Auburn's Holiday Season Mostly Happens in One Weekend. Here's How to Plan Around It.

The Santa Stroll starts at Toomer's Corner at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. A little over 32 hours later, the Auburn Christmas Parade wraps up downtown around 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6. Nearly all of Auburn's public holiday calendar falls between those two times: the 5K, two days of Santa at the Corner, the Ho Ho Ho Hike, the downtown holiday market and the parade.

That makes Auburn's December one packed weekend with a handful of separate dates around it. Most of the planning comes down to timing and parking on those two days, plus knowing which other dates are free of downtown crowds.

The Weekend, Hour by Hour

The City of Auburn's downtown page lists the 2026 events that will close streets. December has three: the Jingle Jog 5K on Dec. 5, then the Auburn Christmas Parade and the Downtown Auburn Holiday Fair on Dec. 6. Add the events that don't close streets and the weekend looks like this:

The Sunday market goes by two names. The City calls it the Downtown Auburn Holiday Fair. The Auburn Downtown Merchants list it as the Downtown Auburn Market and promise extended shopping hours, local artists, Santa, train rides, live music and children's activities. Both names refer to the same Sunday afternoon on the same streets.

Santa's two visits run on different hours. Santa on the Corner runs four hours on Saturday and two and a half on Sunday. Sunday's visit ends at 1:30 p.m., half an hour before the parade starts. Photos are free, and donations go to United Way of Lee County. If you want a photo without the parade crowd building around you, Saturday has the longer and calmer window.

What a Packed Weekend Does to Downtown Streets

With this many events on two days, the streets close in rounds. So far, the City hasn't posted a 2026 parade route, closure times or map. Its earlier City of Auburn advisory for a holiday weekend on Saturday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 7 is the best guide to how the closures usually unfold. Here is how that weekend worked:

1. Saturday morning, for the 5K. Downtown streets closed at 5 a.m. and reopened around 9 a.m. College Street was closed from Thach to Tichenor avenues, and Magnolia Avenue from Gay to Wright streets. Cars parked along the route couldn't leave until the streets reopened.
2. Sunday morning, for the market. East Magnolia Avenue between College and Gay streets closed at 10 a.m. Cones started going up at 9 a.m., and cars still parked there after 11 a.m. were subject to towing at the owner's expense.
3. Sunday midday, for the parade. The 2 p.m. parade started at Thach Avenue and South College Street, went east on Thach to Gay Street, north to Tichenor Avenue, west to College Street, and south back to Thach. Streets on the route closed at noon, cones went up at 11 a.m., and cars left on the route after 1 p.m. were subject to towing.

The 5K item in that notice carries the warning that matters most for anyone who lives or stays near downtown. If you parked on College or Magnolia the night before, your car stayed put until about 9 a.m. On Sunday the parade loop wraps around the blocks between Thach, Gay, Tichenor and College, so the core of downtown is cut off for most of the afternoon. Under that notice, the market and the parade together kept parts of downtown closed from 10 a.m. until after the parade cleanup.

The 2026 schedule has the same structure, with the race on Saturday morning and the market and a 2 p.m. parade on Sunday. Even so, the earlier notice's times are a past pattern, not this year's instructions. That notice came with a closure map, and a 2026 version is the one to check as the weekend gets close.

Saturday Morning Splits Across Town

Saturday is a scheduling problem for families with young kids. The Ho Ho Ho Hike and Holiday Celebration at Kreher Preserve & Nature Center runs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 5. That overlaps with the first two and a half hours of Santa on the Corner downtown.

The two events are very different. The Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center, Kreher Preserve and Nature Center and East Alabama Community Ballet put on the Kreher event together. The City describes the preserve turned into a winter wonderland with nature-themed crafts, performances, cookies, hot chocolate and a visit from Mrs. Claus. The hike itself is a "Santa-hunt" through the preserve's trails. Tickets are $15 per person, and adults need one too. Children under 24 months get in free with an adult ticket. Ticket sales haven't opened yet, and the City says they "will be announced as we near the event."

Santa on the Corner is free, takes a few minutes and runs until 2 p.m. One workable order is Kreher first, then downtown after lunch. You'd see Mrs. Claus in the woods in the morning and Santa at Toomer's in the early afternoon, and the morning 5K closures would be long cleared by the time you drive downtown.

Runners have a simpler plan. Packet pickup is Friday, Dec. 4, from 1 to 8 p.m. at the Harris Center on Perry Street. The stroll starts at 6:30 a.m. and the 5K at 7 a.m., both from Toomer's Corner. The race is over well before the Kreher event starts.

The Dates Outside the Weekend

Because so much lands on Dec. 5 and 6, the few events on other dates are your chances for holiday outings without street closures. All of them sit outside the downtown core or happen on a weeknight.

Saturday, Nov. 21: Holiday Art Sale. The Auburn Arts Association, Auburn Parks & Recreation and the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center host it from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the City of Auburn Parks and Recreation Campus. The schedule lists both the arts center at 222 E. Drake Ave. and Frank Brown Recreation Center. Local artists sell paintings, pottery, stained glass, photography, cards, jewelry, hats, scarves and culinary treats, and admission is free. It's two weeks before the parade weekend and the weekend before Thanksgiving, which makes it the best date on the calendar for gifts from local makers. See the City's program listing for details.

Thursday, Dec. 3: Holiday Medleys Concert. The Auburn Community Orchestra, which partners with the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center, plays at 7 p.m. at Auburn United Methodist Church. It's a weeknight, two days before the busy weekend.

Thursday, Dec. 10: "Neighborly Christmas." Drew and Ellie Holcomb play the Woltosz Theatre at the Gogue Center. The show starts at 7 p.m. It's the one big holiday show on the calendar after the parade weekend.

Around the Dec. 5–6 weekend, then, there's a free art sale in mid-November, a Thursday concert, the big weekend, then another Thursday concert. Some City programs, including Holly Jolly Drop & Shop at Frank Brown Recreation Center, haven't set 2026 dates yet. The City says those will come in its Fall 2026 brochure.

Putting It on the Calendar

If you're hosting family in early December, the weekend of Dec. 5 and 6 decides the visit. Guests who arrive Friday can see the runners on Saturday morning, the Kreher celebration and Santa on Saturday, and the market and parade on Sunday. They'll also hit every round of closures. Guests who come the weekend of Nov. 21 get the art sale and free downtown streets. If you park on College Street, Magnolia Avenue or anywhere along the parade loop, watch for the City's 2026 closure notice in the days before Dec. 5. Under the earlier notice, cars on the race route couldn't leave until about 9 a.m., and cars left on East Magnolia or the parade route past the Sunday deadlines faced towing.

If you're thinking about how downtown event weekends would fit with a home near Toomer's Corner, or with a short-term rental guests book for a weekend like this one, Carter Pair is happy to go through the details with you. Contact Carter.