The County Christmas Parade Returns to Clarkesville This Year. The Candlelight Walk Never Left.
On a Thursday evening in December 2023, several thousand people stood along Washington Street to watch the Habersham County Christmas Parade. Habersham Central High School's JROTC color guard came first, followed by the marching Band of Blue. The Clarkesville School of Dance's Toy Soldiers performed on the square, and Habersham EMC's lighted truck rolled through. Now Georgia's coverage counted more than 50 entries that night.
The parade did not come back to Clarkesville in 2024 or 2025. It returns on Friday, December 4, 2026. That makes this December different from the last two. Downtown Clarkesville gets two holiday evenings this year. One is a countywide crowd that lands here once every three years. The other is a walk with candles up Washington Street that the city holds every December.
The Habersham County Christmas Parade belongs to the whole county, and it moves. Now Georgia reported in 2023 that it "rotates annually among the cities of Clarkesville, Cornelia, and Baldwin." The last four years show the pattern clearly.
| Year | Host city | Date | Detail from that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Clarkesville | Thursday, Dec. 7 | Theme "Through the Ages," more than 50 entries |
| 2024 | Cornelia | Thursday, Dec. 5 | Route along North Main Street toward Clarkesville Road |
| 2025 | Baldwin | Saturday, Dec. 6 | Theme "The Music of Christmas," 31 participants expected |
| 2026 | Clarkesville | Friday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. | Hosted by the City of Clarkesville |
Clarkesville's last turn came during the city's bicentennial year. The 2023 grand marshals were reenactors from the "History Thru the Hemlocks" play, dressed as Jarvis Van Buren, Cornelius Stanford and Susan Kollock, three figures from Clarkesville's past. Then-Mainstreet Director Colby Moore told Now Habersham, "It was an honor to host the county parade in our bicentennial year."
If the rotation holds, the parade goes back to Cornelia and Baldwin after this year. Families who skip December 4 will be looking at Clarkesville's next turn in 2029.
The City of Clarkesville's homepage lists the 2026 parade for Friday, December 4, at 6 p.m. Yvonne Marinelli is the contact for questions at 762-384-8739. Businesses, clubs and groups that want to enter apply through the city's parade application form.
The parade is the centerpiece of a longer evening. Explore Georgia's listing runs Downtown Clarkesville Christmas from 5 to 8 p.m. that Friday, with free admission. It plans free professional Santa photos, photos with Christmas llamas, a downtown cookie crawl, craft vendors and shopping, games, and live music.
The 2023 setup gives a good idea of how the evening is built. That year's entry form had participants line up at the courthouse starting at 4:30 p.m., then head north on Washington Street to the old courthouse. Suggested entries ranged from floats and decorated cars to wagons, trucks, tractors, costumed walkers and animals, and walkers were encouraged to bring candy. Spectators lined Washington Street, and the parade finished at the square. A tree lighting, the cookie crawl and live entertainment filled out the night, and shops stayed open late.
Watch the forecast as the date gets close. The 2023 form had the parade on December 2, and rain pushed it to Thursday, December 7. The Northeast Georgian covered the change. The city's homepage is the place to check for any update to the 2026 date.
On Monday, December 21, Washington Street fills up again. This time the crowd moves slowly, and on foot. The Candlelight Christmas Walk runs from 6 to 8 p.m. The City of Clarkesville hosts it, it's free, and LED candles are provided.
The walk starts at the historic Burns-Sutton House, 855 Washington Street, and heads toward the square with three stops along the way:
Now Habersham's account of the 2025 walk describes how the evening goes. Before the walk began, an organizer gathered everyone in a circle to go over the route, share some of the event's history and give safety guidance. Coordinator Wendy Newsome handed out bound song lyrics. Children rode in wagons and strollers, some walkers brought dogs, and the group stopped at each church to sing along. Along the way, walkers paused to look up at Oak Heights on its hill at the edge of town. On the square, the walk ended with s'mores over a fire pit, a manger scene, and a Scripture reading by Ross Wheeler of Clarkesville First Methodist Church.
You walk the route yourself, at a pace set by the slowest wagon.
The parade moves from city to city on a three-year cycle. The Candlelight Walk stays put, and its date follows its own pattern:
Each of those Mondays fell in the week of Christmas. This year Christmas lands on a Friday, so the walk comes four days ahead of it. It's a weeknight event, and it takes about two hours.
The two events share Washington Street and the square. Even so, December 4 and December 21 belong on the calendar as separate kinds of evenings. The first brings in a crowd from all over the county, the way it did when thousands lined the street in 2023. The second is the city's own tradition, built around three churches a short walk apart.
The City of Clarkesville's 2026 calendar of events starts the downtown season before either big night. Shop Small Business Saturday falls on November 28, the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Parade week has a scheduling overlap. Habersham Community Theater opens She Loves Me on December 2. The show runs December 2 through 6 and December 9 through 13 at 1370 N. Washington Street. Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. The musical comedy is set in a 1920s perfume shop, not around the holidays. Its Friday, December 4, evening show begins while Downtown Clarkesville Christmas is still going on. If you want both the parade and the play, the Saturday and Sunday shows that weekend or any date in the second week avoid the conflict. Tickets are on the theater's website.
Here is the season at a glance:
Two December nights on Washington Street make this a good year to be downtown, and I like helping neighbors stay up to date on what's happening along Washington Street. If you have questions about Clarkesville or Habersham County, from where things stand downtown to what a move nearby might look like, Jacklyn Zuniga is happy to help. Let's Connect.
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