Wake Forest's Holiday Kickoff and Tree Lighting Get One Last Year Apart

Wake Forest opens the holidays twice this year. The Wake Forest Cares Holiday Kick-Off fills South White Street on Saturday, Nov. 21, and the Lighting of Wake Forest comes to Centennial Plaza on Friday, Dec. 4. That two-week gap is going away. At a Sept. 1 work session, the Board of Commissioners agreed to go ahead with planning a single combined event for 2027 on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Look at the calendar and this year's Kick-Off date, Nov. 21, is already the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Starting next year, that slot covers the whole opening of the season, tree lighting included. That makes the 2026 schedule the last run of a format the town has decided to fold into one afternoon. The reasons for the change also explain how this year's dates work.

The tree lighting ended the night

Downtown Development Director Jennifer Herbert gave the board her reasons, and Wake Forest Matters reported them in detail. In the current setup, the crowd leaves as soon as the tree lights up at about 6:20 p.m. Recent Decembers have also been unusually cold. A November date cuts down that weather risk, and it puts the opening event in front of three shop-local weekends in a row: Plaid Friday, Small Business Saturday and the holiday open house. Tying the date to the Saturday before Thanksgiving also solves another problem Herbert raised: some Novembers have five Saturdays, so a date based on counting Saturdays moves around.

Under the plan Wake Forest Matters described, the combined event would run from 2 to 6:30 p.m., with the tree lit at 6. Sunset that weekend is around 5:10, so the tree still lights after dark. Wake Forest Downtown would present the event. The staffed tents for the Cares initiatives would not carry over, though the town would still mark the start of the season of giving. Herbert said the change also helps Wake Forest Downtown's annual sponsorships. Right now those sponsorships include the Lighting, and taking it out of the package "would significantly decrease their sponsorships."

The holiday change is part of a broader rethink of the downtown calendar. On Sept. 15, the board voted 5–0 for a 2027 Friday Night on White schedule of four concerts, in April, May, September and October. The 2026 series had six. Herbert told commissioners that Friday Night on White averages 8,500 to 9,000 people each month and takes 70 town employees to run. Both changes cut the number of days downtown streets close for town events.

The 2026 stretch, date by date

Nov. 21: the last Kick-Off with staffed Cares tents

The Wake Forest Cares Holiday Kick-Off is free. It also launches the town's annual Holiday Donation Drive, and the six initiatives that will lose their dedicated tents next year still have them this year. The town lists them as:

• Helping Others by Providing Electricity, called HOPE, which helps with electric bills and is run with the local nonprofit ChurchNet
• Northern Community Food Security Team, which works on food security in northern Wake County
• Shop with a Cop, which pays for a holiday shopping trip for children with Wake Forest police officers
• Wake Forest Center for Active Aging Scholarship Program
• Wake Forest Firefighters Foundation
• Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Scholarship Program, which covers children's activities

Six food and dessert vendors are scheduled to come: La Katrina Tacos, Not Just a Fry Guy, The Tasty Turkey Que, Kao Thai, Mr. Cannoli and JAM Ice Cream.

East Owen Avenue and South White Street from Elm Avenue to Jones Avenue close at 9 a.m. and should reopen by 6 p.m. The town suggests parking at the Wake Forest Center for Active Aging or in the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary lots the seminary has opened for the event. Those include the lots between South Main and South College streets, the lot behind Carson Hall, the lot on Wingate Street, and the lots at Stadium Drive and Rock Spring Road. All of them are within about a 15-minute walk of South White Street. Accessible parking is in the Town Hall lot at 301 S. Brooks St. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Some lots that look public are private and only for business customers, so read the signs before you park.

Dec. 4: Centennial Plaza after dark

The Lighting of Wake Forest moves from White Street to Town Hall's Centennial Plaza. The tree goes up around 6:15 p.m., and Santa is on the program too. The Wake Forest iSTEM Magnet Elementary School Chorus, Envision Science Academy and School of Rock Wake Forest are performing. Around the plaza you'll find Imagine Circus roaming performers, the Endless Expressions Photo Booth, an information tent from Wake Forest Downtown, and the Wake Forest Woman's Club running crafts and taking letters to Santa.

The food lineup is different from the Kick-Off's: Blazing Kettle, Kono Pizza, Little Halos, Charlie's Kabob Grill on Wheels and The Naked Empanada. The town also points people to downtown restaurants. Free parking is at the Center for Active Aging and on side streets and public lots, and accessible spaces are in the Town Hall lot.

The Lighting is the half of the season the 2027 plan was built to fix. The program runs until 8 p.m., but the tree lights up a little after 6, and that's the moment staff say the crowd starts to leave.

Dec. 5: the day built for shopping

The day after the Lighting is the busiest on the 2026 calendar. The Downtown Holiday Open House runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with holiday shopping and family activities at downtown shops and restaurants.

Pictures with Santa are at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, 350 S. White St. Slots are limited and you have to register ahead. The town scheduled registration to begin Monday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. As the Wake Weekly reported, photos from that day will be ready after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Back at Centennial Plaza and the Town Hall visitor lot, ARTS Wake Forest and the Wake Forest Guild of Artists put on the Holiday Artisans Market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 40 artists and artisans will be selling pottery, jewelry, glass art, woodworking, candles and soaps, fabric art and photography.

Downtown's own dining spots work well between stops. A June 2026 Wake Forest Matters dining guide lists these, among others:

1. White Story Cafe, 113 S. White St., which opened in 2025
2. Wake Forest Coffee Company, 156 S. White St.
3. Black & White Coffee Roasters, 314 Brooks St.
4. Plant Cakes Bake Shop, 410 S. White St.
5. The Burger Shop, 111 S. White St., and George's Pizzeria, 238 S. White St.
6. White Street Brewing Company, 218 S. White St., and Norse Brewing Company, 203 Brooks St.

Hours often change around the holidays, so check before you go.

After the plaza goes dark

Two traditions in the season aren't affected by the 2027 change. Starting Dec. 5, the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department lights the Walker Garden and Performance Garden at E. Carroll Joyner Park every night from 6 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 31. The crepe myrtles are strung with lights, and a nearly 20-foot Christmas tree stands on the Performance Garden Stage. It's free.

On Monday, Dec. 7, The Forks Cafeteria hosts the 79th Wake Forest Community Christmas Dinner at 6:30 p.m. It's always held on the first Monday in December. Tickets are $25 and on sale at The Forks. The Sleigh Belles, an a cappella trio, will perform. Mayor Ben Clapsaddle will present the 2026 Citizen of the Year, Organization of the Year and Peggy Allen Lifetime Achievement awards, and the night ends with a holiday sing-along.

In 2027, the season is planned to start with one afternoon in late November. This year, the season starts on Nov. 21 and builds through Dec. 5. The Kick-Off and the Lighting each have their own food vendors and parking plans, so check the town's page for whichever date you're heading to.

At DuBois Property Group, we follow Wake Forest's town calendar as closely as its housing market, because changes like this one affect how downtown feels every week of the year. If you'd like to talk about what's changing in Wake Forest, schedule a consultation with our team.