"Contrary to what is often stated and repeated as 'fact,' the Town of Wake Forest does not prohibit community groups and non-profit organizations from hosting/organizing a Christmas Parade."
That line comes from the Town's own Special Events Policy page. It is there because the same question comes up every December. The answer for 2026 hasn't changed. The Town's 2026 holiday schedule has no parade on it, as the Wake Forest Journal reported in October. The rest of the season makes more sense once you know why the parade stopped. One of the reasons the parade ended is the same thing that decides how today's holiday events are laid out.
What ended the parade in 2019 and 2020
The last parade we could confirm ran on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at 1 p.m. The News & Observer printed its route. It started at Elm Avenue and South White Street, went north on South White, turned east on Wait Avenue, came south on South Brooks Street, then turned left at Elm and finished at Taylor Street.
That loop took over the heart of downtown. According to the Town, Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., a small volunteer nonprofit, coordinated and sponsored the parade for several years. In December 2019, its board voted unanimously to cancel that year's parade over public-safety concerns. Wake Forest Police had reported credible information that a growing number of outside groups planned to come to protest.
In March 2020, the group voted to stop sponsoring the parade for good. The Town lists two reasons. The first was that the organization didn't have the volunteers or resources to keep producing it. The second was the street closures needed in and around downtown on parade day. The Town says those closures were "troublesome for downtown merchants" and made getting in and out "extremely difficult for the growing numbers of people who now live in the downtown area and require access to those roads."
That second reason still applies. More people live downtown now, and any big downtown event has to fit around them. The Town says no other group has taken on a parade since 2020. A few have shown interest but decided against it because of the time, effort and resources involved. On Nov. 19, 2024, the Board of Commissioners approved an updated Motorized Parade Policy that sets out what organizers need. Town staff have offered to meet with any group that wants to try.
A season planned around closure hours
The 2026 calendar has no single day when downtown shuts down. Each event closes particular streets for set hours, and each street reopens on a posted time. The Town's approved special events list and its event pages give the hours.
| Event | Date | Streets affected | Closure or impact window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest Cares Holiday Kick-Off | Sat., Nov. 21 | E. Owen Ave. and S. White St. between Elm and Jones avenues | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving morning run from the Boys & Girls Club | Thu., Nov. 26 | S. Wingate St., downtown, N. Main St. | 6 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. |
| Lighting of Wake Forest | Fri., Dec. 4 | Owen Ave. and Brooks St. | 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Holiday Artisans Market | Sat., Dec. 5 | Centennial Plaza and Town Hall parking lot | 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Frosty Run | Sat., Dec. 12 | E. Owen Ave. | 5:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. |
| #GatherGivesBack Jeep Convoy | Sun., Dec. 13 | Rolling intersection blocks downtown and in neighborhoods | 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
The Kick-Off is the season's first downtown gathering. It runs from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, with family activities, and it starts the Town's holiday donation drive. The Thanksgiving run is a "Share the Road" event that starts and ends at the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club, 325 S. Wingate St. Runners are on the course from 8 to 10:30 a.m. The longest closure on the list, at the Artisans Market, blocks Centennial Plaza and the Town Hall lot rather than a through street.
The Jeep convoy works differently. It leaves The Factory and drives through downtown and nearby neighborhoods. The Town says intersections will be blocked briefly as it passes, traffic will back up, and alerts will be posted. It's the closest thing to a procession on this year's calendar, and it moves through instead of holding a fixed route all evening.
The first weekend of December, hour by hour
The busiest stretch downtown runs from Friday evening, Dec. 4, through Saturday, Dec. 5, and both days center on the same few blocks around Town Hall.
- Friday, 2 p.m. Owen Avenue and Brooks Street begin closing for the Lighting of Wake Forest. The affected area includes the Town Hall lot and the stretch of Brooks Street from NAPA to the CID building.
- Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. The free Lighting takes place in Centennial Plaza at Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. The Town says the tree is usually lit at about 6:15 p.m., and Santa arrives the same evening. Last year's Lighting included a story time from Page 158 Books, a community sing-along, food trucks and a table from the Wake Forest Historical Museum.
- Friday, 10 p.m. Owen and Brooks are scheduled to reopen.
- Saturday, 10 a.m. The Downtown Holiday Open House opens and runs until 6 p.m. At the same hour, the Wake Forest Holiday Artisans Market opens in Centennial Plaza and the Town Hall visitor lot and runs until 4 p.m. During the Open House, Pictures with Santa takes place at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, 350 S. White St. Wake Weekly reported that advance registration was set to open Monday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m.
- Saturday, 6 p.m. The Open House wraps up downtown, and the Evening Holiday Walk at Joyner Park opens its first night.
For the Lighting, the Wake Forest Journal points to free parking at the Wake Forest Center for Active Aging and on side streets and public lots downtown. Accessible spaces are in the Town Hall lot. The Town warns that some lots that look public are private and reserved for business customers.
Several South White Street stops on the Open House route opened after the parade had already stopped. White Story Cafe at 113 S. White St. has been open since June 2025, according to Discover Wake Forest. The Planted Bean at 149 S. White St. opened in spring 2026, also reported by Discover Wake Forest. Farther south, Cardinal Bar at 535 S. White St. opened on Oct. 17, 2025, and is still listed at that address in the Journal's October 2026 downtown guide.
Joyner Park carries the longest stretch
Downtown's events each last a few hours. The longest-running event of the season takes place miles from South White Street, in E. Carroll Joyner Park at 701 Harris Road.
The Town's Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department runs the free Evening Holiday Walk every night from Saturday, Dec. 5, through Thursday, Dec. 31, from 6 to 9 p.m. That's 27 nights. The route goes through the park's Walker Garden and Performance Garden, where lights cover the crepe myrtles and shrubs, and a Christmas tree nearly 20 feet tall stands on the Performance Garden Stage.
Because the walk stays inside the park's gardens, it can run for a month without closing a single downtown street. Joyner Park also hosts the Snowball Dance on Friday, Dec. 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Joyner Park Community Center.
Most of the rest of December moves indoors on Brooks Street
After the first weekend, most downtown holiday events move inside, many of them in a few buildings along South Brooks Street.
- 79th Community Christmas Dinner: Monday, Dec. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at The Forks Cafeteria, 339 S. Brooks St. The Town lists tickets at $25.
- Little Women: Five performances from Dec. 11 to 13 at the Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St.
- Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience, "Run Run Rudolph": Renaissance Centre, Dec. 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 2 p.m.
The Community Christmas Dinner reaching its 79th year matters here. Some Wake Forest holiday traditions have lasted for decades by staying in one room on one night. The Frosty Run on Dec. 12 and the Jeep convoy on Dec. 13 are the only December events after the first weekend that put anything on the streets, and both run on posted hours. For the full list, see the Town's Tis the Season schedule.
If you're new to Wake Forest, or you're helping family settle into one of the area's active-adult communities, Karen Tehrani is glad to share what she knows about local traditions like these. Reach out for a personalized Triangle community consultation, and she can help you plan which December nights to spend downtown and which to spend at Joyner Park.
