The City of West Linn will not hold its Holiday Tree Lighting & Community Celebration at City Hall this year. Santa will light this season's tree at the end of the Holiday Parade on Saturday, December 5. He'll be the last float down Willamette Falls Drive, and the crowd will follow him to the tree outside the Ale & Cider House at 1720 Willamette Falls Drive. With that change, almost every public holiday event on West Linn's calendar now happens in the Historic Willamette business district. That runs from the children's trick-or-treat walk on Saturday, October 31, to the holiday market in mid-December.
Twenty-Three Years at City Hall, Then a Cider House Tree
The City Hall tree lighting goes back a long way. West Linn Tidings reported that the December 2024 event was the 23rd annual. It took place beside the tree outside City Hall, where Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted families and the West Linn Community Chorus sang carols.
Last year's event looked much the same. On Friday, December 5, 2025, Santa and Mrs. Claus pulled up to City Hall at 6 p.m. in a vintage 1950s fire engine with a Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue escort. The West Linn Community Chorus and the West Linn High School show choir performed. Viewpointe Wealth Management ran a hot cocoa station, and Something Blue Photography set up a Santa portrait studio inside the Cascade Summit Professional Building. The Tidings' photo coverage reported that Santa lit the tree at 6 p.m. after a countdown.
The 2026 version changes three things at once. It moves from Friday to Saturday, from City Hall to the river end of town, and from a civic plaza to a craft beer and cider house. Parks & Recreation explains the decision on its Holiday Parade page:
"This year, we will not be hosting our Holiday Tree Lighting & Community Celebration. Instead, we're bringing the Holiday Parade and Historic Willamette Main Street Holiday Tree Lighting together to create one bigger, more festive holiday event for our community!"
The City hasn't given any other reason for the change. Its stated goal is one bigger event in Historic Willamette, and that goal shapes the rest of the season.
How the Night of December 5 Runs
The parade's 2026 theme is "Light Up the Night." It starts at 5 p.m. in the Historic Willamette Main Street area. The event page gives directions to Willamette Fire Station, TVF&R #59, at 1860 Willamette Falls Drive. Historic Willamette Main Street lists the tree lighting at 6 p.m. in front of the Ale & Cider House.
The City's own page sets the timing and logistics:
- Road closure: Willamette Falls Drive is fully closed from 4 to 6 p.m.
- Parking: No parking on Willamette Falls Drive. Parking along the parade route starts closing at 3 p.m., and cars left on the route can be towed.
- The handoff: Santa rides in the very last parade entry. Once his sleigh passes, everyone is invited to walk behind the parade and follow him to the tree at the Cider House.
- The lighting: Santa won't light the tree until the parade has finished its route or until 6 p.m., whichever comes later.
Parking on the route starts closing at 3 p.m., at least three hours before the tree is lit, and the evening ends with the crowd walking behind Santa's sleigh to the Cider House. The City is also asking for "a huge volunteer force to keep everyone safe," and it's taking parade entries now through applications linked on the same page.
The Street Already Had Most of the Calendar
Moving the tree lighting to Willamette Falls Drive fits a pattern that was already in place. Historic Willamette Main Street, the nonprofit that runs events in the business district from its office at 1754 Knapps Alley, already had most of the season's dates on that street. With the tree lighting added, the calendar looks like this:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31, 3–6 p.m. | Halloween in Willamette | Historic Willamette Business District |
| Sat.–Sun., Nov. 14–15, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. | City Holiday Bazaar | West Linn Adult Community Center, 1180 Rosemont Road |
| Sat., Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. | Small Business Saturday | Historic Willamette district |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 5 p.m. parade, tree at 6 p.m. or later | Holiday Parade and Main Street Tree Lighting | Willamette Falls Drive to the Ale & Cider House |
| Dec. 12, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., as listed | Winter in Willamette Holiday Market | Historic Willamette Business District |
The Holiday Bazaar is the only event in that table held off Willamette Falls Drive. It runs at the Adult Community Center on Rosemont Road over two days in mid-November. Everything else is within walking distance of the same few blocks.
The season starts on Halloween. Halloween in Willamette runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 31. District businesses will hand out treats for kids, and there's a scavenger hunt and a photo booth. Because it wraps up at 6 p.m., there's still time for neighborhood trick-or-treating after dark. For families who want more of a scare, West Linn Tidings has profiled Carriage Way Cemetery, a homemade haunted display in West Linn that's open every evening in October from 6 to 9 p.m.
One Event Postponed, One Date Still Unclear
Two Historic Willamette events are still in flux, and both affect the street's calendar.
The first is an event that won't happen this year. Historic Willamette Main Street had planned its inaugural Willamette Brews & Spirits Stroll, presented by Les Schwab West Linn, for Saturday, November 7, from 3 to 7 p.m. Tickets were listed at $35. The plan paired local breweries and distilleries with district businesses for an afternoon of tastings, shopping, dining, and entertainment. The organization has postponed the stroll until 2027 and says a new date will come later. It's a fundraiser for the nonprofit, which means the group behind Halloween, Small Business Saturday, the tree lighting, and the market goes into December without that revenue.
The second is the holiday market date. Historic Willamette Main Street lists the Winter in Willamette Holiday Market for December 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the 2026 annual events list shows the same date. But the market's description says it runs "alongside the City of West Linn's Holiday Parade," and the parade is on December 5. The same description says winners of the business and organization Holiday Wreath Contest will be announced at 3 p.m. Both of Historic Willamette Main Street's pages still list December 12 for the market, while the City lists only the December 5 parade and tree lighting. Check the market page in early December before you plan around either Saturday.
Where to Duck In Between Events
Every event above happens near storefronts, so knowing which businesses are on the street helps with planning. These Willamette Falls Drive businesses list current hours on their own websites:
- Ale & Cider House, 1720 Willamette Falls Drive. This is the new home of the tree. It serves craft beer, cider, and wine, with food vendors on site.
- J. Willy's Public House & Eatery, 1717 Willamette Falls Drive. It's right across the street from the tree, which could make it a busy table on December 5.
- Taste Wine Café, 1914 Willamette Falls Drive. It takes reservations through its website. West Linn Tidings reported in June 2025 that a local couple was opening it in the space Allium and Chantrel used to occupy, so this is its second holiday season.
- The Vintage, 1665 Willamette Falls Drive. A shop collective open Wednesday through Sunday, so it's open every Saturday in the table.
- World HeARTs Fair Trade, 1833 Willamette Falls Drive. A boutique and a natural stop on Small Business Saturday.
- Morrow's Flowers, 1871 Willamette Falls Drive. It sits near the fire station listed on the parade page.
The Ale & Cider House, J. Willy's, and the tree are all in the 1700 block. On December 5 that block will hold both the end of the parade and Santa's 6 p.m. or later lighting. If you're meeting friends for dinner that night, plan to be on foot by 4 p.m., when Willamette Falls Drive closes.
If you live within walking distance of Willamette Falls Drive, this year's calendar brings more of West Linn's holiday season close to home than any recent year has. If you've ever wondered how that walkability factors into what your home is worth, At Home With Kayla can help you find out. Request a Home Valuation, and Kayla will put together a clear, local picture of where your West Linn home stands this season.
