Taunton lights the Green Dec. 5 and holds its Christmas Parade Dec. 6; $5 Lights On buttons are on sale
The city says the festival is free to attend. Buttons, sold now, help pay for it and bring December discounts at participating businesses.
TAUNTON Taunton lights its Green on Saturday, Dec. 5, at its Lights On Festival, and the Christmas Parade steps off at noon the next day, the city announced Nov. 5.
This year is the 113th Lighting of the Taunton Green, the festival's site says. The $5 buttons that help pay for the festival went on sale Nov. 5 at nine sellers around the city.
The festival runs from 3 to 8 p.m. on and around the Green, with an opening ceremony at 4:30 p.m. and the Lighting of the Green at 5 p.m. The city lists live entertainment, kids' activities, a laser light show, a vendor market and food trucks. The festival's own site says the celebration spreads across more than 30 entertainment sites in the downtown neighborhood.
The parade
The Christmas Parade starts at noon Sunday, Dec. 6, on Broadway and ends at City Hall, according to the city's Nov. 5 announcement, which bills the weekend as the start of the holiday season in the Christmas City.
Getting there on Dec. 5
Roads into the city center close at 2 p.m. on festival day, the festival's visitor page says, and it gives visitors two choices. The first is a downtown municipal lot: Court Street, Pleasant Street, the Leonard Street Parking Deck, Trescott Street (enter from Fruit Street), Galligan's Court, the lot behind the Police Station or the rear of City Hall (both entered from Spring Street).
The second is a free GATRA shuttle from the Bristol Community College Taunton campus at 2 Hamilton St., the former Coyle Cassidy High School. The shuttle runs from 3 to 8:30 p.m. and drops riders at Bristol County Savings Bank on Broadway. The page lists accessible restrooms at Taunton City Hall, the Taunton Public Library (until 4 p.m.), Winthrop Street Baptist Church, Pilgrim Church, The Center On Main and Trescott Street Gallery, with temporary restrooms at Knotty Walk, Court Street, Cedar Street and the Seeley Lot.
Buttons and ornaments
The city says the festival is free to attend and sells Lights On buttons to cover the cost of putting it on each year. Buttons are $5, and only teens and adults need one, the city said in a Nov. 5 news flash. The festival's visitor page calls them admission buttons and says children 12 and under get in free. A button gives access to special activities during the festival and discounts at participating local businesses.
Those discounts run from Dec. 1 to 31, but downtown businesses will not offer them on festival day, Dec. 5, the city said in a Nov. 6 news flash. The festival site says the list of businesses and their offers will be posted in early December.
Before the festival, buttons are sold at the Mayor's Office in City Hall at 15 Summer St. and at the Parks and Recreation Office at 170 Harris St., both through noon Dec. 5. They are also at Bristol County Savings Bank at 35 Broadway, Taunton Federal Credit Union at 14 Church Green and the Taunton Public Library at 12 Pleasant St. Shops selling them are Neighbor's Coffee at 32 Weir St., Trescott Street Gallery at 8 Trescott St., Tux Towne at 40 Main St. and both Trucchi's stores, at 53 Tremont St. and 534 County St. The visitor page says the presale lasts while supplies last.
On festival day, buttons are sold at Santa's Village on the Green, Bristol County Savings Bank, City Hall, the Taunton Performing Arts Center at 21 Main St. and, while supplies last, Trescott Street Gallery, the visitor page says.
This year's commemorative Lights On ornaments cost $20 and are sold at the Mayor's Office on the fourth floor of City Hall and at the Parks and Recreation Office.
For businesses
Businesses that want to offer a deal to button holders have until Wednesday, Nov. 25, to submit it for the festival website, the city said Nov. 6. The registration form is on the city website, and the festival site says signing up is free. Participating businesses get the Lights On logo for their promotion and are listed on the festival website and promoted on the city's social media pages, the city said.
After the lighting
The festival site says the holiday lights display stays up on the Taunton Green through New Year's Day, and that parking downtown is free on nights and weekends for people who want to walk it. Drivers can also see it from the car, and the site suggests rolling down the windows to hear the music.
In December, after the festival, Santa is in his house on the Green on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5 to 8 p.m., with free pictures, and visitors may also bring their own cameras, the site says. Victorian carolers will stroll the Green on Friday and Saturday evenings, with their schedule still to come. Decorations also go up along Main Street, at Liberty and Union Park at 78 Main St., and at the Memorial Fountain on Church Green, and many downtown businesses decorate their windows.
The festival is planned and run by the City of Taunton and the nonprofit Downtown Taunton Foundation. The entertainment lineup and the full parade route have not been posted yet; details as they are added will be at lightsonfestival.org.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the City of Taunton's news flashes of Nov. 5 and Nov. 6, 2026, and the Lights On Festival 2026 home, visitor and Business Builder pages, run by the city and the Downtown Taunton Foundation. We read them on Nov. 6, 2026. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar: Nov. 25, 2026, is a Wednesday, Dec. 5 is a Saturday and Dec. 6 is a Sunday. The parade route beyond its start on Broadway and its end at City Hall, the entertainment lineup and the list of button discounts were not posted yet and are left out. Not heard: no one was contacted for this story.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (6)
- City of Taunton: Christmas is Coming!News flash posted Nov. 5, 2026. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- City of Taunton: 2026 Lights On Buttons Are Available for Purchase!News flash posted Nov. 5, 2026. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- City of Taunton: 2026 Lights On Business Builder Button ProgramNews flash posted Nov. 6, 2026. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- City of Taunton Lights On Festival 2026Festival home page. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- Lights On 2026 Visitor InfoRoad closures, parking, shuttle, button sales and restrooms. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- Lights On Button Holiday Business BuilderFestival page on button discounts. Read Nov. 6, 2026.