The City of Tarpon Springs has five entries on its Craig Park events list between now and early January: the Veterans Day Ceremony & Lunch on Nov. 11, Snow Place Like Tarpon Springs and the Boat Parade on Dec. 4, the Tarpon Springs Christmas Parade on Dec. 12, Light Up the Bayou on Dec. 24 and the Annual Epiphany Celebration on Jan. 6, 2027. The town's biggest winter nights happen on one small curve of Spring Bayou.
This year that curve is partly a work zone. The Craig Park Seawall Replacement (Phase 1) project page says the observation deck on the east side of Spring Bayou is closed during construction. It also says, in bold, that events will not be affected by any construction activities. The events will go ahead. You'll just be planning where to stand around a park that has changed shape since last December.
What's open on the bayou edge right now
The seawall project was built to protect Craig Park from tidal flooding. Most of the sidewalk around the park sat about 2 feet above mean sea level, and the old observation deck sat about 3 feet up on a shallow seawall that the City describes as structurally failing. The new seawall and sidewalk are being built to a target of 5 feet or more, with a short grassy berm on the western side of the park. A $2 million federal grant secured through Rep. Gus Bilirakis covers the stretch from the boat ramp through the observation deck. The north side of Spring Bayou is set for a later second phase.
As of the page's Oct. 2 update, here is where each piece of the park stands:
- Zones 1 and 2: seawall cap and grassy berm are done; sidewalk and boat ramp are open. Drainage pipes are still to come and have been marked off.
- Zone 3: 100% complete, with no more work planned there. The City marked it finished on Aug. 19.
- Zone 4: under construction, and this is the zone that includes the observation deck. Everything inside the red markings is closed, but the street-level sidewalk stays open.
- Zone 5: panel driving has started, and the marked area is closed.
- Craig Park Boat Ramp, float dock and gangway: open.
Long-time visitors know the observation deck as the bayou's front-row seat. For now it's behind a fence, and the finished stretches of new sidewalk and berm are where you can still get close to the water.
The calendar, side by side
The events have different organizers and run at different times of day, which affects how crowded the park and the streets around it will be.
| Date | Event | Where | Time listed | Organizer listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Sponge Docks Tree Lighting | Sponge Docks | 5–6 p.m. | Tarpon Springs Merchants Association listing |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Snow Place Like Tarpon Springs | Tarpon Ave., Ring St. to Spring Bayou | 5–10 p.m. | City of Tarpon Springs |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 37th Annual Holiday Boat Parade | Anclote River into the bayous, Craig Park | 8–8:45 p.m. at Craig Park | City of Tarpon Springs |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Tarpon Springs Christmas Parade | Downtown | 10 a.m.–1 p.m. | City and Tarpon Springs Chamber |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Light Up the Bayou | Spring Bayou | Display in place by 6 p.m. | Sunset Hills Elementary PTA |
Only the tree lighting is away from the bayou. The rest of the season moves toward Spring Bayou, one event at a time.
Dec. 4 is two events that meet at the water
The City's December calendar bills Snow Place Like Tarpon Springs as the biggest Christmas celebration in North Pinellas. It's free and runs 5 to 10 p.m. with snow slides, Santa, a station for writing and mailing letters to Santa, holiday movies, street performers, a DJ and live music. The Merchants Association's vendor application puts the festival on Tarpon Avenue from Ring Street down to Spring Bayou, with falling snow along with the slide. According to the same document, police close the roads at 2 p.m. so vendors can set up. If you live or run errands near downtown, plan for Tarpon Avenue to close in the early afternoon.
The festival ends at the bayou, and so does the boat parade. Two published schedules give two times for it. The City lists the 37th Annual Holiday Boat Parade at Craig Park, 5 Beekman Lane, from 8 to 8:45 p.m., with vessels coming down the Anclote River and into the bayous. Visit St. Pete-Clearwater lists the parade from 6 to 9 p.m., starting at Tarpon Landing Marina and running down the Anclote River to Craig Park and Spring Bayou. Neither listing says when the boats reach the bayou. Arriving at Craig Park by 6 p.m. covers both schedules, and Snow Place is running on Tarpon Avenue the whole time.
On viewing spots, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater recommends the shoreline at Craig Park and Spring Bayou, or at Whitcomb Bayou. Since the observation deck is closed, the Craig Park crowd will fill the open sidewalk and the finished seawall stretches. Whitcomb Bayou gets more useful as a second option this year. The same listing says parking at Craig Park and the marina is limited. It points to five paid public lots along Dodecanese Boulevard and to nearby PSTA 19/91 and Jolley Trolley stops.
If you plan to enter a boat, look for the 2026 entry instructions on the City calendar's event page. Last year's registration steps are not a reliable guide to this year's.
Dec. 12 moves the crowd downtown in daylight
The Christmas Parade is the only big event of the season that takes place in the morning. The Tarpon Springs Chamber's event page lists it for Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It describes the parade as a joint effort between the City and the Chamber that winds through downtown, and asks readers to stay tuned for the route. The City also includes the parade on its list of Craig Park events. Until the Chamber posts the route, you can expect the parade downtown in the late morning, with Craig Park somewhere in the plan.
Dec. 24 fills the shoreline with 3,000 bags
The other December events bring the crowds. Light Up the Bayou covers the shoreline itself. The Sunset Hills Elementary PTA's Light Up the Bayou site traces it to the fall of 1986, when students planned a fundraiser for the Pinellas County Schools Economics Fair. Local businesses paid for bags printed with their names, and the bags were set around Spring Bayou and lit on Christmas Eve. The organizers tell the origin of the name this way:
"The name 'Lambatha' was substituted for luminary. 'Light up the Bayou' became the motto."
The project won second place at the fair. The City asked the school to keep it going, and it is now on Tarpon Springs' official calendar. The City still supplies the sand for the bags. The PTA says the display has grown to more than 3,000 bags, and Christmas Eve 2026 will be its 41st year.
If you want your own message on a bag, these are the dates to know:
- Dec. 21, 9 p.m.: last chance to order online. Each bag costs $3.50 and can carry a message such as "Happy Holidays" or "In Memory Of."
- Dec. 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: in-person orders at Spring Bayou. Volunteers are welcome starting at 10 a.m., and the PTA says the work counts toward high school volunteer hours.
- Dec. 24, by 6 p.m.: all bags are placed for the display.
- Dec. 30: rain date if the weather is bad on Christmas Eve.
Questions go to [email protected]. This year the bags will line a mix of new raised sidewalk, finished berm and fenced work zones, so the display will look different from past years in places. The City's Craig Park list runs one date past it, to the Annual Epiphany Celebration on Jan. 6, 2027.
The dates before the bayou season starts
From now through Dec. 1, most dates are downtown and at the Sponge Docks, before December shifts everything toward Spring Bayou:
- Fri., Nov. 6, 6–10 p.m.: First Friday in Historic Downtown, at East Tarpon and Pinellas avenues.
- Sat.–Sun., Nov. 7–8, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.: the 38th Annual Tarpon Springs Seafood Festival at the Sponge Docks.
- Wed., Nov. 11: Veterans Day Ceremony & Lunch, the first event of the season at Craig Park.
- Fri., Nov. 27: county parks close the day after Thanksgiving. They close again on Dec. 25.
- Sat., Nov. 28, 4–9 p.m.: the Wine Walk. Downtown stops run until 9 p.m. and Sponge Docks stops until 8 p.m.
- Tue., Dec. 1: Pinellas County beach parking moves to $3.50 an hour, capped at $12 a day.
The parking change on Dec. 1 matters most if you're a regular at Fred Howard Park, 1700 Sunset Drive. The county's park page still shows a $6 daily beach-parking fee. The county's Know Before You Go advisory, updated Oct. 23, sets the new hourly rate and $12 cap starting Dec. 1. That makes a quick sunset visit cheaper than a full day under the new rates. The park is open daily from 7 a.m. to sunset.
After the Wine Walk, the next big gathering is the Sponge Docks Tree Lighting on Dec. 3. The night after that, the season moves to Spring Bayou and stays there through Christmas Eve.
Justin Aftanis has spent decades around this stretch of the Gulf Coast, from the Anclote River to Spring Bayou. If you're weighing a home within walking distance of Craig Park, or thinking about how the finished seawall could change that part of town, Justin Aftanis is glad to share what he sees on the ground. Schedule a Consultation.
