The Christmas Ship Swapped Its Points Stops This Year, and Last December's Timing No Longer Works

The Argosy Christmas Ship still comes to Medina and Yarrow Point this December, but the two stops traded places. Last year Yarrow Point had a Sunday afternoon stop and Medina Beach Park had a Monday evening stop at 5:35 pm. In 2026, Medina gets a Saturday afternoon stop and Yarrow Point gets a Monday stop more than an hour after sunset. If your family has gone to the same shoreline at the same hour every year, this is the year to check the schedule again.

The 2026 Christmas Ship Festival runs November 27 through December 23. Argosy says the tradition dates to 1949 and visits more than 40 waterfront communities. At each stop, a choir on board sings a 20-minute concert that is broadcast to nearby boats and to people on shore. Here is how the two Points stops changed.

The evening slot moved from one town to the other, and so did the asterisk.

What the asterisk means

Argosy's schedule uses an asterisk to mark stops where a public bonfire, lighting or other onshore event is planned. Stops without one are still open to anyone who wants to stand on the beach and listen, but nothing is organized there. Argosy doesn't run those onshore events. The 2026 schedule PDF says they "are organized by onshore communities, not by Argosy Cruises," and calls the marked sites "subject to change."

That changes how to read the table. In 2025, both Points stops carried the asterisk. In 2026, only Yarrow Point does. The music arrives either way. The bonfire and cocoa come from the town, not the ship.

Medina gets the afternoon, with nothing planned on shore

Medina's stop is Saturday, December 12. The ship leaves Kirkland City Dock on its 2:00–3:30 pm sailing, and the choir MixCapella sings off Medina Beach Park from 2:35 to 2:55 pm. Passengers on that sailing get Cookies with Santa. The City of Medina lists Medina Beach Park and City Hall at the same address, 501 Evergreen Point Road.

Sunset in Seattle that day is 4:17 pm, so the concert ends about an hour and twenty minutes before dark. Last year's Medina stop was at 5:35 pm on a Monday evening. This year you'll see the ship in daylight against the lake.

Since no onshore event is listed, you'll find no bonfire to gather around. The 20-minute set fits easily into a Saturday of errands or a walk, and it may be the easiest Christmas Ship stop of the season for a household with small children.

Yarrow Point keeps the bonfire and moves it after dark

The Town of Yarrow Point calls its Christmas Ship gathering an annual celebration. On its community events page, the town describes it this way:

"Bring your friends and family around the bonfire as we sip hot cocoa and watch the Christmas Ships sail by."

The same page gives the location as Road End Beach Park, at the end of NE 47th St. Last year the gathering was on a Sunday afternoon at 2:35 pm. This year, Argosy has the ship off Yarrow Point on Monday, December 21, from 5:35 to 5:55 pm. It's on the 5:00–6:30 pm sailing from Kirkland City Dock, with Choir of the Sound singing, and the stop carries the asterisk for a planned onshore event.

Seattle's sunset on December 21 is 4:20 pm. The choir starts singing an hour and fifteen minutes later, on a Monday evening, so this year's bonfire burns in full dark.

The town's events page still shows last year's 2:35 pm time, and in 2025 the town posted its Christmas Ship notice on November 25. Argosy's schedule has the 2026 time. Check the town's site again in late November for its own notice.

What the dark slot changes on December 21

The Monday evening timing changes four things about the night:

1. Arrival. The concert starts at 5:35 pm, so getting there means leaving work or school pickup and heading to the end of NE 47th St at a time when it's fully dark.
2. What you see. Last year's gathering was at 2:35 pm. At 5:35 pm this year, the ship's lights and the bonfire on the beach will be the main things you can see.
3. What to bring. A flashlight for the walk down to the road end makes more sense this year than it did on a Sunday afternoon.
4. What comes next. The same Choir of the Sound sails again at 8:00 pm, with a stop off Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island from 8:40 to 9:00 pm. That stop isn't marked for an onshore event.

The other Eastside stops nearby

If the Medina afternoon and the Yarrow Point evening don't fit your calendar, the ship's other stops along this shore in December are close by:

• Meydenbauer Bay, Saturday, December 12, 8:40–9:00 pm. This is the last sailing of the day that stops at Medina in the afternoon, so you could see the ship off Medina at 2:35 and again after dark at the edge of downtown Bellevue. The 8:00 pm sailing is one of the Jolly Hour sailings, with discounted drinks on board.
• Juanita Beach Park, Saturday, December 12, 5:35–5:55 pm, marked for an onshore event.
• Kirkland Marina Park, Friday, December 18, 5:10–5:30 pm, also marked for an onshore event, with Holy Names Vocal Ensemble.

On Saturday, December 12, MixCapella sings at all three stops on this shore, from Medina's afternoon set to Meydenbauer Bay late that night.

Getting to the water through Clyde Hill this month

Some of the routes from Clyde Hill to the water won't be the usual ones this month. In a September 1 notice, the City of Clyde Hill said 100th Avenue NE would stay closed between NE 13th and NE 17th streets through November, except for local access. According to the City of Bellevue's 100th Avenue Complete Streets project page, people on foot and on bikes can still get through the closure, and driveway access stays in place.

The same Clyde Hill notice lists two other projects. The Aqua Vista sewer replacement at 93rd Avenue NE and 28th Place NE was expected to close roads from mid-September until December. Phase 2 of the water main replacement was scheduled to reach Clyde Hill on 98th Avenue NE, between NE 13th and NE 14th streets, in November or December. The city says schedules can change and asks drivers to follow signs and flaggers.

Bus riders have a different option this year. King County Metro's August 29 service change rerouted Route 249 from Bellevue Way through Medina, Hunts Point and Clyde Hill. It replaces part of the discontinued Route 271.

If you'd rather hear the choir from the water, tickets for both Kirkland City Dock sailings, December 12 at 2:00 pm and December 21 at 5:00 pm, are sold through Argosy's festival page.

The bonfire at the end of NE 47th St is the kind of small shoreline tradition a listing sheet never captures. If this December has you wondering what your own place near the water is worth, Michele Schuler and the Schuler Team can walk you through it over cocoa or by phone. Request your private home valuation.