Webster on the Web calls the Parade of Lights "the spectacular climax to the Village of Webster's annual Winter Wonderland festivities." The 2026 schedule bears that out. By the 6:30 p.m. step-off on Saturday, Dec. 5, Santa has left, the carriage rides are done and the Webster Museum has closed its doors.
The Webster Village Business Improvement District lists the day's program as a set of overlapping time blocks spread across four addresses. Most of the day happens in the afternoon, well before anyone lines the curb on Main Street.
Four Programs, Four Closing Times, Then the Parade
The full schedule for Saturday, Dec. 5, as posted on the Webster BID's Winter Wonderland page:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Holiday Craft Show | Harmony House, 58 East Main St. |
| 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. | Holiday music and the Festival of Trees | Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park |
| 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. | Visit with Santa | Community Meeting Hall, 29 South Ave. |
| 3:00 to 5:45 p.m. | Main Street festivities, plus storytime with the Webster Library | Main Street |
| 6:30 p.m. | Webster Fire Department Parade of Lights | East Main St., heading west |
Every daytime program has its own end time. Santa wraps first at 5 p.m., the street activities follow at 5:45, the museum closes at 6, and only Harmony House stays open through the parade until 8. So the window when all four daytime venues are open together is two hours, from 3 to 5 p.m.
The Two Hours When Every Door Is Open
The 3 o'clock start is the earliest point at which all four daytime programs are running. The BID lists carriage rides, a scavenger hunt, carolers, crafts and cookie decorating for Main Street, plus a storytime run by the Webster Library. Santa is a short walk off Main at the Community Meeting Hall on South Avenue.
Webster on the Web's Nov. 2 roundup lists a longer set of activities, including face painting and a dance party, but describes those as things from previous years. The 2026 lineup is the BID's list above. The BID page also adds "and more!" after the street activities.
The Webster Museum at 18 Lapham Park runs on its own longer schedule, from 2 to 6 p.m., with bands playing while visitors walk through the Festival of Trees. According to Webster on the Web's Oct. 20 community mailbag, the festival has 20 miniature trees decorated by community groups, families and individuals. Visitors vote for their favorites and prizes are awarded. Since the museum opens an hour before the street activities and Santa, it is the natural first stop at 2 p.m. Come back later and the trees will have more votes on them.
Harmony House at 58 East Main St. opens at the same time for the Holiday Craft Show, and it is the one venue that stays open the whole day, until 8 p.m. It can wait until after the parade.
The 45 Minutes Between Main Street and the Parade
The street program ends at 5:45 p.m. and the parade starts at 6:30 p.m. That gap leaves time for a meal on East Main without missing anything.
Tabbouleh, a family-run Mediterranean and Kurdish restaurant, opened in July at 3 East Main St. RochesterFirst reported a menu of kabobs, shawarma and hummus, with the restaurant open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For many village households, this is the first Winter Wonderland with Tabbouleh on the block. It sits on East Main, the stretch where the parade begins.
The route matters for where you stand. The parade starts on East Main St. and heads west on Main Street to Fireman's Field. Webster on the Web describes fire trucks, bands and community group floats all covered in Christmas lights. If you eat on East Main, you are already near the start of the route when the lights come on.
This Year's Parade Entry Fee Goes to Families
The main change for 2026 is in how groups enter the parade. Organizers asked participating groups to donate to Making Spirits Bright instead of paying a registration fee. Making Spirits Bright is an all-volunteer adopt-a-family program that provides holiday help to families in the greater Rochester region. Webster on the Web reports it has helped more than 600 families since 2014.
The sign-up deadline for community groups was Nov. 15.
Dec. 5 Actually Starts the Night Before
The 2 p.m. start on the BID schedule is not the first event of the weekend. The Webster Public Library runs family gingerbread-house building twice: Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Supplies are provided, the cost is $3 per house or family, and you have to register.
The Saturday morning session ends two and a half hours before the museum opens. That makes Dec. 5 a full day for a family: gingerbread at 10 a.m., the Festival of Trees at 2 p.m., Santa and the street activities from 3, dinner on East Main at 5:45, the parade at 6:30, and the craft show until 8.
The Webster Museum is also part of the day in another way. Its "12 Months of Flowers" cards cost $50 and go on sale Nov. 23. Each card covers a monthly bouquet picked up at Kittelberger Florist, 263 North Avenue. The cards will also be sold at the museum during Winter Wonderland on Dec. 5.
The Calendar on Either Side of the Parade
Dec. 5 is the biggest day of Webster's holiday season, but several dates come before and after it. Listed in order from publication day:
- Already running: Nov. 17 to Dec. 17. The Village Quilt Shoppe at 21 East Main St. has a month-long charity sale of quilts, shop samples and holiday projects. All proceeds go to Webster Community Chest, and the pickup deadline for in-store purchases is Dec. 18.
- Nov. 23 to Dec. 12. Webster Museum's "12 Months of Flowers" cards are on sale.
- Nov. 30 to Jan. 2. The Friends of the Webster Public Library Holiday Book Sale runs during library hours while supplies last.
- Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. Gingerbread-house building at the library, registration required.
- Dec. 5. Winter Wonderland from 2 to 8 p.m., with the Parade of Lights at 6:30.
- Dec. 8, 7 to 8:30 p.m. The Webster Arboretum holds its tree lighting and caroling. Attendees meet at the Curry Building, 1700 Schlegel Road, light the tree in the large gazebo and sing holiday songs.
- Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to noon. The Rochester Oratorio Society sings carols at the library from 10 to 11 a.m. The Women's Club of Webster holds its annual cookie sale in the Community Room from 10 a.m. to noon, selling cookies by the pound, cash only, until they sell out. The library also has a winter drop-in craft that day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., open to all ages with no registration needed.
The Arboretum lighting comes three days after the parade. It is the season's other evening event, and it takes place outside the village center on Schlegel Road.
A Different Storefront on North Avenue This Year
If your Winter Wonderland walk loops up North Avenue, one storefront has changed since last December. Mabel Jane's Vintage Shop at 10 North Ave. has closed, and Serenity Life Creative Studio opened in the space in August. Webster on the Web describes the studio as an art-therapy and open-studio space. It is an extension of Serenity Life Counseling Services, which already has Webster locations at 93 West Main St. and 98 North Ave.
Further up the same street is Kittelberger Florist at 263 North Avenue, where "12 Months of Flowers" card holders pick up their monthly bouquets.
At Griffith Realty Group, we follow Webster's December calendar the same way we follow its streets, block by block and address by address. If you have questions about the village or the eastern Monroe County towns around it, our licensed team is easy to reach. Contact Us for a Confidential Consultation.
