There's no parade route on State Road 56 this year. Wesley Chapel is unincorporated, so no city hall is there to close a road, hang banners and send a float down Main Street. Two town centers run the season instead. The Shops at Wiregrass, near the SR 56 interchange with I-75, opens it on Nov. 14. Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, about 3.5 miles east of I-75 on SR 54, closes it on Dec. 12 with fireworks.
Each center also keeps its own Saturday market, and the two schedules fit together. Wiregrass takes the first and third Saturdays. Avalon Park takes the second and fourth. The holiday events land on top of that pattern on two specific Saturdays.
Two Market Schedules That Interlock
The Fresh Market at Wiregrass runs on the first and third Saturdays of the month, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from October through May, at 28211 Paseo Drive. Florida Penguin Productions runs the Downtown Saturday Market in Avalon Park on the second and fourth Saturdays, also 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Most of the year, that means one market every Saturday and never two. The holiday events are what break the pattern. Both of the big ones fall on Avalon Park Saturdays, and December cuts the Wiregrass market in half.
| Saturday | The Shops at Wiregrass | Avalon Park Wesley Chapel | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 7 | Fresh Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | No market | |
| Nov. 14 | Symphony in Lights Kickoff, times not yet posted | Downtown Saturday Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | |
| Nov. 21 | Fresh Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | No market | |
| Nov. 28 | Holiday shopping hours | Downtown Saturday Market for Small Business Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | |
| Dec. 5 | Fresh Market, the only December date | No market | Zephyrhills Festival of Lights, 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Holiday shopping hours | Downtown Saturday Market in the morning, Avalon Aglow 5 to 9 p.m. | |
| Dec. 19 | No Fresh Market | No market |
Nov. 14 Puts Both Centers on the Same Saturday
The Symphony in Lights Kickoff, presented by AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, is set for Saturday, Nov. 14. Santa arrives, and the day includes a drone show and a holiday market. Wiregrass hasn't posted start times or parking details yet and says more information is coming.
That same morning, Avalon Park's calendar lists the Downtown Saturday Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A drone show only works after dark, so the two events probably don't overlap much. That makes Nov. 14 a day you can split between both centers. Treat it as a plan until Wiregrass posts its times, because the times decide whether the plan holds.
Nov. 14 is also the first day of Santa photos at Wiregrass, which run through Dec. 24 in the new Santa's Cottage between Pottery Barn and Signature Workspace. Pet photos with Santa run Nov. 16 to Dec. 14. Santa Cares is a sensory-friendly photo session on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Weeknights and Thanksgiving Fill the Gaps
The Saturday schedule leaves room on other days, and Wiregrass fills some of it. The 2nd Wednesday Night Market runs Nov. 11 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Paseo Drive, with local makers, food, live music and family activities. Its organizer, Glasshouse Productions, lists it for the second Wednesday of every month with free parking. By that pattern, December's market falls on Dec. 9, but no December date has been posted.
Thanksgiving morning starts at the same center. The Wiregrass Turkey Trot on Thursday, Nov. 26, at 28139 Paseo Drive opens with a Kids Dash at 7:15 a.m., then the timed 5K at 8 a.m. and a one-mile fun run or walk at 8:05 a.m. Black Friday is Nov. 27, and Wiregrass holiday hours run Nov. 1 through Dec. 31.
If Thursday evenings are already part of your week, Run The Ranch at Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus covers that night. The holiday calendar mostly leaves it alone.
December Shrinks, Then Dec. 12 Doubles Up
December is when the schedules stop lining up. Tampa Bay Markets holds the Wiregrass Fresh Market only on the first Saturday in December, so Dec. 5 is the center's last Saturday market of the year. Dec. 19 has no Wiregrass market.
Avalon Park fills Dec. 12 instead. The Downtown Saturday Market runs that morning from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then Avalon Aglow starts at 5 p.m. at 4424 Friendly Way, with pictures with Santa, vendors, live music, a bounce park and a fireworks show. It's free and open to the public. The calendar lists it ending at 9 p.m. The event map on the Aglow page is last year's file, so call the Avalon Park welcome center at 813-783-1515 before you plan where to park.
So the busiest Saturday of the season and the quietest are one week apart, and both are in December.
The Nearest Parade Is Nine Miles East
If you want a parade, the closest one is in downtown Zephyrhills, about nine miles east on SR 54. Main Street Zephyrhills' 2026 calendar of events puts the Christmas tree lighting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23. The Festival of Lights runs 4 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, with the parade at 7 p.m. and the theme "Christmas Through the Decades." The route, road closures and parking haven't been published, and the organizer says dates and times may change.
Dec. 5 also works as a full day. The Fresh Market at Wiregrass runs 10 to 2, and the Zephyrhills festival opens at 4.
On the New Tampa side of the county line, things work differently because New Tampa is inside the City of Tampa. Last year, City of Tampa Parks and Recreation held a tree lighting at the New Tampa Recreation Center, 17302 Commerce Park Blvd., on Dec. 3, 2025, with a parade in the parking lot and dance performances. The city posted that notice on Nov. 28, 2025, so expect this year's announcement around late November.
The Road Into Wiregrass Is Under Construction All Season
Every Wiregrass date above means driving through the SR 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard intersection, and FDOT is repaving it. The $19.8 million job covers SR 56 from west of Bruce B. Downs to Meadow Pointe Boulevard, and Bruce B. Downs from SR 56 to south of CR 54. Work began Aug. 24, 2026, and FDOT expects to finish in fall 2027. Along with the new pavement, the project is upgrading signals, lighting and curb ramps at the intersection.
The lane closures so far have been overnight right-lane closures, from 8:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., with no posted detours and open lanes alongside each closure. FL511 listed night work at the intersection through the morning of Nov. 6, weather permitting. The drone show and the Night Market both run into the evening, so those are the Wiregrass events most likely to overlap with night work. Check FL511 or dial 511 before you head home.
New Places to Eat Around the Events
The holiday calendar arrives with a run of restaurant and store changes, most of them around Wiregrass.
- Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine is serving dinner at 28330 Paseo Drive, Unit 105, at Wiregrass. As of the Oct. 10 roundup from Wesley Chapel Now, its grand-opening celebration hadn't happened yet.
- MINISO is on Paseo Drive next to Nikki's Boutique. Wiregrass lists Oct. 30 as its soft-opening date.
- Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café is due in December at Center Court, with no opening day announced.
- Bahama Breeze at 25830 Sierra Center Blvd. is scheduled to close Nov. 7, and Yard House is expected to open at that site Dec. 9, according to Tampa Bay Beacons.
- Andy's Frozen Custard has Pasco County site-development approval for a shop at Epperson Ranch Town Center on Overpass Road, just west of Chase Bank near Curley Road. Beacons reports no opening date yet.
Beyond Wiregrass, The Hub at Lexington is still adding tenants one at a time. For more weekend ideas once the holidays are over, see our guide to weekends in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.
Which town center runs which Saturday, which intersection is torn up and which corner is getting a new restaurant all shape daily life here. If you're weighing a move within Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, Alicia Chapman and the Tampa Top Team are ready to put together a plan with you. Schedule Your Strategy Call.
