If you've gone to the tree outside West Linn City Hall on the first Friday evening of December, where will you find Santa this year?
He'll be at the back of the Holiday Parade on Willamette Falls Drive. For 2026, West Linn Parks & Recreation says it "will not be hosting our Holiday Tree Lighting & Community Celebration." The City is combining that event with the Historic Willamette Main Street tree lighting "to create one bigger, more festive holiday event for our community." The change affects more than one evening. The Main Street district already had its own holiday calendar. With the City's biggest December gathering added to it, Willamette Falls Drive is now where nearly all of West Linn's holiday season happens, and most of it falls on Saturdays.
Twenty-four years on Salamo Road
The event being retired had a long run. In December 2024, the West Linn Tidings reported on the city's 23rd annual tree lighting. It was held Friday evening, Dec. 6, at the tree outside West Linn City Hall. Residents "gathered by the dozens" in the cold as the West Linn Community Chorus sang carols, then lined up for photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The 24th edition followed the same plan. It ran Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. at City Hall, 22500 Salamo Road. Santa lit the tree at 6 p.m., and there were carolers, cookies, cocoa, and candy canes.
The 2026 version changes the place, the day, and the format. It moves from City Hall to Historic Willamette, from a Friday to Saturday, Dec. 5, and from a stand-alone gathering to the closing moment of the parade. The City's stated reason is simply that one combined event should be more memorable and better for "community connection."
How the new evening works
The parade's 2026 theme is "Light Up the Night." It starts at 5 p.m. in the Historic Willamette Main Street area. The City's event page lists directions to Willamette Fire Station, TVF&R #59, at 1860 Willamette Falls Drive. From the City's Holiday Parade page, the evening runs in this order:
- 3 p.m. Parking along the parade route starts closing. The City says no parking on Willamette Falls Drive, and cars left on the route may be towed.
- 4 p.m. Willamette Falls Drive closes completely to traffic, and stays closed until 6 p.m.
- 5 p.m. The parade begins.
- When the parade ends, or 6 p.m., whichever is later. Santa's sleigh is the last entry. Everyone is invited to walk behind it to the tree in front of Ale & Cider House, 1720 Willamette Falls Drive, and Santa lights the tree there.
Historic Willamette lists the tree lighting on its own calendar for 6 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the same address. The listing invites everyone to "light up the Main Street Holiday Tree" in front of Ale & Cider House.
Under the old format, you could arrive at City Hall a few minutes before 6 and catch the lighting. Under the new one, the lighting happens wherever the parade crowd ends up, and only after the last float finishes the route. If you arrive at 5:55 hoping to see just the tree, you may have to wait. Families who want to walk behind Santa will need to be along the route before the sleigh goes by. The route map on the City's page is labeled 2024, so it's worth checking that page again closer to Dec. 5 for an updated map or parking details.
There are two more ways to take part. The City is taking parade entries now through an online application, and it is asking for "a huge volunteer force to keep everyone safe at this event." Both forms are linked from the parade page.
The Saturdays around it
The tree lighting joins a district calendar that already had a lot going on. Historic Willamette Main Street's 2026 annual events list shows four holiday-season events. With the City's parade folded into the tree lighting, the Willamette Falls Drive corridor has four event Saturdays in six weeks:
| Date | Event | Where and when | What the listing says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Willamette Brews & Spirits Stroll | Business district, 3–7 p.m. | Tastings at participating local businesses, shopping, live music, dining. Presented by Les Schwab West Linn |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | Business district, starting 10 a.m. | An invitation to shop and dine at district businesses |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Parade and Main Street Tree Lighting | Parade at 5 p.m.; tree at Ale & Cider House, 6 p.m. or after the parade | The combined City and district event |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Winter in Willamette Holiday Market | Historic Willamette, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Holiday market, scavenger hunt, wreath contest awards at 3 p.m. |
The Brews & Spirits Stroll opens the season. It is an afternoon walk through the business district with tastings at participating shops. Its presenting sponsor is Les Schwab West Linn at 1990 8th Ave. Three weeks later comes Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's the most open-ended date on the list. The district asks people to shop and dine locally but doesn't publish a list of participating businesses.
The Winter in Willamette Holiday Market closes the season one week after the parade. The 3 p.m. awards for the business and organization Holiday Wreath Contest give it a clear midpoint, and the scavenger hunt offers families something to do between market stops. The listing is still filling in. Vendor applications are open, and the page has a "more info to come" graphic. The market description still says it runs "alongside the City of West Linn's Holiday Parade." On the 2026 calendar, though, the two are a week apart: the parade is Dec. 5 and the market is Dec. 12. Plan on two separate trips.
Taken together, the calendar has a clear pattern. Every district event this season falls on a Saturday, and the City's largest December event now does too. Historic Willamette's Main Street program lists the City of West Linn among its supporters on the tree-lighting listing. This year, the City has linked its biggest seasonal gathering to that district calendar.
Two City events that stay where they were
Not every event is moving to Willamette Falls Drive. Two of the City's own fall and holiday events are still held elsewhere in town, and both come before the December events on Main Street.
Fall Fest in the Forest is first, on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mary S. Young Park, 19900 Willamette Drive. The City's event listing includes forest trick-or-treating, live music, pumpkin crafts, food vendors, and a dog costume contest. It's the last City-run outdoor event before the weather and the calendar turn to the holidays.
The Annual Holiday Bazaar follows on Nov. 14 and 15, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, at the Adult Community Center, 1180 Rosemont Road. The City lists more than 40 local vendors, and admission is free. It falls one week after the Brews & Spirits Stroll and two weeks before Small Business Saturday, which makes it the City's indoor gift-shopping weekend between the two district events.
On a single calendar, the season runs from a park on Willamette Drive in mid-October, to a community center on Rosemont Road in mid-November, and then to Willamette Falls Drive for every December date. The City Hall lawn on Salamo Road is no longer part of it.
Before Dec. 5
- Arrive before 3 p.m. if you plan to drive. That's when parking along the route starts closing, and the City says cars on the route may be towed.
- Expect no traffic on Willamette Falls Drive from 4 to 6 p.m. It's fully closed during those hours.
- Watch for the sleigh. Santa is the very last parade entry. When the sleigh passes, that's your cue to follow it to the tree.
- Check the listings again in late November. The City and Historic Willamette event pages don't show when they were last updated. Market details and the parade route map could still change.
On I-205, the project schedule updated Oct. 9 lists nighttime lane and ramp closures near the Abernethy Bridge and OR 43 during the week of Oct. 12. Those closures are temporary. The project's updates page is the place to check before any evening drive in December.
Kristen Anzellotti follows how West Linn's calendar changes from year to year, and this year the biggest change is on Willamette Falls Drive. If you're thinking about how a move might line up with the seasons here, or you'd simply like to talk about the neighborhood, Kristen Anzellotti would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
