When does the Celebrate Laconia Lights Festival start? The posters say Saturday, November 28, 9am. But by Saturday, November 21, the festival's trees are supposed to be standing in Rotary Park downtown. The organizer's sign-up page says each sponsored tree "will be set up and lit in Rotary Park by November 21, 2026." Then the sponsors get a week to decorate. The parade on the 28th comes at the end of that week, not the start.
This is the festival's sixth season, by Celebrate Laconia's count. The day itself is the busy part. The week before it decides what you'll see when Santa lights the trees.
The calendar runs from November 21 to January 3
Celebrate Laconia's pages list a handful of dates. Put in order, they look like this:
- Saturday, November 21. Sponsored trees are due to be set up and lit in Rotary Park. The same day is the last day for the lower Santa Shuffle 5K entry price. On the race's RunSignup page, entry is $25 and goes up to $35 after 11:59pm.
- Friday, November 27, 5pm. Online Santa Shuffle registration closes.
- Saturday, November 28. Festival day, 9am to 8pm. The parade starts at 4:30pm, and Santa lights the trees when it ends.
- Tuesday, December 29 through Sunday, January 3. Sponsors take their decorations down. The City on the Lakes Holiday Walk is listed through January 2, 2027. Anything still on a tree after January 3 gets thrown away.
So the trees stand for about six weeks. Festival day is one of those days. It's also the deadline for the sponsors' decorating.
What a $65 tree gets you in Rotary Park
The City on the Lakes Holiday Walk is open to individuals, families, businesses and organizations. For $65 you get a pre-lit tree to decorate, and you can pay online or mail a check with the sponsorship form. The trees come from Glove Hollow Christmas Tree Farm, which Celebrate Laconia says it has "teamed with again" for the festival.
The sign-up form asks for a name for the tree's sign. Sponsors also agree to a few things in writing:
- Send a team to decorate before the November 28 parade.
- Attach every decoration securely.
- Take decorations down between December 29 and January 3.
The organizers also add a warning. Decorations that aren't tied down well "may detach due to weather," and Celebrate Laconia isn't responsible for missing, damaged or stolen ornaments.
That's why the week matters. Each tree is decorated by whoever sponsored it, on their own schedule, sometime between the 21st and the parade. The walk you see on festival night is the total of all those visits.
Saturday, November 28, by the clock
Festival day fills downtown from morning to evening. Melcher & Prescott Insurance is the presenting sponsor this year.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 to 8:30am | Same-day Santa Shuffle registration | Belknap Mill |
| 9am | Santa Shuffle 5K run/walk | Starts and finishes at City Hall, 45 Beacon St. E. |
| 10am to 4pm | Christkindl Mart | Belknap Mill |
| Midday into evening | Food trucks, music, family activities | Canal Street and downtown |
| Noon | Kids' activities | The Mill |
| 4:30pm | Lights Festival Holiday Parade | Laconia High School to Stewart Park |
| End of parade | Santa lights the trees | Holiday Walk |
The Santa Shuffle starts the day. It's sponsored by The Downtown Gym, and the course is an out-and-back from City Hall. The tourism association's listing asks runners and walkers to wear their "most festive outfits" for the Greater NH Children's Auction. If you plan to run, the $25 entry is good through 11:59pm on Saturday, November 21, the same day the trees are due in Rotary Park.
By midday, food trucks are set up on Canal Street, and the listing says to "follow the signs." According to the NH Lakes Region Tourism Association listing, the day also includes a cornhole tournament run by The Elks Laconia, a K-9 demonstration and s'mores warming stations. Celebrate Laconia says local businesses will be open. If you're sponsoring a tree and haven't decorated it yet, the afternoon is your last chance before the parade.
The Mill is the indoor part of the day
Most of the day happens outdoors in late November, so the Belknap Mill is where a lot of it heads inside. The Belknap Mill's Christkindl Mart runs from 10am to 4pm. The Mill describes it as handmade gifts, crafts and goodies from local artisans, makers and small businesses. New this year, according to the tourism association's listing, is a marketplace on the Mill's third floor.
The same listing promises "lots of activities for families and kids at The Mill with Santa." Celebrate Laconia's schedule starts the kids' activities at noon. So the Mill is a good place to warm up between the morning 5K and the evening parade.
The 4:30 parade ends with the lighting
The parade puts the day on a schedule. Celebrate Laconia says it will begin "promptly at 4:30pm" from Laconia High School, go down Union Avenue, turn onto Church Street, follow Main Street, and end in Stewart Park. The organizers describe it as a traditional marching parade with floats, bands, walkers and cars. The parade page links a route map and invites spectators to watch from anywhere along the way.
Anyone can join the parade. Registration is free. Entering the float contest costs $50 per float, the contest has one grand prize winner, and contest floats carry an entry number so people can vote. You don't have to enter the contest to bring a float. Celebrate Laconia's 2026 guidelines say arrival instructions for participants will be emailed closer to parade day.
When the parade is over, Santa lights the decorated trees. That lighting is what the sponsors' week of decorating was for. After it, the trees stay up for anyone downtown until the new year. The festival day is listed until 8pm, which gives time for a walk through the trees after the lighting.
Up the lake the same morning
If you live farther up the lake, there's another free event that morning. The Loon Center in Moultonborough is holding its Holiday Open House on November 28 from 10am to 2pm. It ends two and a half hours before the parade starts in Laconia, so you could do both.
Questions about a tree, the Santa Shuffle or the parade go to Celebrate Laconia at [email protected].
I've spent years building and fixing things around this lake, and I know a well-tied ornament from one that'll end up in a snowbank. If your family or business is sponsoring a tree in Rotary Park this year, I'd like to see it. When the decorations come down in January and you start thinking about your own place on the lake, Chip Hornbeek Realty is here. Contact Chip for a free Lake‑Market consultation.
