What is the name of the place downtown where the 65-foot tree goes up? As of Oct. 27, the City of San José calls it Plaza de San José. The signs around the plaza will keep saying Plaza de César Chávez through the holidays. So will the website for Christmas in the Park, which opens there on Nov. 27. The city plans to swap the signs and renovate the plaza stage after the event wraps up this winter.
That makes the 2026 season the last time the plaza will look the way it has for years, at least until its new name goes up. The event's displays are changing as well, which makes it a good year to go downtown.
What the council decided on Oct. 27
San José Spotlight reported that the City Council voted unanimously to rename the 3.4-acre plaza Plaza de San José. The vote came after a city survey drew 10,506 responses on five finalist names. Earlier in 2026, councilmembers voted to start removing César Chávez's name from city-owned sites after allegations against the late labor leader. Spotlight's coverage explains the background. The council item and staff memo are on the city's legislative site.
The survey results were lopsided. Plaza de San José got 4,116 first-choice votes. Farmworkers Plaza got 2,240 and Plaza Park got 1,804, which adds up to 4,044 for second and third place together. Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, whose District 3 includes the plaza, pointed to that gap at the meeting, according to Spotlight:
"Plaza de San Jose received more first-choice rankings than the second-place and third-place options combined."
According to city staff, about 86% of respondents came from San Jose ZIP codes and 96% lived in Santa Clara County. The council didn't take the Parks and Recreation Commission's suggestion. On Oct. 7, the commission had recommended Plaza del Pueblo de San José, which combined the top choice with Plaza del Pueblo, the third most-suggested name. Spotlight describes the plaza as a gathering place nearly 250 years old. The Chávez name had been on it since 1993.
Why the old name stays up through New Year's Day
The timing comes down to scheduling. Parks Director Jon Cicirelli told Spotlight the city's next step is to replace the signs and the plaza stage, and that the stage renovation is scheduled for after Christmas in the Park ends this winter. The organizer's pages, written in August and September, still list the venue as Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
From now through Jan. 1, the plaza has its new name on paper and the old one everywhere you look. When it reopens after the holidays, it will have new signs and a renovated stage. If you have photos from past years under the palms and the old signage, this is the last season to take matching ones.
The 2026 season, date by date
The park itself is free and open daily from noon to 10 p.m., Nov. 27 through Jan. 1, 2027. The opening day and the opening ceremony fall on different days. The park opens Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving, according to The Mercury News. The ceremony is Saturday. Here's the full calendar from Christmas in the Park's 2026 season page:
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Setup Saturday.
- Nov. 23 to 25, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Community Tree Decorating Days.
- Friday, Nov. 27, noon. The plaza opens for the season.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 6 to 7 p.m. Opening Night Ceremony, followed by the Opening Night VIP Party at The Tavern from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Nov. 28 through Dec. 24. Free photos with Santa every night through Christmas Eve.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 to 10 p.m. SJSU Night.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Paws at the Park pet-friendly days.
- Sundays, Dec. 13 and Dec. 27, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Special Inclusion Sundays, with sensory-friendly hours for children and adults with special needs.
- Friday, Jan. 1, 2027. Last day of the season.
The inclusion Sundays and pet days start in the morning, two to three hours before the regular noon opening. They're the quietest times to see the plaza this year.
New displays in an old setting
The plaza's frame stays the same this year while some of what's inside it gets rebuilt. The Mercury News reported in May that about a dozen San Jose State students, including industrial design students this time, were redesigning Countdown to Christmas, one of the event's most visited displays. The new version keeps the arrow counting down the days and adds moving elves. The students built cardboard and clay models first, and the build uses 3D printing along with traditional fiberglass casting. This follows a smaller project in 2025, when SJSU engineering students updated the Penguin Flight School display.
Operations Director Keith Peffer told the Mercury News the setup has given him "a formula here that I can keep improving on every year." The same report describes a new display for sponsor Broadway San Jose. It recreates San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts with a revolving stage that shows a musical on one side and backstage chaos on the other. Executive Director Ted Lopez has tied the student work to the nonprofit's Lighting the Future campaign for student jobs, scholarships and updated displays.
Several of the plaza's landmarks have local sponsors this year, according to the 2026 partners page:
- PG&E sponsors the 65-foot tree.
- San Jose Clean Energy sponsors Santa's House.
- Kaiser Permanente sponsors the Jingle Bell Stage.
- Lazy Dog Brewery, Outdoor Supply Hardware and San Jose Dance Theatre are also listed as partners.
The organizer's homepage counts more than 40 displays, plus entertainment, Santa photos and the Enchanted Forest.
The Enchanted Forest and the district trees
The Enchanted Forest is a walk-through display of decorated trees inside the plaza, not a separate venue. Families, schools, nonprofits and businesses adopt and decorate the trees during the Nov. 23 to 25 decorating days. Community donations also pay for trees that represent each City Council district, the City of San José and Santa Clara County.
Those district trees fit this year's story. The city chose the new name through a survey of thousands of residents, and its first holiday season brings a tree for every council district into the same plaza. Look for your district's tree on your walk through.
The other two parts of Downtown for the Holidays
Christmas in the Park is one of three holiday operations downtown, each run by a different group. The organizer's FAQ says Downtown Ice is a San Jose Downtown Association program, and the Winter Wonderland rides along Paseo de San Antonio are run by a private business. The three together make up Downtown for the Holidays. The rink sits in the Circle of Palms plaza. The San Jose Downtown Association's holiday page invites visitors to skate at the downtown ice rink this holiday season. Check its site for rink dates and session times.
If you're staying for dinner after the plaza, a few restaurants opened nearby in 2026:
- Strāta, 181 E. Santa Clara St., was set to open May 13. It has a bar and lounge menu plus a separate prix-fixe dining room, according to The Mercury News.
- Bloom Eatery opened its downtown location at 225 W. Santa Clara St. on May 23, serving brunch and cocktails, according to The Mercury News.
- IGNITE soft-opened in San Pedro Square in September in the former Sushi Confidential space, according to NBC Bay Area.
Since the evening stops are spread out, you can plan the route in pieces. The tree and Santa's House are in the plaza, the rink is at the Circle of Palms, the rides are along Paseo de San Antonio, and dinner can be on either side of Santa Clara Street.
The Heather Lin Real Estate Team follows changes like the plaza renaming and the stage renovation because they shape what downtown San Jose looks like from one season to the next. If you're curious what's planned for the parts of downtown you use every week, Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll go through it with you in English or Mandarin.
