolate, hot apple cider, coffee, and a chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie
- A 10- to 15-minute ride back to North Bend
Some other details from the museum: staff will take family photos on your own phone at no charge, and the train doesn't leave until everyone in the Santa line has had a turn. Ticket holders can also come back on a non-event day and show their tickets for free admission to the Train Shed Exhibit Hall. That's an easy January outing on a gray Saturday.
The museum says the North Pole Limited typically sells out before the event starts, and its policy is no refunds or exchanges unless the train doesn't run. For families with younger kids, the museum also runs the Yuletide Express from the Snoqualmie Depot at 38625 SE King Street on Fridays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18. That ride is about 40 minutes round-trip and costs $30. The museum notes the Yuletide Express always sells out soon after tickets go live.
Dec. 5: tree lighting, then a table downtown
Holly Days Winter Festival and Tree Lighting fills the corner of North Bend Way and Main Avenue on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. The city's listing includes a tree lighting led by the mayor, s'mores, live entertainment and photos with Santa.
That same weekend, the North Pole Limited is running from the depot. A family can plan the whole day around one parking spot:
- Daytime: the North Pole Limited from the North Bend Depot on East McClellan Street, if your tickets are for Dec. 5.
- Late afternoon: a stop at The North Bend Bakery or Hartwood Cafe on West North Bend Way.
- 5 p.m. onward: the festival and tree lighting at North Bend Way and Main Avenue.
- After the lights: dinner at Paisan Ristorante on Bendigo Boulevard, or Cascadia Pizza Co. or The Iron Duck Public House on West North Bend Way. Adults can finish at Mastrogiannis or Pearl & Stone Wine Co.
The Downtown Foundation's Holly Days page is the place to check for event-day details as Dec. 5 gets closer.
North Bend is home for me too, and the holiday weeks are when downtown feels most like itself. If you're thinking about how a move inside the Valley, or into it, would fit around evenings like these, I'm always glad to talk it through over coffee on North Bend Way. Katlin Lee | Let's Connect
