Most of Kingman can see the tree on Radar Hill without leaving home. It stands 90 feet tall on the hill above town, and the Kingman Daily Miner's Yesteryear feature says most of the city can see it on any given night. Up close it isn't much of a tree. The same feature describes a single pole strung with lighted guy wires, built to give the outline of a Christmas tree from a distance.
That design shapes the whole holiday season here. Kingman lights two community trees this year, eight days apart. The Radar Hill tree is seen from all over the city, so its lighting happens at a viewing spot facing the hill. The tree at Locomotive Park is lit at street level in the middle of a downtown festival. That puts one evening of the season on a hillside view and most of the rest on a few Saturdays along Beale Street.
A tree built to be seen from far away
The Radar Hill tree dates to 1987. The Miner's Yesteryear feature reports that John Steckman, then president of the Downtown Merchants Association, led the project with the merchants group. The goal was to put a tree on Radar Hill for the whole community to see during the holidays. Citizens Utilities Electric Co. and local businesses supplied materials, labor and installation help. The feature dates the first lighting to Dec. 17, 1987, with city officials and merchants gathered downtown for the switch.
The tree is still a community project. A later Miner story reported that the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce pays the tree's utilities and UniSource handles maintenance. The same story said a fundraiser that year covered extra maintenance work, and Arizona Sommers Cooling and Heating LLC donated $5,000 toward it. That story called it "Radio Hill." If you search the Miner's archive, try both names.
Since the tree is meant to be seen from a distance, the lighting ceremony is held somewhere that has a view of it. The same Miner story described the ceremony at Cerbat Cliffs Golf Course, which looks out on the tree. The 2023 event listing put the ceremony at 1001 Gates Ave.
This year it's at the Heritage Complex, 701 N. Stockton Hill Road, on Friday, Nov. 27, from 4 to 6:30 p.m., the day after Thanksgiving. The Explore Kingman listing promises free hot cocoa and cookies, food trucks, kids' games and music. Entry is free, and parking is off Johnson Avenue and Hall Street behind Walgreens. The Chamber co-hosts. Sunset comes early in late November, so a 4 p.m. start puts you in place with plenty of time before the lighting.
A tree you stand under
The second tree is downtown at Locomotive Park, and its lighting is just one stop on the evening's schedule. The Kingman Downtown Merchants Association holds the tree lighting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, during its Very Merry Christmas Street of Lights. The festival covers six blocks of Beale Street, from 1st to 6th streets, with dozens of decorated floats and vehicles on display, vendor booths and entertainment on every block, and free admission.
The same merchants group started the Radar Hill tree 39 years ago. Its December event takes the opposite approach. Instead of one light everyone can see from afar, it's a street full of things you walk past one at a time. That's why Dec. 5 is the most crowded date on Kingman's holiday calendar.
Saturday, Dec. 5, hour by hour
The merchants association posts a timetable for the day, and the City of Kingman's Breakfast with Santa fills the morning.
| Time | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 to 10:30 a.m. | Breakfast with Santa, first session | Centennial Park Community Center, 3345 Harrison St. |
| 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Breakfast with Santa, second session | Centennial Park Community Center |
| 1 p.m. | Mingle Jingle Christmas Bazaar opens, runs to 8 p.m. | Inside Beale Celebrations |
| 2 p.m. | Beale Street closes to traffic | 1st to 6th streets |
| 3 p.m. | Vendor load-in and setup | Assigned blocks along Beale |
| 5 p.m. | Santa arrives by helicopter; Street of Lights opens | Corner of 1st and Beale |
| 6 p.m. | Kingman tree lighting ceremony | Locomotive Park |
| 8 p.m. | Festival closes, Beale reopens | Downtown |
Breakfast with Santa requires preregistration, so reserve that one ahead of time. The Explore Kingman calendar lists this year's bazaar as the 6th Annual Mingle Jingle Christmas Bazaar, at 201 N. 4th St. The merchants association's rules also put the information and lost-and-found booth just inside the bazaar's main entrance. It's a good meeting spot if your group splits up on a crowded street.
The 2 p.m. closure is the time to plan around. If you're driving downtown for the bazaar, park before Beale closes or expect to walk in from the side streets.
The other crowded Saturday comes first
Saturday, Nov. 14, gets busy for a different reason. Four separate events happen on or around that date, and each has its own organizer.
- Gobble Wobble in the Pai's, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Hualapai Mountain Park, 6250 Hualapai Mountain Road. It's a 5K or 10K walk or run with a $35 entry fee, and the Explore Kingman listing has the registration link.
- Kingman Veterans Day Parade, 10 to 11 a.m., on Beale Street between 5th and 1st streets. It's the Kingman Area Veterans Association's third annual parade. In a September letter in The Standard, VFW Post 3516 Commander Wes Maroney invited area veterans to ride in military vehicles and wrote that this year's parade would celebrate America's 250 years.
- Kingman Cancer Care Unit's 51st Annual Arts & Crafts Fair, Nov. 14 and 15 at the Mohave County Fairgrounds, 2600 Fairgrounds Blvd., with more than 100 vendors.
- Route 66 UltraRun, Nov. 13 to 15. The 140-mile course runs from Seligman through Kingman to Topock and is billed as a celebration of Route 66 history.
The Gobble Wobble starts up the mountain an hour before the parade steps off downtown, so most households will pick one. The craft fair runs both days, which takes some pressure off. A Saturday morning on Beale and a Sunday at the Fairgrounds covers two of the four without any rushing.
Where the new places to eat sit
Kingman's newer restaurants are mostly on Stockton Hill Road and Andy Devine Avenue, which makes them handy before or after the Radar Hill lighting.
Niu Valley Hawaiian Grill opened in July in the same Stockton Hill Road development as the new Hobby Lobby at 3140 Stockton Hill Road. When it opened, Signals AZ reported hours of 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. If those hours still hold, it's a lunch stop after the Nov. 14 parade, not a dinner stop after an evening lighting.
Flame Broiler opened at 3358 E. Andy Devine Ave. on Sept. 21, according to the Kingman Daily Miner. It held a separate grand-opening celebration and Chamber ribbon cutting on Oct. 23. Andy Devine Avenue is Route 66 through town, so it's also near the downtown blocks that close on Dec. 5.
The Miner has reported a few more openings in progress. One is a second standalone Starbucks under construction at 3441 E. Andy Devine Ave., at Airway Avenue, with a late-December opening planned. Treat that date as a target until the doors actually open.
The rest of the season, in one place
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 6, 5:30 p.m. | Downtown Kingman First Fridays | Downtown |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Gobble Wobble, Veterans Day Parade, Arts & Crafts Fair opens | Hualapai Mountain Park, Beale St., Fairgrounds |
| Nov. 13 to 15 | Route 66 UltraRun | Seligman to Topock via Kingman |
| Fri., Nov. 27, 4 to 6:30 p.m. | Radar Hill Tree Lighting | Heritage Complex, 701 N. Stockton Hill Rd. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Breakfast with Santa, Mingle Jingle Bazaar, Street of Lights, Locomotive Park tree lighting | Centennial Park, Beale Celebrations, Beale St. |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Downtown Cookie Crawl | Downtown businesses |
| Sun., Dec. 13, 2 p.m. | "An American Christmas" concert | Kingman High School Auditorium, 4182 N. Bank St. |
First Fridays falls the day after this post goes up. The Explore Kingman listing mentions shops open late, live music, food trucks, vendors, skating and games. The Kingman Area Chamber's Downtown Cookie Crawl sends people through downtown shops a week after the Street of Lights. The concert listing puts "An American Christmas" on the following afternoon.
If you want local recommendations for any of these dates, like the closest parking for the Street of Lights or where to eat on Stockton Hill Road after the Radar Hill lighting, the team at Lisa Turner is happy to help you plan the season. Contact Our Lake Havasu Real Estate Experts.
