Downtown Hudson's Holiday Evenings Run on a 7 P.M. Clock This Year

Most of downtown Hudson's big holiday evenings this year start at the same hour. Light Up Hudson begins at 7 p.m. on November 27. A Christmas Carol at the Phipps Center for the Arts opens that same night at 7 p.m., and most of its evening shows start at 7 too. A Brass & Organ Holiday on December 13 starts at 7 p.m. The Candlelight Stroll on December 4 runs from 6 to 8 p.m., so it overlaps a 7 o'clock curtain.

That shared start time shapes the season. Your evening downtown really depends on what you do between leaving work and 7 p.m., and whether you have to choose between two things on the same night. This fall, Second Street has a new answer for that hour.

Three weeks, one recurring start time

The Hudson Area Chamber's Have a Hudson Holiday guide and the Phipps calendar together give the evening schedule through December. With the dates side by side, the overlaps are easy to see.

All six evening performances of A Christmas Carol fall on a Friday or Saturday. The show runs November 27 through December 20, and the Phipps lists the 7 p.m. performances on November 27 and December 4, 11, 12, 18 and 19. That puts the downtown weekend evening on a fixed schedule for most of the season.

November 27 means choosing

The Friday after Thanksgiving holds the most. The Chamber's Light Up Hudson listing puts the tree lighting at Lakefront Park from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and calls it free. The holiday guide says Santa is escorted to the park and turns on more than 50,000 lights along the St. Croix. At the same hour, A Christmas Carol has its opening-night curtain. It's also Plaid Friday, the Chamber's push to do holiday shopping locally.

Only one of those can't be moved. The lights that come on at Light Up Hudson stay on all winter as Buena Vista: A Stroll in the Park, and the Chamber lists that display through mid-February. The moment of switching them on happens once. Theater tickets for opening night still leave almost any evening until mid-February for Buena Vista, and a family set on watching Santa light the park has five more 7 p.m. Christmas Carol dates to pick from in December. Small Business Saturday follows on November 28 with no evening event on the calendar, which leaves the full day for shopping.

The hour before curtain now has a Second Street address

If the evening starts at 7, the open question is 5:30. Urban Table, at 520 Second Street, fills that gap this year. It's the former Urban Olive and Vine, now owned by Chef Ben Jung. The restaurant's About page says he's keeping the familiar recipes and adding his own touches over time. The Hudson Area Chamber's October newsletter lists Chef Ben and Hannah Jung as the new owners.

When it reopened, Hudson Wisconsin Nightlife reported that Jung is also behind Hudco To Go. The site described new coffee and wine bars, $3 premium drinks, and a menu of 11 salads, soups and quiches, 13 sandwiches and wraps, and 10 small plates. The same review said the small plates are meant to let diners eat and be on their way in reasonable time to catch a show nearby, and it named the Phipps as the example. The menu includes a muhammara plate with vegetables and toasted flatbread for $14 and a jumbo cheddar-stuffed pretzel with bacon and chipotle ranch.

The hours line up with the theater schedule. Urban Table's homepage lists Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with evening hours only on Friday and Saturday. Those are the same two nights as every evening Christmas Carol performance. The homepage gives a Friday and Saturday close of 8 p.m., while the menu page says 9 p.m., so call ahead before you plan a late visit. For a 7 p.m. curtain, either closing time works.

Max's Social House starts the music earlier

A few blocks down at 302 2nd Street, Max's Social House fills the same evening in a different way. The Hudson Star-Observer reported that Dr. Melvin "Max" Ashford bought the former Ziggy's on Main building, which dates to 1866, and turned it into a restaurant built around a Nashville-style music scene. It has a stage on each floor.

In that Star-Observer account, general manager Misty Weispfenning described the menu as "Southern Midwest." The paper also reported live music Tuesday through Saturday, starting between 4 and 5 p.m., with karaoke on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. On the last Tuesday of each month, a showcase decides who plays the following month. On a Friday like December 4, that schedule would put music on before the Candlelight Stroll starts at 6. The monthly lineup is posted online, so check it for specific December dates.

The building is still changing. The Star-Observer described plans to expand into the former Hop & Barrel space next door as a "social hall," with an enclosed patio out front. Max's own update page has said that work started on a glass-enclosed Atrium and that the restaurant stays open during construction.

December's daytime events lead into the evening

The 7 p.m. schedule covers the nights. Daytime events fill in the rest, and on two December dates they lead straight into an evening.

• December 4. The Candlelight Stroll fills Lakefront Park with luminaries and carriage rides. Downtown shops and bistros take part, and Helmer Dance Studio's Holly Doll dancers pose as live mannequins in storefront windows. The stroll runs until 8, so if you start at 6 you can stay about an hour before a 7 p.m. Christmas Carol performance.
• December 5. Santa & His Critters brings Santa back to Lakefront Park from noon to 3 p.m., with sled dogs, a petting zoo and specials at downtown shops and restaurants.
• December 13. Santa visits Thorcraft Custom Kitchens at 512 2nd Street, in the 2nd Street Crossing building, from noon to 3 p.m. A Brass & Organ Holiday plays at the Phipps that evening at 7. One Sunday on 2nd Street can start with a children's photo and end with a concert.
• December 15. The Find Santa passport closes. Free passports have been available at participating businesses since November 2. Completed ones go to Angel's Pet World by 4 p.m. to be entered in the prize drawing.

By the time this post appears, Find Santa will have been running for a few days. That makes it the one holiday event you can work on during weekday errands, hunting for the hidden Santa photo in shops on a lunch break instead of on a set evening.

After December 20, only the lights remain

A Christmas Carol closes December 20, and the run of 7 p.m. holiday evenings in this post ends with it. Buena Vista keeps going. The Chamber describes more than 50,000 lights along the shoreline of the frozen St. Croix all winter, and it suggests bringing hot cocoa down to Lakefront Park. The Chamber's holiday guide lists the display through February 14, and its event page lists it through February 15, 2027. Proceeds from October's Witches Night Out went toward the display, according to the Hudson Star-Observer. In January and early February, the lights at Lakefront Park will be the only one of these holiday events still running.

The team at Ewing Real Estate Group follows downtown Hudson the way residents do, one event and one storefront at a time. If you're thinking about how life near Second Street and Lakefront Park affects what your home is worth, request a complimentary market valuation and we'll walk you through it.