Downtown Woodstock's three biggest holiday draws fall on back-to-back days this year. A Christmas Carol the Musical opens on Friday, December 4. The Woodstock Winter Wonderland holiday market fills the Elm Street green on Saturday, December 5. The Christmas Jubilee & Parade of Lights takes over Main Street on Sunday, December 6. If you live in The Fairways at Towne Lake, most of the season comes down to those three days.
Two things nearby won't be ready for that weekend. The Towne Lake Parkway widening is still underway, and its contract runs into January. Woodstock Mill District has moved its opening to spring 2027. The new Publix center everyone has watched go up will still be getting ready, not open for holiday shopping. So it helps to plan the holidays around downtown as it is right now.
The weekend, day by day
Two hosts run the weekend, and each day calls for a different plan.
Friday, December 4. Woodstock Arts opens A Christmas Carol the Musical at the Woodstock Arts Theatre, 8534 Main Street. It runs through December 24. Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees start at 2:30 p.m., and there are extra 2:30 p.m. shows on December 23 and 24. The run is three weeks long, so you don't have to go opening weekend. Of the three events, this is the easiest one to move to a quieter night.
Saturday, December 5. Woodstock Arts also hosts the Woodstock Winter Wonderland Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Woodstock Arts Event Green, 111 Elm Street. The listing says street parking is limited. It also says free lots are within walking distance. Last year's market used the same hours and the same green, held on December 6, 2025. If you've gone before, expect the same layout.
Sunday, December 6. The City of Woodstock's Christmas Jubilee & Parade of Lights has a 5:30 p.m. parade. It starts at Woodstock Elementary School on Rope Mill Road and goes down Main Street to Sam's Club at Highway 92. After the parade, festivities and a 30-foot tree lighting happen at The Park at City Center. This year the tree lighting is part of the Jubilee night. The City's 2026 calendar doesn't list a separate tree-lighting date.
Sunday is the night that affects your drive the most. The parade route and road-closure map on the City's Jubilee page shows closures from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. The page lists it as the 2026 map, updated September 16, 2026. Check that map for the exact streets before you leave. If you're within a few blocks of Main Street at 5:15, you'll be waiting until the parade passes.
Before and after the big weekend
Three more dates bookend the weekend, and two are worth planning around.
| When | What | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, November 19 | Holiday Sip + Shop | Downtown Woodstock shops | 2026 list of shops not yet posted |
| November 20 to December 31, closed Dec. 24–25 | Holiday Lights of Woodstock | Dixie Speedway, 150 Dixie Dr. | $25 per vehicle, $60 season pass, per the operator |
| After the holidays | Christmas Tree Chip n Dip | City of Woodstock | 2026 flyer posted on the Jubilee page |
Holiday Sip + Shop is Visit Woodstock's night of downtown shopping deals. It comes more than two weeks before the market, so it's your first chance at local gift shopping. For now the page shows 2025 deals, and the 2026 list of shops is still to come.
The lights at Dixie Speedway run all season, which takes some pressure off that December weekend. The Holiday Lights of Woodstock operator lists hours of 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The $25 vehicle price includes Santa's Village. The operator also has a new 2026 Golden Ticket that gets you into all four Holiday Lights of Georgia shows. The Destination Cherokee listing for the same address shows different dates and prices: November 28 to December 30, $10 per person. Check the operator's site before you buy.
The City's Jubilee page already has 2026 flyers for the Christmas Tree Chip n Dip tree recycling and for Santa Mail. Entries for the parade, vendors and food vendors close November 23, 2026.
The road between here and Main Street is still a work zone
From The Fairways, the trip downtown often goes along Towne Lake Parkway. The stretch between Woodstock Parkway and the Mill Street roundabout is in the middle of the City's Towne Lake Parkway Widening Project. When it's finished, eastbound will have two lanes to the roundabout, and the right lane will exit onto Mill Street. Westbound gets two lanes starting at the new shopping center's entrance. The plan also adds a left-turn lane for Waffle House and the Cherokee County Tax Commissioner's Office, a right-turn lane onto Woodstock Parkway, and new sidewalks with better crossings at Woodstock Parkway.
The contractor, Bartow Paving, has 365 consecutive days from the January 12, 2026 notice to proceed. That puts the finish date around January 12, 2027, after the holidays. The City's own reports from August disagree on how far along it is.
| City document, August 24, 2026 council packet | Reported progress | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works status report | 55% complete | Grading continuing; Georgia Power still relocating utilities |
| Capital project sheet | 30% complete | Target completion January 2027 |
Either way, both reports point to the same thing for December: holiday traffic will share the road with construction. On October 26, the Woodstock Post road-status page showed no posted city or county closure or detour. It named the widening as the main work zone and said to expect lane shifts into 2027. On Jubilee Sunday, a lane shift plus parade closures can slow the last mile a lot. Leave earlier than you normally would to make the 5:30 start.
The new shopping center won't be ready for gift runs
The widening is tied to Woodstock Mill District, the Connolly development on Towne Lake Parkway between I-575 and Main Street. In September, Connolly announced its first tenants. Along with a 46,791-square-foot Publix, the list includes Sydel's Coffee, Three Dollar Café, Super Chix Chicken & Custard, Club Pilates, PetFolk, E's Barber Shop, Dentists at Woodstock Mill and Allure Nail Bar.
The timing is the key detail for the holidays. Metro Atlanta CEO reported that tenants start moving in this fall "to prepare for a Spring 2027 opening." You'll see buildout work and maybe signs going up in December. The grocery store and the coffee shop won't be open yet. The City lists the Lyndee Lane extension's first phase as 85% complete, with a note that it will "Open with adjacent development."
The strip center next door, formerly Towne Lake Plaza, was nearly done with its renovation in September, and Connolly listed three current tenants:
- The Blue Ghost Arcade, with vintage arcade games, board games and video games
- Maxwell's Cigar Bar, a live music venue serving beer and wine
- Dive Georgia, the longtime scuba shop for gear sales, rentals and lessons
Before you plan a stop, check each business's own hours for December. barre3 and Tin Drum Asian Kitchen & Boba Tea Bar have been announced for the same building, but no opening dates have been published.
Where to park on Jubilee night
Your Sunday plan depends on parking, and downtown has more of it than in past Decembers. The City Center East deck opened in December 2024 with more than 600 free spaces. Paid parking started July 7, 2025, in marked zones from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The City says 85% of downtown parking is still free or long-term. The City's parking page shows which blocks are paid zones.
Here's a simple order for Sunday, December 6:
- Check the 2026 road-closure map on the City's Jubilee page that afternoon.
- Leave The Fairways with time to spare for lane shifts on Towne Lake Parkway.
- Park in the free City Center East deck well before roads close at 5:15 p.m.
- Watch from a spot along Main Street, then walk to The Park at City Center for the tree lighting.
- Stay downtown until the 7:15 p.m. closure window ends, so you're not leaving into parade traffic.
If you'd like to pull your whole holiday calendar together, or you just have a question about what's changing between Towne Lake and Main Street, Broadus Realty Group keeps up with this corridor and is glad to help. Reach out with your questions anytime.
