Locust Valley's Tree Lighting Moves to Thanksgiving Weekend, and the Holiday Calendar Spreads Out
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
The Thomas Park tree lighting is on Saturday, November 28 this year. For the past two years it was held on a Tuesday evening in early December. The Locust Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Matinecock Neighborhood Association are producing it at 10 Elm St. from 5 to 7 p.m., with Santa arriving at 6. The new date pulls the start of the hamlet's holiday season onto Thanksgiving weekend, and the Champagne Stroll has moved up a week as well. The carriage rides stay on December 20, so the Chamber's three events now cover most of a month, with no two of them in the same week.
The Chamber posts each year's events on its website, and the older listings are still online, so the pattern is easy to trace. Oyster Bay Today's 2024 listing put the tree lighting on Tuesday, December 3, at Thomas Park beside the LIRR. The Chamber's 2025 listing had it on Tuesday, December 2.
| Chamber event | 2025 date | 2026 date |
|---|---|---|
| Tree lighting, Thomas Park | Tuesday, Dec. 2 | Saturday, Nov. 28 |
| Holiday Champagne Stroll | Thursday, Dec. 18 | Thursday, Dec. 10 |
| Horse-and-carriage rides | Saturday, Dec. 20 | Sunday, Dec. 20 |
In 2025 the three events covered 18 days, and the Champagne Stroll and carriage rides were two days apart in the final stretch before Christmas. In 2026 they cover 22 days. The stroll comes 12 days after the tree lighting, and the carriage rides come 10 days after the stroll. That leaves one Chamber evening or morning about every week and a half from Thanksgiving weekend to the Sunday before Christmas.
The Chamber hasn't said why the dates changed. The 2026 listing calls it "our annual tree lighting" and doesn't mention the new timing. In February, Chamber media representative Greg Lanza told the Long Island Press that the organization's hoped-for next steps were "New events, updated and improved events, and more beautification." He also told the paper that downtown merchants depend on foot traffic and good weather because the hamlet is largely residential. That makes it easy to see why a Saturday in late November is useful to Forest Avenue and Birch Hill Road.
November 28, 2026 is also national Small Business Saturday. The U.S. Small Business Administration's observance page gives the date as "Saturday, November 28, 2026." Last year the Chamber held its own Small Business Saturday on November 29, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. That was three days before the tree lighting. The Chamber hasn't posted a 2026 Small Business Saturday listing yet. If it repeats last year's hours, daytime shopping would end at 5 p.m., the same time the tree lighting begins.
The shops are a short walk from Thomas Park. The Chamber's shopping directory lists these members, among others:
The 2026 tree lighting listing promises giant inflatables, music, hot cider, hot cocoa and cookies. It lists fewer details than last year's. The 2025 listing named the performers, the transport and the food. The LVHS Jazz Band & Chamber Singers played, Santa arrived on a Locust Valley Fire Department truck, Million Dollar Deli served frankfurters, G. Willikers handed out candy canes, and the Berritto family gave a special presentation. Some of that may come back on the 28th, but none of it is on this year's listing.
The Holiday Champagne Stroll used to be the last gift-shopping evening before Christmas. On December 18, 2025, it was a week before the holiday. This year it's on Thursday, December 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. That leaves two full weekends of shopping after it. The Chamber's 2026 listing offers "Holiday cheer and bubbly while you shop for gifts throughout town" and advises making dinner reservations. Past listings described the stroll running along Birch Hill Road and Forest Avenue, and one placed it across The Plaza as well.
Because the stroll ends at 7, dinner will usually come afterward, so where you eat depends on where you finish shopping. The Chamber's food and drink directory includes these members along the stroll route:
| Street | Chamber-listed restaurants |
|---|---|
| Forest Avenue | Buckram Stables Cafe, 31–33; The Brass Rail, 107; Locust Valley Pizza Cafe, 192; Moim Asian Cuisine, 296 |
| Birch Hill Road | Piñons Pizza Company, 23; Birch Hill Market & Bistro, 153; Loafers Bakery & Gourmet Shoppe, 175; Two25, 225 |
| The Plaza | Basil Leaf Cafe, 7B |
Barney's Restaurant at 315 Buckram Rd. is also on the Chamber's list, a little way from the shopping blocks. The directory doesn't give hours or say which places take reservations, so it's worth calling ahead.
The Chamber's three events now sit about a week and a half apart, and other local calendars fill most of the gaps. The Locust Valley Library starts its season early. "For the Love of Beauty," a retrospective of local artist Kate MacKinnon, runs from November 8 through November 30. The opening reception is Sunday, November 8, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the MNA Community Room at 170 Buckram Rd. The exhibition is still up on Tree Lighting Saturday.
Here is the full run from Thanksgiving weekend to the Sunday before Christmas, using the library's, the Chamber's and Planting Fields Foundation's own 2026 listings:
The last weekend is the only crowded one. The carriage rides and the second day of the Planting Fields festival are both on December 20, so families who want both will need to time them around Planting Fields' session times and the Chamber's late-morning window. The Chamber's 2026 carriage listing doesn't say where riders board. All of these dates come from live listings, which organizers can change between now and Thanksgiving.
The Chamber and the Matinecock Neighborhood Association produce the tree lighting, and the Chamber runs the stroll and the carriage rides. If they explain the new dates, it will most likely be on the Chamber's event page, where the 2026 listings are posted now.
The tree lighting's move to November is a good example of the kind of timing that matters when a house is marketed here in late fall, because a Saturday downtown in late November now has a different rhythm from a Tuesday in December. If you're thinking about how the holiday weeks fit a sale or a purchase in Locust Valley, Laura Zambratto can talk through the calendar with you. Let's Connect.
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