On Friday, December 5, 2025, the City of Daphne called off the next morning's Christmas Parade. WKRG reported that Mayor Robin LeJeune explained the decision this way: "With the threat of inclement weather, we want to ensure the safety of our parade participants, attendees and city employees."
The rest of the city's holiday calendar went ahead. The tree lighting moved to a Tuesday. The concert, the movie night and Skating with Santa all kept their dates. Only the parade was lost.
That's the clearest way to plan Daphne's December this year. Nearly everything the city puts on can either move to a new date or happen under a roof. The parade can't. It's back on the 2026 calendar for one Saturday morning on Main Street, and that morning is the date worth protecting.
The 2026 lineup, in order
The tree lighting and the parade are both listed as free on the City of Daphne calendar, and all of last year's city holiday events were free, WKRG reported. The one non-city event, the November gift show, comes from a private organizer.
| Date | Event | Time | Where | Indoors or out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21 | 16th Annual Daphne Christmas Extravaganza Gift Show | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Daphne Civic Center | Indoors |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Daphne's Annual Tree Lighting | 5 to 8 p.m. | Daphne City Hall, 1705 Main St. | Outdoors |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Daphne's Christmas Parade | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Olde Towne Daphne route | Outdoors |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Baldwin Pops Christmas Concert | 7 to 9 p.m. | Daphne Civic Center | Indoors |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Movie Night in the Park | 4 to 8 p.m. | Al Trione Football Fields | Outdoors |
| Thu., Dec. 17 and Fri., Dec. 18 | Skating with Santa | 4 to 8 p.m. | Daphne Civic Center | Indoors |
The Daphne Civic Center hosts three of the seven event days. It opens the season with the gift show the Saturday before Thanksgiving, which is run by Mobile Bay Events and listed on Eventbrite. It closes the season with two nights of Skating with Santa a week before Christmas.
Why the parade is the date to protect
Here's how last year's events fared against the same bad forecast, based on WKRG's December 2025 report and a 2025 Baldwin County holiday guide:
- Tree lighting. It was planned for Thursday, December 4, 2025 and moved to Tuesday, December 9. That's a five-day slide, and the lighting still happened at City Hall.
- Christmas Parade. It was planned for Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 11 a.m. and canceled outright.
- Baldwin Pops, movie night and Skating with Santa. All three stayed on their original dates.
A tree lighting can move because it all happens around one building with one tree. A parade needs a closed route, staged floats, participants and city crews all ready on the same morning. Last year, the city chose to cancel the parade instead of rescheduling it.
This year's parade is Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city's listing calls the route the "Olde Towne Daphne route." In 2024, Gulf Coast Media's holiday guide described the parade running along the Main Street Parade Route from 1705 Main St., the address of City Hall. If the forecast for that weekend looks rough, check the parade's page on the city calendar on Friday. That's when the call came last year.
What the other nights have looked like
The tree lighting. In 2024, the City Hall event had music from Roman Street, train rides, caroling, children's activities and food trucks. Festivities started at 5 p.m. and the program at 6, according to Gulf Coast Media. The 2025 version also put the lighting itself at 6 p.m. This year's listing again runs 5 to 8 p.m. at City Hall.
The Baldwin Pops Christmas Concert. Last year's concert benefited Toys for Tots, with doors at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7, WKRG reported. The 2026 concert is listed for Thursday, December 10, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Civic Center.
Movie Night in the Park. In 2025, the city billed it as "Snow" & Movie Night in the Park and showed The Polar Express at Al Trione Sports Complex. This year's listing is Friday, December 11, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Al Trione Football Fields. It's the one December event held away from Main Street and the Civic Center.
Skating with Santa. The 2025 holiday guide described it as a rink, a visit with Santa and food trucks at the Civic Center, with free admission. The 2026 dates are Thursday and Friday, December 17 and 18, from 4 to 8 p.m. each night.
The 2026 dates line up with 2025's planned dates by weekday. Each event falls one calendar day earlier but on the same day of the week: Thursday tree lighting, Saturday parade, Thursday concert, Friday movie, and a Thursday-Friday skating pair.
Parade morning on Main Street
An 11 a.m. start leaves room for coffee before and lunch after, and several places sit within reach of the City Hall end of Main Street. Hours can change around holiday events, so check before you go.
- Grizzly Pizza & Wings and Fat Al's Burger Joint, 1709 Main St. These two brothers' restaurants share an address a few doors from City Hall at 1705 Main. Gulf Coast Media covered the plans in July 2025. AL.com reported in August 2025 that they served lunch and dinner seven days a week.
- Dragonfly Tavern, 1800 Main St. It's farther along Main Street. AL.com described a menu of tacos, sliders, burgers, bowls, salads and small plates, with turnip fries as the signature dish.
- Press & Co., 711 Belrose Ave. This is the coffee-and-breakfast option just off Main. It serves coffee, juice, breakfast and lunch. A 2023 Mobile Bay Magazine review listed daily hours of 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the restaurant's site links a menu dated March 2026.
- Soul Caffeine, 2004 US Hwy 98. It's on the Highway 98 side, east of the parade route. Its menu page lists coffee drinks, breakfast items and Saturday hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Grizzly and Fat Al's are the closest to the 2024 starting point, which makes them the easiest stop if you stay on Main Street after the last float goes by.
If you're also thinking ahead to a move in the new year, Bo is glad to talk through the timing over coffee, before or after the parade. Bo Nichols and the Nichols Real Estate team have watched this Main Street parade route for nearly two decades. Book a consultation, or request a home valuation if you'd like to know where your Daphne home stands going into 2027.
