Lucky, the grand fir at the center of downtown Bothell's holidays, has outgrown its lights. On its Light Up Lucky page, a letter signed by Santa says windstorms have been hard on the grand fir, and that "Lucky has grown and his coat of lights is a little too tight, so his sparkle just isn't quite as bright."
The goal is $42,000. Lucky's history explains why a lighting fund carries that number. No public agency has ever kept this tree lit. Each time it has glowed, it was because people downtown organized and paid for it. The December 5 festival this year is a party, and it's also a fundraiser for the next set of lights.
A tree that has gone dark before
Lucky stands at the corner of Main Street and 102nd Avenue NE. According to a history published by McMenamins, the tradition began in 1929, when the town's Civic Relief Committee hung more than 500 lights on it. In its November 30, 1962 issue, LIFE magazine called it "the world's largest living Christmas tree" and measured it at 112 feet tall and nine feet in diameter.
The tree grew on Dr. Elmer Lytle's property. The festival's scrapbook history says the Lytle House was moved to Bothell Landing in 1974. After that, people suspected the roots had been disturbed, the tree began to show stress, and around 1979 it was topped "to save it." McMenamins gives disease as the reason for the topping. It also says the holiday lighting stopped, and that a 22-foot tree planted at Bothell Landing in 1980 as a replacement never took the original's place in the town's affection. The two accounts disagree on why the top came off. They agree that the shorter tree stayed on Main Street.
The festival site also says Lucky has survived two great fires in downtown Bothell, and the name itself came from a public vote.
The lights came back through local effort. The festival credits Lynn Logsdon with asking Nancy Pipinich to revive the tradition. Downtown merchants did it under her leadership, and the scrapbook dates the return to December 6, 2015. A festival page titled "Together Again in 2016!" describes new lights on the shorter tree the next year.
Lucky's lighting history looks like this:
| Period | What happened | Who made it happen |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 | First decorated with 500+ lights | Civic Relief Committee |
| 1962 | Featured in LIFE at 112 feet | Already a local tradition |
| Late 1970s | Topped; holiday lighting ends | Accounts differ on cause |
| 1980 | 22-foot replacement planted at Bothell Landing | Never replaced Lucky |
| 2015 | Lighting returns December 6 | Downtown merchants |
| Now | $42,000 sought for new lights | Festival fundraising |
For about 37 years between the topping and the revival, the best-known tree in Bothell stayed dark through the holidays. The new campaign is meant to keep the lights from fading again.
What the $42,000 ask actually says
The appeal is written for kids. Santa says Lucky's lights once "could guide my reindeer through the darkest of nights." The details are practical, though. The page has a donate button and printable flyers with a QR code, and it asks people to get permission before posting them. Businesses that give $1,000 or more get their logo and a website link on the festival's footer banner, and the festival will also consider donations of services instead of cash.
"Don't worry, many pockets means if everyone gives a little, we'll get there."
The appeal asks for help so Lucky can "shine brighter next year." It doesn't post a deadline or a running total. The festival itself is a Northshore Rotary Foundation event, held on the first Saturday of December. Anyone who wants to know how close the fund is to $42,000 will need to ask the festival directly.
December 5, block by block
The night the campaign hopes to brighten falls on Saturday, December 5, 2026, and nearly all of it happens within a short walk of the tree.
- Noon to 5 p.m.: The holiday market, run by Making Local, sets up on Main Street at 101st, including the First & Main parking lot. The 2026 vendor list hasn't been posted yet.
- 4 to 6:30 p.m.: Local merchants hand out free treats and run activities for kids.
- 5 p.m.: Santa arrives at 102nd Avenue NE and Main Street on a decorated Bothell Fire Department fire truck and leads the countdown to light Lucky.
- After the lighting: Selfies with Santa at First & Main Design Market, 10100 Main Street. First & Main is a family-owned furniture showroom and interior design business, so Santa is posing in a furniture showroom.
FOLK is closing for the festival and asks shoppers to come back another day for gift wrapping. Its monthly pop-up returns December 11.
For parking, Making Local points to the free garage under City Hall, free street parking nearby, residential streets a block or two away, and Park & Ride and bus service close by. No street-closure map has been published for the evening, so plan for crowds around the 102nd and Main corner from about 4:30 on.
Lucky stays lit all month, and so does the calendar
The festival is one night, but Lucky is lit every night from December 6 through New Year's. Other December events in downtown Bothell fall during that stretch, so you can see the tree on almost any evening out.
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Breakfast with Santa | Haynes' Hall, McMenamins Anderson School, 18607 Bothell Way NE | 9 a.m. and noon seatings; $265 for a table of eight; all ages |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | FOLK monthly pop-up | FOLK, downtown Bothell | Second chance at the shop closed on Dec. 5 |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday Wine, Beer & Spirits Walk | Downtown Bothell businesses | 4 to 7 p.m.; 21+, ID at check-in |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | North Shore Pool Party with DJ Ian Olson | North Shore Lagoon, 18709 Bothell Way NE | 8 to 11 p.m.; 21+; 2000s theme |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | New Year's Eve with Souled Out Funk | Haynes' Hall, McMenamins Anderson School | 21+ |
Breakfast with Santa is the morning after the lighting, the first day of Lucky's nightly run. That makes it easy to see Santa twice in one weekend, on Main Street Saturday evening and at Anderson School on Sunday. The $265 price covers a table of eight, breakfast and nonalcoholic drinks, which works out to about $33 a seat if you fill the table.
The Bothell Kenmore Chamber's Holiday Wine, Beer & Spirits Walk comes a week later. It includes tastings at participating businesses, holiday shopping, music, a tote while supplies last, and a map and tasting guide. Tickets are $40. The Chamber's 20 percent early discount, which brought the price to $32, ran only through October 31. The route is on the map you get with your ticket. The walk runs 4 to 7 p.m., and by the end it's fully dark, so Lucky will be lit on Main Street when it wraps up.
What the corner around Lucky may become
The tree's block is changing. In June 2026, the City of Bothell bought 10015 Main Street, the former Gallo De Oro site that has been empty since 2020, and the neighboring 10007 Main Street, where Baskin-Robbins remains open. The city's announcement says it plans to combine those parcels with the city-owned Triangle Junction lot into one redevelopment site aimed at housing, local businesses and public space. No partner or timeline has been named yet. The city is also asking for community input on an update to its Downtown Subarea Plan through Engage Bothell.
That planning process will shape the corner around Lucky, but the tree's lights are still paid for through donations. In 1929 it was a civic committee, and in 2015 it was downtown merchants. Today it's the $42,000 appeal on the festival's website.
Nick has watched downtown Bothell change for years, and Lucky's corner is part of what gives Main Street its character. If you're thinking about buying or selling near it, or anywhere else on the Eastside, Nick Loveless can walk you through the market block by block. Work With Nick.
