When a Hurricane family puts this year's Christmas events on the calendar, they're working from two different governments. The City of Hurricane runs Main Street. Putnam County Parks & Recreation runs Valley Park at 1 Valley Park Dr., on the other side of town. Each one posts its own list of events, and the two lists rarely mention each other.
Put the lists side by side and the one-day events almost never land on the same date. The city spreads its season out from the day before Thanksgiving to the week before Christmas, with a Santa mailbox that stays open the whole stretch through Dec. 13. The county packs its biggest night into one Friday evening. Saturday, Nov. 28, is the only date when both hosts schedule a one-day event, and both of those events are about shopping local.
Two Hosts, Two Addresses, Six Dates
Here is the season in order, with who runs each event and where it happens.
| Date | Event | Host | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 25 to Dec. 13 | Letters for Santa | City of Hurricane | Red mailbox on Main Street |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday Vendor Event | Putnam County Parks | Valley Park |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Merry Market, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Forward Solutions Grant Consulting | Social Event Space, 2833 Main St. |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 6 p.m. | Yuletide in the Park Tree Lighting | Putnam County Parks | Valley Park |
| Sat., Dec. 12, noon | Christmas Parade | City of Hurricane | Hurricane Bridge Park to Main Street |
| Sat., Dec. 19, 4 to 7 p.m. | Horse and Carriage Rides | City of Hurricane | Main Street |
The city's events run for most of four weeks, and every one of them starts and ends on Main Street. The county's season comes to a head on one Friday night, Dec. 4, at Valley Park.
Nov. 28 Puts Both on the Map
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the one day when both hosts' events make you choose between Valley Park and Main Street, or work out how to fit in both.
- At Valley Park, Putnam County Parks is hosting its Small Business Saturday Vendor Event and calls it a chance for local businesses to "get your business in front of holiday shoppers." Spots are limited, and the county reviews each applicant by the products they sell and what the event needs. Tri-State Weekender's holiday guide lists the event at Valley Park.
- On Main Street, the Merry Market takes over Social Event Space at 2833 Main St. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Forward Solutions Grant Consulting is the host. It's an indoor market where each vendor gets an 8-by-10 space with electricity, and the event listing calls it a "Shop Small Saturday" celebration of local businesses.
The Merry Market is indoors with set hours, so you can make the Main Street stop no matter the weather and pair it with coffee on the same block. Valley Park is the bigger outdoor space. The two markets are run by different hosts and draw on different lists of vendors, so visiting both doesn't mean seeing the same tables twice.
The Main Street mailbox opens three days earlier, on Nov. 25, so families downtown on Nov. 28 can drop off a letter while they're there. The city asks parents to tuck in a self-addressed, stamped envelope so Santa can write back.
The Valley Park Trees Pay for a Playground
Yuletide in the Park is the county's big night. The tree lighting is Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m., and Putnam County Parks promises Santa visits, sleigh rides, a live nativity and "more." WOWK covered last year's event, which ran 6 to 9 p.m. at Valley Park with food trucks, coloring contest displays and holiday lights. Last season, Putnam County Tourism also pointed visitors to 75 decorated trees in the Valley Park courtyard.
For 2026, Putnam County Parks opened tree sponsorships to businesses, organizations and families, and the parks department says all proceeds go to its all-inclusive playground improvements. That makes the Yuletide trees a fundraiser for something kids will use long after the decorations come down. When your family walks past a tree with a local business's name on it this year, that name is helping pay for the playground.
Dec. 12 Starts on Midland Trail and Ends on Main Street
The Christmas parade is the city's big event, and it doesn't start downtown. The City of Hurricane's parade page puts the lineup at Hurricane Bridge Park on Midland Trail, just past Hurricane Middle School, and the parade ends at First Baptist Church on Main Street. On the city's social feed, it's the Hurricane Gingerbread Lane Christmas Parade.
If you're walking in the parade instead of watching it, here's what the city has posted:
- Register in advance through the city's online form. It's free, and the city asks businesses, groups, organizations and clubs to apply early.
- Arrive at Hurricane Bridge Park between 10:30 and 11:45 a.m. The city's page says plainly, "We will not be ready for you before that time."
- The parade steps off at noon on Saturday, Dec. 12.
- The route finishes at First Baptist Church on Main Street, and the city lists the event as running until 2 p.m.
The city's call for entries reaches pretty far. Its post asks whether readers have signed up their "workplace, school group, sports team, club, small business, model car or horse." The parade page also promises that "a lot of pre-parade fun is in store."
Because the parade is at noon, the whole thing happens in daylight, and the city's Saturday ends in the early afternoon. Santa's mailbox on Main Street stays open through Sunday, Dec. 13, so kids who haven't mailed their letters yet can drop them off on parade day or the day after.
The Week After the Parade Belongs to Main Street
The city saves one evening event for the end of the season. On Saturday, Dec. 19, free horse-and-carriage rides run on Main Street from 4 to 7 p.m. The city calls them "a crowd favorite activity" and pitches them alongside "all the joy, shopping and dining downtown has to offer."
Downtown has more places to stop this year. Ashley Stinnett opened 1776 Books and Coffee at 2759 Main St. this summer. The Herald-Dispatch reported that he read the full Declaration of Independence out front on July 8, and the shop soft-opened July 10 and 11. Social Event Space, home of the Nov. 28 market, is a short walk up the street at 2833 Main St.
The rest of the newer spots are out on Teays Valley Road, closer to the county side of town. That works well for anyone pairing Valley Park with a meal or a dessert stop:
- Sugar Maples, at 3741 Teays Valley Road, opened to the public last December, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. It serves cookies, pastries, cinnamon rolls and ice cream from Ellen's in Charleston. Its website takes bulk orders for "festive parties" and "Christmas morning cinnamon rolls," so this is its first holiday season with a full year behind it.
- Bad Happy Burritos shares that building and opened in February 2026. The Gazette-Mail describes its burritos, bowls and pupusas as "infused with Salvadoran flavors."
- Hank's Golf and Entertainment pairs food with sports simulation games, WSAZ reported when it opened in February.
So the town's newer businesses are split across the same two sides of town as the holiday calendar. A coffee stop fits easily with a Main Street Saturday, and a cinnamon roll or burrito run fits on the way to or from Valley Park.
If the Gingerbread Lane parade or the Valley Park trees have you thinking about what your own Hurricane home is worth heading into the new year, Crystal, Mack and Makenna at Faith Realty & Co., LLC would be glad to help with a free home valuation, and it's no-pressure. Get Your Free Home Valuation, then come find us on Main Street on Dec. 12.
