Selah's Holiday Season Runs on Friday Nights, Mostly Along First Street

Selah's holiday season mostly happens on Friday evenings this year. Between Oct. 30 and Dec. 4, five of the six dated holiday events in town start on a Friday, and almost all of them use the same few blocks of First Street and the Selah Civic Center. The Saturday daytime options are the second day of the Tree Top Bazaar on Nov. 14 and Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, the long weekend after Thanksgiving.

Treating the season as a Friday routine tells you which weeks to keep open, where to park, and which night will be busiest downtown.

The Friday calendar, start to finish

Here is the season as it stands in the 2026 listings, in order.

Most of these start between 5 and 6 p.m., so they work as after-work plans more than weekend outings. The Tree Top Bazaar is the only event that runs over two days, and its Saturday session is the one daytime option before Thanksgiving.

The Civic Center hosts the first half of the season

Two of the November Fridays use the same room. The Selah Kids Market on Nov. 6 is hosted by the City of Selah. It is open to K–12 students who sell goods they make or services they offer, and it runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Center. If you have a student who has been making things to sell, this is a short, local first market for them.

A week later, the Fall into the Holidays! Tree Top Bazaar uses the same building on Friday, Nov. 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., and again on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Its listing pitches it as a place to shop local and find unique gifts. The Friday session runs 30 minutes past the Kids Market's closing time. That gives you a slightly longer window if you are coming straight from work.

Both events work as a warm-up for Dec. 4. That night the parade ends at the same Civic Center, so the building anchors the season at both ends.

Small Business Saturday moves things out onto First Street

The Selah Downtown Association holds Small Business Saturday the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year that is Nov. 28. The association's own pitch is short: "Skip the hustle and bustle of big box stores and support your local businesses. Check out all the downtown retail stores and stop into any of the coffee shops for a hot drink to warm your hands."

Downtown Selah has enough coffee to back that up. The association's business map, updated in August 2026, shows a cluster at the south end of First Street: Coffee at Tiffany's at 402 S. 1st St., Sundance Espresso at 406 S. 1st St., and Manhattan Station Espresso at 418 S. 1st St. Two more sit a block off the main street on West Fremont Avenue: Rise & Grind Coffee Company at 103 W. Fremont Ave. and Crave Coffee at 108 W. Fremont Ave.

Most of the retail on that map is on First Street and the short side streets east of it:

• East 3rd Avenue: Happily Painted at 115, ABBee's Floral & Gifts at 116, and Double Trouble Shakes N' More and Light Delight, both at 117
• East Naches Avenue: Heidi's Art & Image at 133 and The Findry at 135
• First Street and nearby: StyleLKB at 8 N. 1st St., Paul and Deb's Formal Menswear at 105 S. 1st St., Trading Post Collectibles at 11 E. 1st Ave., Unit 1, and Aftermarket at 619 S. 1st St., Suite B
• Park Avenue: King's Scoop Ice Cream at 111 Park Ave.

The map shows who was open downtown as of August. It does not list holiday hours, so check with a shop directly before you build Saturday around it. Happily Painted is the same business running the Oct. 30 paint night at Rider Cellars, so it shows up at both ends of the season.

Dec. 4 is the one Friday with two events on the same date

All of this leads to the first Friday of December. That is the date the Selah Downtown Association uses for its Annual Lighted Holiday Parade, which starts at 6 p.m. along 1st Street. The association describes "dozens of lighted trucks and cars" cruising down the street. This year the first Friday falls on Dec. 4. The Visit Yakima listing gives the same date, runs it from 6 to 7 p.m., and describes trucks, floats and performers heading down 1st Street to the Selah Civic Center. It says the evening typically ends with the lighting of the city's Christmas tree.

Last year gives a sense of the format. In the Yakima Herald-Republic's 2025 roundup of valley parades, the Selah route started at First Street and Wernex Loop Road and headed south to the Civic Center, where Santa lit the city tree. Entries were free, with a winter, Christmas or holiday theme required. Those were the 2025 arrangements. The association has not posted the 2026 route or entry details yet.

Outskirts Brewing Co. has its own event on the same night. Sleight the Night is listed for Dec. 4 at 707 Test Drive Lane, with games, food and drink, music bingo, live and silent auctions, and a dessert dash. It raises money for Rod's House, which states a vision of ending youth homelessness in the Yakima Valley and says its grant support helps it provide shelter, food, case management and pathways to stability. No start time has been posted. Whether the two events actually overlap depends on that time, so watch the listing if you want to make both.

The parade route also runs past a tasting room that is open that evening. Rider Cellars is at 3 N. 1st St., and its posted Friday hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Its address is on the business map.

Where to eat before the parade, block by block

A 6 p.m. Friday start means dinner either comes first or waits until after the tree lighting. These spots are on or just off the route, based on the August 2026 business map. As with the shops, confirm hours before you go.

North end, near the old starting area:

• Sisters Sourdough, 13 N. 1st St.
• 98942 Desserts, 10 N. 1st St.
• Chinese Gourmet Garden, 106 N. 1st St.
• Taqueria Los Primos, 103 N. 1st St., Unit H, and Teppanyaki Box in Unit A of the same building
• Burger Ranch of Selah, 9 S. 1st St.
• My Little Restaurant, 101 S. 1st St.

Middle stretch, toward the Civic Center:

• King's Row Drive-In, 210 S. 1st St.
• The Spice To-Go, 301 S. 1st St.
• Smashed n Sauced, 304 S. 1st St.
• Magic's Pizza Shack, 309 S. 1st St.
• Selah Springs Brewing Co., 310 S. 1st St.
• Toro Taco, 313 S. 1st St.

Off First Street:

• Anita's Sabor Latino, 130 E. Naches Ave.

One name on that list is new this year. Smashed n Sauced, which the Yakima Herald-Republic described as a national chain serving smash burgers, crispy chicken and loaded fries, opened in September in the former Pizza Hut at 304 S. First St. The paper reported daily hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. If those hours hold through December, it will be open well after the parade ends at 7 p.m. That makes it a simple choice for a family that eats after the tree lighting instead of before.

Keeping the Fridays straight

Here is the season as a plan. Oct. 30 is the adults-only paint night at Rider Cellars. Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 are both Civic Center evenings, one for young sellers and one for gift shopping, and the bazaar's Saturday session on Nov. 14 covers anyone who can't make Friday. Nov. 28 is your daytime walk through the shops on First Street, East 3rd Avenue and East Naches Avenue. Dec. 4 is the busiest night, with the parade on 1st Street at 6 and Sleight the Night at Outskirts once its time is posted.

Cory and the team at Cory Bemis follow these downtown Selah dates the way neighbors do. They also follow what being a short walk from First Street and the Civic Center means for a home's value. If you're curious what yours might be worth heading into 2027, start with a free home valuation and a conversation with someone who knows these blocks.