Madrona's Winter Lights Run on Pie, and This Year They Shine on a Changed 34th Avenue

Each winter, small lights wrap the street trees along 34th Avenue. They give an evening walk past the shops a warm glow, which is the effect the Madrona Neighborhood Association's October newsletter has in mind when it calls them good for "a little window-shopping or dinner along 34th Avenue." Neighbors raise the money for them through two events held on the sidewalk in front of Madrona Arms. One is a pie sale the day before Thanksgiving. The other is a market on a December evening. This season those lights will hang over a stretch of 34th that looks different from last winter. One of its best-known corners has a new tenant lined up, and new shops and a gallery have moved in north of Spring Street, with a cafe preparing to open nearby.

How the Lights Get Paid For

The association has run the lights as a neighborhood project for years. It funds them through the Thanksgiving Pie & Bake Sale and the Winter Market & Raffle, and both events list the tree lights as where the money goes. The newsletter also prints a QR code for anyone who would rather donate directly.

The lights have a new lead this year. Cindy Krebs, the association's new vice president, is coordinating the work, and her plan goes beyond a fresh set of bulbs:

• An arborist will check that the lights are not wrapped too tightly around the tree trunks.
• Existing lights will be repaired as needed.
• Timers are under consideration for sections where the lights may shine into nearby homes.

The newsletter links the project to the darker months. It says the lights help keep the business district welcoming after early sunsets, and it compares them to the overhead lighting the city and downtown partners added elsewhere in Seattle in 2024 and extended in 2025. In Madrona, the money comes from cherry pie and raffle tickets.

The Pie Sale Comes First, on November 25

The bake sale is Wednesday, November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, near 34th and Union in front of Madrona Arms. Bakers drop off their pies and other baked goods that Wednesday morning. To set up a contribution and drop-off, the association asks bakers to email [email protected]. The association said it would post purchase details at madrona.us/piesale in mid-November.

The October newsletter includes its own sour-cherry pie recipe with a woven lattice top, in case you want to bake one for the table. Since the sale is the day before the holiday, it also covers anyone who would rather buy dessert than bake it.

What the Lights Will Shine On This Year

A walk along 34th between Union and Spring passes several storefronts with new tenants or new owners since last winter. The newsletter sums up the street as "plenty of change along 34th, with new businesses joining longtime favorites."

The corner at 34th and Union

The biggest change is at the corner nearest the pie table. The South Seattle Emerald reported that Molly Moon's closed its Madrona shop on Sunday, September 13, after 15 years of scooping there since 2011. While closing the shop, founder Molly Moon Neitzel contacted Harold Fields, who has served okazu pan at Umami Kushi in Rainier Beach for the past 10 years, and he signed a lease on the space. Okazu pan are hand-sized buns that combine flavors from the Philippines, Japan and other regions.

Fields told the Emerald he had never considered Madrona until that call came:

"I'm grateful to Molly for reaching out to me. She's always known that I have an appreciation for a space that small."

The name Okazu Vend combines the Japanese word for a dish eaten with rice and the word for selling. Because the floor plan is small, Fields told the Emerald he was planning the shop around grab-and-go service and a walk-up window instead of a full kitchen, with the bright characters of the Umami Kushi brand. He plans to keep the Rainier Beach shop open too, and he hopes the two locations work as "a good bridge" between the neighborhoods. Umami Kushi's Instagram, @umamikushi, posts updates on the Madrona shop.

Molly Moon's ice cream is still sold at the company's eleven other Seattle-area locations.

North of Spring

Most of the other changes sit a few blocks north. Capitol Hill Seattle reported in September that Casa Ella would take the northeast corner of 34th and Spring, across from Yoka Tea, and would hold pop-ups before opening. Its own site says it will be a place for coffee, homemade food and community.

Dirkse/Prim Gallery has moved into the new live/work spaces just north of Spring. Poppie grew out of a long-running business in the same building. Its founder, Christina, photographed families at Smallish Photo Studio there for ten years before adding the birthday boutique. Poppie lists hours of Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

The December Calendar, in Order

The new storefronts will have their busiest stretch of the year under the lights. These are the dates on the books from the pie sale through mid-December:

1. Through December 19: Elizabeth Livingston at Spectrum. The exhibition opened November 5 at Spectrum, 1411 34th Ave. Hours are Thursday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.
2. Wednesday, November 25: Thanksgiving Pie & Bake Sale. It takes place in front of Madrona Arms near 34th and Union, and the proceeds go to the tree lights.
3. Thursday, December 10: Winter Market & Raffle. It is also in front of Madrona Arms and also raises money for the lights. The October newsletter gives a 5 p.m. start, and madrona.us/wintermarket will carry the final time. Katybird, the women's designer consignment shop at 1426 34th Ave, is one of the businesses taking part.
4. December 11 to 13: The Nutcracker: A Storybook Ballet. Spectrum Dance Theater stages it in the Tricia Stromberg Studio Theater. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

The Nutcracker opens the night after the market, so the second weekend of December brings people to 34th on four straight evenings, Thursday through Sunday. The Spectrum exhibition overlaps with all of it. Since Madrona Arms is open daily from 11:30 a.m. for lunch, dinner before a show is close by.

Down the Hill, the Next Project Is Scheduled for 2027 to 2028

At the bottom of the hill, the next scheduled change belongs to the beach. Seattle Parks' Madrona Park Beach Play Area renovation at 853 Lake Washington Blvd is a $550,000 project to add more natural play and improve ADA accessibility. An October 20 update says the project is starting back up, and construction is scheduled for 2027 through 2028.

If you want to talk over what this fall's changes on 34th mean for your own home in Madrona, TeamUp Seattle is glad to schedule a consultation or put together a free home valuation. We're happy to meet you near the pie table on the 25th.