Last December, the Saturday after the tree lighting filled Town Center Park all day. The city's Jolly Holly Days listing for Dec. 6, 2025, ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It promised more than 80 artisan vendors selling paintings, pottery, jewelry and woodworking, nonstop live performances, and a Holiday Pet Parade at 11:30 a.m. that started at the holiday tree, with prizes for the most festive costumes.
The 2026 listing is shorter. The City of Suwanee's Jolly Holly Day page shows one evening, Friday, Dec. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Town Center Park. Its program has no artisan market and no pet parade. That Saturday's three draws, handmade gifts, a festive outing and a reason to bring the dog, are still on the calendar. They're spread over five weekends now, mostly at the Suwanee Arts Center. If you plan the season around that, you have a month of chances where you used to have one crowded day.
Friday, Dec. 4: the part that stayed at Town Center Park
Jolly Holly Day is co-hosted by the Suwanee Arts Center, and the evening keeps the parts most families already know. Here's how the city lays it out:
- 6 p.m. The park opens with holiday craft stations, vendors, and local food trucks serving everything from hot chocolate to international dishes.
- 6:30 p.m. Santa arrives and poses for photos with children and families. Kids can write letters to Santa while they wait in line and hand them to him at their photo.
- Through the evening. Choirs from Level Creek, Roberts, Riverside and Suwanee Elementary Schools perform.
- 8 p.m. All Stars Performing Arts Academy gives a special performance, and then Santa lights the holiday tree.
If your child sings in one of those four choirs, the night is probably already on your calendar. If not, you can choose your arrival time. The Santa line forms after 6:30, and the tree lighting comes 90 minutes later. That's a long time for small children, so some families do Santa early and leave, while others skip the line and show up for the 8 p.m. lighting.
Town Center Park sits at Buford Highway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.
Saturday, Dec. 5: two early starts before the gift shopping
With no Jolly Holly program that Saturday, the morning belongs to two events that each run from 9 to 11 a.m.
The HappyFeat Run, Run Rudolph 5K starts at Town Center Park, so runners are back where the tree went up the night before. The race raises money for HappyFeat, a 501(c)(3) that supports young adults with disabilities through inclusive programs. Registration is on RunSignup, which lists the race at 330 Town Center Ave.
The Winter Farmers Market sets up at Town Center on Main & DeLay Nature Park, 421 Main Street. If you mostly shop the summer market, the location is the detail to remember. In 2024, the city's event records placed the winter market at Town Center Park in March and October and at 421 Main Street by December. For Dec. 5, the city expects winter lettuces and greens, potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, baked goods, canned goods and meats. Most vendors accept cards as well as cash.
Both events wrap up at 11, and the Arts Center opens its holiday market at noon. You can run or shop for groceries in the morning and buy gifts in the afternoon, which covers most of what last year's all-day Saturday at the park offered.
The Arts Center calendar now holds the shopping
The Suwanee Arts Center's Pop Up Holiday Market runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 19, 2026, at 3930 Charleston Market Street, Suite B6. Admission is free. The market features local artists and handmade gifts, and the center says each weekend brings a different group of artists and a different holiday theme.
That rotation matters. Last year's 80-plus vendors were all in the park for seven hours on one Saturday. This year, the artists you see on Nov. 21 may not be the ones there on Dec. 12, so a second visit isn't a repeat. Shopping hours are noon to 4 p.m. on every public day.
| Weekend | Days | Theme | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 20–21 | Fri. & Sat. | Members' Weekend | Suwanee Arts Center members get 15% off purchases |
| Nov. 28 | Sat. only | Free SAC Tote Bag Weekend | Free tote with every purchase; the center is closed Fri., Nov. 27 |
| Dec. 4–5 | Fri. & Sat. | Cookies & Cocoa Weekend | Free cookies and cocoa bar; same weekend as Jolly Holly Day |
| Dec. 11–12 | Fri. & Sat. | VIP Holiday Party & Holiday Market | Friday 5–8 p.m. is invitation only; Saturday is open to everyone |
| Dec. 18–19 | Fri. & Sat. | Pet Weekend | Pets welcome; pet-themed artwork, treats and accessories |
Dec. 4 is the busiest day on the list. The Arts Center's Cookies & Cocoa shopping runs from noon to 4 p.m., and Jolly Holly Day opens at Town Center Park two hours later. You could shop in the afternoon, eat dinner, and still be in the park in time for Santa at 6:30.
Where the dog fits now
Last year's pet parade was a single 11:30 a.m. slot during Saturday's festival. This year, the Arts Center gives pets a whole weekend, Dec. 18 and 19, with pet-themed artwork, treats, accessories and handmade goodies, and pets are welcome inside. It's a different kind of event: shopping with your dog instead of showing off a costume. Still, if bringing the dog to the holiday festivities is one of your family's December traditions, these are the dates to mark.
Saturday, Dec. 19 is also the last Winter Farmers Market before Christmas, 9 to 11 a.m. at 421 Main Street. That makes it the season's second double Saturday, with the market in the morning and the dog-friendly shopping in the afternoon.
The full run, from this weekend to Dec. 19
Lined up together, the city calendar and the Arts Center calendar give you something to do on almost every weekend between now and the holidays.
- Sat., Nov. 14: Art on the Run: Turkey Trot 5K, 9 a.m. to noon. The city's Electronics Recycling Event runs during the same hours, so it's a good morning to clear out old devices before the holidays.
- Fri., Nov. 20: The Arts Center's Pop Up Holiday Market opens with Members' Weekend, noon to 4 p.m.
- Sat., Nov. 21: Winter Farmers Market, 9 to 11 a.m., then Members' Weekend shopping from noon.
- Sat., Nov. 28: Tote Bag day at the Arts Center, noon to 4 p.m.
- Fri., Dec. 4: Cookies & Cocoa shopping from noon, then Jolly Holly Day at Town Center Park, 6 to 9 p.m.
- Sat., Dec. 5: Run, Run Rudolph 5K and the Winter Farmers Market, both 9 to 11 a.m., then Cookies & Cocoa shopping from noon.
- Sat., Dec. 12: The Arts Center's holiday market is open to the public from noon to 4 p.m., and the city calendar lists Swapna Vijayam's Nutcracker Ballet that evening, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Fri., Dec. 18 and Sat., Dec. 19: Pet Weekend at the Arts Center, plus the Winter Farmers Market on Saturday morning.
A newer stop on Main Street
If the farmers market brings you to Main Street on any of those Saturdays, the renovated Main Street Park at 687 Main Street has been open since Aug. 1, 2026, so this is its first holiday season since the work finished. The half-acre park sits next to Old Town's red caboose. The renovation added a steel-framed pavilion, more seating and parking, and a central lawn where the old circular concrete and brick plaza used to be. The rebuilt basketball court has a surface mural called Momentum, designed by Annabel Joyner and painted by residents with the local nonprofit Art in the Paint. The Burnette-Rogers Pavilion, dedicated in December 1999, still anchors the park. On a cold morning after the market, it's an easy place to stop with coffee and let the kids work off some energy before the afternoon's shopping.
The City of Suwanee's news release has more on the renovation.
Holiday weekends like these are a good part of what makes Suwanee worth staying in, and they're the details buyers ask about when a home here comes on the market. If you're curious how the Town Center and Main Street calendar figures into your home's value right now, Jamie Mock is glad to walk you through it. Request your free home valuation, and you'll get a clear, local read before the new year.
