At 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 29, the Beverly Holiday Parade steps off from Beverly High School. It runs 1.7 miles down Cabot Street, passes the viewing stand at City Hall, and finishes at the Beverly Depot. Four hours later and a few blocks east, the Beverly Memory Tree is lit in Odell Veterans Memorial Park on Rantoul Street.
That Sunday sets the pattern for the rest of the season. This year's parade theme is "Celebrating 400 Years of Beverly," and between now and mid-December most of the season's public events happen on one of two parallel streets. On December 12 both streets are busy on the same day. That is also the last date on the Beverly 400+ calendar.
Why 2026 is the 400th year
Beverly 400+ dates the town to 1626, when Roger Conant and members of the Dorchester Company first settled the area as part of Salem. In 1635 came the land grant on the Bass River side. The group has spent the year running commemorative programs. Its founder and president, Ward 1 City Councilor Todd Rotondo, is this year's parade grand marshal.
The anniversary still has a few events left. On Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 3 p.m., historian and educator Ken Turino presents "The Spirit of Christmas Past: Four Centuries of Christmas in America." It's an illustrated talk on how American Christmas changed from its contested early history onward. After that, the Beverly 400+ events calendar lists two entries on November 29 and one on December 12, and nothing after that through the end of the year.
Cabot Street gets the procession and the Friday night
The parade route is simple: Cabot Street from end to end. Marchers assemble at the high school at 11 a.m. If weather forces a postponement, the rain date is Sunday, December 6, and the organizers promise at least 24 hours' notice on the parade website and its Facebook page. If you can't get to the curb, the site also has a "Watch Live" link.
The night before, Larcom Theatre opens the weekend with Beverly's Inaugural Holiday Pops Concert, featuring the Dirk Hillyer Festival Orchestra, on Saturday, November 28 at 7 p.m. It's a first-year event on the same weekend as one of Beverly's longest-running ones, since the parade has been a tradition since 1947.
Twelve days later Cabot Street gets its own stroll night. Beverly Main Streets runs the Downtown Holiday Stroll over two nights. Friday, December 11, is for businesses on Cabot Street and the streets around it, from 4 to 8 p.m. Participating shops are asked to stay open late and decorate their storefronts and sidewalks with lights, garlands and inflatables. The Friday makers market is in the basement of The Bower, which has both stairs and an elevator down. One of the newer storefronts on the street is Graze Craze at 103 Cabot Street, a charcuterie shop run by Leshelle and Rian Lucas that also caters events, as the Salem News reported. The shop sells boards, boxes and catering spreads.
The Cabot has its own Friday schedule that night. Old Crow Medicine Show plays its Holiday Hootenanny at 8 p.m., and The LeeVees play Hanukkah sets at 6 and 8:30 p.m. So the stroll, the market and two concerts all fall on the same Friday evening on the same street.
Rantoul Street gets the evening ceremony and the Saturday
Rantoul Street's part of the season starts with the Memory Tree. For the past two years, ornaments carrying the names of Beverly community members who have died have hung on a tree in Odell Veterans Memorial Park through December, and veterans get a distinct ornament. The Beverly Veterans Council and Beverly Vietnam Veterans are continuing it in 2026 as part of Beverly 400+. The lighting runs 5 to 6:30 p.m. on November 29. Ornament orders were due by November 11.
The tree stays up through the second stroll night on Saturday, December 12, when Rantoul Street and the streets around it get the 4 to 8 p.m. slot. Last year's stroll was also split across two nights, with Cabot Street on one and Rantoul and Par Streets on the other, according to Patch. This year Beverly Main Streets has assigned each street to a specific night, Friday for Cabot and Saturday for Rantoul. A second Saturday market is possible but not yet confirmed.
December 12 is the day both streets are busy
Here is how that Saturday lines up:
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Historic Beverly's Annual Holiday House Tour opens seven private homes. Tickets are $50, and the listed venue is the John Cabot House at 117 Cabot Street. Historic Beverly says the tour sells out every year. Member tickets went on sale October 1 and nonmember tickets October 15.
- 4 to 8 p.m. The Downtown Holiday Stroll moves to Rantoul Street.
- 8 p.m. Larcom Theatre stages "Tribute to Elvis: The Legend Lives On – Christmas Special" with Robert Black.
The house tour is the final listing on the Beverly 400+ calendar. It starts on Cabot Street in the late morning, and the stroll is on Rantoul Street by late afternoon, so both downtown streets are busy on the anniversary's last listed day. If you plan to do more than one thing that Saturday, the house tour ticket is the one to buy first.
The Cabot keeps going around both weekends
The parade and stroll weekends are only part of downtown's schedule. The Cabot's holiday lineup runs from Thanksgiving week to the days before Christmas:
- November 25, 6 p.m.: Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the night before Thanksgiving
- November 27, 8 p.m.: Darlene Love
- December 5: Popcorn!: A Circus Variety Show at 10 a.m., then A Rockin' Celtic Christmas with Tartan Terrors at 8 p.m.
- December 8, 6:30 p.m.: $1 Movie, Elf
- December 14, 1 p.m.: Miracle on 34th Street, part of the Free Matinee Series
- December 19 to 23, 3 p.m. daily: The Muppet Christmas Carol
- December 21, 8 p.m.: Canadian Brass
The season's two least expensive outings are the $1 Elf screening on December 8 and the free Miracle on 34th Street matinee on December 14. On December 31, both downtown theaters have shows. The Cabot hosts Cabot Rockin' New Year's Eve at 8 p.m. and a New Year's Eve Comedy Showcase at 6 and 9 p.m. The Larcom has Paul D'Angelo's 12th Annual NYE Comedy Show with Erin Lynch at 8 p.m.
Off the two streets: Beverly Farms and Long Hill
A few events outside downtown fill the open weekend between the two big ones. In Beverly Farms, Hastings House holds its Christmas Tree Lighting on Sunday, December 6, from 3 to 6 p.m., with music, light refreshments and an outdoor lighting. If the parade is rained out, that's also the parade's rain date.
The Trustees' Long Hill at 576 Essex Street has its own December schedule. On December 5 there's a wreath-making workshop in the greenhouse, using natural materials foraged from the Long Hill gardens. On December 6 there are sensory-friendly photos with Santa, with slots at 11, 11:30, noon and 12:30, a craft, and a quieter, lower-capacity setup. The December 6 Christmas Afternoon Tea is sold out. A second tea is on Monday, December 14, and like the first it needs an advance reservation. A Winter Solstice Restorative Yoga Workshop on December 20 closes out the list. All of the Long Hill events require pre-registration.
Back downtown, the plan for 2026 is simple. Cabot Street has the parade and the Friday stroll, Rantoul Street has the Memory Tree and the Saturday stroll, and on December 12 both are busy from the house tour's 11 a.m. start to the Elvis show at 8.
If you're a Beverly resident thinking about a move in 2027, a December walk along Cabot and Rantoul is a useful time to start talking it through. Douglas Danzey and our team can give you clear numbers on your home and a realistic timeline before the spring market starts. Schedule a call.
