Ada's Holiday Lights Stay Up for Weeks. December 4 Is for Everything Else.

At 5:15 p.m. on Friday, December 4, the covered bridge over the Thornapple River lights up for the season. That starts Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys, the Ada Business Association's main holiday event. It runs until 8:30 p.m., and the program includes Santa's Village, trolley rides through Ada Village, a Candy Cane Forest, a DJ dance party, live reindeer at the Ada History Center and sled dogs at the library.

The lights stay on long after the trolleys stop. Ada Township's Winter Wonderland display runs December 1 through January 31 along a walking path through the Covered Bridge, into Legacy Park and past the Village storefronts. The Festival of Trees fills Legacy Park from December 1 to 31.

The trees will be there on any quiet weeknight through December 31, and the bridge and storefront lights through the end of January. The reindeer, sled dogs, trolleys, Cascade's tree lighting and the Saturday parade each happen once, all inside about 17 hours on the first weekend of December. Those are the things to plan the weekend around.

The Display That Runs for Weeks

The Festival of Trees has been building since WOOD TV8 called it new in its 2022 preview. In 2024, FOX 17 counted 45 trees along the path. This year the ABA plans 50 sustainable trees, each decorated by a local business, organization or community group, lining the pathway through Legacy Park.

The trees are sponsored. The ABA supplies the tree, lights and yard sign, and the sponsor decorates it. Sponsorship costs $100 for ABA members and $150 for non-members, and the deadline to register and appear in print materials is November 6, 2026. When this post goes up, that is one day away. A neighborhood group, a small business or a scout troop that wants its own tree on the path has very little time left.

Because the walk is open for weeks, you can see it when the Village is quiet. The bridge lighting is timed to December 4 to line up with the start of Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys, but the township's display runs to January 31. A January evening on that path is a different walk from the opening night.

Friday, December 4, Hour by Hour

Two townships hold their holiday kickoffs on the same Friday evening, 45 minutes apart.

1. 5:15 p.m., Ada. The covered bridge lights up.
2. 5:30 p.m., Ada. Trolleys start running and Santa arrives at Santa's Village.
3. 5:30 p.m., Cascade. Christmas in Cascade opens at the Cascade Historical Museum, 2839 Thornapple River Dr. SE, with holiday music, hot cocoa, cookies, crafts and photos with Santa.
4. 6:00 p.m., Cascade. The township lights its tree.
5. 6:00 p.m., Ada. "Meet the Sled Dogs" starts at Amy Van Andel Library, where guests can meet dogs from Tun-Dra Kennels and ask about mushing and the Iditarod. It runs until 8 p.m.
6. 7:00 p.m., Cascade. Christmas in Cascade ends.
7. 8:30 p.m., Ada. Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys ends, and the Kent District Library's Ada branch closes after special hours of 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. that day.

Cascade's event is short and finishes by 7. Ada's runs for more than three hours, and the sled dogs stay until 8. One way to fit both is to see Cascade's tree lighting at 6 and then head to Ada for the reindeer, the sled dogs and a trolley ride in the later part of the evening. The other is to see the bridge light at 5:15 and spend the whole night in the Village.

The Cascade event is smaller and built for families. It's set at a historical museum on Thornapple River Drive, with cocoa, cookies and crafts, and its tree lighting falls in the middle of a 90-minute window. Ada's runs across the whole Village, with stops at the History Center, the library and Santa's Village.

Getting Around Ada That Night

The ABA says an event map and program for 2026 will come out closer to the date. Until then, last year's setup is the best guide to how the evening works. In 2025, the event listing named these trolley stops and areas:

• Ada Drive and Bronson Street
• Ada History Center
• Amy Van Andel Library
• Headley Street
• Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery
• Settlers Drive and River Street
• Santa's Village
• The Community Church

Overflow parking last year was at Ada Vista School and Ada Christian Reformed Church on Bradfield Street. FOX 17's 2025 preview reported that signs pointed guests to a pedestrian tunnel and a shuttle from the lot into Historic Ada. Check this year's map before you leave home, since stops and lots can change from year to year.

The stops line up with the one-night attractions. The library has the sled dogs, and Santa's Village has Santa. The History Center at 7144 Headley St. SE has the reindeer, vintage holiday cards for kids to color, and its wreath sale in the barn. If you have one evening and small children, plan your stops around those three places.

Saturday Morning, the Same Streets Again

About 13 and a half hours after the Ada event ends, the Village's streets fill up again. The Ada Fire Department's annual Santa Parade is planned for Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 10 a.m. and should take about 40 minutes.

The planned route comes from the township's road-permit resolution in its October 26 board packet. The parade starts on River Street, goes to Headley Street, turns left on Ada Drive, turns right onto Thornapple River Drive and ends at the Ada Fire Station, just south of East Fulton Street on Bronson Street. According to Ada Township's events page, the parade ends with Santa riding through town to the station, where children can meet him and tell him what they're hoping for.

That route crosses the same area as Friday night. Headley Street is a trolley stop and the History Center's address, and Ada Drive and Bronson Street was also on last year's trolley list. If you live near those streets or drive through them on Saturday mornings, expect two busy stretches about half a day apart.

For families, the weekend gives two chances to see Santa: Santa's Village on Friday night, and the fire station after the Saturday parade. That leaves Friday evening open for the reindeer and sled dogs, which aren't part of Saturday's plans.

The Wreath Sale on Either Side of the Weekend

The Ada History Center's Wreath Sale Fundraiser at 7144 Headley Street SE starts before the holiday weekend and keeps going after it.

The History Center encourages pre-orders and says wreaths are available while supplies last. The hours change on the holiday weekend. On December 4, the sale stays open until 8:30 p.m., when Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys ends, and on Saturday, December 5, it opens at 9 a.m., an hour before the parade steps off. The November dates come before the crowds. The weekend dates let you pick up a wreath on your way to the reindeer.

If the first weekend of December has you weighing a home near the Village or along Thornapple River Drive, Ryan J Ogle and the Blu House Properties team can tell you how those streets work on event nights and the rest of the year. Contact Us and we'll go through the details with you.