On Saturday, December 5, the City of Kennesaw will hold what its Holly Days guide calls its "first-ever nighttime, light-up Holly Days Parade" downtown at 6:00 PM. Last year the parade started at 11:30 in the morning. The rest of Santa's Saturday kept its old times. Breakfast still happens in the morning and the Depot Park photos are still at midday, so a day that used to fit into a few late-morning hours now covers close to ten.
If you go every year, plan December 5 as two trips downtown, a morning one and an evening one, with the afternoon open in between.
Three Decembers, Three Different Clocks
The city has moved this event around before. In 2024, the Day with Santa ran from 1:00 to 6:00 PM, and Santa arrived by parade at 2:00 PM. In 2025, the Holly Days Parade moved up to 11:30 AM with more than 50 entries, and families could walk straight from the parade to Depot Park for free walk-up photos from 12:30 to 2:30 PM.
This year the photo window is still 12:30 to 2:30, but the parade now comes about three and a half hours after it ends.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 7 | Saturday, Dec. 6 | Saturday, Dec. 5 |
| Parade time | Santa's arrival at 2:00 PM | 11:30 AM | 6:00 PM |
| Free Depot Park photos | Part of the 1–6 PM festival | 12:30–2:30 PM, right after the parade | 12:30–2:30 PM, hours before the parade |
| Format | Afternoon festival | Daytime parade | Light-up night parade, "Santa's Workshop" theme |
The city has also made room for more floats. Parade registration on the city's Rec1 page allows up to 80 entries, and applications are open until 5:00 PM on November 20. Entries are encouraged to light up their floats and vehicles, and where it fits, to prepare a 20- to 30-second performance for the judges.
The Morning Half Stays Where It Was
The first trip downtown looks a lot like last year's. According to the city's Holly Days guide, here is the daytime schedule:
- Breakfast with Santa at the Ben Robertson Community Center, with seatings at 8:30 and 10:00 AM. It's all you care to eat, Santa visits each table, and you need tickets in advance.
- Pictures with Santa at the Community House in Depot Park from 12:30 to 2:30 PM. You can join the free walk-up line, though photos aren't guaranteed, or book a pre-scheduled session that includes digital downloads.
The city says both have limited availability, so if you're bringing grandchildren, the morning half is the part to reserve now. By the time the photo line closes at 2:30, Park Drive will already be closed. The city shuts it from 2:00 to 8:00 PM so floats can line up.
The Evening Half Runs on a Short Loop
The route is a short loop. Floats leave Adams Park by way of Park Drive, turn right and head south on Main Street, turn right onto Watts Drive, and then turn right onto Park Drive to return to Adams Park. Participants are scheduled from 4:30 to 7:30 PM.
The city's road closure notice lists these closures:
Park Drive: closed 2:00 to 8:00 PM for parade lineup.
Main Street from Park Drive to Watts Drive: closed 5:30 to 7:30 PM.
Watts Drive, Dallas Street, J.O. Stephenson Avenue and Lewis Street: closed 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Park Drive is also on this route closure list.
Parking is harder to plan. On its Depot Park amphitheater page, the city lists free event parking at Adams Park and the Ben Robertson Community Center at 2600 Park Drive, on Lewis Street between North Main Street and Dallas Street, behind Revival on Main, on the first floor of the Revival parking deck, and at City Hall. Depot Park itself has no public event parking, only limited accessible spaces. That list is the city's general guidance for major events, though. On parade night, Adams Park is where the floats line up and finish, and Lewis Street is closed from 5:30 to 7:30. The city publishes a Downtown Parking Map, and the City of Kennesaw mobile app shows which downtown lots are open. If you're planning to arrive around 5:45 and leave right after the parade, check that map before you go. If you can walk farther, parking earlier and away from the loop is the easier way to do it.
Filling the Afternoon Downtown
The gap between the end of the photo line and the start of the parade is about three and a half hours. Depot Park is decorated for the season with more than 100,000 lights, a light tunnel, tall toy soldiers, gift towers and a sleigh, so after sunset the park is part of the evening on its own.
Some of the downtown places to eat are new this year. The Kennesaw Development Authority announced in April that Smash Hit Burgers was open at 2921 Cherokee Street NW. Cherokee Street does not appear on the parade closure list. In June, the authority welcomed Joupe Jeht, a Cambodian restaurant at 3055 N Main St. In its 2026 State of the City summary, the city also listed Dulce Canela, The Artful Rabbit, Stitch Revivals and Mataeo Couture Studio as recent additions downtown.
The Dark Building on North Main
On parade night you'll pass a downtown building that has stood empty for almost 30 years. The three-story J.G. Lewis Building, also called the Collier Building, at 2881 N Main Street, was built in 1903. Over the years it has been a dry goods store, a canteen, a Masonic meeting space, a church and a hardware store. Its last long-term commercial tenant was Collier Parts, which closed in 1996.
In an October update from Kennesaw.com, the new owners laid out plans for Kennesaw Tap & Market, a $4.4 million conversion into a food hall, taproom and event venue. South End Smokehouse is planned for the barbecue stall, Sidecar Coffee would serve coffee, breakfast and lunch, and a new sushi restaurant is also planned. The concept comes from David Heymann and Jeff Kimmel, who opened Chamblee Tap & Market in 2024. The third floor is planned as an event space for about 100 to 150 guests.
Construction is scheduled to start in the first half of 2027, and the owners expect to open in the second or third quarter of 2028. They note that the timeline depends on financing, permitting and construction. Across Lewis Street, the city plans to demolish the former library at 2250 Lewis Street and put in a public lot with about 48 spaces. Kennesaw.com reported that construction is expected to begin in early 2027. So this year's night parade goes by a building that is still dark, next to a lot that hasn't been built yet.
The Rest of the Holly Days Calendar
The parade is one of several evening events on the Holly Days calendar:
- Kennesaw Holiday Market, Friday, November 13, 6:00–8:00 PM, with complimentary bites and live music, and Saturday, November 14, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, at the Ben Robertson Community Center. Admission is free.
- Tree Lighting Ceremony, Wednesday, December 2, in Depot Park. A holiday choir performs at 6:00 PM and the tree is lit at 7:00 PM.
- Breakfast with Santa, Pictures with Santa and the Holly Days Parade, Saturday, December 5.
- Menorah Lighting with Chabad of Kennesaw, Wednesday, December 9, the sixth night of Hanukkah, at the Main Street Plaza. A short reception with refreshments comes first. The menorah stays in the Tunnel Plaza for all of Hanukkah.
- Santa's Garden Party at Smith-Gilbert Gardens, December 11 and 12, 4:30–7:00 PM. Dogs are welcome on Saturday, December 12, and can have their picture taken with Santa. Pre-registration is required.
- All Aboard for Holiday Fun at the Southern Museum, Saturday, December 12, 9:30 AM–5:00 PM. Santa is there from 10 AM to 2 PM, and everything is included with regular museum admission.
- Glimmer & Glee, Sunday, December 13. A holiday concert starts at 6:00 PM, followed by a drone show at 7:30 PM over the United Bankshares Amphitheater. Admission is free, and the city suggests bringing chairs for the lawn.
The Holiday Market's Friday evening session is the first of these, on Friday, November 13, at the Ben Robertson Community Center.
If you're spending December time with family in Kennesaw and talk turns to what's next for the house you've lived in for years, Lisa Swann is glad to listen and help you sort out the next steps, with no rush to decide. Schedule a Free Consultation whenever you're ready.
