The 2026 holiday season in Savannah runs on two addresses about a mile apart on the same river. On the west end, Plant Riverside District holds the Savannah Christmas Market from Thursday, Nov. 19, through Jan. 3, 2027. On the east end, The Park at Eastern Wharf at 201 Port St. hosts the boat parade. Nearly every big public night this season starts at one end or the other. The two busiest Saturdays, Nov. 28 and Dec. 12, move crowds between them.
The west end now stays open past New Year's
According to Plant Riverside, the Savannah Christmas Market is free and open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The organizer says it draws more than 250,000 visitors. The bigger change is the calendar. In 2025, the Savannah Morning News listed the market from Nov. 20 through Dec. 31. This year it opens a day earlier and closes three days later, so the stalls are still up through the first weekend of January.
That's a new stretch of the season. In 2025, the week between Christmas and New Year's was the market's last week. In 2026 it runs past New Year's Day into the first Saturday of January. If you have guests staying through the holidays, you can take them on Jan. 2 instead of trying to fit it in before Christmas.
The market also includes the Festival of Trees, a Gingerbread Display that runs all of December, and Brunch with Santa on Dec. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Festival of Trees proceeds partly support the New Ebenezer Retreat Center and the Treutlen House.
Thanksgiving weekend: west end Friday, east end Saturday
The two ends of the river split the holiday weekend.
On Friday, Nov. 27, Plant Riverside holds its Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at MLK Park from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. It doubles as the market's grand opening event. Letters to Santa runs from 3 to 6 p.m. that afternoon.
On Saturday, Nov. 28, the action moves east. The Holiday Kickoff at Eastern Wharf runs from 5 to 9 p.m., with the lighting of the Eastern Wharf Christmas trees, a visit from Santa, food trucks and entertainment. That's an hour shorter than in 2025, when Savannah's Waterfront listed the kickoff until 10 p.m.
The 25th Annual Savannah Lighted Boat Parade runs from 7 to 9 p.m. that night. More than 30 decorated boats loop twice from Eastern Wharf to the Talmadge Bridge and back. It's free. The organizer's route takes the boats past Plant Riverside and River Street, which means the east-end event goes by the west end twice. The boats leave from and return to the Eastern Wharf docks, so the park there has the best view of the start and finish.
The route and the two-loop format match 2025, when the parade fell on Saturday, Nov. 29. That means you can plan around the setup you know from last year. You can watch from Eastern Wharf with the kickoff crowd or from a spot farther west along the river. You'll see the boats either way.
Dec. 12: downtown by day, the whole riverfront by night
The second big Saturday adds a third location: the historic district between the two ends. Two long-running traditions share the date this year.
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Downtown Neighborhood Association's 51st Holiday Tour of Homes opens private homes, historic inns and cultural landmarks. Guests choose between two sessions with staggered start and end times that cover the same stops. It's a walking tour, and a limited number of trolley tickets cover transportation to central points, not to each home.
- 5:30 to 7 p.m. The 34th Annual Lighted Christmas Street Parade starts at Plant Riverside on the west end of River Street, heads to the East Broad Ramp, then winds through downtown on Bay, Lincoln, Broughton and Jefferson streets. It's free.
Tour tickets, according to the Downtown Neighborhood Association:
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General session | $85 | One of two sessions, same homes and stops |
| All-day | $110 | Access across the full day |
| VIP | $125 | All-day access plus a guided tour of the Mercer Williams House |
The tour ends at 5 p.m. and the parade starts at Plant Riverside 30 minutes later. The parade then runs up to Bay and onto Broughton, so for about ten hours the same few downtown blocks are busy, first with tour walkers and then with parade crowds. Tour proceeds support the association's Community Grant Program, which funds local nonprofits and neighborhood projects through the year.
The parade started at Plant Riverside in 2025 too, when the Savannah Morning News put it on Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. The organizer's 2026 page lists the full route, Bay to Lincoln to Broughton to Jefferson. That's the detail you need to pick a viewing spot near home or dinner.
Between the big Saturdays, the calendar moves into the squares
The big Saturdays happen on the riverfront. Most of the smaller events in between are in the historic district, and four of them fall in the first week of December.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 3, 5:30 to 7 p.m. | Annual Holiday Tree Lighting | Telfair Museums |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | "A Very Merry Neighborhood," Neighborhood Vet's first-anniversary event with Santa Paws photos, a coffee pop-up and clinic tours | 111 W. Anderson St. |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. | Savannah Philharmonic Holiday Pops, listed as sold out | Lucas Theatre |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 3 p.m. | Savannah Philharmonic Holiday Pops matinee | Lucas Theatre |
| Sun., Dec. 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Brunch with Santa | Plant Riverside District |
The Savannah Philharmonic listed the Saturday Holiday Pops show as sold out weeks ahead. The Sunday matinee was the open seat when the season page was last updated. The Neighborhood Vet event on Anderson Street is a good pick for anyone whose holiday plans include a dog.
What's new along the walk between the two ends
A few openings this fall change the walk between the riverfront and the squares.
On Congress Street, The Grove at 301 W. Congress St. closed on Oct. 23 after Forward Hospitality Group bought the building. WTOC reported that the new owners are turning the ground floor into XMAS Bar, a 21-and-up holiday pop-up, with the rooftop renamed "The North Pole." According to Hello SavGA, the plan includes Christmas lights, seasonal cocktails and holiday music. The pop-up is meant for the holiday season only. After the holidays, the space is planned to become Good Night John Boy, a 1970s-themed disco bar, in March 2027. According to WTOC, the company wanted to keep former Grove employees on staff for the holiday run.
In the Historic District, Recess Hotel & Club opened in mid-September with 221 rooms. Its dining and drinks include Le Flâneur, the Servery and the Kilter rooftop bar, according to Nation's Restaurant News. This is its first holiday season, so it's a new option for a drink before or after the Dec. 12 parade.
The dates to save
- Nov. 19 to Jan. 3: Savannah Christmas Market at Plant Riverside, daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., free
- Nov. 27: Tree lighting at MLK Park, 6:30 p.m.
- Nov. 28: Eastern Wharf kickoff from 5 p.m., boat parade from 7 p.m.
- Dec. 12: Holiday Tour of Homes from 9 a.m., street parade at 5:30 p.m.
- Jan. 2 and 3: The last weekend for the market, a stretch it didn't have in 2025
If your holiday guests start asking what it would take to live a short walk from River Street, Michele Niles can walk them through the historic district streets the parade route covers and what homes there look like right now. Schedule a white-glove consultation, and she'll build a plan around your timeline.
