Brentwood's Tree Lighting Leaves Parade Night for a New Winter Market
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
For the past two Novembers, Brentwood packed its holiday start into one evening. The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Parade rolled through downtown on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and the city lit the tree at City Park right after it. In 2025 that meant a community sing-along and a lighting led by Mayor Susannah Meyer once the floats had passed. The year before, the lighting followed the 42nd Annual Holiday Parade on November 30 as part of the same parade-night program.
This year the parade and the lighting fall a week apart. The tree lighting has moved into a new event, the city's first Brentwood Winter Market. Add the Discovery Bay boat parade a week after that, and a holiday season that used to start on one night now runs across three Saturdays in a row. For anyone at Vineyards at Marsh Creek who has kept the Saturday after Thanksgiving free for parade, carols and lights, the calendar needs one more weekend.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving still belongs to the parade. The Chamber's 44th Annual Holiday Parade is set for Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. downtown. This year's theme is "Brentwood Express."
The Chamber's listing names downtown as the location but doesn't give a 2026 street-by-street route yet. Last year's parade ran from First Street through downtown to Brentwood Boulevard at Oak Street. Treat that as a guide to where the crowd gathered in 2025, and not as this year's route.
The difference comes when the parade ends. In 2024 and 2025, the walk to City Park was the second half of the evening. In 2026, the tree at City Park will still be dark on parade night.
The change started at City Hall. On October 25, 2025, Mayor Susannah Meyer and Council Member Jovita Mendoza asked for a downtown winter market. They pitched it as a way to raise the profile of local businesses, support small enterprises and create family-friendly community events. On December 9, 2025, the City Council directed staff to plan a 2026 market and pursue Bay Area tourism outreach.
When the idea first came up, The Press reported that Mendoza saw the market as a way to help downtown sales and draw visitors from beyond Brentwood. That was partly a response to the revitalization of The Streets of Brentwood. Her vision, as The Press described it, included vendor booths, Santa and a stage for local children's performances.
The plan that got funded is much smaller than the first idea. Staff priced an "Original Market Concept" running 18 days, with daily operations, snow play features and expanded décor. The internal estimate came to between $100,000 and $338,198, and the July 28, 2026 staff report labeled it "not an option for 2026" but something that "may be considered for future years." The option staff recommended was a two-day market at $60,000, with the vendor marketplace kept smaller this year because of the short lead time. That evening, the council adopted a resolution moving $60,000 from its Economic Development Grant Fund into the Winter Market as a priority project.
That same staff report explains the tree lighting's move. Among the optional add-ons, "Tree Lighting Integration" was priced at about $1,000 and "Deck the Park Integration" at about $500. A snow hill or snow play area was estimated at $6,000 to $9,000. Staff also described the market as a chance to rethink the whole season:
"This also presents an opportunity to possibly 're-imagine' how existing City-wide Winter season events coincide with other existing activations/events in Brentwood (i.e Chamber of Commerce Holiday Parade, The Streets of Brentwood Tree Lighting, Downtown Brentwood Coalition's Pictures with Santa, etc.)."
The city's Winter 26/27 activities guide now places the annual tree lighting ceremony at City Park on Saturday, December 5, at 5:30 p.m., "during the winter market." The Streets of Brentwood holds a separate tree lighting at the shopping center. Last year it was on November 22. Its 2026 date hasn't been posted yet.
The city's guide calls the Winter Market "a new tradition in Downtown Brentwood," with free admission. This is what the city has published so far:
The vendor list is still being set. The city's tentative timeline closed applications on October 2 and planned to contact selected vendors around October 16. The guide points to brentwoodwintermarket.com for event details. The performer lineup, a Santa schedule, any snow play area, and parking or street-closure plans should appear there as December gets closer.
Moving the lighting also gave Deck the Park a bigger stage. In the city's tree-decorating contest, people rent a 6- to 7-foot tree at City Park for $72. It's open to families, individuals, schools, community organizations and local businesses. Registration runs through November 15. Decorating happens December 2 through 4, and the trees stay on view from December 5 through January 3.
That puts the finished trees in place the morning the market opens, a few hours before the 5:30 p.m. lighting. Judges award Most Creative, Most Whimsical, Best Community Flavor, People's Choice and Mayor's Choice. A club, a walking group or a few neighbors who want a tree of their own have until mid-November to sign up.
The third Saturday moves to the water. The Discovery Bay Yacht Club's 2026 Lighted Boat Parade is listed for December 12, with the theme "America's 250 Years of Freedom." Boats gather on Kellogg Creek off the point of Newport Lane. The parade starts at 5:15 p.m., winds through every other bay of Discovery Bay, and ends in Marina Bay near the marina.
Put together, the run is a downtown parade on November 28, a downtown market and tree lighting on December 5 and 6, and lighted boats on December 12.
The Brentwood Senior Activity Center at 193 Griffith Lane fills in several weekdays around those Saturdays. Here is the full run in order:
The Saturday Brentwood Farmers' Market at 655 First Street runs year-round from 8 a.m. to noon. That gives anyone heading downtown on December 5 an early start before the market tents open at 10.
Holiday visits often bring the whole family to one table, and sometimes that turns into a talk about what comes next. If your family is starting that conversation about a home in Brentwood or the Tri-Valley, Luisi & Associates is glad to help you think through timing and options at a calm, unhurried pace. Request your free home valuation and consultation whenever it suits your family's calendar.
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