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 "You better watch out,
You better not cry,
Better not pout,
I'm telling you why:"
-- J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie --
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 This Saturday, I hope you’ll join us for one of my very favorite traditions of the season, our Lighted Santa Parade! Every year, Main Street comes alive as families, community groups, and local businesses line up with their lighted floats, cars, and walking entries. It’s such a joyful sight, and it always reminds me of what makes Auburn so special: we show up for one another, we celebrate together, and we find so many ways to make the season bright!
 Throughout the afternoon, there will be activities and performances for all ages, and then as dusk settles in, the parade will make its way from Auburn High School to City Hall. We’ll wrap up the evening with live music, our annual tree lighting, and of course, a visit from Santa.
 I hope to see you there as we welcome the holidays together. It’s a wonderful way to slow down, gather with friends and neighbors, and enjoy the magic of the season right here at home.
📅 Saturday, Dec. 6
⏰ 4:30 p.m.
📍 Downtown Auburn along Main Street
💲 Free
 I hope you can join us tomorrow at the Federal Way Link Extension Ribbon Cutting at the brand-new Federal Way Downtown Station, 31621 23rd Ave. S.
I’ll be there alongside Sound Transit Chief Executive Officer Dow Constantine; U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell; U.S. Representatives Marilyn Strickland and Rick Larsen; Washington State House Transportation Chair Rep. Jake Fey; King County Executive Girmay Zahilay; Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers; King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer; and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell.
 The Federal Way Link extension into South King County represents a win for the entire region, not just Federal Way.
This is an exciting milestone for South King County and the entire region, and I hope to see you there as we celebrate this long-awaited opening.
 On Friday, I had the honor of attending AMHS Multicultural Club’s Winter Fair. The Winter Fair brings together students and staff to share and experience cultural traditions through food, music, dance, and displays that highlight their school’s diversity. This celebration provides a meaningful opportunity for students to showcase their cultural pride and learn from one another.
 I was so impressed with the students, the food, the entertainment, and the sheer joy of the event. It was held during their lunch periods and included delicious food from around the world that reflected the beautifully diverse student body. Deputy Mayor Rakes, Auburn Superintendent Alan Spiciatti, Exec. Dir. Of Equity and Family Engagement Isaiah Johnson, APD Cmdr. Shaun Feero, and others also enjoyed the event.
 I want to give a huge thank you to Massoud Raofi, the President of the Multicultural Club, and to AMHS Principal Terri Herren for inviting us and making us feel welcome for the celebration.
 This weekend isn't Auburn's only event with Santa! Next Saturday, I hope you’ll join us for this year’s Breakfast with Santa. It’s always such a joyful morning as Santa’s elves serve a hot breakfast to the tune of wonderful live entertainment, and of course, Santa himself stops by to visit with the kids. It’s one of those events that brings out the very best smiles of the season!
 We still have seats available, especially in the 8:30 a.m. seating, which I’ll be attending to serve you breakfast. If you’ve never been before, this is a great year to try it out. Space is limited and advance registration is required, so I encourage you to sign up soon. Vegan and gluten-free breakfast options are available by request.
I hope to see you there for a warm, relaxed start to a festive December morning!
First Seating (8:30-10:00AM)
Youth: 60173
Adult: 60174
📅 Saturday, Dec. 13
⏰ 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (two seatings)
📍 Auburn Community & Events Center | 910 Ninth St.
 Come one, come all, because the Gingerbread Contest at the Auburn Community and Events Center is now OPEN! I love this event so much, it's free and the smells are wonderful.
All you have to do is stop by the Community Center anytime during normal business hours and then vote! You can do it right there in person. Don’t be surprised if you have a difficult time choosing your favorite!
 Open hours below -- let the best gingerbread creation win!
- Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
- Fridays, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
- Saturdays, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
There are two categories to vote in, youth and adult.
Based on votes from the public, a winner will be announced on Thursday, December 18, 2025.
Questions? Contact Amanda Valdez or call 253-931-3043.
📅 Dec. 3 - 17
⏰ Normal business hours
📍 Auburn Community & Events Center | 910 Ninth St.
💲 Free
 As we close out the year, we will soon gather to honor someone who has given so much of herself to Auburn: Councilmember Yolanda Trout-Manuel. On Monday, December 15, just before our final Council meeting of the year, we will hold a special farewell ceremony to recognize and celebrate her years of dedicated service to our community.
Yolanda joined the Council in 2014, and from her first day she has brought an unwavering commitment to youth and families and community well-being. Her leadership has extended far beyond our city limits, representing Auburn on several Sound Cities Association regional committees and nationally through organizations such as NLC’s Hispanic Elected Officials (HELO) and NALEO.
 Her advocacy has earned numerous honors over the years. including the 2024 Women of Excellence Award, but what truly stands out is her heart. Whether pushing for safer roads, supporting survivors of domestic violence, or championing early learning, Yolanda leads with compassion shaped by her life experience and her deep love for people.
 She has been a passionate voice on our Council, and I am grateful for the many years we have served together. On behalf of the City of Auburn, I hope you will join us as we thank Yolanda for the contributions she has made and the lives she has touched.
I look forward to celebrating her with all of you on December 15th.
📅 Monday, Dec. 15
⏰ 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
📍 Auburn City Hall Council Chambers| 25 W. Main Street
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Blood Drive at Auburn City Hall
Be someone's hero today and donate blood. The Bloodworks Bloodmobile will be located outside City Hall.
- Appointments are required for the best possible donation experience.
- Same-day appointments available at most locations.
- Photo ID required.
- For safety, we kindly request no visitors under 16 at our donation sites.
- Eat a hearty meal and drink plenty of fluids prior to donation.
Book your one hour appointment at bloodworksnw.org/giveblood
📅 Tuesday, Dec. 9
⏰ 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
📍 Auburn City Hall | 25 W. Main Street
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Gingerbread Contest
FREE - This fun event celebrates the holidays and brings the community together to see what Auburn can build! Gingerbread structures will be on display at the Auburn Community & Events Center.
Gingerbread Contest Application
Gingerbread Contest Rules (PDF)
Please note, this event is free and materials for displays are NOT provided.
VOTING
- Voting will be open December 3 - 17, 2025
- Vote during Auburn Community & Events Center's normal business hours,
- Monday through Thursday, 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- Fridays, 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
- Saturdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- There are two categories to vote in, youth and adult.
Based on votes from the public, a winner will be announced on Thursday, December 18, 2025.
Questions? Contact Amanda Valdez or call 253-931-3043.
📅 Dec. 3 - 17
⏰ Normal business hours
📍 Auburn Community & Events Center | 910 Ninth St.
💲 Free
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Book Explorers with KCLS - A Boy Called Dickens
Have you ever wondered how book authors get their ideas? Find out how a poor boy in Victorian London grew of up be one of the most famous authors in English literature, writing A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, and many other books. Then enjoy museum activities and discover how Victorian traditions have influenced winter holidays in many places, including Washington state.
Ages 7 and up
More info
📅 Saturday, Dec. 6
⏰ 2 p.m.
📍 White River Valley Museum | 918 H St. SE
💲 Free
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Lighted Santa Parade & Tree Lighting
- 3:30 PM.........Parade line up begins at Auburn High School
- 4:00 PM........Live music at City Hall, FREE
- 4:30 PM.........Parade begins, FREE
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After the parade ends
- Tree Lighting & Visit from Santa, FREE
- Live music at City Hall, FREE
City of Auburn's Lighted Santa Parade!
From Auburn High School to City Hall, lighted entries will fill Main Street with holiday joy!
Beginning at 4:30 PM the parade will feature lighted vehicles, floats, cars, and walking entries. All community, families, non-profits, and businesses are welcome to participate.
All entries wishing to participate in the parade must register in advance by 5 PM on Friday, November 21, 2025.
All entries must have a lighted element and adhere to parade rules.
Join us for live music before and after the City of Auburn parade at City Hall. Then watch as the community brings out their lighted holiday parade entries! We'll wrap up the event with the annual tree lighting at City hall plus a visit from Santa.
Tree Lighting
Santa is looking for a special helper to light the tree in front of City Hall. A well-deserving child, that lives within the Auburn City limits, and is between the ages of 5 and 9, will be randomly selected to be Santa's Helper on December 6, 2025.
Nominations will be accepted through 5 PM on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
Only one nomination per child will be accepted. Multiple nominations for the same child will not be included in the selection process.
Tree Lighter Nomination Form
For questions contact Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation
253-931-3043
Email Us
📅 Saturday, Dec. 6
⏰ 4:30 p.m.
📍 Downtown Auburn along Main Street
💲 Free
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Make and Mingle @ Postmark
Stop by the Postmark for our Make & Mingle session! Join us for a cup of coffee with whatever art project you might be working on. A free, no-pressure environment for artists and creatives to gather... you can talk with other artists, ask for feedback or critique from on-site staff if available, bring your sketchbook to work out ideas, or just quietly draw in the gallery or work on your art! Intended for ages 18+.
📅 Wednesdays
⏰ 10 a.m. - Noon
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts | 20 Auburn Ave.
💲 Free
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Curator Walk & Talk: Making Merry and Christmas Feasting
All Ages | Free program
Join Museum Director Rachael McAlister for an informal tour of our A Very Dickens Christmas exhibit with special attention to the yummy parts of the story!
📅 Thursday, Dec. 11
⏰ 1 p.m.
📍 White River Valley Museum | 918 H St. SE
💲 Free (RSVP)
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Drop-In Drawing @ Postmark
Come stop by for our new Drop-In Drawing sessions at the Postmark! A free, no-pressure environment for artists and creatives to drop-in to draw from a still life or the gallery. Stay for whole two hours or only 10 minutes. Bring tools to either shade or color with, and your own sketchbook or drawing pad. There will be on-site help for critique/questions/advice. All are welcome.
Ages: 15+
Registration: $0
Instructor: Postmark Staff
📅 Fridays
⏰ 10 a.m. - Noon
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts | 20 Auburn Ave.
💲 Free
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Drop-In Painting With Amy Sie @ Postmark
Amy Sie is offering Drop-In Gongbi Painting sessions at the Postmark! A free, no-pressure environment for you to start a new painting, or work on an old one. Please bring your own tools and materials for watercolor painting. On-site help for critique/questions/advice. All are welcome.
Ages: 18+
Fee: $0
Instructor: Amy Sie
📅 Fridays
⏰ 10 a.m. - Noon
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts | 20 Auburn Ave.
💲 Free
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Red, White & Blue Holiday Concert
Ring in the holidays with this annual FREE community concert performed by America's First Corps Army Band. Hear this festive and rousing concert presented by the Army’s best, together with all of your favorite holiday music and carols. Tickets are free, but required for admission and will be available on-line or pick-up beginning November 1 at the Auburn Community & Event Center. Limit 6 per family.
Get Tickets Online - Limit 6
Regular: $0; Student/Senior: $0
📅 Sunday, Dec. 7
⏰ 2 p.m.
📍 Auburn Performing Arts Center | 702 4th St. NE
💲 Tickets (Free but please register)
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Breakfast with Santa
Celebrate the season with Santa! Join us for a festive morning the whole family will enjoy.
All Ages.
Pre-Registration required.
Space is limited.
You can expect a delicious breakfast served by Santa's elves, LIVE entertainment, and a visit from the big man himself! Vegan and GF breakfast option available by request.
Register Below:
First Seating (8:30-10:00AM)
Youth: 60173
Adult: 60174
Second Seating (11AM-12:30PM)
Youth: 61075
Adult: 61076
📅 Saturday, Dec. 13
⏰ 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (two seatings)
📍 Auburn Community & Events Center | 910 Ninth St.
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A Season of Giving and Sharing Family Day
All Ages | Free Program
Join us for a fun-filled holiday themed family day with free activities and crafts from all the winter holidays.
Holiday storytelling at 12 PM with renowned storyteller Karen Haas.
Register Online!
📅 Saturday, Dec. 13
⏰ 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
📍 White River Valley Museum | 918 H St. SE
💲 Free (Register)
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Postmark Second Saturdays
Visit Postmark Center for the Arts gallery, open to the public each Second Saturday from 12-4PM! Each month features FREE, all ages performances, crafts, and events!
Marbled Ube Cookies is BACK!
Each individual must register for this FREE activity to participate. Limited spots available!
Register for Session 1 (12 - 1:15PM)
Register for Session 2 (1:45 - 3PM)
This month, learn to bake marbled ube cookies with Clarissa Grace Gines on Saturday, December 13th! This will be a participatory, hands-on workshop where participants will have the opportunity to follow along and make their own batch of cookies!
During the demo, you will also learn about the history of ube, a vibrantly purple Filipino tuber that has gained popularity in recent years.
You will leave the demo with freshly baked cookies and the cookie recipe for you to recreate at home!
About: Clarissa Grace Gines (she/her) is a Filipina-American cultural worker and arts administrator whose multi-layered identities as a child of immigrants, first-generation college graduate, mother, storyteller, and arts advocate inform her work in, and with community. In her free time, she can be found in nature looking at flowers, in a museum looking at art, or in her kitchen whipping up baked goods.
📅 Saturday, Dec. 13
⏰ Noon - 4 p.m.
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts | 20 Auburn Ave.
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A Take3 Christmas
Come experience "A TAKE3 Christmas” featuring all of your favorite holiday tunes with the virtuosic ladies of TAKE3. Bring the whole family to sing, clap and dance along as the countdown to everyone’s favorite holiday begins.
📅 Saturday, Dec. 13
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
📍 Green River College Student Affairs Building | 12401 SE 320th Street
💲Tickets ($27 regular, $24 student/senior)
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Curator Walk & Talk: A Very Victorian Washington Christmas
All Ages | Free program
Join Museum Curator Hilary Pittenger for an informal tour of our A Very Dickens Christmas exhibit highlighting how Victorian traditions show up in Washington State.
📅 Thursday, Dec. 18
⏰ 1 p.m.
📍 White River Valley Museum | 918 H St. SE
💲 Free (RSVP)
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Holiday Bake Sale
Friday, December 19 from 12-4PM
White River Valley Museum - 918 H Street Southeast, Auburn, WA, 98002
Free Event!
It’s the weekend before Christmas and you have a holiday party to attend. Quick - What are you bringing?
Find the answer at the second annual Museum Holiday Bake Sale!
Home baked goodies from museum staff and museum volunteers will be for sale. Proceeds support free and reduced cost museum field trips!
📅 Friday, Dec. 19
⏰ Noon - 4 p.m.
📍 White River Valley Museum | 918 H St. SE
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BYOB Bring Your Own Book!
Quiet Reading and Spooky Holiday Stories
Bring your own book, grab a cup of tea or cocoa, and cozy up amongst the Christmas trees for some quiet reading time followed by spooky holiday stories with renowned storyteller Karen Haas.
Register Online!
12 & Up | $10
📅 Friday, Dec. 19
⏰ 5:30 - 8 p.m.
📍 White River Valley Museum | 918 H St. SE
💲 Free (Register)
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An Inspirational Christmas with Elvis
Join Danny Vernon as he presents An Inspirational Christmas with Elvis - classic Elvis along with some great traditional Christmas selections. Make this Christmas tradition one of your own!
📅 Saturday, Dec. 20
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
📍 Green River College Student Affairs Building | 12401 SE 320th Street
💲Tickets ($27 regular, $24 student/senior)
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Blood Drive at Auburn City Hall
Be someone's hero today and donate blood. The Bloodworks Bloodmobile will be located outside City Hall.
- Appointments are required for the best possible donation experience.
- Same-day appointments available at most locations.
- Photo ID required.
- For safety, we kindly request no visitors under 16 at our donation sites.
- Eat a hearty meal and drink plenty of fluids prior to donation.
Book your one hour appointment at bloodworksnw.org/giveblood
📅 Tuesday, Jan. 13
⏰ 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
📍 Auburn City Hall | 25 W. Main Street
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Comedy at the Course
Comedy at the Course will keep you laughing all night long as three comedians work to twist your funny bone. Ages 18 and over only.
📅 Friday, Jan. 16
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
📍 Aburn Golf Course - Bogey's Public House | 29630 Green River Road SE
💲 Tickets ($22 regular, $19 senior)
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Angela Petrucci Quartet
Join us for a night of great jazz with Angela Petrucci Quartet, an up-and-coming jazz vocalist, who made her solo debut as a jazz artist in 2023. As a student of Greta Matassa and a former member of the "BlueStreet Voices", she has sung in several student showcases and has been featured as a soloist in the vocal jazz group. She will be singing with some of Seattle’s best jazz artists.
📅 Friday, Jan. 23
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts | 20 Auburn Ave.
💲 Tickets ($22 regular, $19 student)
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Mercury Rising - A Tribute To Queen
Mercury Rising is Olympia’s premiere Queen tribute band. Join us as we celebrate the music of one of the most epic rock bands of all time. Mercury Rising will bring you to your feet with all of the Queen anthems you know and love.
📅 Saturday, Jan. 24
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
📍 Green River College - Student Affairs Building | 12401 SE 320th St.
💲 Tickets ($25 regular, $22 student)
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Auburn Symphony Orchestra Presents: Joyful Triumph
A concert filled with spirit and grandeur! Cool Cat pays tribute to the legendary Hollywood mountain lion P-22, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy dazzles with folk-inspired beauty featuring violinist Rachel Lee Priday, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 rises in a sweeping, triumphant testament to the human spirit.
📅 Sunday, Jan. 25
⏰ 2:30 p.m.
📍 Auburn Performing Arts Center | 702 4th St. NE
💲 Tickets
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Our Parks Maintenance crew were busy this week helping high schoolers from Auburn School District build wreaths!
 Auburn is rich with history — from historical Main Street to the artifacts preserved throughout White River Valley Museum — I am excited to share these stories with all of you each week.
(Image courtesy of White River Valley Museum)
The Hotel Hesperides in Tacoma was briefly a popular local destination for Auburnites in the 1910s and 1920s. Built to look like a Swiss Chalet, the hotel was located on Titlow Beach as a luxury resort, outfitted with Tiffany light fixtures, glass-bottom boat tours, and farm-to-table dining. Dances and concerts attracted local visitors, while out-of-town visitors enjoyed the hotel’s lodgings. Today the hotel building is two stories shorter, but it can still be visited in Titlow Park.
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