Wellington Amphitheater sits at 12100 Forest Hill Boulevard. The Wellington Community Center is next door at 12150, and the Town Center Promenade behind it runs along Lake Wellington. In 2026, almost the entire village holiday season takes place on this short stretch.
Six village events are scheduled from Thursday, Dec. 3 to Sunday, Dec. 13. Five are on the Amphitheater lawn and the sixth is on the Promenade, just behind the building next door. The showgrounds open the season on Thanksgiving weekend and the Mall at Wellington Green runs its own calendar, but the dates that matter most for anyone planning a Wellington December are those eleven days and those two addresses.
Thanksgiving weekend belongs to the showgrounds
The season starts in the show ring. Wellington International runs the Holiday & Horses CSI4* Horse Show from Thursday, Nov. 26 through Sunday, Nov. 29 at 3400 Equestrian Club Drive. General admission is free during the day from Thursday through Sunday. Competition times are on the venue's show schedule. A CSI4* show is international show jumping at a level that most of the world sees only on a broadcast. In Wellington it fills the gap between turkey and leftovers, and the gate is free.
On the same weekend, several village facilities close their doors. A village notice posted Oct. 30 says the Village Park Gym, Wellington Aquatics Center, Wellington Community Center and Wellington Tennis Center will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Friday, Nov. 27. Olympia Park, the Tiger Shark Cove areas and Wellington Green Park stay open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Wednesday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Nov. 27. That leaves the showgrounds and the open parks for the long weekend, with the gym, pool and courts closed until Saturday.
Eleven days, one lawn and one lakefront
Here is the village's December lineup as it appears on the Wellington calendar.
| Date | Event | Where | Time | Admission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Dec. 3 | Holiday Cultural Celebration & Tree Lighting | Wellington Amphitheater | 5–9 p.m., tree lit at 6:30 | Free |
| Fri, Dec. 4 | Annual Grand Menorah Lighting | Wellington Amphitheater | 5:30 p.m. | Not listed |
| Sat, Dec. 5 | Extraordinary Kids Holiday Fest ft. The Flyers | Wellington Amphitheater | 10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free |
| Thu, Dec. 10 | Thursday Nights in Wellington, "Holiday Bizarre" ft. 56 ACE | Wellington Amphitheater | 5–9 p.m., music at 6:30 | Free |
| Sat, Dec. 12 | Holiday Boat Parade | Town Center Promenade | 5:30–8 p.m., boats pass about 6:30 | Free |
| Sun, Dec. 13 | 42nd Wellington Holiday Parade | Amphitheater, then Forest Hill Blvd. | Holiday Park 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m., parade 1:30 p.m. | Not listed |
The table has two clusters. The first is a run of three days at the start, Thursday through Saturday. The second is a weekend at the end where the action moves from the lawn to the lake and then to the boulevard. The quiet days between them are broken by one Thursday night.
Opening week: a tree, a menorah and a morning for kids
The Holiday Cultural Celebration & Tree Lighting on Thursday, Dec. 3 runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and is free. The tree is lit at 6:30. The music comes from the Wellington Jazz Band and from Almost Carpenter, a Carpenters tribute act, and the evening also has holiday characters, activities, food trucks and market vendors. Because the program runs four hours, an arrival around 6 p.m. gives time to find a spot on the lawn before the lights come on.
The next evening, Friday, Dec. 4, the same lawn hosts the Annual Grand Menorah Lighting at 5:30 p.m. On the Chanukah page from Chabad of Wellington, the holiday runs from Dec. 4 to Dec. 12. The village lighting therefore falls on the first night of Hanukkah, and the holiday's final day is Saturday, Dec. 12, the same day as the boat parade.
On Saturday morning, Dec. 5, the Extraordinary Kids Holiday Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free. It offers Santa photos, crafts, bounce houses and sensory stations, with music from The Flyers. Families who skip the crowds at the evening events have their own window here, and it ends before lunch.
The Thursday that sets up the finale
Wellington's regular Thursday Nights series keeps going through the holidays. On Dec. 10 it takes the name "Holiday Bizarre," which is how the village spells it on its calendar. The market and food trucks run from 5 to 9 p.m. and 56 ACE plays at 6:30. Admission is free.
The next day, Friday, Dec. 11, is the last day of the village's Annual Holiday Toy Drive, which has been collecting new, unwrapped toys since Sept. 3. That puts the toy drive's last day after the Thursday night market and before the parade weekend.
Saturday, Dec. 12: the parade on the water
The Holiday Boat Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 12, with event hours from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Town Center Promenade. It is free. The village expects about 40 decorated boats on Lake Wellington, passing behind the Community Center at about 6:30 p.m. Spectators watch from the Promenade, and the village suggests bringing your own seating. Food trucks and market vendors will be open. Anyone who wants to decorate and enter a boat is directed to contact Jack Brownson.
The lake has its own way of doing this. In a 2020 piece, the Town-Crier described the parade as a casual loop of the lake that staged at the north end, and said only electric motors were allowed that year. In its 2024 preview, the paper reported 49 boats the year before and said South Florida Marine was sponsoring plaques for the three best-decorated boats. The figure of about 40 boats for 2026 is the village's estimate. The fleet's final size depends on how many neighbors dress up their boats.
Sunday, Dec. 13: the boulevard closes at 1 p.m.
Less than a day after the boats pass, the 42nd Wellington Holiday Parade takes over Forest Hill Boulevard. Wellington Regional Medical Center presents it with the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County and the Village of Wellington. This year's theme is "A Star-Spangled Holiday: Celebrating 250 Years as a Nation." The village page gives the order of the day:
- 10 a.m.: Holiday Park opens at the Amphitheater with photos with Santa, live music, kids' crafts and a Holiday Market with local vendors.
- 1 p.m.: Road closures begin on Forest Hill Boulevard.
- 1:30 p.m.: Holiday Park closes and the parade steps off at Wellington Trace and Forest Hill Boulevard, with floats and marching bands.
- Finish: The route ends at Ken Adams Way and the Chancellor Offices parking lot.
The 1 p.m. closure is the time to plan around. Anyone driving to Holiday Park or crossing the boulevard on Sunday afternoon should be in place before then. The village page says the same thing directly: road closures start at 1 p.m., so plan your arrival. The Central Palm Beach County Chamber also posts parade information on its Holiday Parade page.
Taken together, Dec. 12 and 13 are one long weekend on one stretch of road. Saturday evening is on the lake behind 12150, and Sunday starts on the lawn at 12100 and moves onto the boulevard out front.
The mall keeps its own calendar, from mid-November to Christmas Eve
The Mall at Wellington Green starts earlier and finishes later than the village. Its holiday events also fill the gaps between the village dates:
- Giving Tree, Nov. 13 to Dec. 13: Run with Stand Down. Pick a gift tag from the tree in front of the Santa set and bring the requested gift back unwrapped. The campaign ends the same day as the Holiday Parade.
- Santa's Arrival, Saturday, Nov. 14, 5 to 7 p.m.: A Kid's Club pajama party in District Court with a bubble show, milk and cookies.
- Photos with Santa, Nov. 13 to Christmas Eve: Walk-ins welcome, reservations encouraged. Pet photo evenings are Monday, Nov. 30 and Monday, Dec. 7, both 5 to 7 p.m., and pets must be leashed.
- Musicthon, Dec. 5 and 6, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Student performers with the Palm Beach County Music Teachers Association.
- Sensory Santa, Sunday, Dec. 6, 10 to 11 a.m.: Held before the mall opens. Reservations encouraged.
- Hanukkah Celebration, Sunday, Dec. 6, 3 to 6 p.m.: Held with Chabad of Wellington in District Court across from H&M, with treats, face painting and live entertainment.
- Holiday Gift Workshop, Saturday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: A Kid's Club event with WAS for children 12 and under, also in District Court.
Two of these line up neatly with the Forest Hill Boulevard schedule. Sensory Santa and the mall's Hanukkah Celebration fall the day after the Amphitheater's Kids Holiday Fest. The Holiday Gift Workshop ends at 1 p.m. on Dec. 12, hours before the boats gather on the lake.
The weeks around Thanksgiving are also when the barns fill and season schedules begin to set the pace of a Wellington winter. When your own plans include a farm, an estate or a property you are considering through the season, Matt Johnson can talk it through over coffee, away from the parade crowds. Request a Private Consultation.
