Alpharetta lights its holiday trees on three nights in a row this year. The Hamilton Alpharetta goes first on Friday, November 20. The city follows on Saturday, November 21, and Avalon finishes on Sunday, November 22. Two weeks later the Alpha Loop lights up for the month. On December 12, the Rotary Club of Alpharetta takes a parade down Canton Street for the first time.
Daytime events cluster downtown on Canton Street, Milton Avenue and the Town Green. The evening draws move somewhere else in the city on the same day. Plan by the day and you can catch several of them. Plan around one event and you can easily miss the one happening a mile away a few hours later.
Three trees, three nights, three kinds of evening
The three tree lightings fall on consecutive nights and are run as different events.
- Friday, November 20, The Hamilton Alpharetta. The hotel at 25 Milton Ave. holds its annual Christmas tree lighting from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The tree is lit at 6:30, and admission is free.
- Saturday, November 21, Season of Celebration. The city lights a 50-foot tree in downtown Alpharetta from 5 to 8 p.m. Live holiday music, snow flurries and performances run on the main stage in front of City Hall, and Santa makes an appearance. The Awesome Alpharetta listing tells guests to bring portable chairs and settle in.
- Sunday, November 22, The Lighting of Avalon. Free activities run from 2 to 7:30 p.m. at 400 Avalon Blvd. The skating rink opens to the public at 3 p.m., and the 40-foot tree is lit at 7.
The Hamilton has a set moment at 6:30. Downtown fills a three-hour evening. Avalon's afternoon also serves as opening day for the ice rink, which runs until January. Of the three, Saturday has the most going on around it.
November 21 runs from morning to dark
The city's tree lighting caps a day that starts hours earlier within a few blocks of City Hall, plus one stop at the mall.
- 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Arts Alpharetta Holiday Artists Market fills the Alpharetta Arts Center at 238 Canton St. Admission is free.
- Noon to 3 p.m. North Point Mall holds its Holiday Kick Off in center court, with a marching-band parade to welcome Santa. It is also free.
- All day, starting November 21. The Friendship Ring of Kids holiday display opens at Innovation Academy, 125 Milton Ave., and stays up through December 31.
- 5 to 8 p.m. The Season of Celebration tree lighting takes over the main stage in front of City Hall.
A morning at the artists market, an hour at the Friendship Ring display and an evening on the Town Green add up to one full downtown Saturday. North Point's kickoff fits in the middle for families who want Santa twice in one day.
For families who want something ticketed that weekend, North Point Mall also hosts Once Upon A Merry Maze on Fridays through Sundays from November 13 to January 3. The listing says admission requires a ticket.
Avalon's Sunday is also opening day for the rink
Avalon on Ice opens on Sunday, November 22, and runs through January 18 on The Plaza. Avalon calls it a Rockefeller-inspired rink. Avalon scheduled ticket sales to open Tuesday, November 3, at 10 a.m. Avalon asks skaters to book a time slot in advance. Walk-ups are welcome, but a slot isn't guaranteed.
General admission is $18 with skates. Children 12 and under pay $14, also with skates. Tickets can't be refunded or transferred, but they can be moved to another date if one is open. Every skater, walk-ups included, has to complete a waiver.
The rink's hours change with the school calendar, so the posted schedule matters more than usual:
| Period | Hours |
|---|---|
| Regular Monday to Friday | 3 to 9 p.m. |
| Regular Saturday | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Regular Sunday | Noon to 7 p.m. |
| Opening day, Sunday, Nov. 22 | 3 to 10 p.m. |
| Monday, Nov. 23 to Friday, Nov. 27 | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 20 to Sunday, Jan. 3 | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| New Year's Eve and New Year's Day | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Fulton County public school holidays | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
Thanksgiving week and the stretch from December 20 to January 3 add daytime weekday hours. In a regular week, the rink doesn't open until 3 p.m. on weekdays.
December 5 starts downtown and ends on the Alpha Loop
The first weekend of December follows the same daytime-downtown, evening-elsewhere pattern. This time the evening is out on the Alpha Loop.
Lights on the Loop opens Friday, December 4, along a one-mile stretch of the Alpha Loop between Northwinds Parkway and Old Milton Parkway. The 2026 event page lists a "Switch On The Lights" celebration at 5:30 p.m. that night. After that, the lights are on nightly from 5:30 to 11 p.m. through January 4, 2027. Admission is free. Free parking is available at 2500 and 2520 Northwinds Parkway, and an ADA ramp sits behind 2520 Northwinds Parkway.
The display is presented by the Alpha Loop Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Lights on the Loop is the foundation's largest fundraiser of the year, and the money supports the trail's continued growth and use.
On Saturday, December 5, the day can be done in this order:
- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Alpharetta Christmas Market at Innovation Academy, 125 Milton Ave. Admission is free.
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Snow Day on the Town Green at Alpharetta City Center, 2001 Commerce St., with music, snow and craft stations. It is free.
- 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Holiday Music Showcase on the Loop, with the Alpharetta Symphony, the Alpharetta City Band, local musicians and a holiday DJ.
During the themed weekends, the Lights & Delights Village sets up behind 2500 Northwinds Parkway with artisan vendors, seasonal food and non-alcoholic drinks, family entertainment and costumed characters for photos. The second themed weekend is December 18 and 19, a pet-friendly event featuring Llamas on the Loop, also from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event page says themed weekends go on rain or shine unless the rain is heavy or the weather is severe. Weather updates go to attendees who registered through Eventbrite.
December 12 is the first year a parade closes Canton Street
Up to this point, the season's evenings and its downtown daytime events don't compete. December 12 is the exception.
Alpharetta Now reports that the first Alpharetta Winter Parade, run by the Rotary Club of Alpharetta with the City of Alpharetta, steps off at 5:30 p.m. that Saturday. School bands, youth groups, civic clubs and local businesses make up the lineup, and Santa comes last. According to the same report, the club expects all parade activities to wrap up around 8 p.m. Watching is free.
The route covers about 1.5 miles. It starts at Innovation Academy, 125 Milton Ave., and ends at the Alpharetta Community Center, 175 Roswell St., by Wills Park.
- Out from Innovation Academy along School Drive
- Right onto Canton Street, heading south through downtown past Milton Avenue
- Down Roswell Street and across Old Milton Parkway
- Into the Alpharetta Community Center
According to the Rotary Club's notice to downtown neighbors, as reported by Alpharetta Now, these roads close from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Canton Street and Roswell Street, all lanes in both directions, between Old Milton Parkway and School Drive
- Old Milton Parkway where it crosses Roswell Street
- Milton Avenue at the Canton Street and Roswell Street intersection
Roads reopen one at a time as the parade clears them and police decide it is safe. Parade entries drop off in Innovation Academy's rear lot, so that lot is busy from 4 p.m.
The same Saturday, the Makers Market Local Holiday Street Fair runs at Avalon from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with free admission. Avalon in the daytime and Canton Street at dusk is a workable plan, but the drive back toward downtown runs into the closures above. Anyone who lives along Canton or Roswell Street, or drives through downtown on a Saturday evening, should plan around 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on December 12.
The remaining dates, in order
The rest of December mostly offers one event per day, spread across the same three areas.
| Date | Event | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Dec. 6, 5 to 6 p.m. | Menorah Lighting at Avalon | Avalon, 400 Avalon Blvd. | Free |
| Thursday, Dec. 10, 5 to 6 p.m. | Menorah Lighting on the Town Green | Town Green, 2001 Commerce St. | Free |
| Sunday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m. to noon | Jingle Jog | The Hotel at Avalon, 9000 Avalon Blvd. | Ticket required |
| Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Pet-Friendly Weekend with Llamas on the Loop | Alpha Loop, behind 2500 Northwinds Pkwy. | Free |
| Thursday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Noon Year's Eve | The Hotel at Avalon, 9000 Avalon Blvd. | Ticket required |
| Through Jan. 4, 2027, nightly 5:30 to 11 p.m. | Lights on the Loop | Alpha Loop, Northwinds Pkwy. to Old Milton Pkwy. | Free |
| Through Jan. 18, 2027 | Avalon on Ice | The Plaza at Avalon | $18, or $14 for ages 12 and under |
Both menorah lightings follow the season's split, with one at Avalon and one on the Town Green four days later. The two ticketed Avalon hotel events, Jingle Jog and Noon Year's Eve, are morning events, so they don't conflict with anything happening downtown in the evening.
If you're hosting family for the holidays or planning a move around the school calendar, Heather Edwards is glad to talk through which parts of Alpharetta keep you closest to the events you care about, from Canton Street to Avalon to the Alpha Loop. Schedule a free consultation and we can start with your December calendar.