In December 2025, Merritt Island held its two biggest holiday gatherings a week apart. The county's street parade stepped off on Saturday, Dec. 6. Community Advocacy for Merritt Island held its Holiday Illumination Celebration at Brevard Veterans Memorial Park the next Saturday, Dec. 13, starting with an 8 a.m. 5K.
In 2026 both events fall on Saturday, Dec. 5. The parade still starts at 10 a.m. CAMI's festival now runs that afternoon, and its race now starts at 2 p.m. A third event, the Christmas Market on Magnolia, runs during the same afternoon hours. For anyone on the island, most of December's holiday calendar now happens in one day.
Saturday, December 5, from step-off to tree lighting
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. | Merritt Island Holiday Parade steps off | Grove Boulevard at Merritt Island High School, south on Courtenay Parkway to Edgewood Jr/Sr High on Merritt Avenue |
| 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Gingerbread house drop-off | Veterans Memorial Park Amphitheater Green Room |
| 2:00 p.m. | Holiday Fest 3K | Brevard Veterans Memorial Center |
| 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. | CAMI Holiday Fest and community tree lighting | Brevard Veterans Memorial Park, 400 S. Sykes Creek Parkway |
| 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. | 3rd Annual Christmas Market on Magnolia | First Baptist Church Merritt Island, 140 Magnolia Ave. |
Between the parade and the festival, CAMI's vendors set up at the park from noon to 2 p.m. The day starts on Courtenay Parkway and ends behind Merritt Square Mall.
The morning is on Courtenay Parkway
Brevard County Parks and Recreation runs the parade through its Central Area Parks Operations office. The county's announcement gives this year's theme as "Gingerbread Lane." Mindy from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office is the emcee, and the route runs from Grove Boulevard at Merritt Island High School south on Courtenay Parkway, also known as SR-3, to Edgewood Junior/Senior High School on Merritt Avenue. The route matches 2025, when the theme was "Rockin' Around the Holidays."
Plan on a short morning. A 2024 Viera Voice calendar listing gave the parade a 10 a.m. start and an 11:30 a.m. finish, which means the route was busy for about 90 minutes that year.
Most of the entries are local groups. Space Coast Daily's 2025 results listed the Merritt Island Marching Mustangs, MICS Showstoppers, the Edgewood Cheerleaders and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office among the winners. Groups that want to enter can call Central Area Parks Operations at (321) 633-1874 with registration questions.
The festival moved to the afternoon
CAMI's 2026 Holiday Fest is free. Community Advocacy for Merritt Island and the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center present it together. The schedule includes the pre-event 3K, a free community concert, a gingerbread house competition, food trucks, kids' activities, inflatables and the lighting of the community tree. The Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency's event listing puts the tree lighting at the end of the evening. The Brevard Veterans Memorial Center lists the same event on its calendar as the Annual Merritt Island Grand Illumination.
The race shows how much the day changed. The 2025 edition was a 5K that started at 8 a.m., hours before the gates opened. This year's shorter 3K starts at 2 p.m., an hour before the festival opens at 3.
The 2025 festival gives a sense of its size. Space Coast Daily's preview expected about 1,500 people and listed local band Johnny Danger Live. It also said there would be free parking and golf-cart shuttles between the accessible parking areas and the festival for attendees with limited mobility.
Gingerbread entries are due two days before the festival
The gingerbread competition has the earliest deadline of the season. The entry form closes Thursday, Dec. 3, at 11:59 p.m. Finished houses go to the Veterans Memorial Park Amphitheater Green Room between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 5.
- Divisions: adult individual (18+), teen (13–17), youth (8–12), family, special-needs individual or team (13+), and business or organization.
- Kits: store-bought kits are not allowed in most divisions. Businesses and organizations may use them.
- Materials: each entry must be a gingerbread structure, everything above the base must be edible, and Styrofoam can't be used for structure.
- Size limits: the base can be no larger than 24 by 24 inches, the house no taller than 18 inches, and the whole entry no heavier than 40 pounds.
Houses are on display during the festival, from 3 to 7 p.m. After that they move to the Veterans Memorial Center Museum and stay through Dec. 19. Pickup is that day from noon to 2 p.m.
Magnolia Avenue runs the same four hours
The 3rd Annual Christmas Market on Magnolia opens at 3 p.m. and closes at 7 p.m., the same hours as the festival at the park. It's held at First Baptist Church Merritt Island, 140 Magnolia Ave. Its listing on Visit Space Coast mentions live music, local vendors, food trucks, holiday crafts for kids, and visits with Santa and the Grinch.
Both afternoon events have food trucks, music, vendors and activities for kids, and they're open at the same time. Families who want to visit both will need to plan their timing. The market's Santa and Grinch visits are one way to choose between them. The tree lighting at Veterans Memorial Park comes at the end of the evening.
Boat parades are a week later, on Dec. 12
Holiday boat parades on the island have changed in recent years. In December 2024, two vessels in the Merritt Island Christmas boat parade collided on Sykes Creek, and News 6 reported that three people were hospitalized. In 2025 the parade had no official sponsor. News 6 reported that volunteers organized it instead, with boats gathering near Ulumay Bridge around 5 p.m. for a 5:45 p.m. start on Dec. 13.
The nearest boat parade with a 2026 date is the Rotary Club of Cocoa Beach's Christmas Boat Parade on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. Boats start near Marker 101 by Centennial Park on SR 520. The Rotary club lists these places to watch from shore:
- SR 520 at Banana River Road
- The end of S. Banana River Boulevard
- Cove Park
- Private homes along the canals
Dec. 12 also has two daytime events. The Cocoa/Rockledge Holiday Parade steps off at 10 a.m. from Rockledge High School, heads north on Florida Avenue to Brevard Avenue, and ends at Lee Wenner Park. On the island, Edgewood Project Graduation's 13th Annual Holiday Craft Fair and Food Truck Event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Edgewood Jr/Sr High School, 180 E. Merritt Ave. Admission and parking are free. That puts the island's second Saturday at Edgewood, where the Dec. 5 parade ends.
Events before and after Dec. 5
Merritt Square Mall and Brevard Veterans Memorial Park also have events through the rest of the season:
- Nov. 27 to Dec. 24: Santa photos at Merritt Square Mall.
- Dec. 2 to 9: Pet Parties with Santa at the mall.
- Dec. 6: Santa Cares, a sensory-friendly visit with Santa at the mall, the day after the parade.
- Dec. 13, 2 to 4 p.m.: a jazz performance by vocalist Maddy Winer at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center, 400 S. Sykes Creek Parkway.
- Dec. 19, noon to 2 p.m.: last chance to see the gingerbread houses at the Veterans Memorial Center Museum before entrants pick them up.
To see the gingerbread houses after Dec. 5, go to the Veterans Memorial Center Museum before noon on Dec. 19.
If watching the Dec. 12 boat lights makes you think about spending more time on the water, Sykes Creek, the Banana River and the island's canals each have their own channels, bridges and docks. William Taylor is a Master Captain, and he's glad to talk about what life on each of them is like from the helm. Let's connect at William Taylor.
