For most of three decades, a Calistoga December came down to one evening. People found a spot on Lincoln Avenue and watched the tractors go by. This year the parade is still the main event, but it's no longer the only one. A second address on Third Street now carries its own calendar of tree lightings, plays and concerts, and the season starts the night before the parade and runs past it.
That second address is the Brannan Center. It opened to the public on Oct. 4, 2025, in the remodeled former Community Presbyterian Church, and about 650 artists and audience members came to the opening, according to San Francisco Classical Voice. The nonprofit calls itself a cultural hub for community gatherings, performing arts and private events, with 11,000 square feet of multipurpose space. Last December was its first season, and it hosted the town's first new holiday tradition in years. This is its second, and the center's calendar now sets the season's pace as much as the parade does.
Friday on the Dawn Terrace
The weekend starts on Friday, Dec. 4, with Calistoga's Merry & Bright Night, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Brannan Center, 1407 Third Street. It's free and doesn't require reservations. The evening includes photos with Santa, gingerbread house building, performances by CJUSD musical ensembles, food trucks and holiday treats. The Brannan Center, the City of Calistoga, the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce and UpValley Family Centers present it together.
The tree lighting takes place at 7 p.m. sharp on the Dawn Terrace, the center's outdoor space. The terrace sits by Washington Street and the Berry Street bridge near the Napa River. It has a fireplace and gathering areas under mature London Plane trees. The Napa Valley Register reported that the terrace is named for the mother of the center's lead donor.
Merry & Bright debuted in 2025, and this is its second year. Because it lands the night before the parade, the Chamber now presents the two as a single holiday weekend. Its president and CEO, Eric Reichert, said so in a Nov. 2 release announcing the 2026 events:
"With Merry & Bright Night Friday and the Lighted Tractor Parade Saturday, we invite visitors to make a weekend of it!"
Saturday on Lincoln Avenue
The 31st annual Lighted Tractor Parade runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 7 to 8 p.m. According to the Chamber's 2026 entry form, the route is the same as last year, along Lincoln Avenue from Stevenson Street to Cedar Street. Entries are capped at 50, first come, first served, and each tractor or vehicle costs $45 to enter. Entrant staging begins at 3:30 p.m., and the Chamber sends lineup details to entrants by Nov. 24. Each entrant picks a theme for its own float, and judges score creativity, theme and lighting.
The parade has picked up more national attention each year. According to the Chamber's release, in December 2025 USA TODAY's 10Best Readers' Choice list ranked it No. 4 among the country's best holiday parades. That was its highest ranking yet and its fourth straight year on the list. New York's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade placed eighth. The Chamber's release describes vintage and modern tractors, farm equipment and floats covered in thousands of lights, and it says the parade draws thousands of spectators each year.
For an indoor or reserved spot, The Village Calistoga at 1329 Lincoln Avenue is holding a ticketed viewing party that starts at 6:30 p.m. Seating in its viewing area is first come, first served, and the venue advises arriving early. For entry questions or parade-night logistics, the City's event listing refers callers to the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce at (707) 942-6333 or [email protected].
Two of the newer restaurants on Lincoln Avenue are inside the parade route. Calistoga Currents' July 31 downtown update listed both as open. One is Five Senses, a modern Japanese restaurant at 1227 Lincoln Avenue that the Napa Valley Register profiled. The other is Eight North, which opened in November 2025 at 1374 Lincoln Avenue, in the former Brannan's Grill space.
Sunday Gives the Weekend a Third Day
Visitors who stay a third day will find something on Sunday. The Brannan Center is staging "De Calistoga a Belen Pastorela," a bilingual Mexican Christmas play, on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.
The same two performances repeat on Sunday, Dec. 13. Those repeats tie the parade weekend to the second weekend of the season, which runs on the north side of downtown.
The Second Weekend Moves to North Oak Street
On Dec. 12 and 13, the calendar shifts away from Lincoln Avenue and the Dawn Terrace toward North Oak Street.
The Calistoga Christmas Bazaar fills the Tubbs Building at 1435 N. Oak Street with local handmade goods, food vendors and holiday treats. It's open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Next door at the Boys and Girls Club, 1401 N. Oak Street, the free Annual Holiday Dinner for Calistoga residents and families runs Saturday, Dec. 12, from noon to 2 p.m. The City delivers meals to residents who can't attend. To request delivery, contact the City through its Annual Holiday Dinner page well before the event to get the current deadline.
With the bazaar on Saturday, the dinner at midday and the Pastorela on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 12 and 13 hold nearly as many events as the parade weekend. They're scheduled at a smaller scale and mostly for people in town, a week after the crowds have gone.
The Season, by Date
| Date | Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Merry & Bright Night, tree lighting at 7 p.m. | Brannan Center, 1407 Third St. | 5–7:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 31st Lighted Tractor Parade | Lincoln Ave., Stevenson St. to Cedar St. | 7–8 p.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | "De Calistoga a Belen Pastorela" | Brannan Center | 3 and 5:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Annual Holiday Dinner | Boys and Girls Club, 1401 N. Oak St. | Noon–2 p.m. |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 12–13 | Calistoga Christmas Bazaar | Tubbs Building, 1435 N. Oak St. | Sat. 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | "De Calistoga a Belen Pastorela" | Brannan Center | 3 and 5:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Tuba Christmas | Brannan Center | 2 p.m. |
Between the Big Nights, the Saturday Market Keeps Going
The Calistoga Farmers' Market stays open through the season. It runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sharpsteen Plaza, 1311 Washington Street, on Nov. 21 and 28 and every Saturday in December through Dec. 26. On Dec. 5 it closes that morning, hours before the tractors line up. On Dec. 19 it closes an hour before the Tuba Christmas concert at the Brannan Center.
Tuba Christmas, now in its second year, is free. Performers register at 9 a.m., rehearse, share a community lunch and then play the public concert at 2 p.m. It's the last event on the Brannan Center's holiday calendar, two weeks after the parade.
Washington Street, This Week and Next
The route between the two December addresses is under construction right now. The City's Nov. 4 road notice listed water-lateral repaving, striping and traffic-loop installation on Lincoln Avenue from Washington Street to Bridge Street, expected Nov. 9 to 13 and Nov. 16 to 20. Washington Street from Berry Street to Lincoln Avenue, which runs from the Dawn Terrace's corner to the parade route, is scheduled for striping and traffic-loop work Nov. 16 to 20. Separately, Railroad Avenue and the Fairway Extension between Gerard Street and Eddie Lane remain closed weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through the end of 2026 for new water and recycled-water lines for the Veranda Project. The City's notice has the current schedule for both.
If the parade weekend has you thinking about hosting family or guests in Calistoga, or about a property that would suit those visits, the principals at SagePoint Real Estate Company can talk through what the town offers in December and the rest of the year. Schedule a private consultation.
