Blue Ridge, GA Christmas events 2026: the season calendar

Blue Ridge, Georgia’s 2026 Christmas season opens Thanksgiving weekend with Light Up Blue Ridge on November 27 and 28 and runs to Christmas Eve. The Holiday Express train runs select days from November 28 to December 24, and the Gingerbread Village is open from noon November 27 to noon December 22.

Every date on this page comes from the organizer or the Fannin County Chamber and was checked on October 17, 2026. Dates can change; confirm with each organizer before you drive up. The timetable below shows the headline dates, and the planner further down lists every dated event with add-to-calendar links.

Thanksgiving week and Light Up weekend (November 20 to 29)

The season starts a few days before the parade. The Art Center’s Annual Holiday Market opens November 20, according to the Art Center’s 2026 schedule. On Thanksgiving morning, November 26, the Blue Ridge Turkey Trot 5K starts at 8 a.m. at East Main and Church Streets, with registration from 7:30 a.m., per the Fannin County Chamber.

Friday, November 27 is Blue Friday. Light Up Blue Ridge lists downtown merchant discounts, food vendors and live entertainment from noon to 5 p.m., and Santa takes pictures in the downtown park from noon to 4:15 p.m. The Gingerbread Village opens to the public at noon inside the Art Center. That evening, Light Up McCaysville runs from 5 to 7 p.m. with its tree lit at dusk, the railway’s 4-Hour Holiday Pavilion train leaves at 4 p.m., and Blue Ridge Community Theater opens The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical, which plays through December 20 (Blue Ridge Community Theater).

Saturday, November 28 is Light Up Blue Ridge itself: entertainment on East Main from 11 a.m., the parade at 5:30 p.m. and the Great Tree lit at about 7 p.m. All cars must be off East and West Main by 4 p.m. The first 1-Hour Holiday Express trains of the season leave that day at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Our Light Up Blue Ridge page walks through the whole day.

The December 5 weekend

The first Saturday of December belongs to the McCaysville & Copperhill Christmas Parade, hosted by the Copperhill Kiwanis Club. The Fannin County Chamber lists float judging at noon and the parade at 2 p.m. on December 5, with a rain date of December 12. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church holds its Christmas Bazaar and Silent Auction from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the same day, and the Art Center Holiday Market has a special day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On the rails, the Holiday Pavilion train runs from 2 to 6 p.m. on December 5, and Holiday Express trains run Saturday and Sunday. If you want a cut tree, Southern Tree Plantation in Blairsville (Union County, a day trip) lists December 5 and 6 as its last tree days of 2026.

Mid-December (December 12 to 21)

December 12 is the Art Center’s second special Holiday Market day and the McCaysville parade’s rain date. Holiday Express trains run December 12 and 13, then every day from December 19 through December 24, and the last Holiday Pavilion train leaves December 19 at 2 p.m. The theater’s run and the Art Center Holiday Market both end December 20. People’s Choice winners for the Gingerbread Village are announced December 21, the solstice, when the sun sets at 5:30 p.m. (U.S. Naval Observatory).

Mercier Orchards has not posted a 2026 date for its Santa at the Farm day. In 2025 it was Saturday, December 13. Every Santa visit we can confirm is on our Santa in Blue Ridge page.

Christmas week (December 22 to 25)

The Gingerbread Village closes at noon on December 22. After that the Art Center closes for its Christmas break, December 23 to January 10. The last Holiday Express trains run on Christmas Eve, December 24; see the Holiday Express guide for times and prices. Mercier Orchards is closed on Christmas Day. If you drive over to Mountain Country Christmas in Lights in Hiawassee, note that Christmas Eve is drive-thru only and the show is closed Christmas Day (Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds).

New Year’s

As of October 17, no primary source has published a 2026 New Year’s Eve event in Blue Ridge. The Chamber lists Blue Ridge on Ice through January 2, 2027, but the rink’s own site says 2026-27 dates and hours are coming soon. The railway’s regular Winter Rides run through February 28, 2027. Our New Year’s Eve page covers what ran last year and who will announce this year’s plans.

What is not published yet, and who announces it

• The full Light Up Saturday entertainment schedule. The Light Up Blue Ridge Committee says it is still working on 2026 times. Tuba Christmas (11 a.m.) and the Brasstown Big Band (noon) are on its Saturday schedule but not yet confirmed for 2026.
• The 2026 Light Up food vendor list, from the same committee.
• A 2026 parade route map. The map the Chamber links is the 2024 one.
• Blue Ridge on Ice dates, hours and prices, from the rink operator.
• Mercier’s 2026 Santa at the Farm date, from Mercier Orchards.
• Any New Year’s Eve events or New Year’s Eve train, from the Chamber and the railway.

Some listings still show 2025 dates

Some listings still show 2025 dates or older details, so check the year on anything you find. The organizer’s own Santa page is still worded for 2025, Mercier’s Santa page shows its 2025 date, and the Chamber’s parade-route link opens the 2024 map. The railway’s home page says holiday rides run to December 23, while its holiday page and its booking system run them to December 24. Where sources disagree we list the newest primary-source date and say so. Our dates-checked log records each conflict.

Plan your trip by date

Pick the days you are in town and what you are into. The planner lists every dated 2026 event in that window, and each one has its own calendar link.

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