Light Up the Lake Comes Before Thanksgiving Again, and This Year the Evening Runs Later

The City of Wayzata's listing for this year's Light Up the Lake includes a short italic note. It says the Nov. 20 date is "one week prior to the normal date" and falls on the Friday before Thanksgiving. Last year had the same note. Wayzata.com's preview of the 2025 event said the tradition "arrives one week early," on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, also the Friday before Thanksgiving.

That makes two years in a row of the "exception." Neither listing gives a reason, and both still describe the pre-Thanksgiving date as a week ahead of normal. For anyone setting their November around Lake Street, the working rule is that Wayzata's holiday season now opens before Thanksgiving week. And in 2026 the evening itself starts later, which changes how the night goes.

Same Friday, a later clock

Both years land on the Friday before Thanksgiving. In 2026 the event hours and the parade each start 30 minutes later, while the Children's Candy Hunt at Depot Park stays at 5 p.m.

The 2025 hours, parade time and reindeer come from Wayzata.com's 2025 preview and the City's 2025 event page. The 2026 column comes from the City's current listing.

The parade's 30-minute move matters most. The Wayzata Firefighters' Parade of Lights still runs down Lake Street from Broadway to Barry Avenue, and the Town Lighting Ceremony with Mayor Mullin at Panoway Plaza still follows right after it. With the parade at 5:45 instead of 5:15, the lighting moves later along with it. A family planning around the 2025 times would get to the curb with half an hour to fill.

How the evening runs, start to finish

The 2026 schedule is easiest to read as a timeline, because a few pieces only happen at set times or set places.

1. 5 p.m. The event begins on Lake Street. Free glow light wands are handed out, but only before the parade.
2. 5 p.m. The Children's Candy Hunt starts at Depot Park. It's for ages 5 and under only.
3. 5 to 5:45 p.m. This is the open stretch. Hot cider and treats and a Reindeer Food children's activity are inside the Historic Wayzata Depot. Llama photos are at Depot Park, Letters to Santa and Muni refreshments are at Panoway Plaza, and horse-drawn wagon rides and strolling carolers are on Lake Street.
4. 5:45 p.m. The Parade of Lights rolls from Broadway to Barry Avenue.
5. Right after the parade. The Town Lighting Ceremony takes place at Panoway Plaza.

The giving side runs all evening. Toys for Tots collects at the Wayzata PD parade float, and IOCP runs a food drive at Panoway Plaza. IOCP has posted a specific list this year: brand-name boxed cereal, canned tuna, toilet paper, name-brand hearty soup, and spaghetti sauce in a plastic jar or container. The plastic container detail is easy to miss when you're grabbing jars from the pantry on the way out the door.

The week before belongs to the medallion hunt

The earlier date also moves the Winter Medallion Hunt, which the City now runs as a lead-in to the lighting. This is its fifth year. Clues go up Nov. 9 through 13 on wayzata.org, wayzatachamber.com and social media.

The prize is the ceremony itself. The first child or family to find the medallion gets to light up Wayzata on Nov. 20, and winners must be 12 or under. The City's event page lists a Wayzata Police Department contact for questions.

With the lighting before Thanksgiving, the clues land in the second week of November, well before holiday travel. A family that would have been away for a post-Thanksgiving hunt has a clear week to look.

Last year, as quoted in Wayzata.com's preview, Mayor Andrew Mullin wrote that he was:

"so excited to invite you to join me for our cherished annual tradition"

This year, a kid with a sharp eye could be standing beside him at Panoway Plaza.

A later finish sends dinner after the lights

When the ceremony wrapped around 6:30, dinner and the lights competed for the same window. With a 5:45 parade and a 7 p.m. close, it's easier to treat the event as the first half of the night and eat afterward, within walking distance of Panoway.

Bar Eloise, 326 Broadway Ave. S. This is the closest fit for after the ceremony. Lindsay Pohlad's Eloise closed briefly on Aug. 31 and reopened Sept. 4 as the more casual Bar Eloise, according to the Star Tribune's restaurant roll call. Wayzata.com reported that the team wanted a place "easier to drop into," with bar seating, a more approachable menu and family-friendly options. The restaurant's site takes reservations or walk-ins. On a Friday when much of the town is downtown at once, booking ahead is the safer bet.

Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks, 810 Lake St. E. This is the easy family choice at the east end of Lake Street. It opened May 29 in the former D'Amico & Sons space, and the Star Tribune counts it as the 12th Tono in seven years. Co-owner Shaz Khan told Wayzata.com that a Wayzata location had been on the owners' minds "for a really long time."

Rustica, Lake St. E. This one is tied to the event's own history. Jester Concepts opened its Wayzata Rustica in the former Wuollet's Bakery space on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, the same day as last year's Light Up the Lake, according to the Wayzata West Metro Chamber's opening notice. That makes this year's lighting its one-year mark. Opening-day hours were 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, so it suits an afternoon stop before the event begins. The address is listed as 795 Lake St. E. in the Chamber notice and the Star Tribune's opening story, and as 794 in a later roll call. In person, it's the former Wuollet's storefront.

One lakefront spot is still on the way. Parcelle, the organic cafe based in northeast Minneapolis, plans a small grab-and-go cafe at 641 Lake St. E. Its own ordering page still lists the location as "Coming Soon." For now, don't count it in the Nov. 20 plan.

Getting downtown under the new speed limits

The drive in looks a little different this fall. The City's October 2026 Portal Newsletter lays out new speed limits that Public Works is now posting.

• Wayzata Boulevard from Public Works to Ferndale Road drops from 50 to 40 mph.
• Wayzata Boulevard from Ferndale Road to Central Avenue drops from 35 to 30 mph.
• Superior Boulevard and South Frontage Road from Bushaway Road to the city limits each drop from 35 to 30 mph.
• The city-controlled stretch of Shoreline Drive drops from 45 to 40 mph.
• All other residential streets default to 20 mph, and gateway signs at major entry points will say "Citywide Speed Limit 20 MPH unless otherwise posted."

On a night when families with small children cross Lake Street near Depot Park in the dark, the 20 mph neighborhood default matters more than usual.

Highway 12 is the other factor. MnDOT's project page shows two lanes each way between Gleason Lake Road and I-494 through November, plus intermittent overnight closures. MnDOT also says those impacts are tentative and depend on weather. Anyone coming from the east should check the MnDOT Hwy. 12 page that afternoon. The 2026 event listing has no parking guidance, so leaving extra time is the practical fix.

What stays up after the lights

The lighting kicks off a longer stretch of winter downtown. The Wayzata West Metro Chamber offered this season's winter Lake Street banners, with art by Rich Sladek, and says they line downtown Lake Street from November through April. Nearby, Klapprich Park at 340 Park Street East has an outdoor skating rink, a hockey rink, a fireplace and a public warming house. The City hasn't posted a 2026–27 opening date yet.

With Light Up the Lake on the Friday before Thanksgiving again, the town is lit six days before the holiday, a week ahead of the old calendar.

If a winter on Lake Street has you wondering what your own place near downtown Wayzata would bring, Blake Halverson can put together a clear, data-backed number on your schedule, even in the holiday weeks. Get a Free Home Valuation and you'll have it before the banners come down in April.