Two of Boaz's three big holiday gatherings will be somewhere new in 2026. Hometown Marketplace has left the VFW Fairgrounds for the Boaz Recreation Center on Elizabeth Street, and it has grown from one Saturday into three days. The City of Boaz Christmas celebration has moved from downtown to Old Mill Park. Only the Christmas Parade is still on Bartlett Street. Put together, these changes spread the season over about five weeks and three locations, and it starts Thursday, Nov. 12.
Here is the season at a glance, with last year's location next to each event.
| Event | 2026 dates | 2026 location | 2025 location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hometown Marketplace – Holiday Edition | Nov. 12–14 | Boaz Recreation Center, 400 Elizabeth St. | VFW Fairgrounds, one day on Nov. 1 |
| Christmas Caroling at Snead | Dec. 1 | Snead State, Fielder | Not listed |
| Boaz Christmas Parade | Dec. 4 | Downtown, 100 E. Bartlett St. | Downtown, Dec. 5 |
| City of Boaz Christmas celebration | Dec. 11–12 | Old Mill Park | "Dashing Through Downtown Boaz," Dec. 12–13 |
Hometown Marketplace Traded One Long Saturday for Three Days
Last year Hometown Marketplace was a single day. WAFF's Tennessee Valley Living previewed it as a return to the VFW Fairgrounds on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with more than 100 vendors, food trucks and live entertainment. Southern Torch called that its third year and named the hosts, Boxtruck Boutique co-owners Rachel Noles and Staci McDowell. An earlier edition covered by the Sand Mountain Reporter was also at the VFW Fairgrounds, on a Saturday, Nov. 18, and expected more than 75 vendors.
For the fourth year, the official Hometown Marketplace site lists Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 12 to 14, 2026, at the Boaz Recreation Center area, 400 Elizabeth St. The organizers call it a "new location this year." Last year's 10 hours on one day become 14 hours of general admission over two days, plus a three-hour evening for ticket holders before the public comes in.
General admission costs $5 and runs Friday, Nov. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone 18 or younger gets in free without a ticket. You can buy tickets online and get an emailed QR code that is scanned at the door, which the site recommends as a way to skip the entry line.
Thursday Night Has Its Own Rules
The new VIP Girls' Night on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. is the biggest format change, and it has rules that general admission doesn't. According to the event site:
- Tickets cost $50, are presold only, and are not sold at the gate. Quantities are limited.
- Shoppers must be 12 or older with a ticket.
- Strollers are not allowed, but rolling carts are.
- The ticket includes a swag bag with coupons and gifts, a vendor shopping voucher, and a supper voucher for the food truck of your choice.
- There is a baggage check, and workers can help carry purchases to your car.
- Golden tickets are hidden around the event and can be turned in for prizes, and a finished Hometown Holiday Hunt card earns a free gift at the end of the night.
Because no tickets are sold at the door, anyone thinking about Thursday has to decide before Nov. 12. Families who need a stroller should plan on Friday or Saturday.
Saturday Morning Is the Busy Block
Friday's entertainment is still listed as "TBA." Saturday's schedule is already set, and most of it falls in the first half of the day.
- 9 to 11 a.m.: A meet-and-greet and book signing with meteorologist James Spann. The site says this area is free to the public.
- 10 a.m.: The Miss Hometown Pageant, sponsored by First Bank of Boaz, with the crown sponsored by Weddings, Pageants, and Proms of Boaz. A Little Something Extra Ice Cream sponsors the Miss Extraordinary Queen division.
- 2 p.m.: The Hometown Paw-liday Pageant for dogs, sponsored by Sittin' Pretty with Katy.
- 4 p.m.: The marketplace closes.
A Hometown Car Show is also planned, with details still to come. All weekend there will be food trucks, a Hometown Holiday Fun Zone with a holiday petting zoo and pony rides, visits from Santa and the Grinch, and "SNOW dances." Visitors who want to meet James Spann and also see the pageant can do both by staying in the same building from 9 a.m. until about noon.
The Building Behind the New Address
The event site calls the location the "newly renovated Boaz Recreation Center." The center at 400 Elizabeth Street dates to 2021. That July, [WHNT] reported it was scheduled to open on July 12 of that year, and(https://whnt.com/news/new-boaz-parks-rec-center-opens-soon/) described indoor and outdoor pools, an indoor walking track, meeting rooms and a larger gym. The Sand Mountain Reporter reported four conference rooms with dividers and a 96-foot basketball court that splits into two, with room for volleyball and four pickleball courts.
This makes the marketplace a different trip from the fairgrounds. It's now at a city building many Boaz families already know from the walking track and the courts, and it lasts long enough that you can shop on a Friday instead of fitting everything into one Saturday.
Downtown Keeps the Parade
The holiday season comes back to Bartlett Street three weeks after the marketplace. The Boaz Area Chamber of Commerce lists the 2026 Christmas Parade for Friday, Dec. 4, at Downtown Boaz, 100 E. Bartlett St. Lineup starts at 4 p.m. and the parade at 5:30 p.m. Registration is open, and the entry fee is $10 for groups that want to be in the parade.
Snead State plans to march with Mas Que Mariachi, the College Street Singers and the Jazz Band. The college's calendar lists the parade start as 5 p.m., half an hour earlier than the Chamber. If you're saving a spot along the curb, the earlier time is the safer one to plan around.
Snead gets the week started a few days earlier with its 4th Annual Christmas Caroling at Snead on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 10:30 a.m. in Fielder.
In 2025, parade night kept going after the floats passed. The Sand Mountain Reporter calendar listed Christmas Under the Stars at Old Mill Park right after the parade, with hot cocoa, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, the Grinch and live entertainment. No 2026 listing for that after-party has been posted yet.
A Week Later, Christmas Moves to Old Mill Park
The City's own celebration is the second big move of the season. Last December, "Dashing Through Downtown Boaz" filled downtown on Dec. 12 and 13 with food trucks, vendors, snow and Santa, from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
For 2026, a NewsBreak summary of a City of Boaz Facebook post puts the celebration at Old Mill Park on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. Pictures with Santa are listed for 4 to 8 p.m., and the City also lists train rides around the park, a Ferris wheel, shopping with vendors, food vendors, and hot chocolate and coffee. Vendor applications are available at Boaz City Hall or by emailing [email protected].
Compared with last year, both nights run an hour later, until 9 p.m., and the event moves from downtown streets to the park, with rides added. Check the City's page for any changes before you head out.
That puts Boaz's holiday season in three places with a clear order. The marketplace is at the Rec Center the second weekend of November, the parade is downtown the first Friday of December, and Christmas at Old Mill Park comes the Friday and Saturday after that. If you're planning only one evening with young kids, the park's free Saturday, open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., gives you the longest window of the season.
If one of these events gets you thinking about a home closer to Elizabeth Street, Bartlett Street or Old Mill Park, Trenten Hammond knows Boaz neighborhood by neighborhood and is happy to talk it through on your timeline, after the holiday rush. Let's Connect.
