On Saturday, Dec. 12, the food trucks in downtown Pembroke will line up in a different spot. They'll be in the City parking lot closest to Hwy 280, with seating set up alongside them. The Renasant Bank parking lot, where the food court used to be, will be the Kid Zone.
That's a small change on paper. For anyone who has been to the market the last couple of years, it moves the two places people go to most. If you're bringing kids or looking for lunch, last year's routine will point you the wrong way. The 2026 Christmas Market is also bigger than it has ever been. Pembroke's holiday season now spreads across two Saturdays, with a theatre under construction in the middle of downtown.
The food court and the Kid Zone moved
The City's 2026 Christmas Market logistics sheet explains the change in its own words. It thanks vendors, staff and the public for "phenomenal feedback" over "the last two years" and says the City is "tinkering with the layout and how we share information." Three changes follow from that.
- Food court and food trucks: moved to the City parking lot closest to Hwy 280, with a seating area.
- Kid Zone: moved from its old end-cap spot into the Renasant Bank parking lot, where the food court used to be.
- Booth numbers: every vendor spot now has a three-digit "stadium style" number. The first digit tells you which area of the market the booth is in.
The numbering is for vendors, but it helps shoppers too. With 116 vendors, a booth number tells you which part of downtown to head for. That's the count Bryan County News reported on Oct. 29. The paper also reported that every commercial vendor spot was filled before November started, and that the vendor list includes artists, food trucks and shops.
Putting the food along Hwy 280 matters because the parade runs there. The market is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the parade steps off at 5:30 p.m. That means the second half of the day centers on the highway, and the food court now sits on that side of downtown.
The parade keeps last year's longer route
The 43rd annual Christmas Parade will use the same route as 2025. Floats and vehicles start setting up at 4:30 p.m. They step off at 5:30 p.m. from Warnell Street onto Hwy 280 and finish at Butler Street, then Burkhalter Street. Bryan County News describes it as "the longer route introduced last year." Some longtime residents may still picture the older, shorter version. In 2021, the paper described the parade as running from Warnell Street down Hwy 280 to Strickland Street.
The end of the route has one detail worth knowing ahead of time. The City's parade logistics sheet says any float or vehicle that can't make the turn will wait in the Food Lion parking lot until near the end of the parade, then return to W. Bacon Street. The sheet also says, in so many words, that the Food Lion lot "is not a post-parade pick up location." So if your child is riding on a float or walking with a group, plan the pickup spot with the group organizer in advance rather than meeting at the grocery store.
The same sheet lists live animals as an option for parade entries. Entrants can register animals walking in the parade or riding on a float. If your family includes a dog that doesn't like crowds, that's worth knowing before you pick a spot along Hwy 280.
The tree lighting gets its own Saturday
Pembroke's Christmas Tree Lighting and Choir is on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. That's one week before the market. The City tree stands in the center of town. Last year, an inter-faith choir sang beforehand, organized by Travis Moore with First Baptist Church of Pembroke. Bryan County News described that choir as made up of "various church choirs in the area."
Last December shows why the separate night can't be taken for granted. The 2025 tree lighting was set for Saturday, Dec. 6, with the market and parade the following Saturday, Dec. 13. Heavy rain was forecast that first weekend, and Richmond Hill canceled its Dec. 6 parade because of the weather. Pembroke's event listing shows the tree lighting was moved "due to ongoing weather" to the 12th. That put it on the Friday right before the market.
The weekend of Dec. 5 is also busy elsewhere in Bryan County. Richmond Hill has its 30th annual Christmas Parade scheduled for that Saturday. If the weather turns again, both cities will post schedule changes, so check the City of Pembroke's announcements before you head downtown.
The theatre in the middle of it all
This is the first Christmas Market held with the TOS Theatre under active construction. The City's TOS Theatre project page says crews began assessing the building in December 2025 and put up the construction fence in January 2026. When the August look at downtown's comeback was published, the theatre was still in its early construction stage. The City's Sept. 25 update gives a closer look at what's going on behind the fence.
- Welders have been adding the metal layers that will hold up the marquee.
- The ticket booth, "where Miss Birdie has been keeping an eye on our downtown," is staying, with some added insulation.
- An office is going in upstairs where the original projectionist's room was. The seating is being rearranged to support audio and video for live stage shows.
- Crews have uncovered an original brick wall, which shows "another layer of the Morgan Block's history."
The marquee work is the part that changes how downtown looks. The theatre isn't open for this year's market, but the frame over its entrance is going up, and the City describes the project as a place for stage performances as well as films. The page also points readers to the Downtown Director about joining one of the historic walking tours of downtown. The City ran a fall round of those tours from Oct. 14 to 25.
How Saturday, Dec. 12 lays out
Here is how the day fits together with the new layout:
- 11 a.m.: The market opens across downtown. Booths are numbered by section, the Kid Zone is in the Renasant Bank lot, and the food trucks and seating are in the City lot closest to Hwy 280.
- 4:30 p.m.: Parade floats and vehicles start setting up for the Warnell Street step-off.
- 5:30 p.m.: The parade turns from Warnell Street onto Hwy 280 and heads toward Butler Street and Burkhalter Street.
- 8 p.m.: The market closes.
If you're coming for both the shopping and the parade, the move puts the evening meal and the parade route on the same side of downtown. Families with young children can spend the afternoon at the Kid Zone in the bank lot, then walk over toward Hwy 280 for dinner and the parade.
The Downtown Development Authority describes what City staff are aiming for as "Hallmark movie magic." Staff start planning these Christmas events as early as June.
Before Dec. 12
Here's what's still open before the big day:
- Vendor waitlist: Commercial spots are full, but the waitlist stays open until Nov. 16.
- Volunteers and parade entries: You can sign up to volunteer at the market or parade on the City's Downtown Development page. Parade registration closes Nov. 16, setup details go out Nov. 23, and payment is due Dec. 2.
- Paying in person: Entrants can pay at City Hall during business hours or use the drive-through payment lock box. This year the City also takes cards for the first time, and it warns there "might be a few hiccups."
- Questions: The City's Better Hometown office answers at (912) 653-4407 and [email protected].
For more on the town around the market, see the Pembroke neighborhood page.
Christmas in downtown Pembroke is a good way to see how this town is changing, one parking lot and one marquee at a time. If you're weighing your own next step in North Bryan County, whether that's selling, buying or just getting a sense of what your home is worth while downtown keeps growing, Devin Pickett would be glad to talk it through over coffee, without any pressure. Book a Consultation, and enjoy the parade.
