Holiday Guide · North Carolina
North Carolina Christmas Events 2026: Lights, Parades and Markets
Christmas in North Carolina runs from candlelit evenings at Biltmore to a town that has strung up its lights since 1956. This guide lists 38 Christmas events for the 2026 season, grouped by region and sorted by date, from Charlotte and the Triangle to the Triad and the mountains. Each one links to its USA Fest Bot listing and its official site. We don’t have coastal events listed yet, so the coast is not covered here.
Dates can change, so check the event’s website before you go. USA Fest Bot does not sell tickets.
The six biggest and longest-running
- Christmas at Biltmore Candlelight Evenings, Asheville: November 3, 2026 - January 10, 2027. Biltmore House by candle and firelight, the longest season here.
- Christmas Town U.S.A. Light Display, McAdenville: December 1 - 26, 2026. Christmas Town U.S.A. has lit up since 1956.
- Tanglewood Festival of Lights, Clemmons: November 13, 2026 – January 1, 2027. Miles of drive-through lights in Tanglewood Park.
- Speedway Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord: November 20, 2026 - January 3, 2027. More than 5 million lights around Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival, Cary: November 21, 2026 – January 10, 2027. Lanterns at Koka Booth Amphitheatre into January.
- Southern Christmas Show, Charlotte: November 11–22, 2026. A big holiday marketplace at The Park Expo.
Charlotte and the Piedmont
The Charlotte area has the most events in this guide. Drive-through Speedway Christmas opens November 20, and McAdenville lights up for most of December. In between come Carowinds, garden lights in Belmont, small-town nights in Davidson and Huntersville, and parades in Monroe and Gastonia.
Southern Christmas Show
Kannapolis Tree Lighting & Celebration of Lights
A tree lighting with fireworks opens the season at Village Park, which then stays lit with Santa visits and the Winterland Express train.
Concord Christmas Tree Lighting and Parade
Speedway Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway
UCity Lights Winter Celebration
An evening at The Shoppes at University Place with Santa, ornament making and a tree lighting by the lake.
73rd Monroe Christmas Parade
A tradition of more than seven decades, with over 100 floats through downtown on a Sunday afternoon, rain or shine.
Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular
WinterFest at Carowinds
Holidays at the Garden at Daniel Stowe Conservancy
More than a million lights along a walking path through the Daniel Stowe Conservancy gardens, with Santa on December weekend evenings.
Christmas Town U.S.A. Light Display
The lights began in 1956 around the community center. You can walk or drive through downtown.
Uptown Holiday Market
A pop-up market of small-business vendors on the Legacy Union Plaza turf on South Tryon Street.
Christmas in Davidson
Three evenings on the Town Green, opening with Santa’s arrival and the tree lighting, plus live nativity scenes and an artisan village.
Holidays in Huntersville
A tree lighting at Veterans Park, then a festival with rides, ice sculptures and carolers.
Nutcracker (Charlotte Ballet)
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Nutcracker at the Belk Theater, with Tchaikovsky’s score played live by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
79th Annual Gastonia Christmas Parade
The Gaston County Jaycees’ 79th parade on West Main Avenue, followed by a tree lighting at the Rotary Pavilion.
McAdenville Yule Log Parade
Part of McAdenville’s holidays since 1949, with carols by the Yule Log near 100 Main Street.
Raleigh-Durham and the Triangle
November 21 is the big day in the Triangle: the Raleigh Christmas Parade rolls downtown and the Chinese Lantern Festival opens in Cary. December 5 brings four events, and Cary and Durham hold their parades on December 12.
Downtown Raleigh Tree Lighting
The tree lighting in Moore Square comes with a holiday market of local sellers.
Annual Holiday Crafts Fair (NC State Crafts Center)
A one-day sale of pottery, glass, jewelry and wood by Crafts Center students and instructors.
North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival
The eleventh year at Koka Booth Amphitheatre, with new lanterns and nightly cultural performances.
Raleigh Christmas Parade
Downtown Raleigh’s holiday parade, organized since 1944 by what is now Shop Local Raleigh.
Christmas Carousel Holiday Gift Market
A Thanksgiving-weekend gift show of more than 250 exhibitors at the NC State Fairgrounds.
Apex Rotary Club Christmas Parade
An evening parade down historic Salem Street.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Community Holiday Parade
A morning parade from West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill to Carrboro Town Hall.
Jolly Raleigh Holiday Market
A one-day market of handcrafted vendors, food trucks and photos with Santa.
Light the Springs
Live music, letters to Santa, a menorah lighting and the town tree lighting at the Cultural Center.
Cary Jaycees Christmas Parade
The 47th parade through downtown Cary, ending at the Cary Arts Center.
Durham Holiday Parade
Bands, drill teams and floats on Main Street downtown, finishing with Santa, rain or shine.
Durham Craft Market Holiday Market
The group’s biggest market of the year, with 50-plus local makers under the Central Park Pavilion.
Winston-Salem, High Point and the Triad
The Triad has one long light show and three parades. Tanglewood runs from mid-November to New Year’s Day, and High Point, Winston-Salem and Kernersville each hold a downtown parade.
Tanglewood Festival of Lights
More than a million LED lights along miles of road through Tanglewood Park. About 55,000 vehicles drive through each year.
High Point Holiday Festival Parade
High Point has held this parade since 1925, now on the Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving.
Winston-Salem Holiday Parade
Downtown’s evening parade, organized by the Winston-Salem Ambassadors.
Kernersville Christmas Parade
Billed as the area’s largest Christmas parade, with more than two thousand participants.
Asheville and the Mountains
Biltmore starts its Christmas season on November 3, the earliest date in this guide. The Arboretum’s Winter Lights, Asheville’s parade and Tweetsie Christmas near Blowing Rock fill November and December, and Boone rings in the new year.
Christmas at Biltmore Candlelight Evenings
Winter Lights at The North Carolina Arboretum
Asheville Holiday Parade
Tweetsie Christmas
Boone Festive First Friday & Solar Tree Lighting
Downtown Boone’s first-Friday art crawl, with the solar tree lighting at the Jones House.
Horton Hotel NYE Ball Drop
A New Year’s Eve ball drop at the Horton Hotel in downtown Boone.
Before you go
Plan around the busy dates
November 21 and December 5 are the busiest dates in this guide. Raleigh, Asheville and University City all have events on November 21, and five Triangle and Triad events fall on December 5.
Select nights
Tweetsie Christmas runs on select evenings between November 27 and December 30, not every night. The Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular is closed on some nights, including Christmas Day, so check its calendar first.
November events
Several of these open in November. For everything else that month, see our North Carolina events in November 2026 guide and our national list of tree lightings.
For more, browse holiday lights, Christmas events, Christmas markets and holiday parades across the country.
Quick answers
When are the McAdenville Christmas lights in 2026?
Christmas Town U.S.A. is lit December 1–26, 2026. The Yule Log Parade is December 10.
When is the Tanglewood Festival of Lights in 2026?
November 13, 2026, to January 1, 2027, at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons. It is a drive-through show.
When is the Raleigh Christmas Parade in 2026?
Saturday, November 21, 2026, in downtown Raleigh.
Looking for more? See all North Carolina events or what’s on in North Carolina this weekend.
USA Fest Bot is not affiliated with any event in this guide and does not sell tickets. Found a date that has changed? Send a correction.