Is there a Wake Forest Christmas parade this year? No. The Town's 2026 holiday schedule doesn't list one, and the Wake Forest Journal confirmed that when it checked the schedule on Oct. 12, 2026.
For anyone in Wexford Reserve deciding how often to drive into downtown this season, the more useful point is what replaced the parade. Instead of one big morning, the season is a run of compact events spread from mid-November through New Year's Eve, and four of them share a single Saturday.
Why the Parade Ended, in the Town's Words
The parade was never a Town event. Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., a small nonprofit run by volunteers, produced it for years. After that group canceled the 2019 parade, it voted in March 2020 to stop sponsoring the event altogether. The Town's special events FAQ gives two reasons for that decision. The second one explains the shape of the season you'll see this year:
"WFD recognized that the extensive street closures required in and around the downtown area on the day of the parade - though troublesome for downtown merchants - made coming and going extremely difficult for the growing numbers of people who now live in the downtown area and require access to those roads."
The first reason was simpler. The group didn't have the volunteers or resources to keep producing it. No other organization has taken it on since, though the Town says a few have shown interest. On Nov. 19, 2024, the Board of Commissioners approved an updated Motorized Parade Policy that sets out what any group would need to organize one.
So the parade could come back if someone picks it up. For 2026, the calendar is built from smaller pieces.
The Season, Date by Date
Here's how the 2026 schedule runs in order, with each event's hours and the one detail most likely to change your plans:
- Saturday, Nov. 14: Adam Pascal: Broadway Unplugged at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St., with shows at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. It isn't on the Town's holiday list, but it's the first big indoor night of the season.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Wake Forest Cares Holiday Kick-Off, downtown from noon to 4 p.m. It's free and open to everyone. East Owen Avenue and South White Street between Elm and Jones avenues are scheduled to close at 9 a.m. and reopen by 6 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Lighting of Wake Forest, 5 to 8 p.m. in Centennial Plaza at Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. The Town says the evening includes choral performances by local groups, a visit from Santa and food vendors. The tree is usually lit around 6:15 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: the stacked day. More on this below.
- Dec. 5 through Dec. 31: Evening Holiday Walk at E. Carroll Joyner Park, nightly from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Dec. 11 to 13: Little Women, presented by Firebox Theatre at the Renaissance Centre. Shows are at 7 p.m. Friday and at 2 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
- Dec. 17 to 19: Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience: Run Run Rudolph at the Renaissance Centre, at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 and 18 and 2 p.m. on Dec. 19.
Look at the downtown events and a pattern shows up. The only posted daytime street closure is a single block-scale stretch for the Nov. 21 Kick-Off. The tree lighting runs three hours on a Friday evening. That's a lighter footprint than the "extensive street closures" the parade's sponsor described in 2020, and it fits the reason the parade ended. It also means the busiest day of the season falls on the one Saturday when several events overlap.
December 5 Is the Day Everything Stacks
Four Town-listed events share Saturday, Dec. 5. Three overlap through the daytime, and the fourth starts as the Open House winds down:
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Downtown Holiday Open House | Downtown shops and restaurants |
| 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Wake Forest Holiday Artisans Market | Centennial Plaza and Town Hall visitor lot, 301 S. Brooks St. |
| During the Open House, by reservation | Pictures With Santa | Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, 350 S. White St. |
| 6 to 9 p.m., first night | Evening Holiday Walk | E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road |
The Artisans Market is the most concrete reason to go early. ARTS Wake Forest and the Wake Forest Guild of Artists present it, and the Town says this year's market has more than 40 artists and artisans. They're selling pottery, jewelry, woodworking, glass art, candles and soaps, home décor and more. The market closes at 4 p.m., two hours before the Open House ends, so anyone looking for a handmade gift has a narrower window than the rest of downtown.
Pictures With Santa is the one event you have to plan ahead for. Slots are limited, and advance registration opens Monday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. Each reservation gives an arrival time to cut down on waiting. Photos taken that day will be available after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9. From Thursday, Nov. 5, that's four days away.
Parking is the open question for that Saturday. The Town's Downtown Holiday Open House page still shows 2025 details and says 2026 details are coming. For the Dec. 4 tree lighting, the event page lists free parking at the Center for Active Aging, on side streets and in downtown public lots. Accessible spaces are in the Town Hall lot. Those options make a sensible starting point for the next day too, but check the Open House page again before Dec. 5.
Joyner Park Carries the Rest of the Month
After Dec. 5, the season moves away from downtown. The Evening Holiday Walk runs every night through Dec. 31 at E. Carroll Joyner Park. Lights cover the crepe myrtles and shrubs in the Walker Garden and Performance Garden, and a nearly 20-foot Christmas tree stands on the Performance Garden Stage. It's free and open to everyone.
That 27-night run changes how the season works for a household in Wexford Reserve. The downtown events are fixed dates you either make or miss. The walk at 701 Harris Road works on whatever weeknight suits you, and in late December that flexibility is welcome. The Renaissance Centre's two December productions do the same for indoor plans, with seven performances between Dec. 11 and 19.
The Dinner Half of the Evening Has Moved Closer
The other change this fall is on NC 98, the road Wexford Reserve residents already use to get to Thompson Mill Road. Three restaurants in the Grove 98 and Rogers Branch Road area now cover that part of the night:
- Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, 1311 Grove Village Road. Its Wake Forest page takes table reservations and online orders. Discover Wake Forest reported in September that the restaurant expected to open by the end of that month.
- Outback Steakhouse, 680 Richland Grove Ave. Its location page lists hours and says "Now Open!"
- Vira Bistro, 3604 Rogers Branch Road. Its site lists breakfast and dinner hours, takes walk-ins and books tables by phone. WhatNow described it in July as European-inspired.
For the tree lighting, that gives you two workable plans. You can eat at Firebirds or Vira first and still reach Centennial Plaza before the 6:15 p.m. lighting. Or you can stay for the lighting and pick up dinner closer to home on the way back. Firebirds takes reservations online and Vira Bistro by phone, which matters most on a Friday like Dec. 4.
On the same stretch of Rogers Branch Road, Biscuit Belly at 3601 Rogers Branch Road still shows "Coming Soon" on its Wake Forest page. The Town's new businesses list shows a building permit issued for it in September 2026. If it opens before the holidays, a biscuit breakfast near home before a Dec. 5 market morning would be an easy add.
If the holidays have you thinking about how your home works when guests are over, such as the entry, the dining table and the flow from kitchen to living room, Angie Murphy can walk through it with you and help decide which changes are worth making before next season. Schedule a Consultation whenever the calendar slows down.
