At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 4, the Erie Chamber of Commerce's Parade of Lights heads north on Briggs Street. It starts at Maxwell Avenue, the far south end of downtown, beside a vacant 1.12-acre lot.
The lot already has new plans. In September the Town of Erie Urban Renewal Authority approved an agreement to put a 13,000-square-foot dining and retail building on it, with construction expected in 2027. So this year's parade starts on the corner the Town has picked to become downtown's southern gateway, once Gaia Development gets through planning, design and permitting. The rest of the season, from Shop Small Erie to the Thursday carriage rides, already follows the same south-to-north line that the new building is meant to anchor.
The corner at Briggs and Maxwell
The Town's October 22 announcement calls the project "a prominent southern gateway to Downtown Erie." The Urban Renewal Authority bought the property for $585,000 in 2024 and picked Gaia Development as the preferred developer in April 2026 after a competitive selection. The board approved the development agreement on September 22.
About 5,000 of the building's 13,000 square feet are set aside for Malbec, a new full-service Argentine restaurant from the Erie-based team behind Piripi. An existing Erie business that needs more space will move into the rest. The plans also include landscaping and an outdoor gathering area. Next come site planning, final design and permitting.
"We're taking a vacant property at an important entrance to Downtown and creating new opportunities for local businesses to invest and grow," Economic Development Manager Stephanie Pitts-Nagus said in the Town's release.
That matters this season because the team behind Malbec is already one of the stops on the downtown holiday calendar.
Piripi's block is already a holiday stop
Piripi is a Latin and Mediterranean restaurant at 615 Briggs Street, with Hugo Meyer as owner and executive chef. It has been on Briggs since 2020. Yellow Scene marked its first anniversary in a September 2021 profile.
This December, two of the free holiday carriage rides listed by the We Love Erie Business Collective leave from Piripi:
- Thursday, December 3, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, December 10, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Both are weeknights after dark, timed for dinner on Briggs. If you want a carriage ride without the parade crowd, these two evenings are the quieter option.
Saturday, November 28: Shop Small Erie
The season opens the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Shop Small Erie 2026 runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. downtown and is presented by ALLO Fiber and the Town of Erie.
| Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m. | Free Shop Small Erie totes for the first 150 people, some with surprise local gift cards | Downtown Erie |
| 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | Holiday Winter Market and discounts at participating shops | Downtown Erie |
| 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | DJ Orion Giant playing festive music | Downtown Erie |
| Noon to 2:00 p.m. | Free holiday carriage rides | Coal Creek Park parking lot, 575 Kattell Street |
With only 150 totes, arriving at 11 makes a difference. Coal Creek Park, one block east of Briggs, is where Saturday's carriage rides line up. It comes back into the plan on parade night.
Friday, December 4: the Parade of Lights, hour by hour
The Chamber lists the event as running from late afternoon into the evening. Activities start at 4:30 p.m. and the parade starts at 6:30. Here is the schedule from the Chamber's event page:
- 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Local school choirs sing inside Orchard Community Church, 470 Briggs Street, which also has free hot chocolate, snacks and restrooms.
- 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus visit on Briggs Street.
- 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Free carriage rides before the parade.
- Also on parade night. Open skating at the Erie Ice Rink, 575 Kattell Street, and free hot chocolate at the Calvary Bible Church tent on Briggs.
- 6:30 p.m. The parade leaves Maxwell Avenue heading north.
Food vendors on Wells and Briggs include JLK Kettle Corn, Deborah Ann Does Donuts, Kogler's Bakery, Belgian Waffles and Chick-fil-A. The Chamber also suggests coming early to eat at a downtown restaurant. The lost children and first aid tents are next to the DJ by Fox Dog Coffee on Briggs Street.
The parade travels north on Briggs from Maxwell to Cheesman Street. Walkers turn off at Cheesman and head to Coal Creek Park, which is also where the ice rink is. Floats keep going north on Briggs to Evans Street. If you're meeting someone who is walking in the parade, plan to find them at the park. Anywhere along Briggs between Maxwell and Cheesman has a view of the whole parade.
Street closures and parking on parade night
Downtown streets close in stages that afternoon. The Chamber's schedule:
- 2:00 to 10:00 p.m., no parking: Briggs Street from Maxwell to Evans, and Kattell Street from Moffat to Cheesman.
- 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., street closures: Briggs from Anderson to Evans, and Kattell from Moffat to Cheesman.
- 5:45 to 10:00 p.m., full closure: Briggs from Perry to Evans, plus every street that crosses Briggs in that stretch. Briggs from Perry to Erie Parkway reopens as the parade clears.
- Until 6:00 p.m., post office access: Drive north on Kattell, west on Moffat, then north through the alley into the post office lot. Leave the same way you came in.
If you live or work east of Briggs, the most important line on the page is this one. Once the parade starts at 6:30, no vehicles can get in or out east of Briggs Street. For an emergency, call 911. The non-emergency number is 303-441-4444. If you have a dinner reservation or a pickup elsewhere, move your car before then.
Parking is available on residential streets around town, in the Erie Methodist Church lot on Holbrook Street just west of Town Hall, and in the Town Hall lot at Holbrook and Cheesman. The alleys are off limits so first responders can get through. Keep hydrants clear. There are only a few accessible parking spaces, first come, first served: behind Orchard Community Church at Moffat Street and in the lot south of Coal Creek Park on Kattell. You need to be in those spots by 5:45 p.m. After that, cars can't get in, and you won't be able to leave until the parade is over.
Questions about the event go to the Chamber at 303-828-3440 or [email protected].
The newer stops between Maxwell and Cheesman
Several new businesses are on their way to the blocks along the route. The Town's October 2026 business newsletter lists several downtown addresses as coming soon.
Little Grove, 512 Briggs Street. This indoor and outdoor play center with a coffee bar is for children up to age 7. It has 1,740 square feet inside and 2,000 square feet outside, and admission is free for up to two adults per family. Little Grove set November 9 as its opening date. It's a short walk from Orchard Community Church at 470 Briggs, where the choirs sing.
Johnny Bechamel's, 656 Kattell Street. In October the Town said it was aiming for a late-November opening. The address is on the stretch of Kattell that becomes part of the parade-night closures.
Erie Cor Arts, 365 Briggs Street, and Whitney Lane Aesthetics, 149 S. Briggs Street. Both are on the same coming-soon list. Whitney Lane is moving to a new location.
The Town's newsletter also says planning is still underway for the 130 Wells development and for improvements to the Briggs alleyway, both just off the parade route.
The whole season on one line
| Date | Event | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Shop Small Erie, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Downtown Erie |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Carriage rides, noon to 2 p.m. | Coal Creek Park, 575 Kattell St. |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Carriage rides, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Piripi, 615 Briggs St. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Parade of Lights, activities 4:30 p.m., parade 6:30 p.m. | Briggs St. at Maxwell Ave. |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Carriage rides, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Piripi, 615 Briggs St. |
Every stop on this list sits on or just off Briggs between Maxwell and Coal Creek Park. Malbec, from the team behind Piripi, is set to take about 5,000 square feet of the 13,000-square-foot building planned for the corner where the parade begins. The Town says that construction is expected to start in 2027.
If you have questions about downtown Erie, from the Briggs and Maxwell project to how new businesses are changing the blocks around Coal Creek Park, the team at North Metro Realty follows these updates closely and is happy to talk them through. Call or text to start your home search or get a home valuation.
