Flagler Avenue and Canal Street each run their own holiday season, with separate organizers, separate tree lightings and separate weekend calendars. Only one afternoon puts both streets on the same route. That's Saturday, Dec. 5, when the NSB Christmas Parade leaves the beachside, crosses the Indian River and ends in the historic district. Getting it across the water takes a federal sign-off. The U.S. Coast Guard has cleared the George Musson Bridge to stay closed to boat traffic for the length of the parade.
Three Hours With the Bridge Down
The Coast Guard's Local Notice to Mariners for the Seventh District includes a temporary deviation for the George Musson Bridge. Under it, the bridge "need not open to navigation including tugs with tows on Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. to facilitate the City of New Smyrna Beach's Annual Christmas Parade." Public vessels and vessels in distress can still pass at any time.
That window lines up with the parade's own schedule. The city's 2026 parade page lists a 3 p.m. start and a 3 to 6 p.m. event window. This year's theme is "The Traditions of Christmas." According to the parade rules, the route runs in this order:
- Start at Flagler Avenue and South Atlantic Avenue at 3 p.m.
- Head west onto the North Causeway and over the bridge.
- Turn south onto Riverside Drive.
- Turn west onto Canal Street.
- Finish at Orange Street.
The rules also cover the build-up along the beachside. Floats line up along South Atlantic Avenue, and entrants are told not to arrive before 11:30 a.m. Every registered entry must be in position by 1:30 p.m. Floats have a 12-foot height limit so they clear the traffic signals along the way. Confetti poppers and cannons aren't allowed.
If your group, club or business wants to be in the parade, time is short. Entries are accepted online only, through the city's Leisure Services portal, until Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m., or until all spaces are taken. New online accounts can take 24 hours to approve. The Babe James Community Center handles questions at 386-410-2890.
Two Streets, Two Tree Lightings, One Week Apart
A parade from the beach to the mainland makes sense because each end of the route has spent the previous weeks running its own program. The Canal Street Historic District runs the mainland calendar. The Flagler Avenue Business Association and Flagler Avenue Hospitality Group run the beachside one. Both streets light a tree at 6 p.m. on a Friday, and the two lightings fall exactly one week apart.
| Canal Street | Flagler Avenue | |
|---|---|---|
| Tree lighting | Spark the Spirit, Fri., Nov. 27, 6 p.m. at Christmas Park | Light Up Flagler, Fri., Dec. 4, 6 p.m. |
| Event hours | 5 to 7:30 p.m. | 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Santa | Arrives with the tree lighting | Arrives at 5 p.m. |
| Following day | Coastal Christmas Market, Sat., Nov. 28 | Christmas Parade staging on South Atlantic, Sat., Dec. 5 |
So the season starts on the mainland, the night after Thanksgiving. Canal Street's Spark the Spirit runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 27, and the tree lighting and Santa's entrance come at 6 p.m. at Christmas Park, on the corner of Live Oak and Canal streets. Flagler Avenue holds its lighting until the Friday before the parade, which means the beachside's biggest night and the parade fall on back-to-back days.
How Each Street Fills November
The two calendars lead up to those Fridays differently. Flagler Avenue's November runs as a string of ticketed tastings and festival weekends, according to the Flagler Avenue events calendar:
- Flamingo Follies holiday art show: Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Flagler Avenue closes to vehicles between Peninsula Avenue and North Atlantic Avenue.
- Rock n Roll Music Festival: Nov. 19 to 22, four days of free live music along the avenue, with the schedule posted on Facebook.
- Slider Challenge: Saturday, Nov. 21, 1 to 5 p.m. Pick up tasting passports at South Cooper Street and Flagler Avenue.
- Gobble Wobble Beach 5K: Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, at the Flagler Avenue Boardwalk Beach, 101 Buenos Aires St. The race starts at 9:30 a.m.
- Wine Walk: Saturday, Nov. 28, 1 to 7 p.m. A $30 passport includes 20 tasting tickets and a keepsake glass.
Canal Street's calendar is built on monthly regulars, with the holiday events added on top. According to the Canal Street Historic District calendar, the Farmers' Market runs every Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon at 210 Sam's Avenue, and Classic Cars on Canal fills the second Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. This month that's Nov. 14. After Spark the Spirit, the Coastal Christmas Market takes over Canal Street on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Thursday, Dec. 3, Girls' Night Out runs from 5 to 8:30 p.m. It's free, and Canal Street closes to traffic for it.
Look at Nov. 28 on its own and you can see why the two streets stay separate. Canal Street has a daytime market while Flagler Avenue has an afternoon wine walk, with the river between them. To do both, you'd move from one district to the other on your own. The parade is the one time the route does that for you.
Friday Night on Flagler, Saturday Afternoon Over the River
Three days before the parade, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, Flagler Avenue starts the Great NSB Holiday Cocktail Tour. It runs through Dec. 26. Pick up a tour map at any participating location, buy a full-size cocktail at each stop, and collect stamps toward the full set of 10.
On Friday, Dec. 4, the city calendar lists the 38th annual Light Up Flagler from 5 to 8 p.m., in the area from Flagler Avenue to North Atlantic and Peninsula. The event page lists the evening's schedule:
- 5 p.m.: Santa arrives
- 6 p.m.: tree lighting
- 6:15 p.m.: Santa Paws parade
- 7:15 p.m.: Crazy Cart parade
Through the evening there are children's crafts, trackless train rides, a photo spot with Santa's sleigh, and open houses with refreshments at the avenue's shops. You can drop off unwrapped toys at 311 Flagler Avenue. The Great Homemade Christmas Cookie Challenge runs alongside it from 4 to 8 p.m., with holiday cookies to sample at the avenue's restaurants and pubs. Flagler's Merry Hits-Mas Music Festival brings free live music on Dec. 4 and 5.
On Saturday morning, the Canal Street Farmers' Market opens at 7 a.m. on Sam's Avenue as it does every week. Over on the beachside, floats begin lining up along South Atlantic Avenue at 11:30. At 3 p.m. the parade sets off from the corner where the beachside's Friday night took place. It heads west across the causeway, past the riverfront on Riverside Drive, and up Canal Street to Orange Street. For three hours, the beachside lineup and the historic district are one continuous event.
A Week Later, the River Hosts the Parade
The causeway comes up again the next Saturday. The city lists the Southeast Volusia Holiday Boat Parade for Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. The route starts just south of Menard-May Park in Edgewater and heads north past Riverside Park. It loops near the North Causeway, The Grille at Riverview and Bouchelle Island, then turns back toward Riverside Park. The Canal Street calendar describes it as a parade to watch on the Intracoastal Waterway at dusk.
Dec. 12 is also the second Saturday of the month, so Classic Cars on Canal runs that afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. The car show wraps up at 6 p.m., the same hour the boat parade is scheduled to begin. The boats loop near the same causeway that carried the floats a week earlier.
If you're entering a float before Friday's deadline, or just planning where to watch the bridge crossing, The Cook Group knows this stretch of the river and the people who make these weekends happen. We're glad to share what we know about the season on both sides of the causeway. Schedule a Private Consultation whenever it suits you.
