Two holiday kickoffs open at 3 PM on Saturday, November 28, in neighboring communities on Scenic Highway 30A. Seaside starts its Holiday Parade & Turn on the Town. WaterColor opens its 19th Annual Old Florida Holiday & Winter Market in Town Center and Cerulean Park.
Seaside's event moves through the afternoon in a set order and ends at 8 PM. WaterColor's market stays in one spot and runs until 9 PM. If you live in WaterColor, you don't have to choose between them. Seaside's program happens in sequence, so you can plan around it, and the hour after Seaside wraps is your own market's alone.
Same Start Time, Different Formats
| Seaside Holiday Parade & Turn on the Town | WaterColor Old Florida Holiday & Winter Market | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | 3–8 PM | 3–9 PM |
| Where | Parade from Seagrove Plaza west on 30A to the Seaside Amphitheater and Central Square | WaterColor Town Center and Cerulean Park |
| Format | Parade, then a stage performance, then a tree lighting, then Santa photos | Market open all evening |
| Tree lighting | Seaside Amphitheater, after the Krier Plaza performance | WaterColor Christmas tree, during the market |
| Santa | Christmas Village photos until 8 PM | Photos with Santa in the park |
| Host | Seaside | WaterColor Community Association |
Seaside's afternoon happens in a set order. WaterColor's market runs the whole evening, and you can arrive whenever you like.
Seaside's Afternoon Moves West Along 30A
According to the SoWal event listing, the parade starts at 3 PM at Seagrove Plaza and heads west down 30A to the Seaside Amphitheater and Central Square. It brings floats, performers and Santa Claus. Seagrove Plaza is east of Seaside, and the route ends in Central Square, so the parade never reaches WaterColor.
Once the parade arrives, Seaside's official event page lists the order. First comes a live performance by Emerald Coast Theatre Company at Krier Plaza. Then everyone gathers in the Seaside Amphitheater for the Christmas tree lighting, where Santa officially welcomes the season. After the lighting, Santa moves to the Christmas Village for photos until 8 PM. Seaside's program runs as a sequence, and the floats reaching Central Square mark the point where the parade gives way to the Krier Plaza stage.
The parade also raises money. All proceeds from parade registration go to Point Washington Medical Clinic. The clinic describes itself as a volunteer-driven, donation-based provider of primary care for patients regardless of their means or access. If a neighbor or a local business wants to put a float or a group in the lineup, sign-ups are on Seaside's parade registration page.
WaterColor Stays in One Place and Runs Later
WaterColor's market takes the opposite approach. According to the 30A.com listing, the WaterColor Community Homeowners Association is hosting six hours of holiday programming in Town Center and Cerulean Park. That includes a winter market, falling snow and holiday lights around the park, horse-drawn carriage rides, live carolers and Christmas music, bonfires and s'mores, local food trucks, and photos with Santa Claus. Admission is free and open to the public.
WaterColor Inn's holiday events page adds two details for anyone planning the night. The traditional lighting of the WaterColor Christmas tree is part of the evening, and the WaterColor Store stays open until 9 PM for holiday shopping. Local artists and vendors fill out the market.
Seaside's last scheduled activity, Santa photos at the Christmas Village, ends at 8 PM. The carriage rides, bonfires and store hours in Cerulean Park keep going for another hour. One plan for the day is to watch the parade come into Central Square, stay through the amphitheater lighting, then finish at the bonfire closer to home with s'mores and a last look through the WaterColor Store before it closes.
The Inn's general events calendar lists this market as "Saturday, November 29." In 2026, November 29 falls on a Sunday. The dedicated holiday page and the 30A.com listing both give Saturday, November 28, 3–9 PM.
The Three Days Before the Market
WaterColor's Thanksgiving calendar starts with a dinner-order deadline on Wednesday and ends with the market on Saturday.
- Wednesday, November 25: This is the deadline to order Gather Kitchen + Bar's packaged Thanksgiving meal, turkey and all the trimmings for four to six people, for pick-up or delivery within WaterColor for an additional fee. Orders go to [email protected].
- Thursday, November 26: The WaterColor Lakehouse serves a Thanksgiving Day buffet from 10 AM to 3 PM, and reservations are required. Fish Out of Water serves Thanksgiving featured plates, turkey and dressing, from 11 AM to 9 PM alongside its all-day à la carte menu, first-come, first-served.
- Friday, November 27, morning: Breakfast with Santa runs from 8 AM to noon, with seating first-come, first-served. Burn Off the Turkey starts the same morning. Pick up a biking or walking/running map between 8 and 10 AM at the WaterColor Inn front desk or the Beach Club, complete the route with your own tracking app, and email a screenshot to [email protected] by 2 PM. Prizes for the top run and bike results are announced by email at sunset.
- Friday, November 27, evening: Seaside's Central Square Cinema holiday movie night shows the Grinch from 7 to 8:30 PM.
- Saturday, November 28: The parade and Turn on the Town start in Seaside at 3 PM, and the Old Florida Holiday & Winter Market runs in Cerulean Park from 3 to 9 PM.
Friday morning's Santa is a WaterColor Inn breakfast. Saturday's Santa appears twice, at Seaside's Christmas Village and in Cerulean Park. If your family missed the 8 AM seating on Friday, you have two more chances the next day.
Seaside's season also starts a week earlier. Seaside's holiday events roundup, dated October 28, lists The Nutcracker on November 22.
After the Lights Go On
The tree lightings start the season, and WaterColor's routine changes soon after. The resort's seasonal hours page covers November 1, 2026, through January 1, 2027. It lists Beach Cow as closed for the season and the Camp WaterColor retail area as closed from December 1 through February 28. The market closes Saturday night, the Camp WaterColor retail area closes the following Tuesday, and the rest of the season's calendar fills in from there:
- December 5–6: Seaside's Holiday Market.
- December 12–23: Santa visits in Seaside.
- December 21–24: WaterColor Store and WaterColor Kids holiday sale, in store and online, with 15% off storewide December 21–23 and 25% off on December 24.
- December 25: Christmas Day dinner at Fish Out of Water from 5 to 9 PM, with chef-curated holiday features alongside the à la carte and kids' menus, first-come, first-served.
- December 31: Seaside's New Year's Eve celebration with fireworks, listed for 4 to 9 PM.
Fish Out of Water, Gather, the Beach Club and The Canteen all keep holiday-specific hours through the season, and the seasonal hours page lists them by date. Check it before booking a holiday table.
If the holidays on 30A have you thinking about owning a place of your own near Cerulean Park and the Christmas Village, Tanika O'Brien and our team are happy to talk through which communities fit the way you want to spend the season. Search All Homes whenever you're ready, and we'll handle the details from there.
