March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 50 F

Annapolis Ramps Up For Midnight Madness and Late Night Shopping

Downtown Annapolis and the holidays have a deep and nearly timeless relationship.  It is where we have traditionally congregated to celebrate, take our families out to eat, shop, and be entertained.  This year will be no different as the Downtown Annapolis Partnership hosts Annapolis’ favorite shopping nights for locals, Midnight Madness.  As usual, Midnight Madness will be held on the first three Thursday evenings, December 2ndand 9th until midnight and on December 16th until the Eleventh Hour (11 pm).

The downtown Annapolis areas including West Street, Church Circle, State Circle, Maryland Ave, Main Street, and the City Dock will be filled with traditional holiday decorations including beautiful storefront windows, garland, wreaths, holiday lights, snowflake alley, light canopies, a large Christmas tree, and a menorah. The streets will also be filled with entertainment from local volunteer music groups. Downtown Annapolis Partnership board member Judy Buddensick takes on the persona of Elfie during Midnight Madness and coordinates the entertainment during this event. “This is the 22nd year Judy has volunteered to help coordinate the Midnight Madness events and the event would not be the same without her. If you see Elfie out that night on the sidewalk be sure to thank her,” said Matt Schatzle, Chairman of the Board. “We are also grateful for our sponsors including Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis, Visit Annapolis, RBC Wealth Management, What’s Up? Magazine, Eye on Annapolis, and Deihl’s Produce. Without them, there would be no holiday decorations on public property in downtown Annapolis.”

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“You will love strolling outdoors, shopping, enjoying entertainment, and dining in the historic district of Annapolis this holiday season,” said Erik Evans, the Executive Director of the Downtown Annapolis Partnership.  There are about 90 stores and 80 restaurants in the downtown Annapolis area. First-time visitors may wish to make their first stop at the Visit Annapolis Visitors Center at 26 West Street to pick up a walking map of  Annapolis.  Downtown is a very walkable area, and it is also served by the free circulator buses that can help you get around downtown and will stop at any of the downtown Annapolis parking garages to make it easier for you to get your packages back to your car.  Annapolis has been named as one of the best Christmas towns to visit for the holidays by Country Living and one of the most festive Christmas cities in the United States by 24/7 Wall Street.  This is in strong part due to events like the Light Parade and Midnight Madness.

Shoppers are encouraged to arrive early and enjoy happy hour and dinner. This year’s shopping event will again start 2 hours earlier at 4 pm. This provides another opportunity for people to spread out arrival times and reduce crowding.  By shopping either the first 2 hours or the final 2 hours of Midnight Madness shoppers can avoid the typical primetime hours. Many of the restaurants will also have outdoor café dining during Midnight Madness for those that prefer the outdoors.  For those unable to enjoy these shopping events in person the Downtown Annapolis Partnership has made it easy to shop your favorite downtown Annapolis businesses online at www.midnightmadnessannapolis.com

In addition to the late-night shopping on Thursdays during Midnight Madness, many of the stores in downtown Annapolis will be adding later shopping hours (until 9 pm) in December, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Additional outdoor holiday events scheduled for downtown Annapolis include
Small Business Saturday
on November 27th,
Artists Sunday in Annapolis on November 28th,
the Holiday Tree Lighting on December 28th,
the hanging of the greens on December 4th,
the Annapolis Chocolate Binge Festival on December 5th,
the Eastport Yacht Club Light Parade on December 11th.

There is free and discounted parking available in downtown Annapolis at:

Calvert Street Parking Garage: Free parking weekdays from 6 pm to 6 am and all-day Saturday and Sunday year-round. Located at 19 St. Johns Street.

Whitmore Parking Garage is only $2 every day after 4 pm and is located at 25 Clay Street.

Knighton Parking Garage (1 Colonial Ave) and Park Place Parking Garage(1 Park Place) are both $5 all evening during Midnight Madness events.

For short-term parking, the parking meters will be free for the first two hours for everyone during the holidays.  A bonus free hour at the meters is available by using the code ParkDTA on the Parkmobile App. City residents can also contact Annapolis Parking at 60 West Street during normal business hours for 2-hour free parking vouchers in City-owned parking garages.

For additional information on Midnight Madness, additional downtown Annapolis parking tips, and other downtown Annapolis holiday events visit www.midnightmadnessannapolis.com

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