"We have a lot of problems with shutting down a state highway," Assistant City Manager Cinnamon McCulley told Vestavia Voice last November. She was explaining why the city's Christmas parade won't go back to U.S. 31, which some residents ask for every year.
That answer explains a lot about the 2026 holiday calendar. The Holiday in the Hills Parade & Party in the Park is set for Sunday, Dec. 6, on the Great Lawn at The Bray in Liberty Park. It starts at 4 p.m. this year, two hours later than usual, and ends with a tree lighting. The parade has finally reached a home where it can run past sundown. With that change, Vestavia's two biggest holiday gatherings now follow the same pattern. Each is an evening event in a commercial district, built around a lawn or a village, with shops and restaurants close by.
How the Parade Got From a Highway to a Lawn
The 2026 change is the last step in a move that began more than a decade ago.
- Before 2011, U.S. 31. The parade ran on the four-lane highway. The Alabama Department of Transportation required one lane to stay open in each direction, so the city closed half the road and squeezed traffic onto the other half. As traffic on 31 grew, McCulley said, the city didn't want "a parade that is a danger to onlookers and visitors to our city."
- 2011 through 2024, Liberty Park neighborhood streets. The 2024 parade started at Liberty Park Middle School at 2 p.m., went down Liberty Parkway and through Alston Meadows, then came back up Liberty Parkway to the softball-field parking lot, Vestavia Voice reported.
- 2025, the new Grand Lawn. Liberty Park Joint Venture finished its Grand Lawn park in The Bray sector, and the route was redrawn to end there. Participants lined up at The Church at Liberty Park, went west on Liberty Parkway a little past Publix, turned around, passed through The Bray Town Center and finished at the lawn in front of the Livano and The Filmont apartments. The Party in the Park that followed included a ribbon-cutting for the new park.
- 2026, the same lawn after dark. The start moves to 4 p.m. and a second tree lighting is added.
Each move answered the problem with the one before it. Moving to Liberty Park took spectators away from highway traffic, and the 2025 reroute took parked cars off neighborhood yards. Last year McCulley said the Grand Lawn site was "flatter," with "great viewing" and "better parking," and added, "We don't want the residents in the neighborhood to have people parked in their yard."
What the 4 p.m. Start Makes Possible
A parade on a highway or through a subdivision has a hard stop. Once the last float passes, the road has to reopen or the neighbors want their curbs back. A parade that ends on a lawn in a town center doesn't face that limit, so the city could push it later in the day.
Vestavia Voice reported the reason for the time change in McCulley's words:
"The change was proposed to allow parade participants to incorporate lights into their floats and create an even more festive experience for attendees."
The second change follows from the first. Liberty Park Joint Venture bought a large outdoor Christmas tree for the Great Lawn, and it will be lit at the end of the parade as part of Party in the Park. The city's official tree lighting is unchanged. It takes place Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center. McCulley called the Liberty Park lighting "a separate, secondary celebration." Vestavia now has two tree lightings, about two and a half weeks apart, in two different parts of the city.
On parking, last year's guidance should still apply because the venue hasn't changed. McCulley said there is ample parking around the Grand Lawn, plus smaller lots in and around the town center. She also said the city doesn't want parade visitors taking spaces from people who live in the apartments or from the town center's businesses. The city will post the parade map and full event details on its City Events page. If weather interferes, the rain date is Sunday, Dec. 13, also at 4 p.m.
Groups that want to enter a float or sponsor Party in the Park can register through the "Holiday Parade & Party in the Park" form on the city's online portal.
Cahaba Heights Has Used This Format Since 2017
The city's parade took years to arrive at an evening event in a business district. Cahaba Heights merchants built one on their own and have run it every November since 2017.
Deck the Heights returns Saturday, Nov. 14. The city lists it from 2 to 7 p.m. at Heights Village and in the Cahaba Heights business district. The Cahaba Heights Merchants Association produces it. A city newsletter credits business owner Katherine McRee with leading the effort, Vestavia Voice traces the event back to 2017, when Cahaba Heights merchants launched it as a new holiday tradition.
According to the city's event listing, the day runs in layers:
- 10 a.m.: Pop-up shops open
- 2 to 8 p.m.: The Heights Express trolley loops continuously to every stop
- All day: Free family activities, including Santa, the Grinch, face painting, train rides, inflatables, food, drinks and music
- Parking: Cahaba Heights Elementary, Philadelphia Baptist Church, Pipeline and the back of Heights Village. Organizers ask visitors to leave the spaces in front of shops and restaurants for people running in for a quick stop.
Like Party in the Park, the event is built around its businesses. In 2024, activities were spread across storefronts including NS Dance Studio, Mason Music, The Blue Willow, The Retreat Day Spa, Murphree's Market & Garden Center, Serendipity Boutique, El Zun Zun, Troup's Pizza, FOODBAR and Cala Coffee. In 2025, the trolley stopped at The Heights Village, Murphree's and Little Soles, The Blue Willow and Retreat Day Spa, Flip Flops & What Nots, and Leaf & Petal with El ZunZun. Pop-up vendors that year included Fizzy Lemon, Happy Links, Simply Lit, Costa Olive Oil, Little Bear Bakery and Homewood Candle.
Where Dinner Fits After Dark
Both events now run late enough that a meal nearby is part of the plan, and both districts have new places to eat.
In Cahaba Heights, chef Abhi Sainju, who owns Abhi Eatery + Bar and Maro in Mountain Brook, is opening Abhi Vestavia in the former Satterfields space at 3161 Cahaba Heights Road. Bham Now reported a target of late November, with a 100-seat dining room, a sushi bar, a cocktail bar and a private event space. The menu will include ramen and sushi from his other restaurants, plus new dishes inspired by his recent travels. Sainju's earlier restaurant of the same name at The Summit closed in summer 2022.
Elsewhere in the city, there are newer options for a holiday weekend:
- Pazzo Italian opened in August at 2516 Rocky Ridge Road, serving Italian food, wine and cocktails, according to Vestavia Voice.
- Harper Hills Collective opened Sept. 10 a few doors away at 2531 Rocky Ridge Road, Suite 101, selling antiques, vintage décor and home goods, Bham Now reported.
- The Local Bourbon House & Eatery at 633 Montgomery Highway has expanded its patio to five times its former size, adding a second outdoor stage, a bar and more space for dining and entertainment, according to Vestavia Voice.
The Rest of Holiday in the Hills, in Order
The other events on the city calendar spread the season across the library, City Hall, the Civic Center and front yards.
- Monday, Nov. 16: The holiday photo booth opens at Library in the Forest.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 6 p.m.: Official city tree lighting at the Civic Center.
- Tuesday, Dec. 1: Light Up Vestavia Hills begins citywide.
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 5:30 p.m.: Menorah lighting at City Hall.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 7:30 to 10 a.m.: Breakfast with Santa at the Civic Center.
- Tuesday, Dec. 22, 4 p.m.: Christmas Cookie Challenge at Library in the Forest.
Light Up Vestavia Hills is the one event that takes place at home. The Beautification Board asks residents to put a white-lit tree, a menorah or another seasonal symbol in a yard where it can be seen from the street, starting Dec. 1. The city's Winter Yard Judging runs Dec. 3 through 14. Judges look at upkeep and visual appeal during the day and at night, according to the city's October newsletter.
Seasons like this one show how a community works, and they're part of what we tell buyers about Vestavia Hills. If you're wondering how your home's location relative to Liberty Park, Cahaba Heights or Rocky Ridge Road affects its value, Riverstone Realty Group can show you with local numbers. Request Your Free Home Valuation.
