By 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, the floats will be lined up at the Ozark Innovation Center on West Jackson Street. Santa will have been in the gazebo on the Square for an hour and a half. Down along the Finley River, the lights at Finley River Park will be ready for their first public night. Ozark's calendar for 2026 puts nearly the whole start of the season into one Friday and one Saturday, and each event leads into the next.
That ordering is the most useful thing to know about this year's season. The events form a single evening that moves from the Square to Jackson Street to the river, so the timing of each piece shapes the others.
The Whole Opening, in Order
Here is the sequence, using the city's Parks & Recreation calendar and the Ozark Chamber of Commerce parade schedule:
- Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20. The Festival of Lights has an unadvertised soft opening at Finley River Park.
- Friday, November 20. Mayor's Tree Lighting.
- Saturday, November 21, 2 to 5:30 p.m. Santa Village on the Square.
- Saturday, 3 to 5 p.m. Parade staging at the Ozark Innovation Center, 1600 W. Jackson St.
- Saturday, 3 to 7:30 p.m. The Workshop at Finley Farms stays open late for parade night.
- Saturday, 3:30 to 5 p.m. Santa in the gazebo for family pictures.
- Saturday, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The 61st Annual Ozark Christmas Parade, starting "when dark enough."
- Saturday, November 21 through Friday, December 25. The Festival of Lights is open to the public.
That list covers two afternoons and evenings. The rest of this post follows it in order, because each stop determines where you can comfortably be for the next one.
Friday Night Belongs to the Tree
The City of Ozark's Parks & Recreation report, posted to the city's archive in August 2026, lists the Mayor's Tree Lighting for Friday, November 20. That is one night before the parade. The listing gives the date and nothing else, so the time and location will come from Parks & Recreation as the week gets closer. The city's website is the place to check.
The same report lists the Festival of Lights soft opening for November 19 and 20 and notes that it is "Not Advertised to the Public." Those two nights give Parks & Recreation a run-through before the crowds arrive. Friday's tree lighting therefore happens while the display down by the river is already in its trial run, and Saturday is when the public is invited in.
Saturday Afternoon Starts on the Square
The Chamber puts Santa Village on the Square from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Santa takes family pictures in the gazebo from 3:30 to 5. Since the parade itself comes to the Historic Square, families who arrive early for Santa are already where the parade ends up by the time it starts.
The Ozark Chamber of Commerce describes the parade as winding "through Historic Downtown Ozark on the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year." In 2026 that Saturday is November 21, five days before Thanksgiving on November 26. The holiday dinners at Finley Farms that week, covered below, extend the same stretch.
Jackson Street Closes at 5
The 2026 parade rules give the route in one line. The parade starts at the Ozark Innovation Center, 1600 W. Jackson St., and follows Jackson Street to the Historic Square. Staging at the Innovation Center begins at 3 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. "for road closure of Jackson Street."
For anyone in town that afternoon, 5 p.m. is the hour that matters. Before it, Jackson Street carries float trailers, entrants checking in and ordinary Saturday traffic. After it, the street belongs to the parade until the last entry reaches the Square. The Chamber schedule runs the parade from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. If you're driving across town to a dinner reservation or picking up relatives, plan around that window.
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Where | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00 p.m. | Historic Square | Santa Village opens |
| 3:00 p.m. | Ozark Innovation Center, 1600 W. Jackson St. | Parade staging begins |
| 3:00 p.m. | The Workshop at Finley Farms | Late hours begin |
| 3:30 p.m. | Gazebo on the Square | Santa photos begin |
| 5:00 p.m. | Jackson Street | Staging ends for the road closure |
| 5:30 p.m. | Jackson Street to the Square | Parade steps off when dark enough |
| 7:30 p.m. | Square and Finley Farms | Parade and Workshop late hours end |
A Theme That Only Fits 2026
The Chamber picked "Patriotic Christmas: Stars, Stripes and Christmas Lights" to mark the 250th birthday of the United States. The Chamber's parade page describes the plan:
"Parade participants will be encouraged to creatively incorporate red, white, and blue alongside traditional holiday décor, bringing America's story to life in a uniquely Ozark way."
The Ozark Chamber of Commerce hosts the parade and Ozark Chevrolet presents it. The Chamber also plans a live stream of the parade, so anyone who can't stand on Jackson Street on a November evening can still watch. That matters for grandparents out of state and for anyone who works Saturday nights.
The Parade Passes The Workshop
Finley Farms has made its own plans for the evening. The Workshop opens late from 3 to 7:30 p.m. on November 21 with hot chocolate, live fire-baked pizza and campfires. The Finley Farms events calendar says the parade "passes right by Finley Farms," and guests can watch from the patio.
The Workshop's hours line up almost exactly with the Chamber's schedule. The doors open as staging begins at the Innovation Center and close as the parade wraps up. If you'd rather not claim a curb spot on the Square, you can spend the whole afternoon at the Workshop with food and a fire and still see the parade.
Then the Lights Open by the River
The parade ends at 7:30 p.m., and on the same night the Festival of Lights at Finley River Park opens to the public for the first time this season. The City of Ozark Parks and Recreation Department runs the festival, and the city's park policies list it as one of the park's large events.
Nightly hours for 2026 aren't listed in the city's calendar yet. For reference, Explore Christian County reported in December 2024 that visitors drove through the display, admission was free and donations were accepted. That year the hours were 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Those are 2024 details. Check the city's site before planning around them. If this year's Saturday hours match 2024's, the lights stay on more than three hours after the parade ends, so a family could see the parade and then drive through the lights the same night.
The city's 2026 calendar has the festival running through December 25. That's five weeks, and it covers every weekend from the parade to Christmas Day, so opening night is only one of many chances to go.
The Park Still Works by Day
Finley River Park doesn't become a holiday-only space for those five weeks. City policy keeps the park generally open from dawn to dusk and notes that event use may affect open hours. The park's internal concrete trail runs about a quarter mile along the river and connects to the wider Finley River Trail system. For daytime walkers and morning dog walkers, the riverside trail is still there during the festival. Just watch for posted hour changes while the display is up.
After the Weekend, the Calendar Moves to Finley Farms
Five days after the parade, Finley Farms serves two Thanksgiving meals on Thursday, November 26. The buffet at The Ozark Mill includes house-smoked turkey, honey glazed ham, seasonal sides, breakfast favorites and house-made desserts. The newer option is downstairs. The calendar describes Thanksgiving in The Garrison, beneath The Ozark Mill, as happening "for the very first time." The chef-curated buffet includes smoked prime rib, citrus-brined turkey, fresh seafood and artisan cheeses, served in the Riverside Room.
In December, the same calendar lists holiday high tea at The Marley House on December 18, 20 and 21. Those dates fall in the last full week before the Festival of Lights closes on Christmas Day. Hours and prices for the Thanksgiving meals and the teas are on the Finley Farms calendar.
If you put one date on your calendar now, make it Saturday, November 21, and plan to be where you want to watch the parade before Jackson Street closes at 5 p.m.
At 417 Property Pros, we're glad to see Ozark open its season this way, with so much of it happening along one street and one riverbank on one weekend. If family is coming in for parade night, or you're getting to know Ozark through its traditions before calling it home, we'd love to talk about what this part of the Ozarks is like the rest of the year. Work With Us.
