From Saturday morning, December 5, to 9 p.m. Sunday, December 6, three organizations that usually keep their own calendars will run events within a few blocks of each other. The Armory Art Center holds its Creative Market. The Norton Museum of Art holds ArtBeat. The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association opens nine historic homes, this year together with Sunshine Park. Two moments shape the weekend: 5 p.m. on Sunday, and the hour after ArtBeat ends on Saturday night.
Two Days, Three Hosts
| Event | When | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armory Art Center 10th Annual Creative Market | Sat. and Sun., Dec. 5–6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | 811 Park Place, Howard Park | Free admission, free street parking |
| Norton Museum ArtBeat 2026 | Sat., Dec. 5, 7–10 p.m. | Norton Museum of Art | Tickets from $150 |
| Flamingo and Sunshine Park Holiday Historic Home Tour | Sun., Dec. 6, 5–9 p.m. | Nine homes across both neighborhoods | $75 in advance, $85 at the gate |
The three events draw different crowds at different prices, and the clock runs them in sequence. The market fills both daytimes. ArtBeat takes Saturday night, and the home tour takes Sunday night. Someone who lives within walking distance of Howard Park and the Norton can attend all three without moving the car, as long as they know when each one hands off to the next.
Saturday Starts at Park Place and Ends at the Norton
The Armory's Creative Market turns ten this year. The Armory expects up to 150 artists across its historic campus in Howard Park, with live demonstrations and performances, and judges awarding cash prizes in 2D, 3D and Best in Show. The Armory describes the venue as sitting "squarely in the heart of the historic Grandview Heights, Flamingo Park, and Sunshine Park Neighborhoods," within walking distance of Antique Row and the Norton.
For a midday break, the newest stop on the walk is The Daily Focaccia. It opened October 5 at 410 Evernia St., Suite 118, with its storefront facing South Dixie Highway, and the Palm Beach Post covered its opening with a look at its focaccia sandwiches. The shop's website lists hours of noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. That makes it a Saturday stop on this weekend, not a Sunday one.
The evening belongs to the Norton. ArtBeat 2026 runs 7 to 10 p.m. and is billed for "Art Basel Miami Beach week." Art Basel lists its Miami Beach public days as December 4 through 6, with private days on December 2 and 3. ArtBeat falls in the middle of those public days. On the one weekend when much of the art calendar points 70 miles south, the Norton's biggest party is a walk from home for this neighborhood.
Sunday's 5 p.m. Handoff
On Sunday, the Creative Market closes at 5 p.m. and the Holiday Historic Home Tour opens at 5 p.m. There is no buffer between them. One crowd leaves Park Place as the other arrives in the residential streets.
This is the tour's 29th year, and it brings the biggest change in its format so far. The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association is running it for the first time with neighboring historic Sunshine Park. Guests visit nine homes, with food and drink at stops along the route from local restaurants and purveyors. The event goes on rain or shine, with no refunds.
The partnership also moves the tour's base. Free parking is in the Sunshine Park lot on Florida Avenue between Sunset Road and Westwood Road, plus any open spaces in both neighborhoods. Complimentary Rose Trolleys carry guests from the lot to stops along the tour. For visitors who drive in, the trolley route starts in Sunshine Park. For anyone already living on the tour streets, the front door is the starting point.
Where the New Transit Line Stops Short
This is the first December with West Palm Move. The city's permanent service replaced the RideWPB pilot, which ended May 31, 2026. Its all-electric fixed route runs north and south between the Norton Museum of Art and Northwood Village every 8 to 10 minutes, for $1 a ride. The south end of the route is the Norton, so ArtBeat sits at the end of the line.
The service hours explain the weekend's two tight spots. The fixed route runs until 9 p.m. on Saturday and 8 p.m. on Sunday. App-based on-demand rides run daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for $2, and can be booked by app, online or by phone at 561-264-0458. Here is how those hours line up against the events:
- Saturday, 10 a.m. The Creative Market opens. Fixed-route service has been running since 8 a.m.
- Saturday, 7 p.m. ArtBeat begins at the Norton, the south end of the fixed route.
- Saturday, 9 p.m. The last fixed-route service of the day, with ArtBeat still going for another hour.
- Saturday, 10 p.m. ArtBeat ends at the same hour on-demand service stops. Guests leaving at closing time will be walking, driving or arranging their own ride.
- Sunday, 5 p.m. The market closes and the home tour opens. Both transit modes are still running.
- Sunday, 8 p.m. The fixed route stops, an hour before the tour ends.
- Sunday, 9 p.m. The tour closes. On-demand rides run until 10 p.m.
On Sunday, on-demand service covers the last hour of the tour. On Saturday, nothing covers the end of ArtBeat. For guests who live a short walk from the Norton, that matters very little. For guests coming from farther away, it decides how they plan the night.
What Has Changed on the Walk Since Last December
The walk between Park Place, the Norton and the tour streets crosses ground that has been under construction for months. FDOT's 1.044-mile U.S. 1 project, from Belvedere Road to just south of Okeechobee Boulevard, began in April 2026 and is expected to continue through early 2027. It covers resurfacing, ADA curb ramps and sidewalk work, plus pedestrian signal, beacon and lighting upgrades near Belvedere and Flamingo Drive. It also adds a new signalized crosswalk north of Vallette Way. The city's October 14 road bulletin listed an outside northbound lane closure near Barcelona to Acacia through fall 2026. The bulletin is updated weekly, so the closures for December 5 and 6 may look different. The city's road and dock reports are the place to check that week.
Howard Park, home to the Creative Market, is also in the middle of a change. In July, West Palm Beach commissioners approved a $7.5 million contract with Shiff Construction and Development for a new community center along Parker Avenue, just west of the current building. As the Palm Beach Post reported, the plan includes larger activity rooms, an exercise room, a commercial kitchen and a café with shaded outdoor seating. The existing center will become an outdoor pavilion and the shuffleboard courts will be removed. The Post reported that parks director Leah Rockwell did not expect the work to affect the tennis center, dog park, playground or picnic pavilion. The city's Howard Park page says the center is scheduled to close for renovations in fall 2026 and asks visitors to call 561-804-4900 for updates.
Parking is the other open question. The city expects to begin an area-wide parking study in December 2026. It will cover Flamingo Park, Grandview Heights, Sunshine Park, El Cid and Mango Promenade, and will look at spillover from Dixie businesses and the effects of the Norton expansion and West Palm Move. No policy decision has been made. The study is set to start in the same month as the busiest weekend these streets host all year.
The Norton After the Party
For anyone who misses ArtBeat or wants a quieter visit later, the Norton's current exhibitions run past the holidays. Chang Dai-chien is on view through January 30, 2027, Ralph Coburn through January 3, 2027, and Visible Fictions through February 21, 2027. The museum lists these dates on a live page, so confirm before planning a visit around a closing date.
Home tour tickets are $75 in advance and $85 at the gate, payable by cash, check or credit card. With more than six weeks to go, buying ahead saves $10 per person.
Each year the holiday home tour opens a new set of doors on these streets. If one of the houses has you thinking about Grandview, Flamingo Park or Sunshine Park more seriously, Elizabeth DeWoody can give you a confidential, data-driven view of the historic homes in these neighborhoods and how they compare street by street. Work With Elizabeth.
