Last December, West Linn's own tree lighting happened at City Hall on Salamo Road on a Friday night, with carolers, cookies and cocoa. Will it be back up the hill this year? No. The City has taken that event off the 2026 calendar.

In 2026 the tree lighting, the parade and the holiday market all happen in Historic Willamette, and they now fall on two separate Saturdays. Last year the season was spread across two parts of town and three events. If you've planned a West Linn December the same way for years, here is the new order.

How last December was laid out

In 2025 the holiday season ran on two different days:

• Friday, December 5, 2025: West Linn Parks & Recreation held its 24th annual Holiday Tree Lighting & Community Celebration at West Linn City Hall, 22500 Salamo Road, from 6 to 8 p.m. Santa lit the tree at 6, and the evening included photos with Santa, carolers, and cookies, cocoa and candy canes.
• Saturday, December 13, 2025: The City's parade came down Willamette Falls Drive with a "Jolly Gingerbread Jamboree" theme, with Santa, artificial snow, floats, cars and animals, according to West Linn Tidings' photo coverage. Historic Willamette Main Street held its Winter in Willamette market the same day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., alongside the parade.

That pairing goes back several years. In 2024 the market fell on Saturday, December 14, and its listing invited people to come before the City's parade. Vendors set up at two churches and along the cycle track, and there was a children's scavenger hunt and a photo booth.

Under the old setup, the tree lighting had a night of its own up the hill, and Willamette got one very full Saturday. The 2026 calendar does the opposite.

The City folded its tree lighting into the parade

The City's 2026 Holiday Parade page states the change directly:

This year, we will not be hosting our Holiday Tree Lighting & Community Celebration. Instead, we're bringing the Holiday Parade and Historic Willamette Main Street Holiday Tree Lighting together to create one bigger, more festive holiday event for our community!

This year's parade theme is "Light Up the Night." It starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, in the Historic Willamette Main Street area. Last year's City Hall lighting was also on December 5, but that was a Friday. The date stays the same, but the event moves to a Saturday, and the tree is now on Willamette Falls Drive instead of Salamo Road.

The tree belongs to Historic Willamette Main Street. It stands in front of Ale & Cider House at 1720 Willamette Falls Drive. Ale & Cider House serves craft beer, cider and wine, and food vendors work from a pod on the patio behind the building. In March, West Linn Tidings reported five carts on that patio: Sauce & Fury, Daily Dose of Aloha, Little Ladda Thai Cart, El Chinchorou and Shawarma Town. Kelly's Tacos was expected to come back for a sixth spot. So the place where the parade crowd will gather after dark already has food on the patio.

How the evening of December 5 runs

The City's page gives the order of the evening, and the timing works differently from a stand-alone lighting. Here it is in sequence:

1. 3 p.m.: Parking along the parade route starts closing. Parking on Willamette Falls Drive isn't allowed, and cars left on the route may be towed.
2. 4 p.m.: Willamette Falls Drive closes completely. The City lists the closure as 4 to 6 p.m.
3. 5 p.m.: The parade starts. The City's directions for the event point to the Willamette Fire Station, TVFR #59, at 1860 Willamette Falls Drive.
4. Santa's sleigh comes last. When the sleigh passes you, the City invites everyone to walk behind the parade and follow Santa to the tree at Ale & Cider House.
5. Around 6:15 p.m.: Santa lights the tree once the parade has finished its route.

Historic Willamette Main Street's own listing puts the lighting at 6 p.m. The City's FAQ is more specific: Santa won't light the tree until the parade has finished its route. If you're standing near the tree at 6 and nothing has happened yet, the sleigh simply hasn't arrived. If you're watching from farther up the route, you can follow the sleigh down and get there in time.

Last year's lighting started at a set time. This year it starts when the parade ends, so families with small children may want to get there early and pick a spot near 1720 Willamette Falls Drive. The City also needs plenty of volunteers to run the event safely and has a volunteer sign-up form linked from the parade page.

The market now has its own day, December 12

The other half of the change is the Winter in Willamette Holiday Market. It's on the calendar for Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Historic Willamette Business District. That's one week after the parade. The market's description still says it runs "alongside the City of West Linn's Holiday Parade," but this year the parade is a full week earlier, on December 5.

The market has a full day planned:

• A holiday market with vendors, run by Historic Willamette Main Street
• A scavenger hunt
• Awards for the business and organization Holiday Wreath Contest at 3 p.m.
• Other businesses in the district joining in with their own holiday events

In 2024 and 2025, the market and the parade shared one Saturday. This year each gets a day of its own. If you skipped the market before because parade parking and road closures took over the afternoon, December 12 has neither. If you liked doing both in one day, you'll be making two trips to the same blocks a week apart.

November leads up to it

The two December Saturdays are the main events, and November has a few dates before them. One planned event won't happen this year.

Historic Willamette Main Street postponed its first Willamette Brews & Spirits Stroll, presented by Les Schwab West Linn, until 2027. It had been scheduled for Saturday, November 7, from 3 to 7 p.m. It was planned as a fundraiser for the nonprofit, pairing local breweries and distilleries with businesses in the district. The organization says a 2027 date is still to come.

These November dates are on the calendar:

• Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15: West Linn Parks & Recreation's free Holiday Bazaar runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days at the Adult Community Center, 1180 Rosemont Road, with more than 40 local vendors.
• Saturday, November 28: Historic Willamette Main Street lists Small Business Saturday events in the district starting at 10 a.m.

The bazaar is the one holiday shopping event this season held away from Willamette, at the Adult Community Center on Rosemont Road. After it, every date on the list is on Willamette Falls Drive: Small Business Saturday on November 28, the parade and tree lighting on December 5, and the market on December 12. That's three Saturdays in a row in one historic district.

Planning your holiday weekends around it

For anyone who lives in West Linn, the practical change is where you spend December. Last year the tree lighting meant a Friday evening at City Hall on Salamo Road. This year everything takes place in Historic Willamette. If you live near Willamette Falls Drive, you'll have closures and heavy foot traffic on December 5 and a busy shopping day on December 12. If you live elsewhere in town, both events are on the same few blocks, so you can make the trip once on December 5 for the parade and lighting and again on December 12 for the market.

Before the 4 p.m. road closure on December 5, move any car parked along the route by 3 p.m. Plan to stay past 6, and walk to the tree behind Santa's sleigh.

At Wings NW Real Estate, we keep West Linn's calendar the way we'd keep a flight plan, with every date confirmed in advance. If a December move or listing has you weighing which Saturday works best for a showing, let's talk it through before the holidays fill up. Schedule a strategy call.