"We want to have something here that's like Ocean Springs, that's like Gulfport, that's like all the other areas around that are booming," Christmas on the Avenue co-chair Joel Davis told WLOX last December. He went on: "When you come down, you can't find a parking spot because they're packed. We want to bring that here."
He was speaking during the event's first run, when WLOX described daily holiday events along Howard Avenue and Christmas trees decorated by local businesses. A year later, the downtown blocks have more to work with. The Saenger Theatre is open again and has holiday shows booked. The Barq Building next door has restored condos and a restaurant under construction. And the event is back for its second year, with more than 150 lit trees planned for 2026. For the first time, Biloxi's December has two anchor weekends: the water on the first and Howard Avenue on the second.
The water still owns the first weekend
The City switches the season on first. Coastal Mississippi's October announcement says Biloxi's Christmas season officially begins December 3 at the Biloxi Visitors Center, when the Biloxi Lighthouse is lit in red and green, with Santa, hot chocolate and cookies on hand.
Christmas on the Water is the older tradition. Coastal Mississippi describes the celebration as marking "the official opening of the holiday season for the Mississippi Gulf Coast" since its first run in 1986. This year is its 41st. The theme is "Disco Glow Christmas," and decorated boats travel from the Biloxi Lighthouse to Point Cadet before fireworks over the Mississippi Sound.
The boats begin just south of the lighthouse and head east to the tip of the peninsula. Coastal Mississippi's event page puts the center of the action between the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor and Oak Street. The parade falls on the first weekend of December. Confirm the night and start time on the Christmas on the Water host page or by calling (228) 617-3112 before you stake out a spot along the beach.
The same weekend has a downtown side too. On Friday, December 4, Glo All the Way fills the Biloxi Town Green at 710 Beach Blvd. from 5:30 to 10 p.m. with a Christmas tree lighting, a Christmas concert, a kids area and a dance by Kelli's Steps School of Dance. The City's October BNews encourages glow sunglasses and glow sticks. WLOX's holiday calendar lists Glow All The Way under the Christmas on the Avenue banner, so the downtown series starts on the same weekend as the boat parade.
That Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, Donna's Dance presents A Christmas Carol at the Saenger. If you're spending the first weekend downtown, that's an indoor option close to the Town Green, and the parade still caps the weekend.
Why the Saenger changes the math downtown
The Saenger reopened in June with a ribbon cutting and performances, as WLOX reported. This is its first holiday season back. The theatre's own calendar books it for both December weekends that matter downtown: A Christmas Carol on December 4 and 5, and The Nutcracker, presented by Mississippi Gulf Coast Ballet Theatre, on December 12 and 13.
That second date matters. The Nutcracker opens the same Saturday that Christmas on the Avenue holds its grand lighting and parade. A ballet audience and a street crowd will share the same few blocks.
The building next door is part of the same story. The Sun Herald reported in October that the 1923 Barq Building at the corner of Howard Avenue and Reynoir Street has been taken back to its original brick façade. Seven of its 13 second-floor condos have balconies over the brick-paved stretch of Howard. The building honors the Barq family, whose root beer was first bottled in Biloxi in 1898. The ground floor is reserved for LaCour's Grocery, which developer Lee Young of JDLE Development described to the Sun Herald as "a polished dining room and a dramatic bar." Upstairs, the Root Bar is planned as a smaller lounge. Construction has started, with a spring opening planned.
That puts the season's busiest corner at Howard and Reynoir. The Christmas on the Avenue footprint runs from Lameuse to Reynoir, so the restored theatre and the restored Barq Building sit at one end of it.
The second weekend, block by block
The Coastal Mississippi listing runs Christmas on the Avenue December 11 and 12, from 3 to 11 p.m., centered at 814 Howard Ave., with free admission. The City's BNews breaks the two days down.
| Date | Time | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Dec. 11 | 3 to 7 p.m. | Sponsors, families and business owners decorate the sponsored trees | Howard Avenue, Lameuse to Reynoir |
| Friday, Dec. 11 | 7 to 10 p.m. | Jingle Bell Rock, with live music and vendors | Howard Avenue |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | 5 p.m. | Christmas on the Avenue: grand lighting, snow, parade and entertainment | Howard Avenue, Lameuse to Reynoir and Rue Magnolia |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | Evening | The Nutcracker opens its two-day run | Saenger Theatre |
| Sunday, Dec. 13 | See Saenger listing | The Nutcracker closing performance | Saenger Theatre |
Coastal Mississippi's October announcement says the 2026 event will put more than 150 lit Christmas trees along Howard Avenue, with a Santa parade and a weekend billed as family- and pet-friendly. The Friday decorating window is open to watch. It's a good time to see which local businesses sponsored trees before the Saturday crowd arrives.
Behind the event is a nonprofit, not a city department. A September City Council agenda names the Greater Biloxi Economic Development Foundation, Inc. as the organization sponsoring and running Christmas on the Avenue. The City's role is in-kind services. That fits the goal Davis described: build downtown foot traffic one season at a time. Last year, WLOX reported, the business-decorated trees were donated to families in need after the event closed. The BNews notice for 2026 points the same way. It thanks donors for helping provide "Christmas trees, lights, and a little more magic for families in our community."
Beach Boulevard fills in the gaps
The two anchor weekends get most of the attention, but the rest of the season runs along Beach Boulevard.
- Christmas City Gift Show, November 13 to 15. The Ron Meyers 43rd Annual Christmas City Gift Show brings more than 300 vendors to the Mississippi Coast Convention Center at 2350 Beach Boulevard over a Friday-to-Sunday run. It's the first big holiday weekend in the city, three weeks before the boat parade.
- Beau Rivage, 875 Beach Boulevard. WLOX's calendar lists the resort's Holiday Open House, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on several dates. It also lists a Santa Brunch at 10 a.m. at BR Prime. Check the WLOX listing for which days fall on your free weekend.
- Shaggy's Crab House on Biloxi Beach. The Sun Herald reported in early October that Shaggy's opened at 1763 to 1775 Beach Blvd., alongside the original Shaggy's, an expanded boardwalk, a sweet shop, a gift shop and a stage. It's new this season, and it's on the water side of town.
For a citywide light show, Gulfport's Harbor Lights Winter Festival at Jones Park opens November 27 and runs into the new year, according to the festival site. That's the kind of draw Davis was measuring Howard Avenue against.
A December mapped by weekend
Put together, the season comes in four parts:
- November 13 to 15: the gift show at the Coast Convention Center.
- First weekend of December: The Biloxi Lighthouse Lighting on Thursday, December 3. Glo All the Way on the Town Green on Friday, December 4. A Christmas Carol plays at the Saenger December 4 and 5. Christmas on the Water runs from the lighthouse to Point Cadet that weekend; confirm the date and time with the host.
- December 11 to 13: tree decorating and Jingle Bell Rock on Friday. The grand lighting, snow and parade on Howard Avenue are Saturday at 5 p.m., and The Nutcracker plays at the Saenger Saturday and Sunday.
- Through the month: Beau Rivage's open house days and Santa Brunch, plus the new Shaggy's on the beach.
The grand lighting on Howard Avenue starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, and The Nutcracker opens that same weekend at the Saenger.
If those Howard Avenue balconies have you curious about life a block from the parade route, our Mississippi-licensed agent at Magnolia Key Realty & Co can walk you through what's changing in downtown Biloxi. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll gladly share what we know over coffee before the trees go up.
