One Thursday in November: How Berlin's Park Lights Up Before the Parade Rolls Down Broadway

Right now, Nathan Strong Park holds rows of bare evergreens. Each one is waiting for someone to tag it, and the trees that look plain this week will carry other people's ornaments on November 19. On that Thursday at 5 p.m., Achieving a Better Community, Inc. flips the switch on more than 200 trees decorated by members of the community. An hour and a half later, the 41st Annual Holiday Parade starts downtown. Its theme this year is "An Old Fashioned Christmas," and Farmers and Merchants Bank presents it.

Most people will see the finished version that night. But neither event exists until residents supply it. Every lit tree is one a neighbor adopted and decorated, and every float is one a business, church, club or family signed up and built. So the dates that shape Berlin's holiday evening come before it, and several of them land between now and mid-November.

Who actually builds Light the Park

ABC calls itself a volunteer-run 501(c)(3). It recruits businesses, civic groups, nonprofits and residents to organize and promote community events. Light the Park follows that model closely. ABC provides the park, the trees and the power. The community provides almost everything a visitor sees.

The display has grown a great deal. In 2019, WBAY reported that the event began with seven trees and grew to 30, then 80. The organizer told the station the park could hold about 100. This year's count is more than 200, and the 2026 parade registration form says the display spreads across both Nathan Strong Park and Forsyth Park.

The decorations carry more than holiday cheer. In 2022, WBAY reported that each tree was sponsored by a family or business paying tribute to someone they had lost, often with a theme chosen to reflect that person. That explains why a walk through the park can feel like reading a town's family albums. Each tree has a placard, and many of those placards carry a name.

How adoption works, and which details may still change

The ABC homepage gave Saturday, October 24, as the day trees became available for adoption. It also says to check back there for instructions. For 2026 specifics, that page is the one to watch.

The site's separate Adopt a Tree page explains how last season worked. The process is simple, and it shows how much of the display is up to each adopter:

• Pick up an adoption form at the park entrance, choose an untagged tree and tag it with a name or company and a contact phone number.
• Pay the adoption fee, which was $40 last season, by cash, check or credit card through PayPal.
• Decorate by the posted deadline. Trees left undecorated were decorated by ABC, and the adopter's fee was forfeited.
• Use LED lights only, and no tinsel. ABC supplies power to each tree.
• Put a greeting or family or company name on the 8½ by 11 placard ABC provides. Advertising and political messages are not allowed.

That page also offers a practical tip. It suggests protecting your sign with a zip-top bag, and it notes that trees are checked twice a day, so untagged decorated trees can be stripped and offered to someone else. Some of the page's dates still match the 2025 calendar, so confirm this year's fee and decorating deadline on the homepage before you buy lights. Either way, the decorating window closes before lighting night. A tree finished the week of the 19th may be finished too late.

The float form is due November 9

The parade has its own deadline. The 2026 Holiday Parade Registration Form says all entries are due Monday, November 9, 2026. Paper copies should be addressed to the Community Holiday Parade Committee. You can mail them, drop them off in person or leave them in the book drop at the Berlin Public Library, 121 W Park Ave. The online form asks for the organization's name, whether the entry is commercial or noncommercial, contact details and vehicle type, with up to four vehicles per entry.

Every float is entered in the contest automatically unless the entrant opts out, and the committee encourages floats to play music.

The committee is a division of the ABC Group, and its members are named on the form: Sue Trampf, Chris Kalupa, Debi Dowen, Vicky Pawlacyk, Kassidy Walters and Ashley Bartol. Six volunteers put a 41-year tradition on Broadway.

November 9 is also the date the City of Berlin's event calendar lists for the Lions Club Cheese Sale. That makes one Monday with two good reasons to be downtown.

The evening itself, in order

Once the trees are decorated and the floats are registered, November 19 runs on a tight schedule. The registration form lays it out:

1. 4:00 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the park with live reindeer.
2. 5:00 p.m. The switch flips, and more than 200 trees light at Nathan Strong Park and Forsyth Park.
3. 5:00 p.m. Float lineup begins at the same time. Entrants get their lineup times, spots and a map by email before the event.
4. 5:20 to 6:00 p.m. Three community representatives judge the floats. To be judged, a float must be on theme and in place by 5:20.
5. 6:30 p.m. The parade begins.

The overlap matters if you're both building a float and watching the lighting. The judging window opens 20 minutes after the lights come on, and it closes for good to anyone who arrives late. For families who are only watching, the gap between 5:00 and 6:30 leaves time to walk the trees before heading to Broadway.

The City of Berlin lists the lighting and the parade together as its two November 19 events. A Macaroni KID listing for last year's parade gave the route as Broadway and Huron streets. Green Lake Country's 2025 visitor guide described dozens of themed floats from local businesses and organizations, with candy handed out to children along Broadway, and the parade heading back toward Nathan Strong Park.

After the parade, the trees stay up

The parade lasts one evening, but the park display runs much longer. In recent seasons the trees have stayed lit nightly into early January. The 2025 Green Lake Country guide said through January 1, and a Go Valley Kids lights roundup from December 2025 said dusk to dawn until January 8. That roundup also noted visitors can drive around the park or park and walk through it. Last season's adoption page set an early-January deadline for adopters to take their decorations down. Check ABC for this year's end date.

So the adoption choices made this week will shape a park that people drive past every night for about six weeks. The work done in late October lasts a lot longer than the lighting ceremony.

The rest of Berlin's calendar between now and then

A few nearby dates fill out the stretch. Trick-or-treating in Berlin is Saturday, October 31, from 3 to 6 p.m., according to both the city's schedule and WBAY's 2026 regional list. The Berlin Public Library is running its Halloween Costume Swap and the Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale through October 31, plus a Hocus Pocus Escape Room from October 29 to 31. After the parade, the city calendar lists Lions Club Coupon Book Sales on November 28.

Here is the order that matters. Adoption was set to open October 24, with instructions posted on the ABC homepage. Floats are due November 9. Decorating has to be done before lighting night. Santa arrives at 4 p.m. on November 19, the trees light at 5, and the parade steps off at 6:30.

If you're adopting a tree for the first time this year, or planning a float with your business or family, we'd love to hear what you're planning, and we're happy to share what we know about Berlin's holiday traditions. Reach out to Desiree and Eileen at Green Lake Properties. We'll see you on Broadway.