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Thanksgiving Weekend 2026: Events November 26–29

Written by the USA Fest Bot team with AI help. · Published · Updated

A marching band in black and white uniforms plays on Central Park West under orange autumn trees as crowds watch from behind barriers
A marching band in the 2017 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Central Park West (not one of the events below). Photo: TomH2323, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

This guide lists 44 events in 30 states and Washington, D.C., for Thanksgiving weekend 2026, Thursday, November 26 through Sunday, November 29. It covers Thanksgiving morning parades and races, the downtown strolls that start the holiday season, and the light shows and rinks that open that weekend.

It’s grouped by day, then by holiday seasons that start this weekend. USA Fest Bot doesn’t sell tickets.

Dates can change, so check the event’s website before you go.

Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26

Philadelphia’s 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade, America’s oldest Thanksgiving Day parade, marches down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 8:30 a.m. to noon with balloons, floats, marching bands and Santa. To earn your dinner first, try a race that isn’t in our turkey trot guide. The Manchester Road Race covers 4.737 miles on Main Street, Andover’s Feaster Five hands finishers a Table Talk apple pie while supplies last, and the Utah Human Race draws close to 6,000 Utah Food Bank supporters. Bozeman’s Huffing For Stuffing has given more than half a million dollars to the local food bank since 2007, SOME's Trot for Hunger holds a pet costume contest, and Sioux Falls’ Run For The Banquet has no registration and no timing. For more, see Turkey Trots 2026.

Friday, November 27

The day after Thanksgiving, many towns switch on the season. Sheridan, Wyoming, has held its Christmas Stroll that day since 1996, and Littleton’s Candlelight Walk ends with a drone show over downtown. Santa flips the switch on thousands of lights around the Monroe County Courthouse at Bloomington’s Canopy of Lights, Snoopy joins Pensacola’s Winterfest Elf Parade, and Winterfest Hartford opens its Bushnell Park ice rink. Cape Coral’s Holiday Nights on the Lawn and Reno’s Holiday Lights Festival on the Virginia Street Bridge run two nights, and Santa arrives on a decorated firetruck for the Warren Holiday Festival.

Saturday, November 28

Saturday brings the parades. The Pueblo Parade of Lights, one of Colorado’s largest Christmas parades, rolls down Union Avenue with lighted floats and saddle club horses, and the morning Boise Holiday Parade lasts about an hour and a half. Rockford’s Stroll on State adds giant balloons, fireworks and a drone show, and Conway Illuminate marks Small Business Saturday with a Ferris wheel. In Boston, Santa arrives by boat for the Lighting of the Ship, and the Morristown Green lighting dates to 1913. Nashua’s Winter Holiday Stroll lights a 25-foot tree on the Riverwalk, and the first Louisiana Queer Arts Festival brings more than 30 visual artists and the zydeco band Gais Do-Do to Baton Rouge.

All weekend, plus Sunday, November 29

The Juneau Public Market, held every Thanksgiving weekend since 1983, bills itself as Alaska’s premier holiday gift show, and Ketchikan’s Winter Arts Faire opens with a Friday gala. McKinney’s Home for the Holidays lights its community tree Friday and keeps more than 180 local shops and restaurants open for Small Business Saturday, and Santa flies in on a vintage airplane for Planes, Trains and Santa. On Sunday, the Seattle Marathon, which began in 1970 with fewer than 38 starters, welcomes walkers, and Morristown’s Christmas Festival has its opening night.

Holiday light shows that open this weekend

Thanksgiving weekend is opening weekend for many light shows. Prairie Lights opens Thanksgiving night with more than 5 million lights along a two-mile drive, Southern Lights tours more than a million lights at the Kentucky Horse Park, Portland’s Winter Wonderland raises money for the Sunshine Division’s hunger relief, and La Crosse’s Rotary Lights fills Riverside Park with more than 3 million lights. On foot, the Holiday Lights Spectacular covers 40 acres of Roger Williams Park Zoo, Brookgreen Gardens adds more than 2,700 hand-lit candles, Shelburne Museum lights the steamboat Ticonderoga, and Louisiana Lights glows through Windrush Gardens. The Grotto opens with choirs in the Chapel of Mary, and Christmas on the Pecos shows riverfront lights from a boat or holiday train.

A glass geodesic dome lit green at night, with glowing light orbs reflected in a pool in front of it
The Climatron lit for a holiday light show at the Missouri Botanical Garden (not an event in this guide). Photo: Kbh3rd, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped.

Rinks, holiday villages and a Nutcracker

Navy Pier’s Winter WonderFest fills Festival Hall with an indoor rink and more than 10 attractions, and Holidays on Ice sets up an open-air rink in Knoxville’s Market Square. Leavenworth Christmastown covers the Bavarian village with more than half a million lights, and Ogden Christmas Village opens Saturday with the Santa Run, an electric light parade and fireworks. In New York, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker opens with more than 150 dancers and musicians and over 120 children from the School of American Ballet.

Dozens of skaters in winter coats on an outdoor rink, with small wooden market chalets behind it
Skaters on an outdoor holiday rink in Quebec City (not an event in this guide). Photo: Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0, cropped.

Before you go

Plan Thursday first, since parades and races start early, and check each race’s registration rules: SOME’s Trot for Hunger takes online registration only, while Run For The Banquet needs none. Dress for the weather, since many of these events are outdoors after dark, and the organizers of Christmas on the Pecos recommend jackets, gloves and layers.

Light shows and holiday villages often sell dated tickets or charge by the carload, and popular nights can sell out, so book before the weekend. For more ideas, browse Thanksgiving events, holiday lights, Christmas events, parades, Christmas markets and events this weekend, or read our guides to tree lightings and Christmas markets. Running an event that belongs here? Submit a listing.

Quick answers

When is Thanksgiving weekend in 2026?

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026, so the long weekend runs Thursday, November 26 through Sunday, November 29.

What is the oldest Thanksgiving Day parade?

Philadelphia’s 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade is billed as America’s oldest. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Thanksgiving morning along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Which holiday light shows open Thanksgiving weekend?

In this guide, Prairie Lights in Texas opens on Thanksgiving night, and the others in the light shows section open Friday or Saturday, including Southern Lights in Lexington, Rotary Lights in La Crosse and the Holiday Lights Spectacular in Providence.

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.

Related on usafestbot: Thanksgiving & turkey trots · Holiday lights · Christmas events · Parades