At 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1, parade entries will line up at Southside High School. The parade starts at 6 p.m. When it ends, the city lights its Christmas tree in front of City Hall, with food trucks, music and Santa, according to WEIS Radio.
No other town in Etowah County holds its parade that early this year. Last year Southside held its parade and tree lighting on Dec. 8. This year's parade comes a full week sooner. It follows a Christmas Village that has already moved from December to mid-November. Put the two dates together and Southside wraps up most of its holiday season about when the neighboring towns are getting started. The one exception is down on the Coosa at Southside Landing.
The Christmas Village Moved to November and Stayed There
The first event of Southside's season is this Saturday. Southside Christmas Village runs Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Southside Community Center, 2142 Highway 77. Greater Gadsden's event listing describes indoor and outdoor vendors, shopping and food trucks, with free admission.
The Village used to come much later, and in a different spot. In 2023 it was held Dec. 9 in the gravel lot next to City Hall, with arts-and-crafts vendors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In 2024 the council minutes listed it for Dec. 14 with the same hours. In 2025 it moved to Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Community Center, and the Nov. 12, 2025 council minutes described it as an indoor and outdoor event.
This is the second year in that slot, so the new timing looks settled. It also matters for shopping. In its December years, the Village fell after Thanksgiving weekend, when a lot of gift lists are already done. In November it comes before Thanksgiving, which makes it one of the first chances in the county to shop handmade and local. Nearby, the same weekend brings the Mistle Toe Market on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, at The Venue at Coosa Landing in Gadsden. With both on Saturday, you can do Southside in the morning and still have time to drive up to Gadsden.
For an early start, Waffle House #2596 at 1473 Highway 77 is now on the chain's location list with online ordering. It's a short drive along 77 to the Community Center.
Dec. 1 Puts Southside at the Front of the County
GadsdenThrive's 2026 Christmas guide lists every parade and tree lighting in Etowah County. In that list, Southside's Dec. 1 parade comes before every other town's. Here's how the first week of December falls:
- Tuesday, Dec. 1: Southside parade at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting at City Hall.
- Thursday, Dec. 3: Attalla parade and tree lighting downtown, around Fifth Avenue Northwest and Fourth Street Northwest.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Gadsden parade at 5:30 p.m. on Broad Street from Seventh Street to Second Street, the same night as Altoona's 7 p.m. parade.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: Hokes Bluff parade at 6 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 7: Rainbow City tree lighting at 6 p.m. outside City Hall, 3700 Rainbow Drive. Rainbow City doesn't hold a parade.
Gadsden lights its city tree earlier than anyone, on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m. at Riverside Park, 344 S. First St. But Gadsden's parade isn't until Dec. 4. The Dec. 1 date gives Southside its own night, with no other parade in the county on it. It also means the town's two December events, the parade and the tree lighting, happen together on one evening, right at the start of the month.
The Tuesday date does create a conflict. Christmas at the Falls holds Paws on the Falls, its first pet-welcome night, on Dec. 1. Its second pet night is Wednesday, Dec. 30. If you want both, the December 30 pet night leaves Dec. 1 free for the parade.
Parade Night, Start to Finish
The whole evening fits into a couple of hours along Highway 77:
- 5 p.m.: Parade entries line up at Southside High School.
- 6 p.m.: The parade starts.
- After the parade: The tree lighting in front of Southside City Hall, 2255 Highway 77, with food trucks, music and Santa.
- Cost: Free to watch, and free to enter.
- Entering a float or group: Sign up through the city's recreation site, cityofsouthside.recdesk.com.
Southside High shows up again a week later. At Rainbow City's Dec. 7 tree lighting, Mayor Joe Taylor told GadsdenThrive, the Southside High School band will play, the Joyful Juniors from John S. Jones Elementary will sing, and Santa will be there. Families with a student in the band have both of those evenings on their calendar.
The Landing Keeps the Longest Holiday Season
City Hall's season is over after Dec. 1. Southside Landing's starts that day. On Oct. 27 the city council voted to close Southside Landing during daytime hours from Dec. 1 to Jan. 2 so the city can get ready for and host a holiday event, City Clerk Cindy Beshears told GadsdenThrive. That's more than a month of the Landing set aside for the holidays, a longer stretch than any other Southside holiday event takes up.
At the same meeting, the council approved a month-to-month lease on the city building at Southside Landing. The city's parks page lists Blackstone Bait Shack as the restaurant at the Landing, 721 Pier 77 Lane. If you fish from the Landing, check the city's posted hours before a December trip, since daytime access changes on Dec. 1. Gadsden's Coosa Landing ramp at 200 Lake Street is listed by Greater Gadsden as open 24 hours.
The Landing already has a December tradition on the water. Southside council minutes listed a Christmas Boat Parade at Southside Landing on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. In 2024 the minutes listed a Neely Henry Lake Association boat parade there on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. The Neely Henry Lake Association's 2025 parades ran Sunday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. from both Rainbow Landing and Southside Landing. Greater Gadsden listed that Southside and Rainbow City Christmas Boat Parade as free, running 6 to 7 p.m. That parade was the one holiday event Southside shared with Rainbow City.
The Landing's closure window lines up closely with the big holiday runs up the river. Gadsden's Christmas on the Coosa opens Wednesday, Nov. 18, with free admission. It's open Nov. 18 to 29 except Thanksgiving Day, then Dec. 3 to 6, Dec. 10 to 13, and Dec. 17 to Jan. 3, closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Ice skating and ice bumper cars cost extra, according to GadsdenThrive's report. Lights on the Landing, a mile-long drive-through light show set to holiday music, runs nightly from Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, through Saturday, Jan. 2, at River Rocks Landing, 1 River Road in Gadsden, with gates opening at 5 p.m. Lights on the Landing is in Gadsden, at River Rocks Landing. Southside Landing is a different place.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Southside Christmas Village, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Southside Community Center, 2142 Highway 77 |
| Wed., Nov. 18 | Christmas on the Coosa opens | Gadsden riverfront |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Lights on the Landing opens, gates at 5 p.m. | River Rocks Landing, 1 River Road, Gadsden |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Southside parade at 6 p.m., then tree lighting | Lineup at Southside High School; tree lighting at City Hall, 2255 Highway 77 |
| Dec. 1 to Jan. 2 | Southside Landing closed by day for a holiday event | 721 Pier 77 Lane |
| Mon., Dec. 7 | Rainbow City tree lighting with the Southside High band | 3700 Rainbow Drive, Rainbow City |
Planning a season around the water is something we're always glad to help with. Whether you want to know which landings stay open in winter or what life looks like near the Coosa, the team at Alabama Lake Homes is happy to talk. Start Your Property Search whenever you're ready, and we'll see you at the tree lighting.
