Last year the Twin Lakes holiday season had two openings a week apart. Mistletoe on Main filled downtown on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Trees on Parade followed the next weekend at St. John's Community Center, and the tree lighting came at the end of it. For 2026 the Twin Lakes Area Chamber & Business Association has folded both into one free Saturday, moved the shopping indoors at Wilmot Union High School, and given the evening back to Main Street.
The holiday market has left Main Street on its biggest day, but the rest of the Twin Lakes season is still downtown. From the November 28 tree lighting through the December 18 Light Parade, the village's own holiday events take place on and around Main Street. On market day, that makes the 6 p.m. lighting the fixed point to plan around.
Two Events Became One Saturday
Here is the 2025 format next to this year's, taken from the Chamber's own announcements.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown market | Mistletoe on Main, Sat. Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., downtown Twin Lakes | Merged into Mistletoe Market |
| Decorated trees | Trees on Parade, Fri. Dec. 5, 4 to 8 p.m., and Sat. Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Trees on Parade inside Mistletoe Market |
| Location | Main Street, then St. John's Community Center, 701 N. Lake Ave. | Wilmot Union High School, 11112 308th Ave., Wilmot |
| Admission | Free downtown; $2 adults and $1 kids 3 and over at Trees on Parade | Free |
| Tree lighting | Dec. 6, tied to Trees on Parade | Nov. 28, 6 p.m., Main Street |
The 2025 Mistletoe on Main, as described in a Chamber announcement published by West of the I, promised more than 70 vendors, hot cocoa, Santa photos, a free Parents Day Out and "everything in one place, one day." That was true of the downtown market, but the trees and the lighting still came a week later at St. John's. The 2025 Trees on Parade announcement ran on a "Christmas Around The World" theme. That year, decorated foam ornaments and wooden stars were hung at the December 6 tree lighting and displayed at St. John's Church.
The 2026 version finally fits "one place, one day," but the place is in Wilmot. The Chamber's event page calls it "New Location. Same Holiday Magic!" and says the event is now free.
How November 28 Runs, Hour by Hour
November 28 is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's the same Small Business Saturday slot the downtown market held last year, so families who used to do the trees a week later now get them on the first weekend. The Chamber's entertainment schedule sets the rhythm of the day:
- 9 to 10 a.m. John-Michael Music, a one-man-band performer and Wilmot Union High School graduate, opens the market.
- 11 to 11:30 a.m. The Riverport Chorus sings four-part a cappella.
- Noon to 2 p.m. Cellist Drew Wiegman plays a set running from pop to classical.
- Noon to 4 p.m. Santa Claus is in for the afternoon.
- 4 p.m. The market closes.
- 6 p.m. The Tree Lighting on Main Street.
The two hours between the market closing and the lighting matter more than they did last year. In 2025 the market and the street were the same place. This year you drive back from Wilmot, and Main Street's restaurants and taverns are where you wait. The Chamber's own line for the day is "Make a day of it!"
Where Main Street Fills the Gap
These downtown businesses all filed 2026 to 2027 liquor-license renewals with the Village of Twin Lakes this June. Holiday hours vary, so check before you go.
- Aces Sports Bar & Grill, 200 E. Main St.
- La Casita Mexican Restaurant, 201 E. Main St.
- Main Street Tap, 338 E. Main St.
- Rumpole's Banquet & Bowling, 352 E. Main St.
- Corner Kitchen Family Restaurant, 100 N. Lake Ave.
- The Twisted Hook, 121 S. Lake Ave.
- Pink House Resort, 201 Lance Dr.
Bodi's Bake Shop at 306 E. Main St. suits the other end of the day. The bakery's posted Saturday hours run 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., so it closes when the market does. Coffee and pastries at Bodi's before the 9 a.m. opening set in Wilmot keep downtown in the day from its first hour.
December Comes Back to the Village
After November 28, the Twin Lakes events on the calendar come back to the village.
The Great Elf Hunt, Saturday, December 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Chamber's free, all-ages scavenger hunt hides elves inside participating local businesses around Twin Lakes. Teams follow clues from stop to stop. Team sign-up is on the Chamber's site. If the November market is the Chamber's biggest single day, the Elf Hunt brings families into the downtown storefronts themselves, which the move to Wilmot took out of the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The Twin Lakes Light Parade, Friday, December 18, 7 p.m. At its August 17 meeting, the Village Board approved an event permit for a Christmas/Holiday Light Parade from 7 to 9 p.m. that night. The parade also appears on the schedule of the State Line Cruisers, the snowmobile and ATV club for southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. The event listings are the place to check for the route and lineup as the date gets closer.
The Cruisers' calendar is a good guide to how the season runs west of the interstate. The club holds its member meeting on Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m. at Pink House Resort & Tavern, 201 Lance Dr. Members can pay 2027 dues and order club gear there. A Twin Runners ATV and snowmobile safety class follows on November 13 and 14, with sign-up through the Wisconsin DNR's Go Wild site. On Sunday, November 15, there's a 10 a.m. road cleanup on Highway B from Silver Lake to Highway C, starting at the old Wilmot Fire House, with chili afterward. The same schedule lists the Silver Lake Christmas Parade on December 11 at 7 p.m., a week before the Twin Lakes parade.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu. Nov. 12, 7 p.m. | State Line Cruisers member meeting | Pink House Resort & Tavern, 201 Lance Dr. |
| Sun. Nov. 15, 10 a.m. | Road cleanup, Highway B | Meet at old Wilmot Fire House |
| Sat. Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Mistletoe Market ft. Trees on Parade | Wilmot Union High School |
| Sat. Nov. 28, 6 p.m. | Tree Lighting | Main Street, Twin Lakes |
| Fri. Dec. 11, 7 p.m. | Silver Lake Christmas Parade | Silver Lake |
| Sat. Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Great Elf Hunt | Participating Twin Lakes businesses |
| Fri. Dec. 18, 7 p.m. | Twin Lakes Light Parade | Twin Lakes |
Putting a Tree on the Floor
Trees on Parade has always relied on residents and businesses entering decorated trees, and that hasn't changed. The Chamber's event page has forms to register a tree, pay for the tree and star decorating contest, sign up as a vendor and become a sponsor. Vendors pay $35 this year. Last year's Mistletoe on Main was billed as free for vendors and small businesses that set up a table. So the cost has moved from shoppers to sellers. Visitors who paid $2 at the St. John's door last December get in free, and a Main Street shop that set up a table for free on Small Business Saturday now pays to be at the high school.
With the market in Wilmot, the ornaments and stars from last year's St. John's display have a new purpose. Every entry is one more reason to take a car full of people to the high school in the morning and back to Main Street for 6 p.m.
At The JH Collective, we keep the Twin Lakes and Powers Lake calendar close at hand all season. If a move, a sale or a second home on the lakes is on your mind this season, we'd be glad to talk it over. Request a Complimentary Market Review & Private Consultation.