Barry Park is at 25310 West Newberry Road. City Hall South is at 25440. Capricious Local Eatery is at 25335, and Brick & Copper @ 1906 is at 25405. Two Sisters Coffee Co. is at 25250. From now until mid-December, almost every Newberry holiday event, and the downtown kitchens around them, has an address on that one short run of numbers on West Newberry Road.
The hosts change from one Saturday to the next. Newberry Main Street Organization, the City of Newberry and the Newberry Area Chamber of Commerce split November and early December between them, and Main Street and the city share Dec. 5. A fourth Saturday then moves the season to CountryWay Town Square. If you know who is hosting and which side of the stretch they're using, you can plan the whole month around a few parking spots and a couple of dinner reservations.
The city's name for all of this is "Weekends of Wonder," and its holiday site calls Newberry the Christmas Capital of Alachua County. The site lists the season's traditions as the Tree Lighting Ceremony, the Christmas Parade, movies under the stars and weekend celebrations. It also has a "So Many Ways to Reach Santa" section where kids can write a letter to Santa online.
The Saturday Relay at a Glance
| Saturday | Event | Host or Venue | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 14 | Fall Fest | Newberry Main Street Organization | South Seaboard Drive, Newberry Historic District | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | NMSO Christmas Market | Newberry Main Street Organization | Barry Park, 25310 W. Newberry Road | 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | 8th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony | City of Newberry | City Hall South, 25440 W. Newberry Road | 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Movie on the Lawn: Polar Express and Cookie Decorating | Newberry Area Chamber of Commerce | Barry Park, 25310 W. Newberry Road | Listed as all day |
| Dec. 19 | 10th Annual Christmas on the Square | CountryWay Town Square | 1739 SW 248th Drive | 6 p.m. |
Nov. 14: Main Street Goes First
The season opens with a fall festival. Newberry Main Street Organization's Fall Fest runs Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Newberry Historic District. Main Street advertises live music, arts and crafts, a family fun zone, food trucks and more than 100 vendors.
The city's calendar listing puts Fall Fest on South Seaboard Drive. That's a block off the stretch of West Newberry Road where the December events happen, so for now the downtown storefronts are its neighbors rather than its venue.
With 100-plus vendors and food trucks, Fall Fest is the one Saturday this season when you can skip the restaurants and graze outside all day. The six hours also end at 4 p.m., which leaves an evening open for an early dinner downtown.
December 5 Is the Day the Two Hosts Overlap
The first Saturday in December is the busiest of the season, because the city and Main Street run their events side by side on purpose.
The NMSO Christmas Market 2026 opens in Barry Park at 2 p.m. and runs until 8:30 p.m. Newberry Main Street describes it as "the annual Christmas Market in the park in conjunction with the City of Newberry's Tree Lighting Ceremony," with food, gifts and pony rides.
The city's 8th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at City Hall South, 25440 W. Newberry Road. The city's event page calls it the kickoff of Weekends of Wonder.
Lined up together, the hours make sense. The market is open for four hours before the tree is lit and stays open half an hour after the ceremony ends. The afternoon and the evening feel quite different, so pick your arrival time on purpose.
- Early afternoon: Barry Park at its least crowded, when shopping and pony rides are the main attraction.
- Around 6 p.m.: The tree lighting in front of City Hall, a short walk down the road from the park.
- 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.: The last half hour of the market after the ceremony crowd breaks up.
For a sense of what the lighting includes, last year's version was on Dec. 6, 2025. The Gainesville Sun's 2025 holiday roundup listed cocoa and coffee, children's craft stations, Santa photos, a petting zoo, caroling and popcorn at Newberry City Hall. That was the 2025 lineup, and the city's 2026 listing promises "community celebration, cheerful holiday moments, and plenty of Christmas wonder for all ages."
December 12 Hands Barry Park to the Chamber
A week later, Barry Park changes hosts. The Newberry Area Chamber of Commerce runs Movie on the Lawn: Polar Express and Cookie Decorating there on Saturday, Dec. 12. The Chamber's description promises "a night under the stars" with a cookie decorating activity before the film.
The city calendar lists it as "All Day," so look up the movie's start time before you pack blankets and chairs. Since the movie is billed as a night under the stars, plan an early dinner.
That same weekend, Champions Park's calendar shows the Fall States tournament running Dec. 12 and 13. If you're coming from the sports complex side of town, plan for that traffic.
Where to Eat Between Saturdays
Because the December events sit right among the downtown kitchens, dinner is a short walk from wherever you are. These are on or next to the stretch:
- Capricious Local Eatery, 25335 W. Newberry Road. Across the road numbers from Barry Park. On Oct. 20 it hosted the Newberry Community School PTO's dine-and-donate, open for dine-in, online orders and takeout from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. When it opened, Mainstreet Daily News described a wide-ranging menu with cauliflower bites, kimchi ribs and a portabella burger.
- Brick & Copper @ 1906, 25405 W. Newberry Road. Close to City Hall South. Its site highlights Southern cooking, coastal seafood and Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Every event in this lineup is on a Saturday, so brunch works as the morning after. Takeout is available through its online ordering.
- Two Sisters Coffee Co., 25250 W. Newberry Road. At the west end of the stretch. Its online menu lists iced lattes and hot and iced Americanos.
- Honey's Main Street Cafe. Listed as a Newberry Main Street partner and connected to Main Street Sweets & Eats. When that shop opened at 25345 W. Newberry Road in 2023, Mainstreet Daily News reported donuts, cinnamon rolls, croissants, coffee, lunch and ice cream. Call ahead for current hours.
Each of these is within a few address numbers of Barry Park or City Hall South, so you can park once on Dec. 5 or Dec. 12 and handle shopping, the event and dinner without moving the car.
December 19 Moves the Season to CountryWay
The last Saturday leaves West Newberry Road. Christmas on the Square at CountryWay Town Square, 1739 SW 248th Drive, is set for Saturday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m. Fun 4 Gator Kids lists it as free and calls this year's edition the 10th annual, with live music, performances, food, shopping and a live nativity.
Ten years makes Christmas on the Square two years older than the city's tree lighting, which is in its eighth year. Its date also pushes the season about a week closer to Christmas than any event on the downtown stretch. It's the only Saturday in this lineup without a downtown address, so the dinner plan changes too. The listing promises food on site, so you can eat on the square instead of heading back to West Newberry Road.
Keeping the Calendar Straight
Another town shares the name Newberry, and some of its holiday listings show up in searches for Newberry events. The reliable sources for this Newberry are the City of Newberry calendar and the Newberry Main Street festivals page, plus the Facebook event pages linked from each city listing. Check that a listing gives a Newberry, FL 32669 address before you put it on your calendar.
The city's Christmas Parade is part of the Weekends of Wonder lineup on the city's holiday site, so watch those two pages for its date along with any updates to the Saturdays above.
At Harder Home Team, we keep an eye on Newberry's calendar the same way you do, because we live and work here too. If a Saturday downtown has you wondering what your own place near West Newberry Road is worth heading into the new year, ask us for a home valuation. We'll give you clear local numbers with no pressure.
