Where will you be on a Friday night in Mandeville between now and New Year's Day? Through mid-November, the answer is Lafitte Street. From December 4, it's Koop Drive. Mandeville's free evenings out are split between two public hosts. The City of Mandeville runs them from the Trailhead at 675 Lafitte Street in Old Mandeville. St. Tammany Parish Government then takes over from its government complex on Koop Drive.
In between, the Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall on Lamarque Street keeps Saturday nights going. On one Saturday, December 5, all three hosts have something on the calendar.
Two Fridays left at the Trailhead
Mandeville Live! Free Fridays opened its fall run on September 18 with Voodoo Gumbo. It has two concerts left. Visit The Northshore's listing for the series puts Red Hot Gentilly Peppers on the Trailhead stage on Friday, November 6. Soul Revival returns on November 13 to close the season. Soul Revival also played back on October 2. The City's event page for November 6 lists the start time as 6:30 p.m.
The house rules are the same as all fall. Bring blankets and chairs, but no outside food, drinks or ice chests. The City asks concertgoers to buy from the vendors on site, and it says that support is what keeps the concerts free.
Saturdays at the same address run a little longer. The Trailhead Market sets up from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The City's calendar lists it every Saturday through November 28. As of this week, no December market date has been posted on the City's market page. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the last one on the books for now.
Lamarque Street carries the Saturday nights
Three blocks back from the lake, the Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall at 430 Lamarque Street has its own fall season, and it keeps going after the Trailhead winds down. The hall's history explains why it runs on its own calendar. The Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Association was formed in 1885 by African American residents of Mandeville, led by Olivia Eunio. The association's hall went up in 1895 on Lamarque Street, three and a half blocks from Lake Pontchartrain. Visit The Northshore describes it as the world's oldest virtually unaltered rural jazz hall. The City owns the building. The Friends of the Dew Drop, a volunteer nonprofit, runs it and books the shows.
The Dew Drop's show schedule has three dates left this year:
- Saturday, November 7, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan, a member of the New Orleans family of saxophonist and educator Edward "Kidd" Jordan.
- Saturday, November 14, 6 to 9 p.m. Trombonist Craig Klein and his Allstars. The Mandeville High School Jazz Ensemble opens the night. Klein is a founding member of Bonerama and toured for 16 years with Harry Connick Jr.'s big band.
- Saturday, December 5, 6:30 to 9 p.m. The Northshore Gospel Choir, led by music director Dr. Maurice Moncure, followed by a second set from Grammy-nominated songwriter and vocalist Quiana Lynell.
Note the 6 p.m. start on November 14, half an hour earlier than the other two. The extra time makes room for the student opening set. The December show has its own neighborhood roots. The Friends describe the gospel night as an annual tradition, with singers from First Free Mission Baptist Church, Morning Star Baptist Church, Goodwill Baptist and several other congregations.
The November 13 and 14 weekend is the last time both City-side stages run back to back: Soul Revival at the Trailhead on Friday, then Mandeville High's jazz students on the Dew Drop stage Saturday.
Daylight hours belong to Fontainebleau
Between the evening shows, Fontainebleau State Park has free-time plans for mornings. Louisiana State Parks lists a first-Saturday guided hike on November 7 and December 5, from 10 a.m. to noon. The route is about 2.25 miles and covers the Nature Trail and the beach-side Scenic Trail. A second program, Walking Through History, is set for November 16 and December 19, also 10 a.m. to noon. It walks visitors past the park's sugar-mill ruins and Civilian Conservation Corps structures.
That puts the November 7 hike on the same day as Stephanie Jordan at the Dew Drop. It also puts the December 5 hike on the busiest day of the season.
December 5, when every calendar overlaps
On the first Saturday in December, all three calendars land on one date:
- 10 a.m. to noon: guided hike at Fontainebleau State Park
- 6 to 8:30 p.m.: second night of the Holiday of Lights on Koop Drive
- 6:30 to 9 p.m.: the Northshore Gospel Choir and Quiana Lynell at the Dew Drop
The two evening events run at the same time on opposite sides of town. A household that wants both has another option. The Holiday of Lights main nights repeat on December 11 and 12, but the gospel night happens once.
Koop Drive takes the rest of the year
The Holiday of Lights returns for its 27th year. Parish President Mike Cooper and the Tammany Trace Foundation announced the dates, and St. Tammany Health System and Northshore Media Group are the sponsors. It spreads across the St. Tammany Parish Government Complex, the Kids Konnection Playground and a stretch of the Tammany Trace. The Parish reports that about 13,000 people attended in 2025. The landmark is the Parish water tower, lit up as a Christmas tree and visible from I-12.
The event changes format three times, and each stage offers different things:
| Dates | Hours | What's running |
|---|---|---|
| December 4, 5, 11 and 12 | 6 to 8:30 p.m. | Full festivities: lighted displays, falling "sneaux," free carnival rides, free tram or walk through Santa's Enchanted Forest, Santa's Workshop, local school and youth performances, food trucks |
| December 18 and 19 | 6 to 8:30 p.m. | Walk-thru only: Koop Drive lights and Santa's Enchanted Forest, with no snow, rides, performances or food trucks |
| December 21, 2026 to January 1, 2027 | Dusk to dawn | Drive-thru along the full length of Koop Drive |
Admission and all the rides, including the Enchanted Forest tram, are free on the main nights. Food, drinks and photos with Mr. and Mrs. Claus cost extra. Parking is free in the Building A, B and C lots on Koop Drive.
The walk-thru weekend is the one date to double-check. The Parish's own Walk & Drive-Thru page lists December 18 and 19. Some regional event listings show December 19 and 20 instead. The Parish runs the event, so its page is the one to plan around.
The Parish's performances page says local schools and youth organizations have been on the main-night stages for more than a quarter century. It was still collecting performer sign-ups this fall, so a stage-by-stage schedule hasn't been posted. Mandeville High's jazz students on the Dew Drop stage in November and school groups on Koop Drive in December follow the same habit. Both of the season's hosts hand part of the stage to local kids.
The order of the season
Set side by side, the calendar runs as a relay:
- November 6 and 13: the last two Mandeville Live! Free Fridays at the Trailhead
- November 7 and 14: Stephanie Jordan, then Craig Klein with the Mandeville High Jazz Ensemble, at the Dew Drop
- November 16: Walking Through History at Fontainebleau
- November 28: last Trailhead Market Saturday currently listed
- December 4 and 5: Holiday of Lights opens, and December 5 brings the Fontainebleau hike plus gospel night at the Dew Drop
- December 11 and 12: final two full-festivity nights on Koop Drive
- December 18 and 19: walk-thru weekend, per the Parish, with Walking Through History at Fontainebleau on the morning of the 19th
- December 21 through January 1, 2027: drive-thru lights from dusk to dawn
Between the Dew Drop's November 14 show and the opening of the lights on December 4, no evening events appear on any of the three calendars. The Trailhead Market's Saturday mornings on November 21 and 28 are the only fixed dates in that stretch.
If your plans for the new year include a move within St. Tammany or across the lake, the team at Magnolia Key Realty & Co would be glad to talk it through over a quiet cup of coffee once the Koop Drive lights go dark. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll help you map your next season with the same care you'd give this one.
