The Downtown Petoskey Holiday Parade is set for Saturday, November 28, at 10 a.m. That is about two weeks earlier than the past two parades, and the route is half as long as before. The 2026 parade entry application says the parade "is returning to the Thanksgiving Weekend" because of "valuable feedback," and that the route will shrink "from 8 blocks down to 4 blocks." Each piece of this year's plan answers a problem from an earlier version of the parade. Together they also change the order of Petoskey's downtown holiday season.
Seven Years of Rebuilding One Parade
The parade has been rebuilt several times since 2019. According to a 2024 Downtown Petoskey history of the parade, it ran like this:
- The original. The parade was held on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving.
- 2019: the evening experiment. The Downtown Management Board tried a nighttime parade. Lamp posts and decorated storefronts made a good backdrop. Over the years, though, fewer people watched and fewer took part, because many downtown business owners, residents and Petoskey High School Marching Band students were away for the holiday. Most stores also couldn't stay open late.
- 2024: December mornings. The parade moved back to the morning and later into the season, on Saturday, December 14. The goal was more participation and a full shopping day after the parade.
- 2025: December again. The parade ran on Saturday, December 13, 2025, as shown in the Petoskey News-Review's photo report.
- 2026: Thanksgiving weekend, morning, four blocks. This year's parade goes back to its original date and keeps the morning start adopted in 2024, on a route that is new.
When the parade moved to December in 2024, Andi Symonds, Downtown Petoskey's marketing and promotions director, gave the reason in the same article: "We are hoping with the date change and having a morning parade again there will be more participation all around." She added that after the parade, "everyone has the entire day to experience downtown, shop, enjoy restaurants, checkout holiday activities in Pennsylvania Park, and visit Santa!" The 2026 plan keeps that morning start and the full day of downtown afterward. It drops the December date.
Why the Route Got Shorter
The 2026 application ties the new route to the weather. "Based on past year's winter temperatures," it reads, "we plan on beginning the parade within the Downtown District." Entrants must confirm that "the NEW Parade Route will be shortened and limited to the Downtown District."
So the parade is a shorter walk for the marching band, the floats and the people watching from the curb, in a month with shorter days. The application also says the parade can't accept "a semi or extended vehicles that may have difficulty turning at intersections," which matters more on a compact downtown route.
The parade's future was briefly uncertain this summer. Minutes from the Downtown Management Board's August 18, 2026 meeting record that a meeting with the marching band directors would be held "to discuss the holiday parade and the band's participation," and that "pending outcome of that discussion, there is a possibility that the holiday parade would be cancelled." The board decided to wait until after that discussion to make a recommendation to City Council. By September, the parade had a date, a theme and an open entry form.
The same meeting shows how the board thinks about downtown events in general. Members discussed event cancellations, the need for a larger community event "similar to Festival on the Bay," and the success of the Hometown Block Party for the 250th anniversary "due to the participation of many organizations." The parade depends on that kind of broad participation. Its entry categories are floats, music and performance groups, walking ensembles and holiday decorated vehicles.
What the Morning of November 28 Looks Like
These details are published as of late October:
- Line-up: 9 a.m. at Woodland Street and Michigan
- Step-off: 10 a.m., with the event scheduled to end around 11 a.m.
- Theme: "Ring in the Holiday Season"
- Featured: the Petoskey High School Marching Band, Santa Claus, local nonprofits, floats and walking ensembles, according to the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau's 2026 listing
- Organizer contact: the Downtown Office at 409A E. Lake Street, 231.387.7337
The exact streets haven't been announced. The application says route details "will be provided once the Parade Route is confirmed," and the Downtown Petoskey event page says only "NEW shorter route." The Visitors Bureau lists the location as Lake Street and Mitchell Street. Check Downtown Petoskey's parade page for the final route before you pick a spot on the curb.
Some calendars still carry the old timing. The Visitors Bureau's general holiday guide, posted September 1, still describes the parade as falling "on the second Saturday in December." That was true in 2024 and 2025. The organizer's own page now lists November 28.
The Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey is closed Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, and its regular Saturday gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That puts the parade on the first day the gallery reopens after Thanksgiving.
The Season Now Runs in a Different Order
In 2024 and 2025, the Holiday Open House came first, on the first Friday in December, and the parade followed about a week later. This year the parade comes first. The Holiday Open House is six days after it, on Friday, December 4. As a result, the downtown holiday season is concentrated into about two weeks, beginning the Friday before Thanksgiving.
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Downtown Trick or Treat | 10 a.m. to noon; children's parade assembles at Central Elementary at 9:45 a.m. and proceeds down Howard to Mitchell |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Petoskey District Library Games Day | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., games on every floor |
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Crooked Tree Holiday Vernissage & Swirl | 5:30 to 7 p.m., local artisan gifts, food by Spring and Porter |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | May Erlewine at Crooked Tree | 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Ladies Opening Night | 4 to 8 p.m., downtown |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Downtown Petoskey Holiday Parade | 10 a.m., four-block route in the Downtown District |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Petoskey Holiday Open House | 6 to 9 p.m. on Lake and Mitchell; Santa lights the Pennsylvania Park tree at 6 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Harbor Springs Merchants Holiday Open House | The next night, one town over |
The Halloween morning event is a small version of the parade's new format. Streets are closed to cars, a children's parade moves down Howard to Mitchell, and the Wolfshäger Hexenbrut Witches perform at E. Lake and Howard, all in a two-hour window. The Petoskey District Library Games Day on November 7 and the Crooked Tree Arts Center holiday Vernissage and May Erlewine concert the following week fill early November. Ladies Opening Night on November 20 starts the shopping calendar a week before Thanksgiving.
The Holiday Open House follows its usual pattern. According to the Visitors Bureau's event listing, Lake and Mitchell close to traffic, merchants offer hospitality, the Petoskey High School Steel Drum Band plays, and Santa lights the large tree in Pennsylvania Park at 6 p.m. The Visitors Bureau's holiday guide notes the band performs from a double-decker trailer that can be heard throughout downtown. It also suggests reserving at restaurants that take reservations on open house night, and mentions the Downtown Social District for anyone who wants to carry a drink while they shop.
Thanksgiving weekend looks different this year too. Families hosting relatives now have a downtown parade on Saturday morning, two days after Thanksgiving, and the full shopping day the 2024 change was designed to create. Downtown businesses get one more busy weekend before December.
Who Helps Make It Happen
Sponsors and service clubs support the parade as well as the city. In 2024, Craig Ryan Fine Clothing, the menswear shop on Howard Street owned by Stephen Mullen, took over sponsorship from Stafford's Hospitality, which had sponsored the parade for many years. The same Downtown Petoskey article credits the Sunrise Rotary Club of Petoskey with helping put on the event. No 2026 sponsor has been announced yet. Businesses and groups that want to enter can use the 2026 parade entry application or call the Downtown Office.
Pat Leavy has spent more than 25 years watching downtown Petoskey's holiday traditions change. If you have family coming for Thanksgiving and someone at the table asks about a place of their own near Lake Street, Pat Leavy can talk it through with them. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll compare notes on the season, starting with the parade on November 28.
