In 2025, Cleveland's Community Day had a Saturday to itself. On Nov. 1 it filled South Depot Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with vendors, a 5K and guided tours of two historic landmarks. In 2026 the Town of Cleveland moved it to Saturday, Dec. 5, the first Saturday in December, which is also the day of the Cleveland Christmas Parade. The tree lighting is the night before. Cleveland's biggest annual gathering days now fall on one weekend and within a few blocks of each other.
That changes how the weekend works. The parade still starts at 2 p.m. Now there are vendors on Depot Street four hours before it and two hours after it, and the Main Street lights go on the evening before.
Why the Town Put Community Day on Parade Day
The Town explains the move on its own community events calendar. In its words:
"Over 2000 people come to the Town of Cleveland Parade to gather with fellow residents from the Town, friends, family and guests. Come out early this year and connect!"
A town festival that brings people to Depot Street has more reason to run on the day more than 2,000 people are already heading downtown. The Town calls it "one the largest community gathering days during the holidays" and asks visitors to "come early" for the parade by stopping at Community Day first.
The 2025 version shows what Community Day was built to do. Before last year's event, the Salisbury Post reported that it was the 4th annual Community Day and that it celebrated all of western Rowan County. The Post said the day included the "Fill the Food Bank 5K," vendors on South Depot Street, and tours of the R.A. Clement School at 216 Krider Street and Christ Episcopal Church on Old U.S. Hwy. 70. In that same Salisbury Post story, Mayor Pat Phifer described the town's direction this way: "The town of Cleveland is not trying to grow bigger, but better."
Putting an existing festival on the busiest Saturday of the year fits that statement. The Town didn't create a new event. It moved one it already runs to the day the most people are already in town.
The 2026 Community Day listing describes food vendors and arts-and-crafts vendors at 109 South Depot Street. The rodeo that shared the 2025 weekend now appears on the Town's calendar in June.
Friday Night Starts on Main and Maple
The weekend begins Friday, Dec. 4, with the Town of Cleveland Christmas Tree Lighting at 6 p.m. on Main Street and part of Maple Street. Visit Rowan County lists the event as free, running from 6 to 9 p.m.
This event is newer than people may assume. The Town says the first tree lighting was Dec. 1, 2023, and drew more than 250 people. Compare that with the parade's 2,000-plus. That difference is a good part of why the weekend now holds together. The lighting draws a smaller, mostly local crowd on Friday night, and the bigger Saturday crowd comes for the parade. For this year, the Town says it is adding new vendors and different crafts for families.
If you live on Main or Maple, the Friday logistics matter most:
- Streets close from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- Until 6 p.m., only homeowners may drive through the closed section.
- The deadline to apply as a tree lighting vendor is Nov. 21, 2026, at 5 p.m. Applications and payment go to Town Hall.
Saturday, Hour by Hour
Saturday is the day the move changes most. Before 2026, Cleveland's first Saturday in December was built around the 2 p.m. parade. This year Community Day runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., one hour longer than the 2025 event's 10-to-3 schedule. The parade now falls in the middle of the festival day, with time on both sides.
The two nearest food stops have hours of their own to plan around. Both times below come from their published listings, so check with each business before you go.
- 7 a.m. Tobo's Diner opens at 210 Old Amity Hill Road. The Town's restaurant directory lists Saturday hours of 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- 8 a.m. Common Ground Coffee & Ice Cream opens at 103 W. Main St. Cornerstone Baptist Church, which operates the shop, lists Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- 10 a.m. Community Day opens at 109 South Depot Street with food and arts-and-crafts vendors.
- 2 p.m. The Cleveland Christmas Parade begins. Visit Rowan County's 2026 holiday roundup confirms the date and time. Tobo's listed Saturday hours end at the same time.
- 4 p.m. Community Day vendors close.
- 6 p.m. Common Ground's listed Saturday hours end.
Tobo's listed hours end when the parade starts, so a diner breakfast or early lunch needs to come before the parade. Common Ground, a block over on West Main, is the stop whose hours run through the parade and past the end of Community Day.
Common Ground also appears on the Town's calendar as a 2026 in-kind sponsor, along with Backdoor Cuts Barbershop, Leo's Barber Shoppe and Mosaic Lodge.
The Parade Itself, Fifty Years In
None of this would work without the parade, and the parade belongs to the Cleveland Lions Club. The Town says the Christmas Parade has been "a mainstay for 50 years." The Scouts ran it the first year, and the Lions Club took it over the second year and still runs it as a community event.
The Town's description shows how small-town it is: "plenty of horses, dogs, and kids, church floats, big trucks, bicycles, and candy." Anyone can enter, which is part of the reason it fills Main Street.
Entries are handled by the Lions Club's parade committee:
- Entry fee: $10, mailed with the Parade Entry Form
- Mailing address: Cleveland Lions Club, Christmas Parade Committee, P.O. Box 177, Cleveland, NC 27013
- Dropping off in person: Entries can be turned in at the Town of Cleveland, but the Town accepts checks only. No cash.
- Updates: The Cleveland Lions Club Facebook page
A Quieter Loop on School Street
The weekend's events stay within a few downtown blocks, and the Town's newest public space is a short trip from them. Danny Gabriel Veteran Memorial Park sits on nearly two acres on School Street. The Town has improved it in phases. In 2024 it added a paved trail, fencing and wrought-iron benches.
The second phase added the Rowan Reads StoryWalk, where pages of a children's book are posted at stations along the trail. Grant support came from Rowan Public Health and Rowan Literacy. A grant from the Julian Robertson Foundation added benches for adults and children, plus picnic tables. The Salisbury Post reported that the StoryWalk is Rowan County's second. The ribbon cutting was Sept. 18 and opened with a performance by the West Rowan Ukulele Club.
The StoryWalk changes every month. The Town says each month's book connects to the history of the Town of Cleveland community and the country. That means the trail will show a different story in December than it did at the September ribbon cutting.
The Town scheduled its Veterans Day ceremony for Nov. 11 at 201 School Street. The program listed recognition of veterans, the unveiling of the park's official name and a presentation of Phase III plans. The Town credits Representative Julia Howard with funding for the Phase III plans, which include plantings, a gazebo and a veterans' tribute centerpiece. When those are built, they will add a gathering spot near the downtown blocks the holiday weekend uses.
Cleveland's calendar shows how a town grows "better, not bigger." The tree lighting started in 2023, the parade has run for 50 years, and Community Day has now moved to parade day. If you're planning a December around Main Street and Depot Street, or thinking about what it would be like to have that weekend outside your door, Sheena Shaw and The Hometown Team know these blocks well. Schedule a Consultation, and we'll walk you through the corner of western Rowan County that a 2 p.m. parade fills every first Saturday in December.
