The City of Calistoga calls this a town of 5,000. On the first Saturday in December, it expects 12,000 to 14,000 people to come out for the Lighted Tractor Parade, rain or shine. That expected crowd is more than double the town's population, and it's packed into one hour on Saturday, December 5.
The rest of the 2026 calendar is smaller and homegrown, and every event is open to all: a free tree lighting put on by the City, the Chamber, Brannan Center and UpValley Family Centers; a holiday play called De Calistoga a Belen; a concert by musicians who got their start in Calistoga; and a tuba ensemble anyone can join for a $15 registration fee.
Here's the season in order, so you can plan your weekends before the Welcome Center phone starts ringing.
The Calendar at a Glance
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Homegrown: Live in Calistoga | Brannan Center | Ticketed |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 5 to 7:30 p.m. | Calistoga's Merry & Bright Night | Brannan Center, 1407 3rd St. | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 7 to 8 p.m. | Lighted Tractor Parade | Downtown | Free to watch |
| Dec. 5 through Feb. 28 | Winter in the Wineries Passport | 25 wineries | $80 |
| Sun., Dec. 6 and Sun., Dec. 13, 3 and 5:30 p.m. | De Calistoga a Belen Pastorela | Brannan Center | $20 adults, $10 kids 12 and under |
| Sat., Dec. 19, concert at 2 p.m. | Tuba Christmas | Brannan Center | Free concert |
Saturday, November 28: A Warm-Up Played by Calistoga's Own
The season opens two days after Thanksgiving with Homegrown: Live in Calistoga at Brannan Center. Brannan Center bills it as an afternoon of live music by artists "whose musical journeys began right here in Calistoga." The headliners are Calistoga's own.
Tickets are sold through the event page, which makes this the one event in the run of the season where you'll want to buy ahead.
Friday, December 4: The Night Before the Crowds
If you only make one December evening in town, make it this one. Calistoga's Merry & Bright Night runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Brannan Center, 1407 3rd Street. It's free, and you don't need a reservation.
Here's the lineup:
- Photos with Santa
- Build-your-own gingerbread houses
- Seasonal music from CJUSD musical ensembles
- Food trucks and holiday treats
- The tree lighting on Brannan Center's Dawn Terrace at 7 p.m. sharp
Four groups put the evening together: Brannan Center, the City of Calistoga, the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce and UpValley Family Centers. The event listing is written in both English and Spanish, and the Spanish version calls it Festividad de Noche Navideña. It falls the evening before the parade.
That "sharp" next to 7 p.m. is the organizers' word, so get the kids' gingerbread houses finished before then.
Saturday, December 5: The Parade That Fills the Town
The Lighted Tractor Parade runs from 7 to 8 p.m. downtown. According to the City, it started in the late 1990s as a small community event and now brings tens of thousands of people to stay in Calistoga to kick off the holiday season. The City's events page describes 50-plus tractors and trucks covered in thousands of holiday lights, and says the parade is "regularly voted a holiday best parade by USA Today." Visit Calistoga's 2025 listing called last year's parade the 30th annual.
Entries go well beyond farm tractors. Visit Calistoga's parade page lists construction and utility vehicles and floats, and entries are capped at the first 50 complete applications. The 2025 winners give you a good idea of who decorates:
- Steve Flynn Best in Show Award: Romeo Cellars
- 1960 to Present Tractor: Silver Oak Cellars
- Pre 1960 Tractor: Russian River Rail Bikes
- 1960 to Present Construction Vehicle: Sonoma Mountain Homes and JM Landscaping
- Float: Sakai General Engineering
- Utility Vehicle / Truck: Romeo Vineyards and Cellars
- Youth Entry: Calistoga High School Band, with the Calistoga Music Boosters
- Pre-1965 Big Rig: Cottage Grove Inn
The winners include the Calistoga High School Band and Cottage Grove Inn alongside wineries and contractors.
For parking and route questions, Visit Calistoga suggests calling the Calistoga Welcome Center at (707) 942-6333. The parade goes on rain or shine, so pack a rain layer along with the camp chairs.
Starting the Same Day: The Winter in the Wineries Passport
The parade weekend also kicks off the season's longest-running tradition. Visit Calistoga's Winter in the Wineries Passport costs $80 and is valid from December 5, 2026, through February 28, 2027. Passport holders get complimentary tastings at every participating winery, plus discounts on lodging, dining and spa experiences. Visit Calistoga says each passport holds more than $1,200 worth of tastings.
This season's 25 participating wineries:
Benessere Vineyards, Bennett Lane Winery, Charles Krug, Clif Family Winery, Clos Pegase, Envy Wines, Fults Family Vineyards, Girard Winery, La Sirena, Langtry Farms, Laura Michael Wines, Maria Concetto Winery, Markham Napa Valley Vineyards, Museion, Olabisi, Picayune Cellars & Mercantile, Romeo Vineyards & Cellars, Six Sigma Ranch, Sterling Vineyards, Tamber Bey, Tank Garage Winery, Tedeschi Family Winery, V. Sattui Winery, Vault Calistoga and Wild Diamond Vineyards.
The passport also comes with waived corkage. Bring a bottle you bought at a passport winery to any of these restaurants and they'll skip the corkage fee:
- Bricco Osteria Cucina Italiana, 1350 Lincoln Avenue
- Evangeline, 1226 Washington Street
- Five Senses, 1227 Lincoln Avenue
- Fleetwood, 1880 Lincoln Avenue
- House of Better, 1507 Lincoln Avenue
- Lovina, 1107 Cedar Street
- Palisades Eatery, 1414 Lincoln Avenue
- Sushi Mambo, 1631 Lincoln Avenue
- Saw Shop Public House, 3825 Main Street in Kelseyville, the one stop on the list outside Calistoga
Six of the nine are on Lincoln Avenue. Taste in the afternoon, then walk over to dinner with the bottle you picked up.
You can get a digital passport on your phone or a physical one by mail. Physical passports are scheduled for pickup at the Calistoga Welcome Center starting in mid-November, and you can buy them through the passport page. Since the passport runs almost three months, you can save the wineries for the quiet weeks of January and February, after the parade crowds have gone home.
Sundays, December 6 and 13: A Hometown Pastorela
The afternoon after the parade brings a smaller stage. De Calistoga a Belen Pastorela, a holiday play at Brannan Center, has two showings each Sunday, at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., on December 6 and December 13. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under, and they're sold on the event page.
Even the title stays local: "From Calistoga to Bethlehem." With two Sundays and four showings, it's an easy one to fit in if the first weekend of December fills up.
Saturday, December 19: Tuba Christmas, Open to Anyone with a Tuba
Tuba Christmas returns to Brannan Center for its second year on December 19. You can take part in two ways.
- Listen. The public concert starts at 2 p.m. and is free.
- Play. Registration opens at 9 a.m. and costs $15, with music books available for $25 if you need one. Rehearsal runs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with lunch at 12:30 p.m.
If there's a tuba or euphonium sitting in a closet at your house from high school band days, this is the day to get it out.
A Quieter Option for Guests
If you're hosting out-of-town guests who'd like a cozy evening that isn't parade night, Four Seasons Napa Valley is running a Winter Wine Garden and S'mores Lab from November 20, 2026, through January 10, 2027, daily from noon to 8 p.m. The S'mores Lab doesn't need a reservation. For New Year's Eve, the resort lists an eight-course dinner at Auro and a four-course dinner at TRUSS on December 31, both from 4:30 to 9 p.m.
Planning Around the Big Night
With the season laid out in order, planning gets easier. The busiest night of the year falls on December 5. The Brannan Center events land the night before and on the Sundays and Saturday after it. The wine passport covers both the parade crowds and the slow weeks into February. If you have family coming in, Friday's tree lighting on the Dawn Terrace and Saturday's parade make an easy two-night visit. If you'd like a December with more room on the sidewalk, the Pastorela, Tuba Christmas and a midwinter passport afternoon on Lincoln Avenue are all on the same calendar.
If December is when your family starts talking about what's next, whether that's hosting guests in a bigger place, renting out a second home or settling a parent's house in town, I'd love to sit down after the parade and talk it through. Stephanie Aven is here in the Valley all season. Let's Connect.
