When is the Blairsville, GA Christmas parade in 2026?

The 2026 Blairsville, GA Christmas parade is Saturday, Dec. 5, on the historic square, with the tree lighting on the Old Union County Courthouse lawn at 6 p.m. and the parade right after it, according to the Union County Historical Society, which hosts it.

This page covers the parade and the rest of Blairsville’s December as the organizers had published it on Nov. 8, 2026: the Historical Society for the parade and Santa’s Workshop, the Downtown Development Authority for the Dec. 12 events on the square, the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce for the Tour of Trees and Breakfast with Santa, and the Union County Farmers Market for the Kris Kringle Market. Where an organizer has not said something yet, we say so.

• Christmas parade and tree lighting: Saturday, Dec. 5, tree lighting at 6 p.m. on the courthouse lawn, parade right after. Theme: “Merry Christmas, America 2026: Celebrating 250 Years of History.”
• Santa’s Workshop: Friday, Dec. 4, 3 to 8 p.m. in the Old Courthouse, gifts $20 or less, concert in the courtroom at 7 p.m.
• Holly Jolly Christmas & Breakfast with Santa: Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 to 11 a.m. at the Union County Community Center, free.
• Kris Kringle Market: Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Union County Farmers Market.
• Christmas Cookie Crawl: Saturday, Dec. 12, check in from 11 a.m. (by 1 p.m.), $20 ticket.
• Downtown Holiday Night Market: Saturday, Dec. 12, 5 to 9 p.m., free.
• Vogel State Park tree lighting: Saturday, Dec. 12, 4 to 7 p.m., lighting program 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.
• Not published yet: parade road closures, a parking plan and a rain date.

What time does the Blairsville Christmas parade start in 2026?

Be on the square by 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. The Union County Historical Society’s parade page says “Tree lighting is at 6pm” and that the parade is “immediately following the tree lighting.” Lower on the same page, its description says the parade begins at 6 p.m., and the society’s 2026 entry form also prints 6:00 PM. Either way, the lighting and the parade run back to back, so arriving at 6 p.m. covers both.

The parade is always on the first Saturday of December, according to the Historical Society. The society describes it as the end of a day that includes Santa Claus visiting the Old Courthouse and the lighting of the Christmas tree on the courthouse lawn. It has not posted a separate time for Santa’s courthouse visit. The Old Courthouse is at 3 Town Square, in the middle of the square; our downtown square guide covers the building and the streets around it.

Where is the tree lighting?

On the lawn of the Old Union County Courthouse, at 6 p.m. on Dec. 5, per the Historical Society. Vogel State Park holds a separate tree lighting a week later, on Dec. 12.

What is the parade route?

The parade starts on Union County School property and winds around the historic square, according to the Historical Society. That is all the route detail the society has published for 2026. It has not named the school campus, the streets or a lineup time for spectators, so a spot on the square itself is the surest place to see it.

The society’s own description gives a sense of the night: the Union County High School Band plays seasonal music, floats are lit, candy is thrown from old cars and decorated jeeps, and Santa Claus comes last. The 2026 entry rules back that up. Every float must carry “extensive Christmas lights,” and entries may not bring their own Santa, because the Historical Society provides the one at the end of the parade.

What is the 2026 parade theme, and how do I enter?

The theme is “Merry Christmas, America 2026: Celebrating 250 Years of History,” printed on the Historical Society’s 2026 parade application. Entry forms must reach the society’s office by noon on Friday, Nov. 27. You can email the form to history1@windstream.net or drop it off at the Old Courthouse. The office number on the form is 706-745-5493.

The application’s main rules, as printed:

• Every entry must preregister. Categories are floats, automobiles and cycles, walkers, animals, performers and bands.
• The fee is $20 per entry, with no more than four vehicles per application. Proceeds go to Shop with a Cop. Nonprofits do not pay the fee.
• A float needs four to six walkers alongside it and can be no longer than 30 feet, vehicle included.
• Each entry submits a short description for the announcer to read.
• No Santa, no “pop-ins,” no politics, and no racing or burnouts.

Where do I park, and which roads close for the parade?

Neither has been published for parade night. As of Nov. 8, 2026, the Historical Society’s parade page and application give no road closure times, detours or parking plan, and we could not find one from the Downtown Development Authority. Call the Historical Society office at 706-745-5493 closer to the date.

What is published is parking guidance for downtown’s next big December day. On the Downtown Development Authority’s Cookie Crawl ticket page, the DDA asks Dec. 12 visitors to use the public parking lot off Bob Head Street or any free parking space around the square. That is advice for Dec. 12, not a parade plan. Our plan your visit page has more on getting around town.

Does the parade cost anything, and what if it rains?

The Historical Society’s parade page lists no admission charge for watching; the only fee it publishes is the $20 entry fee for groups in the parade. No rain date or bad-weather plan is posted. If the forecast for Dec. 5 looks poor, check the Historical Society’s event list or call the office that day.

What else is on during parade weekend?

Three more events fill Dec. 4 and 5, two of them before the parade on Saturday.

Santa’s Workshop, Friday, Dec. 4, 3 to 8 p.m. The Historical Society turns the Old Courthouse into a gift shop where children can buy presents for family, friends and teachers, with every gift priced at $20 or less, per its Santa’s Workshop page. Visitors can also tour the decorated courthouse and stay for an “Elvis” concert in the courtroom at 7 p.m. The society’s 2026 concert schedule lists Roy Perren for Dec. 4, with North Georgia Chamber on Dec. 11 and John Cochran and the Cowhands on Dec. 18. Our Friday night music page covers that series.

Holly Jolly Christmas & Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 to 11 a.m. The Chamber hosts a free breakfast with Santa at the Union County Community Center, 129 Union County Recreation Road, according to its event listing. Kids can share wish lists and get photos with Santa. The listing also names carols from local school choirs, holiday crafts such as ornaments and cards, rides on the Mayor’s Train, and reindeer games. The Chamber’s number for it is (706) 745-5789.

Kris Kringle Market, Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Union County Farmers Market, 290 Farmers Market Way, holds its holiday market that day, per the market’s 2026 Kris Kringle vendor information. Vendors must live and make their goods in Union County or a neighboring county (Fannin, Towns, Lumpkin and White in Georgia, Clay and Cherokee in North Carolina). The market has not posted a shopper admission price.

Where can kids see Santa in Blairsville?

Saturday, Dec. 5 has two chances: Breakfast with Santa at the Community Center from 8 to 11 a.m., and Santa at the end of the parade that evening. The Historical Society also says Santa visits the Old Courthouse on parade day but gives no time. In Hiawassee, Santa is at Christmas in Lights on walk-through nights.

What is happening downtown on Saturday, Dec. 12?

The Downtown Development Authority runs two events on the square that day, the Christmas Cookie Crawl in the daytime and the first Downtown Holiday Night Market in the evening, and Vogel State Park lights its tree the same afternoon.

Christmas Cookie Crawl. This is the third year. A $20 ticket buys a bag, a map and a passport, and you collect cookies from more than 15 downtown merchants, according to the DDA’s Cookie Crawl page. Only 225 tickets are sold. Check in at The From Me To You Pop-Up Shop, 36 Cleveland Street, from 11 a.m.; you must be checked in by 1 p.m., per the DDA’s ticket page. Collect a stamp at each stop and turn in your passport at the bin at City Hall, 62 Blue Ridge Street, for a drawing for a $100 gift card to a downtown business. The ticket page says you must visit every stop to qualify. Online tickets come to $21.58 with fees and are non-refundable.

Two details differ between the DDA’s own pages. The event page lists the crawl from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and promises 12 to 18 cookies; the ticket page lists 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 15 to 20 or more. The 1 p.m. check-in deadline is the same on both, so start early.

Downtown Holiday Night Market, 5 to 9 p.m. A free first-year evening market behind City Hall in the park and around the square, according to the DDA’s Night Market page. It lists live Christmas music, participating shops open late, craft vendors, kids’ activities, food trucks and downtown restaurants. (A short blurb on the DDA’s events list calls the day “Friday, December 12”; Dec. 12, 2026 is a Saturday, which is what the event page says.) For dinner nearby, see our restaurants guide.

Vogel State Park Christmas tree lighting, 4 to 7 p.m. The Chamber’s calendar listing gives the schedule: hayrides from 4 p.m., music and activities from 4:15 p.m., and the Christmas program and tree lighting from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. It also lists hot chocolate, cider, cookies, children’s crafts and bonfires. The listing says there are no parking fees for this event, and asks guests to bring an unwrapped gift for a child 12 or under for the Union County Sheriff’s Department toy drive, with no toy guns or knives. The contact number it gives is 706-745-2636. The lighting program ends at 6:45 p.m.; the Night Market downtown runs until 9 p.m. Our Vogel State Park guide covers the park.

Where can I see Christmas trees and lights near Blairsville?

Two displays run most of the season: the Chamber’s Tour of Trees in Blairsville and Mountain Country Christmas in Lights at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee.

Tour of Trees, Dec. 1 to 31. More than 50 Christmas trees and wreaths decorated by local businesses and groups, plus a gingerbread village, fill the Union County Community Center, 129 Union County Rec Road, per the Chamber’s Tour of Trees listing. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. It is free. Visitors can vote for a favorite tree and gingerbread house from Tuesday, Dec. 1 through Friday, Dec. 11, and winners are announced the week of Dec. 14. The trees are in the same building as Breakfast with Santa, so Dec. 5 is an easy day to see both.

Mountain Country Christmas in Lights, Nov. 26 to Dec. 31, 6 to 9 p.m. A walk-through light show with Christmas music, crafts, train rides and visits with Santa, Mrs. Claus and the Grinch, according to the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds’ Christmas page. The schedule is uneven, so check the night before you go:

• Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Nov. 26 through Dec. 12.
• Every night from Dec. 17 through Dec. 24. Closed Christmas Day.
• Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 to 31 are drive-through only, with no train rides, craft vendors, Grinch or Santa.
• Walk-through nights: $10 per person, children 12 and under free. Drive-through nights: $25 per car, cash or card. Parking is free, and pets are not allowed.

The fairgrounds also asks visitors not to dress as Santa or the Grinch, since its own characters are on site for photos.

Is there a New Year’s Eve event in downtown Blairsville?

None has been announced. As of Nov. 8, 2026, the Downtown Development Authority’s events list ends with the Dec. 12 events, and the Chamber’s December calendar has no New Year’s Eve event downtown. For New Year’s Day, Georgia State Parks lists a guided First Day Hike on the Reece Farm Trail at Vogel State Park on its events calendar; our events page carries the time and details.

Before you go

Day-of changes will come from the organizers, not from us. For the parade and Santa’s Workshop, check the Union County Historical Society’s event list or call 706-745-5493. For the Cookie Crawl and Night Market, check the Downtown Development Authority’s events page; its office number is 706-627-0977. For the Tour of Trees, Breakfast with Santa and the Vogel lighting, see the Chamber’s calendar. Our Blairsville events calendar keeps every date on this page in one list.

Written by the Downtown Blairsville Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.

Dates, hours and fees change. For anything official, the city has the final word: City of Blairsville official site