The Annual Carthage Christmas Parade steps off Saturday, December 12, at 6 p.m. and runs from Monroe Street to Courthouse Square. The parade finishes at the circle around the historic courthouse. Since late summer, that circle has had excavators, detours and red dirt. The shops on that circle had to work around it through the months that usually bring their best sales. This year's holiday calendar in Carthage is really their calendar, and it starts weeks before the floats light up.
The Circle the Parade Finishes On
The work at the courthouse is Phase 1 of the Town of Carthage's Downtown Revitalization Project. SQ Civil Contractors holds the contract, and $912,499 in grant funding pays for it. Phase 1 adds pedestrian refuge islands and marked crosswalks to the Courthouse Circle. Later phases are planned to bring parking and mobility upgrades, then lighting, more seating and landscaping.
The Town's August notice said construction would start between the end of August and early September and run through October 31, depending on weather, utility conflicts and contractor operations. On October 5, Town Manager Emily Yopp told Sandhills Sentinel that Phase 1 should be finished between late October and early November. She said the goal is "a safer, more accessible, and pedestrian-friendly downtown for residents, businesses, and visitors alike." The Town posts schedule changes in the Project News box on its project page and sends alerts through CodeRED. Check both before you plan parade night.
There's also a detour that has nothing to do with the circle. In September, the Town closed N. McNeill Street at Barrett Street after several near misses and at least one crash. Drivers headed for McReynolds Street and NC 24-27 west toward Robbins were told to turn left on Saunders Street, right on S. Ray Street, then left on McReynolds.
Parade logistics from the Town:
- Start time: 6 p.m. Saturday, December 12. The parade is free.
- Route: Monroe Street to Courthouse Square, 1 Courthouse Square.
- Staging for participants: Carriage Oaks Office Park across from Food Lion. Arrival can start at 4:30 p.m., and every entry must be staged by 5:45 p.m.
- Contact: Town Clerk Kim Andrews, 910-947-2331.
Businesses and groups that want to ride without building their own float can sponsor one of the Town's commercial floats. Each holds 15 to 20 people and carries the sponsor's name.
Fourth Quarter Was Supposed to Be the Busy One
For downtown merchants, timing is the whole story. The Pilot reported that walk-in businesses around the courthouse were feeling it in fourth-quarter revenue, the stretch that usually benefits from holiday traffic. In that report, Wishflower Lane Bakery had moved to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. It used to open earlier and stay open later on weekends. Next door, Kitten Around Cat Lounge had posted its changed hours on the door.
Karen Lewis of Second Chapter Books told The Pilot, "We want the revitalization down here. We 100 percent want it." She called the fourth-quarter start bad timing. Second Chapter Books, Kitten Around Cat Lounge, Wishflower Bakery and Creamery Shop, and Moore Coffee Company all posted on social media that they were open, according to Sandhills Sentinel. The Town says downtown stays open and access to businesses stays in place, even when routes and parking move as work progresses.
So a downtown gift list in Carthage this year does more than check off names. It puts money into the same few blocks the parade will fill on December 12.
Where the Holiday Calendar Runs Downtown
The holiday events closest to the courthouse are being run by the shops themselves, not by one big town festival.
Tyson Sinclair, 105 McReynolds St. The shop added extended holiday hours every Thursday starting November 12, with sip, shop and snack evenings. On Saturdays it hosts family activities: movies, letters to Santa and hot cocoa. This post publishes Thursday, November 19, so tonight is one of those evenings.
Second Chapter Books, 101 Monroe St. The bookstore sits where the parade route starts. Its 2026 Angel Tree collects books for a donation project with Moore County Public Schools, and the goal is to fill every Angel by December 1. Its regular weekly hours are on the store's website.
Wishflower Lane Bakery and Kitten Around Cat Lounge. These are the two storefronts The Pilot photographed with heavy equipment right outside. The bakery's 10-to-4 schedule was its construction-period change, so check current hours before you go.
Moore Coffee Company. It's on the list of downtown businesses that kept asking customers to come by through the road and parking changes.
Because the downtown shops keep the calendar going on Thursdays and Saturdays, a weeknight in late November or early December gets you the same blocks as parade night with much less crowding.
The Season's Other Address Is Out on NC 22
On weekend nights, the biggest holiday draw in town is outside downtown. Highlanders Farm, a sixth-generation family farm at 5784 NC-22, ends its year with a drive-through Christmas light show that winds through its fields.
| Detail | Highlanders Farm Light Show |
|---|---|
| Season | Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, through Dec. 27 |
| Closed | Christmas Day |
| Open days | Wednesday through Sunday |
| Wed–Thu hours | 6 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Fri–Sun hours | 6 to 9 p.m. |
| Admission | $20 per car up to six people, $30 per van, no buses |
| Payment | Cash and cards at the gate |
The farm's ice cream shop is open every night with homemade ice cream, cider and hot chocolate. Santa's mailbox is out nightly for letters, and Santa himself shows up some nights. The farm posts updates on Facebook and Instagram. Wednesday and Thursday nights get a shorter window, but they also miss the weekend rush, including parade Saturday.
Down US 15-501, The Garden Center by AOS at 6652 US 15-501 Highway holds a Holiday Wreath Making Workshop on Sunday, November 29, from 2 to 4 p.m. Registration is $65. That's the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, two days after the light show opens.
A Calendar That Runs Past New Year's
The season starts before Thanksgiving and ends in January, with the parade in the middle.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursdays, from Nov. 12 | Extended holiday evenings | Tyson Sinclair, 105 McReynolds St. |
| Saturdays | Family activities with movies, letters to Santa, cocoa | Tyson Sinclair |
| Nov. 27–Dec. 27, Wed–Sun | Drive-through Christmas light show | Highlanders Farm, 5784 NC-22 |
| Nov. 29, 2–4 p.m. | Holiday Wreath Making Workshop, $65 | The Garden Center by AOS, 6652 US 15-501 Hwy |
| By Dec. 1 | Angel Tree book goal | Second Chapter Books, 101 Monroe St. |
| Dec. 12, 6 p.m. | Annual Carthage Christmas Parade | Monroe Street to Courthouse Square |
| Jan. 10, 2027, 1–4 p.m. | Celebrate Old Christmas at the Bryant House, free | Bryant House, 3361 Mount Carmel Road |
On December 12, people who want an afternoon before the parade can drive to Southern Pines for Christmas at the Shaw House. It's a free open house from 1 to 4 p.m. at 110 W. Morganton Road, put on by the Moore County Historical Association, with old-time decorations, cider and cookies. The Association closes the season back near Carthage with Celebrate Old Christmas at the Bryant House on Sunday, January 10, 2027. Admission is free. Details are on the Moore County Historical Association events page.
If you're watching how the downtown project changes the area around Courthouse Square, or you're thinking about owning near it, the team at Meese Property Group follows Carthage block by block, construction phases included. Request a Personalized Consultation and we'll go over what the revitalization plan means for the part of town you care about.
