The Tree Lighting at Perkins Park Is Back On. Here's the Rest of Warner Robins' Holiday Calendar
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
"Although the weather isn't working in our favor, we remain committed to bringing joy and holiday cheer to our community," Mayor LaRhonda Patrick said last December, according to 41NBC. That was the day the City called off the Winter Bazaar and the in-person tree lighting at Perkins Park. It was 40-something degrees and rain was forecast through the afternoon, so the lighting was streamed on Facebook Live at 6:15 p.m. instead. That weekend, the parade got pushed back a week as well.
The 2026 calendar is out now, and it's built a little differently. November is almost entirely indoors, inside the Museum of Aviation's hangars and the Eagle Building, so it doesn't matter what the sky does. December goes back outside to the same open field and the same stretch of Watson Boulevard. This time the parade has a backup Saturday printed right on it, and the field is partway through a City planning effort that could change what it looks like by next year. Knowing which events depend on the weather and which don't is the easiest way to plan your next eight weeks.
The season starts on the base side, and every November date is indoors and costs nothing to attend.
The breakfast has moved. Last year the City held it at the Wellston Center, followed by an 11 a.m. public ceremony at City Hall. The 2026 announcement names only the Museum of Aviation breakfast and doesn't mention a separate ceremony. If your family usually goes to the City Hall ceremony, keep an eye out for a later announcement.
These November dates carry more weight than they seem to. The Festival of Trees runs during museum hours through Dec. 29, so it overlaps the entire December half of the calendar. If a December evening rains out, the trees in the Eagle Building are still on display.
The Tree Lighting Ceremony & Winter Bazaar is listed for Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 8 p.m., at 105 Mulberry St. That address is Perkins Park, which was called Perkins Field when the City held the 2024 lighting there. It's a two-parcel greenspace between City Hall and Commercial Circle. Houston Home Journal describes it as already hosting food truck roundups and Christmas-light viewing.
Here is how the last three years compare:
| Year | Date | Bazaar window | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Thursday, Dec. 5 | 5 to 8 p.m. ceremony at Perkins Field | Held as an evening event with performances by local groups |
| 2025 | Thursday, Dec. 4 | Bazaar scheduled 1 to 8 p.m. | Bazaar canceled, lighting streamed on Facebook Live |
| 2026 | Tuesday, Dec. 1 | 5 to 8 p.m. | On the City calendar, details "coming soon" |
This year's listing puts the bazaar back on the evening schedule of the 2024 ceremony instead of last year's afternoon-long window, and it's on a weeknight early in the week. The City hasn't posted a vendor list, an entertainment lineup, or parking details yet.
The field itself is changing too. On Aug. 3, the City announced a planning effort to turn Perkins Park into what it calls a signature community asset. The release credits the City's Operation Reawaken work for making the old ballfield a regular venue for Food Truck Roundups, the International City Festival, and Trunk-or-Treat. The planning is funded through the Defense Community Resilience Program, administered by UGA's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, at no cost to the City, and the City set October 2026 as the target to finish it. WGXA covered the Aug. 24 public input session at City Hall. Attendees filled out a visual-preference survey and looked at examples like playgrounds, splash pads, and event spaces, and the City said the design wasn't final. In Houston Home Journal's August story, Mayor Patrick mentioned an amphitheater, a multi-use trail, space for a farmers market, and new playground equipment.
As of late October, the City had published no renderings and no construction schedule. So on Dec. 1, the tree goes up on the same field as before.
The Warner Robins Christmas Parade steps off Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. from South Davis Drive near Warner Robins High School. This year's theme is "Dreaming of a Red, White, and Blue Christmas," a patriotic theme that fits a town built around a base. The 2026 rules packet puts the end at Watson Boulevard and Houston Road, and it names Saturday, Dec. 12, at 10 a.m. as the bad-weather date.
Last year that backup actually got used. The City moved the 2025 parade to Dec. 13 because of rain, and Houston Home Journal reported that the City cited the safety and comfort of participants, performers, and spectators. If you're planning around the parade, keep the morning of Dec. 12 open too.
The City hasn't released spectator parking or road closures for 2026. For reference only, here is what the City posted for 2025:
Expect the 2026 version to come out closer to parade day.
If your school, church, club, or business wants to march, registration closes Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. Schools enter free and nonprofits enter for a donation. Commercial marching entries are $50, creative floats and vehicles are $100, and vehicle clubs pay $100 plus an item donation for each additional vehicle. Instead of toys, the City asks participating nonprofits, civic groups, and car clubs to consider Walmart gift-card donations for Shop with a Cop.
After the parade, the City's calendar spreads its events across different parts of town:
Taken together, the calendar is lopsided in a helpful way. The City's three big December dates are the tree lighting on an open field, the parade down Watson Boulevard, and Family Fun Night at the sports complex, and they all land between Dec. 1 and Dec. 9. Everything at the museum runs from late November to the end of December under a roof. A family that loses Dec. 1 to rain the way it lost Dec. 4 last year still has the Eagle Building for most of the month, and the parade has its own fallback built in.
Perkins Park is the place to watch after the holidays. The planning project's deliverables include a park plan and renderings, and Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services will oversee the park once the project is complete.
If you're getting to know Warner Robins one season at a time, or you know a military family arriving at Robins AFB in time for the parade, the Margie Stachurski Team is glad to share what we know about the town's December calendar and the neighborhoods closest to Watson Boulevard and the Museum of Aviation. Work With Us, and we'll help you feel at home here before the tree goes up.
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