On Saturday, November 7, the lamp posts on East and West Main Street start getting garland and lights. There are 41 of them, and Middletown Main Street says every one is spoken for in 2026. Registration has closed, and local businesses and families now have until Thursday, November 26 to finish their displays.
The winner won't be named in November. Online voting opens November 28, and the lamp-post contest result is announced at the Holiday Spectacular Parade on December 5. So the decorating that starts this weekend is also the start of a four-week countdown. Most of downtown's holiday calendar works the same way. One event leads into the next, and they all build toward the first Saturday in December.
The lamp posts set the clock, and the Everett opens on the same day
November 7 is busy at the corner of Main and Broad. While the first lamp posts go up, the Everett Theatre at 47 West Main Street has two shows. Magic & Main's Princess Sing-A-Long runs from 2 to 4 p.m., and the ticket page lists adults at $15 and children at $20. At 7:30 p.m. the theater screens An American Tail, with admission at $8.
So you can walk the half-decorated posts on the way to a matinee and see more of them finished on the way home after an evening film. The rest of the month goes the same way. The posts fill in a few at a time over the three weeks before Thanksgiving, and the Everett's calendar picks up speed alongside them.
The Everett tells the Narnia story twice, two weeks apart
The theater's November and December schedules are linked. On Saturday, November 21, the Everett screens The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at 7:30 p.m. for $8. Thirteen days later, on December 4, the stage musical Narnia opens and runs through December 13. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. on December 4, 5, 11 and 12, with 2 p.m. matinees on December 6 and 13. The Everett's own site lists stage tickets at $20 for adults and $16 for students. The production is presented by arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.
That makes the film a preview for a family that hasn't settled on the musical yet. Watch the movie in November, then decide whether the kids want to see the lion and the wardrobe on stage in December.
Before that, there's another stage show. God's Power and Light Company brings A Christmas Carol The Musical to the Everett from November 13 to 15: Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $14 for ages 3 to 17. The film White Nights screens Friday, November 20, at 7:30 p.m., at $8 for adults and $5 for students.
November 27 is the first night the whole downtown lines up
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, which is also the last day for lamp-post decorating. The next evening the displays are done and the town lights its tree.
The Christmas Tree Lighting & Caroling starts at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, November 27, at Town Square, the four-corners intersection downtown. It's free. At 7:30 p.m. the same night, the Everett shows The Bells of St. Mary's. The theater is a short way up West Main Street, so one evening can cover caroling at the corner, a walk past 41 finished lamp posts, and an old holiday film.
On Saturday, November 28, the Everett screens Planes, Trains & Automobiles at 7:30 p.m. Lamp-post voting opens the same day. The vote runs for the next week, and the result comes out on parade day.
December 4 and 5 carry the most
This is the weekend the earlier events lead to, and Middletown Main Street's 2026 event calendar puts the parade and the Cookie Crawl on the same Saturday.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. | Narnia opening night | Everett Theatre, 47 W. Main St. |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 8:30 a.m. | Parade participant check-in and lineup | Everett Meredith Middle School, 504 S. Broad St. |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 10 a.m. | Holiday Spectacular Parade steps off | South Broad Street to West Main Street |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Lamp-post contest winner announced at the parade | Parade route |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Great Middletown Cookie Crawl | Downtown |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. | Narnia second performance | Everett Theatre |
The parade route covers the same blocks as the rest of the season:
- It starts at Everett Meredith Middle School, 504 S. Broad Street.
- It heads north on South Broad Street, the opening stretch.
- It turns west onto West Main Street, through downtown and past the decorated lamp posts.
- It ends at South Scott Street.
Spectators can stand anywhere along South Broad and West Main. Town Square, where the tree was lit eight days earlier, is where the parade's special performances happen. The organizers suggest arriving early and dressing for a December morning. If you're marching instead of watching, the registration page has current participant instructions. Middletown Main Street staff or volunteers set the lineup order.
The Great Middletown Cookie Crawl is downtown on the same Saturday. Check its page for stops, timing and tickets before you head out.
Where parade morning turns into lunch
The parade ends on the west side of downtown, and several places in Middletown Main Street's September 2026 dining guide are nearby. Volunteer Brewing Co. is at 116 W. Main Street, and the guide lists it as open Wednesday through Sunday. Jamaican Jammin Flavors at 13 W. Main Street is typically open Tuesday through Saturday. December 5 is a Saturday, so it falls on both of their regular days, and it's worth checking each one's posted hours that morning. Sully's Irish Pub is at 12 W. Main Street. For something sweet, there's Sweet Dreams Confections Co. at 1 Shallcross Place and Pop In Artisan Pops at 17 Wood Street. The guide notes that both keep seasonal hours.
After the parade, the Everett carries the season to December 23
Once the floats are packed up and the lamp-post winner is named, the outdoor events are over. The Everett's holiday film run picks up the rest of the month.
| Date | Film | Time | Admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas | 7:30 p.m. | $8 |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation | 7:30 p.m. | $8 |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | The Polar Express, on 35mm | 2 p.m. | $8 |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | It's a Wonderful Life, on 35mm | 7:30 p.m. | $12 |
Two of these are shown on film. The Everett is showing The Polar Express on real 35mm film and asks families to "come in your coziest Christmas pajamas and bring your favorite stuffed friend" to the afternoon matinee. The Grinch screening is the 2000 live-action version, and Christmas Vacation is the 1989 comedy.
The last show of the season is the one the theater describes as its own tradition. The Everett's listing calls the 35mm It's a Wonderful Life showing "a cherished Everett holiday movie tradition," set for Wednesday, December 23, at 7:30 p.m. At $12, it costs more than the other holiday screenings, and it's the last date on the Everett's holiday film calendar.
I've watched Middletown's Main Street go through a lot of holiday seasons. Each year, the lamp posts and the parade route show you the downtown blocks at their busiest. If you're thinking about your own place in Middletown, before or after the parade, Will Webber is glad to talk it through, parade-day crowds and all. Let's Connect.
