Tonight, Thursday, November 5, Sanborn Square at 72 N. Federal Highway fills with food vendors, local artists and live music from 6 to 9 p.m. for the City of Boca Raton's Night Market. The city offers free rides to and from the market on BocaConnect, its shuttle service, which you request through the Circuit app. The next market is on December 10 and has a holiday theme.
Between those two markets, nearly every event on the city's downtown holiday calendar takes place at Sanborn Square, at Mizner Park or on Federal Highway between them. That includes the tree lighting, the street parade, the POPS concert, Tuba Christmas and the Merry in Mizner pop-ups. The season used to include an evening on the Intracoastal, but Boca ended its holiday boat parade in 2024. This year, the two parades that replaced it fall on the same Friday night, and neither one is in Boca.
Six weeks downtown
The city announced its holiday lineup in mid-August, and TAPinto Boca Raton reported that most of the events are free. Here is the full schedule, including what the city has added since:
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 5 | Night Market, 6–9 p.m. | Sanborn Square | Free entry |
| Sat, Nov 21 | Holiday Tree Lighting, 6–10 p.m. | Mizner Park Amphitheater | Free |
| Sun, Nov 22 | FAU Band-O-Rama, 7–9 p.m. | Mizner Park Amphitheater | Free |
| Wed, Dec 2 | 54th Annual Holiday Street Parade, 7:30–9 p.m. | Federal Highway, downtown | Free |
| Sat, Dec 5 | 3rd Annual Holiday POPS Concert, 7 p.m. | Mizner Park Amphitheater | $25–$60 |
| Tue, Dec 8 | Merry in Mizner: Surfs Up Santa, 6–8 p.m. | Mizner Park | Free |
| Thu, Dec 10 | Holiday Night Market, 6–9 p.m. | Sanborn Square | Free entry |
| Sun, Dec 13 | Tuba Christmas, 5–6 p.m. | Mizner Park Amphitheater | Free |
| Tue, Dec 15 | Merry in Mizner: Stuff-A-Plush, 6–8 p.m. | Mizner Park | Free |
The tree lighting on November 21 opens the season with live music and food vendors. The next night, Band-O-Rama brings the FAU Wind Ensemble, the Marching Owls, the Jazz Orchestra and the Chamber Winds to the same stage. Doors open at 6 p.m. and no ticket is needed. You can bring a chair or blanket, or rent a chair inside for $5 cash.
The Holiday POPS Concert on December 5 is the one ticketed show on the downtown calendar. TAPinto lists tickets at $25 to $60. The Symphonia Boca Raton, led by conductor John Gennaro Devlin, performs with the FAU Chamber Singers and Schola Cantorum of Florida. New this year is the POPS Pop-Up, which runs from 6 to 7 p.m. before the 7 p.m. show and has Nutcracker characters, cookie decorating and glitter tattoos for kids. Tickets are sold through The Symphonia.
The Holiday Street Parade on Wednesday, December 2, runs along Federal Highway through downtown from 7:30 to 9 p.m., and this year's theme is "Boca by the Beach." The city's event page says temporary barricades and marked crosswalks will be in place along the route. Of the nine dates on the schedule, this is the only one that leaves the two squares, and even then it never leaves Federal Highway.
The parade that used to happen on the water
For almost fifty years, Boca's holidays had one evening on the Intracoastal. The Coastal Star reported in December 2024 that the city had ended its annual holiday boat parade, which it had held since 1975. City spokeswoman Ileana Olmsted told the paper the decision came after participation kept falling, even though the city had promoted the event more. The year before, the parade had been canceled after severe weather warnings were issued for the night of the event, and it was not rescheduled.
Olmsted also explained where the boats had gone. In the same report, she said that after Delray Beach and Boynton Beach combined their parades in 2016, and Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach did the same, those larger events drew more boaters and more spectators. Gene Folden, who chairs the city's Marine Advisory Board, described how residents took the news:
Residents who have learned of the cancellation are disappointed, "but they do understand the number of boats that have participated over the years have been dwindling to some degree."
The city put that energy into events on land. The Holiday POPS Concert was added in 2024, the same year the boat parade ended, and this December is its third season.
Friday, December 11: one night, two parades
Both of the parades that drew boaters away from Boca run on the same evening this year, so you will have to choose one.
North: the Boynton Beach Holiday Boat Parade. The City of Boynton Beach hosts it with the City of Delray Beach, the Town of Hypoluxo and the Town of Lantana. According to the 2026 event listing, boats line up at the Ocean Avenue Bridge in Lantana near Old Key Lime House, start at 6:30 p.m. and travel south to the C-15 Canal in Delray Beach, just south of Linton Boulevard. The official viewing site is Boynton Harbor Marina at 735 Casa Loma Blvd., and the event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Because the route ends south of Linton, its last stretch is the part closest to Boca. Boats enter free if they bring a new, unwrapped toy for Marine Toys for Tots, and prizes are awarded in three boat-size categories.
South: the 64th Annual Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce Holiday Boat Parade. The City of Pompano Beach lists a 6 p.m. start the same Friday. The Chamber also sells a VIP viewing party at The Cove Waterfront & Tiki Bar, 1754 SE 3rd Ct. in Deerfield Beach, for $100 per person.
Here is how the evening could go if you choose the northern parade:
- Find your spot before 6:30 p.m. Boats leave Lantana promptly at that time.
- Decide which end of the route you want. Boynton Harbor Marina is the official site. The southern end, at the C-15 Canal south of Linton Boulevard, is the shorter drive from Boca.
- Plan your timing to the parade's 9 p.m. finish, not a single drive-by.
The night before is the holiday Night Market at Sanborn Square, so Thursday and Friday make two nights out in a row: Boca's downtown on Thursday and the Intracoastal on Friday.
Saturday, December 12: Boca's one holiday night by the water
The day after the boat parades, Boca's waterside holiday event opens across the bridge on A1A. Gumbo Limbo Aglow! runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 North Ocean Blvd. Guests visit the outdoor aquariums at night, after regular visitors have left, with holiday refreshments, crafts, yard games and photos with the center's sea turtle mascot, Luna. The city says each night has its own theme, announced on the center's social media.
Prices go up after opening night, so the date you pick changes the cost:
- Saturday, December 12, pre-season special: $8 for residents, $10 for nonresidents, $15 for walk-ins if space allows.
- December 19, December 26 and January 2: $10 for residents, $13 for nonresidents, $20 for walk-ins if space allows.
- Registration: You must reserve ahead through the city's WebTrac system. Walk-ins are accepted only if a night has not sold out.
- Residency: Resident pricing covers anyone living within the City of Boca Raton or the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District.
The program is for ages 2 and up, and minors must come with a registered parent or guardian. The city may cancel a night for bad weather or low registration, and refunds are given only when the center cancels.
The next evening, Sunday, December 13, the season returns downtown for Tuba Christmas, a free hour from 5 to 6 p.m. at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real. So from Thursday the 10th through Sunday the 13th, you can go to the Sanborn Square market, a boat parade, the Gumbo Limbo aquariums and the amphitheater four nights in a row. The downtown calendar ends two days later at Mizner Park's South Gazebo with Stuff-A-Plush, which is free and limited to the first 200 attendees.
If you are hosting family this season or planning a holiday move around these dates, I'm glad to help you work out which parts of Boca, from downtown to the water, fit the way you want to spend your evenings. Let's Connect with Deborah Carr.
