Highmark Light Up Night is the evening Pittsburgh flips the switch on the holidays — Downtown fills up, the trees go on, the market opens, and the whole region turns out for it. This year it’s Saturday, November 21, 2026, with the main festivities and tree lighting running 4:00–7:00 PM Downtown. If the city shifts anything, we’ll update this page.
Book the house now
Light Up Night sits at the front of Thanksgiving week — the one Saturday everyone in the region has the same idea. Holding a home for that weekend now costs you nothing and saves you the scramble in October.
How the night runs
The main event runs 4:00–7:00 PM on Saturday, November 21, with celebrations carrying on into the evening across Downtown: a series of tree lightings around the city — the City-County Building tree on Grant Street early in the evening, and the Highmark tree lighting later on, capped with Zambelli fireworks. The Peoples Gas Holiday Market chalets in Market Square open that weekend and keep running for weeks afterward, and The Rink at PPG Place — the outdoor ice rink around the giant illuminated tree — typically opens the week before, so it’s already going when you arrive. The Downtown Partnership’s official page has the full lineup as the night gets closer.
Why a home beats fighting for a downtown hotel room
This is a family night out, and families don’t fit in hotel rooms. Everyone comes back cold, someone is six years old and done by 8 PM, and you want a kitchen and a couch rather than two doubles and a hallway. Street closures around Grant Street and Market Square are heavy that night, and downtown rooms get scarce and expensive. A full home just outside the immediate footprint gives your group parking you keep for the weekend, a place to warm up between the tree lighting and the fireworks, and room for the relatives who drove in without booking their own room — then a short ride back in for the market and the rink whenever you want.
Make a weekend of it
Light Up Night is the opening act, not the whole show. The Holiday Market and the rink run from that weekend onward, so it’s a reason to come — not the only night worth coming. Pair it with a full downtown holiday day, a return trip to skate at PPG Place, Kennywood Holiday Lights, or a warm hour at the Phipps Winter Flower Show. Staying through the following week? See Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh. Eating plans: our Pittsburgh food guide.
Where to stay. Rivers & Steel City Homes offers full homes across the Pittsburgh metropolitan area — parking, a kitchen, and room for everyone who came in. 2,700+ guests since 2018; book direct and save 5–15% over Airbnb and VRBO. Find your dates at riversandsteel.com/search.
More to plan your trip: Christmas in Pittsburgh · Festivals on the Pittsburgh events calendar · Things to Do in Pittsburgh. Ready to visit? Find your stay »
