The River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau keeps a Seasonal & Holiday category on its events calendar. For November and December 2026, it lists one event: River Dazzle on Friday, November 27. The next morning, Tattersall Distilling opens the first of its two Winter Market weekends on Paulson Road. In River Falls, the holiday season mostly happens in the four days after Thanksgiving. It doesn't spread out across December. After that weekend, the next named holiday event we found is Tattersall's second market weekend in mid-December, which appears on the distillery's own site, not the Chamber calendar.
The schedule for that weekend has some details that are easy to miss, so here is the sequence and the times.
Friday Runs in Two Shifts
River Dazzle has been around since 1997. The Main Street Business Improvement District and the Chamber sponsor it, and it always falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The festival runs from 1 to 7 p.m. and it's free. Those six hours actually split into two different events. The afternoon spreads out across downtown, and the evening pulls everyone back to Veterans Park and Main Street.
Here is the 2026 schedule as the Chamber's event listing gives it. The Chamber labels it "subject to change."
- 1–5 p.m. The Downtown Chili Crawl, a free holiday trolley loop, free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus at Junior's Restaurant and Tap House, and free hot cocoa and cookies at Veterans Park while supplies last.
- 2 p.m. A free holiday movie at Falls Theatre.
- 2–3 p.m. Costumed carolers from River Falls High School along Main Street.
- 2–4 p.m. Free photos with the Coca-Cola polar bear at Veterans Park.
- 6 p.m. The chili crawl winner is announced live in Veterans Park.
- Around 6 p.m. The Santa Fun Run on Main Street.
- 6:30 p.m. The River Dazzle lighted parade.
Almost everything in the afternoon stops at 5 p.m., and the evening program doesn't start until 6. The Chamber's festival page says there's also a downtown tree lighting before the parade, but neither Chamber page gives a 2026 time for it. If the tree lighting is the part you care about most, plan to be on Main Street well before 6:30.
The Santa Fun Run time isn't settled yet either. The Chamber's River Dazzle page says 6:00 p.m. at Veterans Park with free registration. The event listing on the Chamber calendar says 6:15 p.m. Last year it started at 6:05. Registration runs through RunSignup. The course is half a mile. It starts at Veterans Park, heads toward East Locust, comes back on Main to East Maple and finishes at Veterans Park.
The Afternoon Belongs to the Chili Route
The chili crawl sets the shape of the afternoon. Local businesses serve their chili, and visitors vote for a favorite. The Chamber hasn't confirmed the 2026 lineup yet. While it does, the festival page shows the 2025 participants:
- Broz Sports Bar and Grill
- Comforts of the Home at Mel's Midtowner
- Emma's Bar
- Family Fresh Market
- Johnnie's Bar
- Junior's Restaurant & Tap House
- Shooter's Pub
- Streeters Bar & Grill
- Swinging Bridge Brewing Company
- Tarnation Tavern
- The Garage Bikes + Brews
These eleven stops cover more ground than most people want to walk in late November, so the trolley matters. Stillwater Trolley Co. runs it on a continuous loop from 1 to 5 p.m. It connects the chili locations with the main activity stops, and it's free. The event listing names five stops:
- The Garage Bikes + Brews
- Heritage Park
- Veterans Park
- Junior's Restaurant on Spring Street
- Glass Express/Tarnation Tavern at the corner of Maple and Main
Junior's is both a trolley stop and the spot for Santa photos, and it was on the 2025 chili list too. That makes it the easiest place to start the afternoon if you have kids along. Veterans Park has the cocoa, the polar bear and the evening announcements, so the day ends up there either way.
The trolley stops at 5 p.m., the same time the chili crawl closes. Once it's done, getting to Pine and Main for the parade is up to you.
The Evening Shrinks to a Few Blocks
The parade starts at the corner of Pine and Main, travels south to Locust, then turns back north on Main to where it started. The route covers the same blocks twice, so anyone along that stretch of Main sees every float pass, once going south and once coming back.
The float rules affect what the parade looks like. Every float has to be lit with some kind of holiday lighting, and real Santas aren't allowed on floats because Santa makes his own appearance in the parade. Lineup begins at 5 p.m. at Pine and Main. The Chamber notes that's the corner itself, not the parking lot. Entry is free, but all registrations and waivers have to be done online. That 5 p.m. lineup at the north end of the route lands just as the trolley stops and the chili crawl closes.
Some of last year's events haven't been announced for 2026. These include the ice carving in Veterans Park, the "Up On The Rooftop" Reindeer Drop at Family Fresh Market and the open-container window. All three were on the 2025 schedule, but the 2026 listing doesn't include them. Expect the 2026 lineup to differ from last year until the Chamber publishes a final schedule.
Saturday Moves Out to Paulson Road
The day after the parade, Tattersall's 6th Annual River Falls Winter Market opens at Tattersall Distilling, 1777 Paulson Road. It runs November 28 and 29, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and returns December 12 and 13 with the same hours.
The two weekends have completely different vendor lineups. Vendor applications closed August 31, and Tattersall says it will post the vendors on its website and Facebook event. So the second weekend isn't a repeat of the first. December 12 and 13 work as a separate shopping trip.
The setup is close to the opposite of Friday's. Tattersall's FAQ lists a 300-space parking lot and five pop-up bars on top of the main bar and the market tasting bar. Those serve festive drinks, mocktails and coffee, and guests can shop with a drink in hand. The restaurant stays open, and reservations are recommended for a sit-down meal. Most vendors take cards, and there's an ATM. The facility is ADA compliant. Strollers are welcome, but Tattersall warns that aisles can get crowded at peak times. Tattersall also points shoppers to downtown, which it describes as a few minutes away, for its shops, movie theater, bars, restaurants and coffee shops.
So on Friday the town gathers on Main Street, and over Saturday and Sunday it gathers at a distillery event space with its own parking lot. Between Friday afternoon and Sunday at 4 p.m., the town's two biggest holiday events have both happened.
What Fills the Edges
Outside that weekend, the confirmed 2026 dates around it are smaller events that aren't billed as holiday festivals:
- Tuesday, November 10, 3–4 p.m. The Chamber has a ribbon cutting at Selah Vie on its calendar. The listing describes Selah Vie Bistro & Coffee Cottage at 208 N. Main Street as a locally owned coffee shop and bistro.
- Saturday, November 21, noon–1 p.m. The River Falls Public Library hosts Live at the Library: The Music from Frozen, with cast members from the River Falls High School Theater Department's production of Frozen, the Musical.
- December 3, 5, 6 and 10. The UW-River Falls music calendar lists a St. Croix Valley Symphony Orchestra concert on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m., a Jazz Ensemble concert on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., a Choral Concert on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m., and a Symphony Band and University Band concert on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The calendar doesn't call these holiday programs, and it doesn't list venues.
The UWRF concerts and Tattersall's second weekend fall within eleven days of each other, from December 3 to December 13. Put those together with the library's Frozen program the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the 2026 season looks like this: a lead-in on November 21, the big weekend from November 27 through 29, and a smaller run of events in early to mid December.
Planning the Weekend Around the Gaps
Four details were still open as of mid-October:
- The chili lineup. The 2025 list is a reasonable guide, but the Chamber hasn't confirmed 2026 participants.
- The fun run start. The two Chamber pages list 6:00 and 6:15 p.m.
- The tree lighting. It happens before the parade, but no time has been posted.
- Tattersall's vendors. Each weekend has a different lineup, and neither has been announced yet.
The fixed points are 1 p.m. for the crawl, trolley and Santa photos, 2 p.m. at Falls Theatre, 6 p.m. at Veterans Park, and 6:30 p.m. at Pine and Main. On Saturday and Sunday, Tattersall opens at 11 a.m.
For questions about the Friday schedule, the Chamber lists Collin Geraghty as the River Dazzle contact through the event page.
At Wiegele Real Estate Group, we follow the St. Croix Valley calendar closely, down to details like the parade route and the walk from Pine and Main. If you're wondering how life near downtown River Falls or out toward Paulson Road fits your plans for next year, schedule your free market consultation and we'll go through it with you.
