Boynton Beach's Holiday Parade Moves Onto a Stage This December

In 2023, the City of Boynton Beach held its 52nd Annual Holiday Parade on a Saturday afternoon, December 2, from 4 to 6 p.m. The route ran along Federal Highway between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Woolbright Road, according to the city's event listing. The parade ran again in 2024 and in 2025, when it reached its 54th year.

There is no 55th parade on Federal Highway this year. The bands, dancers and community groups are still coming downtown, but they will perform one at a time on a stage at 120 E. Ocean Ave. Across the street from that stage, the city's best-known raw bar is getting settled into a new home of its own. In December 2026, downtown Boynton keeps its traditions on Ocean Avenue by changing their form.

Fifty-Four Parades, Then a Stage

The city announced the change in its own listing for the 2026 Holiday Tree Lighting:

"This year, instead of two separate events- the holiday tree lighting and holiday parade, we are combining them into one special night featuring a children's performance stage and THE ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY WITH SANTA AND THE GRINCH."

The listing calls this a restructured parade. Groups that used to march a route now get up to 10 minutes on stage, and that includes load-in and load-out. Ten minutes, setup included, means a school band or dance studio now plans a tight set instead of a rolling show along the curb.

Here is how the last four Decembers compare:

The 2024 parade appeared in The Coastal Star's event listing, and the 2025 parade appeared on X102.3's calendar. The tree lighting was a separate evening in 2025. It ran Friday, December 5, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the same Ocean Avenue address, with holiday music, food, children's activities and a gift market.

So the 2026 version folds a Saturday-afternoon parade and a Friday-evening tree lighting into one longer Saturday that starts at 4 p.m., the parade's old start time, and runs until 10 p.m.

What Fills Six Hours on December 5

The city has themed the night around the Grinch and Whoville. Its listing promises local performers, food, children's activities and a holiday gift market. The sponsorship description goes further. It says the 2026 event "has grown by three sizes" and lists children's performances, the Who Post Letters to Santa, a full food court, an expanded Grinch Playland, a drone show and the tree lighting ceremony with Santa and the Grinch.

The drone show is the clearest new feature. A street parade is over once the last float passes. A stage night with a food court, a playland and a drone show is built for people who stay in one place for the evening.

For local groups that marched in past parades, the stage-performance application on the city's Eventeny page has a deadline of November 22, 2026.

Getting there

The city's listing gives these parking and arrival instructions:

• Free parking on the corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard, entering from Boynton Beach Boulevard
• Accessible parking on Ocean Avenue east of Seacrest Boulevard
• Rideshare drop-off and pickup in the roundabout at City Hall, 100 E. Ocean Ave.

The free lot is a few blocks northwest of the stage. If you live east of Federal Highway, it may be easier to walk west along Ocean Avenue.

The Raw Bar That Also Stayed on Ocean Avenue

The parade's move to a stage happened alongside another downtown move a few hundred feet east. Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant spent about 30 years at 529 E. Ocean Ave. That building is being torn down for The Pierce, a $105 million mixed-use project from Affiliated Development at 115 N. Federal Highway. According to The Coastal Star, The Pierce will cover the west side of Federal from Ocean Avenue to Boynton Beach Boulevard and stretch west to the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.

For close to five years, the plan was for Hurricane Alley to become a tenant inside The Pierce. The Coastal Star reported that the developers had agreed to build its new space first, near the tracks on Boynton Beach Boulevard, and that the restaurant might be able to move in during the spring. On September 3, owner Kim Kelly announced a different plan. Hurricane Alley would move across the street to the south side of Ocean Avenue and take over the Paloma Mexican Restaurant space at 510 E. Ocean Ave., keeping the Hurricane Alley name.

Kelly described how the deal came together in a Facebook post that The Coastal Star quoted:

"The owner of Paloma Restaurant and I came to an agreement where I would take over his existing restaurant and allow our Iconic Hurricane Alley to have a new home."

The Coastal Star's follow-up on September 29 added details. Paloma has closed permanently. Kelly signed a five-year lease with options that could extend it to 15 years. The plan is a few minor renovations followed by a grand reopening around Thanksgiving.

The new space will look familiar. Kelly told the paper she is bringing the memorabilia from the old walls and ceiling, including ocean- and fish-themed pieces that customers gave the restaurant over the years, among them a stuffed fish one couple brought from their garage. The new location will not have an outside bar, though another bar is being added inside. The menu is staying the same, maybe with a few new items. Kelly also said prices may go up slightly because food, beverage and labor costs have risen.

Taken together, December 5 has two Ocean Avenue landmarks a short walk apart: the tree at 120 E. Ocean Ave. and Hurricane Alley's new address at 510 E. Ocean Ave., which Kelly expects to reopen around Thanksgiving.

Why the Corners Around It Look Different

The Pierce is not the only big project going up near the tree lighting. According to the Boynton Beach CRA, construction began in August 2026 on the Octavia South Parcel at 120 SE 1st Ave., with completion expected in late 2028. Ocean One, at 114–222 N. Federal Highway, also started construction in August 2026. The CRA estimates it will finish in late 2028, with 371 apartments and about 25,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

So this December, and likely the next two, the holiday season runs next to active construction. The Town Square civic core where the event takes place is complete. The CRA lists City Hall, the library, Fire Station No. 1, the Cultural Center and the Centennial Park Amphitheater as finished in 2020. The stage, the tree and the parking instructions are all on that finished side of downtown.

Six Days Later, the Parade That Still Moves

One parade in Boynton still travels a route. The Boynton Beach–Delray Beach Holiday Boat Parade is set for Friday, December 11, 2026. The city's listing shows a 6 to 9 p.m. event window, with boats leaving the Ocean Avenue Bridge in Lantana at 6:30 p.m. and heading south on the Intracoastal toward the C-15 Canal in Delray Beach. The CRA describes it as an event held each year on the second Friday in December.

Boynton Harbor Marina, 735 Casa Loma Blvd., is the event location. Discover The Palm Beaches lists the official watch party there with music, family activities, Santa, and food and drinks for purchase from Two Georges. It also lists a Toys for Tots collection and these other viewing spots:

1. Intracoastal Park
2. Jaycee Park
3. Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park

According to the same page, local boaters can enter for free and compete for trophies and cash prizes.

That gives Boynton two holiday nights six days apart. On Saturday, December 5, the groups that used to march Federal Highway perform on a stage at 120 E. Ocean Ave. On Friday, December 11, decorated boats head south past Boynton Harbor Marina.

Downtown Boynton is changing block by block, from the redevelopment parcels along Federal Highway to the Ocean Avenue spots that have stayed put. If you'd like to talk through what this new downtown means for your own address, Michelle Sadownick would be glad to meet with you. Schedule a Private Consultation.