The lights in the trees along Madrona's business district have a funding source you can visit. It's a folding table in front of Madrona Arms. According to the Madrona Neighborhood Association, money from its annual Pie & Baked Good Sale goes "directly toward maintaining, powering, and repairing the lights so they shine safely and beautifully through the season." The December Winter Market & Raffle is the second fundraiser. The association says all of its proceeds fund the winter tree lights.
So the late-fall calendar on 34th Avenue works as one loop. Shops and restaurants in the business district hand out candy on Halloween, and local businesses donate the raffle prizes in December. Neighbors who buy a pie the day before Thanksgiving are paying for the power bill. Here's the season in order, with what each date pays for.
| Date | Event | Where | What it does for the lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 31, 4–6 PM | Trick-or-Treat on 34th | Madrona business district | Brings neighbors out to the business district's shops and restaurants |
| Late Oct or early Nov | Tree lights switch on | 34th Avenue | This is the MNA's target, not a set date |
| Wed, Nov 25, time TBD | Thanksgiving Pie & Baked Good Sale | In front of Madrona Arms | Maintenance, power and repairs |
| Thu, Dec 10, time TBD | Winter Market & Raffle | In front of Madrona Arms | All proceeds go to the lights |
Halloween is when the business district goes first
The season starts Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 6 PM. The MNA's Trick or Treat page says local shops and restaurants will hand out candy and special treats to trick-or-treaters of all ages. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the two-hour window lands on a weekend afternoon.
The event raises no money. It's on this list because of who does the work. At the October 7 meeting, the association's agenda showed volunteers making posters and taking them door to door to the businesses on 34th. Six weeks later, local businesses are the donors behind the raffle that keeps the lights running.
The lights have a budget, and it's on this fall's agenda
That October 7 agenda set a goal of switching the lights on in late October or early November. It also shows that the lights get the same scrutiny as any other recurring bill. Organizers were meeting with contractors to bring costs down. They also wanted to respect the wishes of neighbors living closest to the lights about how bright they are.
Those two concerns show what kind of project this is. Whatever a contractor charges to hang and run the lights comes out of money raised at a bake sale and a raffle. And the people most affected by the brightness live right next to the trees.
When this post goes up, the switch-on is still a goal. The MNA homepage is where the date will be posted.
A pie table pays the electric bill
The Thanksgiving Pie & Baked Good Sale is Wednesday, November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, in front of Madrona Arms. The time hasn't been announced.
Supply comes from neighbors as well as demand. The sale needs volunteer bakers, and the association asks people who want to contribute to email [email protected]. That means a pie baked on one street might pay for the bulbs on the next one. The pie sale page lists three costs: maintenance, power and repair. It doesn't say what share of the lighting budget the sale covers, so the December raffle carries real weight.
The raffle prize list doubles as a 34th Avenue directory
The Winter Market & Raffle is Thursday, December 10, also in front of Madrona Arms, with the time still to be announced. The event combines a market of local businesses with a community raffle, and tickets are sold online. Last year's prizes added up to more than $6,500. This year's will be grouped into several gift bags so more people have a chance to win.
The 2025 prize list reads like a list of who keeps this business district going. Donors included Yoka Tea, Vendemmia, Madrona Arms, Hi Spot, Molly Moon's, Madrona Wine Merchants, Madrona Market & Deli, Madrona Mercantile, Bottlehouse, East Anchor, Naam Thai, Bistro Turkuaz, Glassybaby, Katybird, Juniper, Nido, A Mano and Spectrum Dance Theater, along with many more. Individual prizes were valued from $25 to $1,100. That's last year's list. The association says 2026 prizes will be posted closer to the event.
The 2026 list will likely include some names that weren't around for last year's raffle, because 34th Avenue added businesses this year:
- Squarehead West opened on May 22 at 34th Avenue and E Pike Street. It's a housewares shop with a large cookbook section. The MNA's September newsletter reports that founder Tracy Green spotted the For Lease sign while walking 34th after dinner at Vendemmia. She told the newsletter that "other businesses and neighbors would pop in to say hello and welcome us" during the shop's first month.
- Yoka Tea, at 34th and Spring, was already a 2025 donor. Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that it opened last year. The newsletter calendar lists a Saturday run club there at 9 AM.
- Casa Ella is a café built around Colombian coffee, taking shape on the northeast corner of 34th and Spring, across from Yoka. As of Capitol Hill Seattle Blog's September 17 roundup, it was still getting ready to open, with no date announced.
Spectrum Dance Theater, another 2025 donor, has its own December date. The newsletter says the theater will stage "The Nutcracker - A Storybook Ballet," a shorter, narrated version, December 11 through 13 in the Tricia Stromberg Studio Theater. That's the night after the Winter Market.
Madrona already ran this model in August
The lights aren't the only thing funded this way. The September newsletter reports that more than 900 people came to Music in the Playfield over three Tuesday nights, August 11, 18 and 25. Coordinator Kyle Parker-Robinson wrote that the concerts stay free because of sponsors and neighbors who donated at the events, and that the series beat its fundraising goal. Meter Music School was the presenting sponsor. Poppie, Cambium and Zac Lee of Coldwell Banker Bain were nightly sponsors, and Hitchcock and Lauren Essl were series supporters.
The lights follow the same structure. Local businesses underwrite the event, neighbors fill in the gap, and volunteers do the work.
Ways to put something into the loop this season
- Hand out or collect candy on October 31, 4 to 6 PM, along the business district on 34th.
- Bake for the November 25 sale by emailing [email protected], or come to Madrona Arms that day to buy something.
- Buy raffle tickets for December 10. The Winter Market page says sales open closer to the event, and the ticket link will be posted on the MNA site.
- Go to a meeting. The MNA meets the first Wednesday of each month at 7 PM in the Madrona Playfield Shelterhouse, with a Zoom option. That puts the next meeting on November 4. The October agenda noted that Councilmember Hollingsworth plans to attend the November or December meeting to hear community concerns, with the date still to be set.
- Take a small volunteer role. Open positions include secretary, at about two hours a month, social media, at about an hour a week, photographer, and an on-call list with no set commitment.
Zac Lee works with Madrona homeowners and helped sponsor this summer's Music in the Playfield, so the events on 34th are close to home for this practice. If the season has you wondering what your own place on these blocks is worth, get your free home valuation, and pick up a pie on November 25 on your way past Madrona Arms.
