At 6 p.m. on Black Friday 2025, the Grinch was scheduled to take the Christmas star and lead families from the Schererville Community Center on a procession down Joliet Street to Town Hall, with caroling along the way. That is how PanoramaNOW described the plan for "A Crinchy Griswold Christmas." The event ran from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Community Center, and the walk ended at the newly revived Schererville Tree Lighting.
This year the walk has an official name. On Friday, November 27, 2026, the Schererville Chamber of Commerce, Schererville Parks & Recreation and the Town of Schererville will hold the 1st Annual Schererville Tree Lighting Parade. It follows the same route, from the Community Center at 500 E. Joliet St. to Town Hall. In one year, an informal procession has become a scheduled parade. It's also a good map of the whole holiday season, because nearly every holiday event the town has posted so far for October through January takes place at one of four addresses on East Joliet Street.
Last Year Was a Comeback
The 2025 tree lighting was a revival. The Town's event listing calls it bringing "back a beloved Schererville tradition just in time to kick off the holiday season." The listing doesn't say when the lighting last happened or why it stopped, and we couldn't find any local coverage that does.
The 2025 program was short. According to the Town of Schererville's event page, the tree was lit "promptly at 7pm" at Town Hall, 10 E. Joliet St. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived at the same time, and guests then went inside for cookies, hot cocoa and pictures with Santa. A Toys for Tots drive collected new, unwrapped toys.
Local businesses donated the treats:
- Hot chocolate: Andorra Banquets and Catering
- Cookies: the Schererville location of Strack & Van Til
- Candy canes: Patti's All American Gymnastics
That list covers 2025 only. No 2026 donors have been announced.
The afternoon event at the Community Center was more elaborate. PanoramaNOW reported that the Grinch would arrive on a fire truck at 2 p.m. and meet Aunt Bethany at the flagpole for the Pledge of Allegiance. Costumed characters from Olaf to Jack Skellington would also be there. To meet the Grinch, guests were asked to bring a canned good for the Holiday Help Drive or a pet item for the Holiday Pet Pantry, which benefits Schererville Animal Control. Rescue cats and dogs were part of the event too. The Craft and Conquer craft show ran at the same building from 2 to 6 p.m. with more than 50 vendors.
That afternoon was planned to end with a walk between the two buildings. The 2026 plan turns that walk into the main event.
What's Different on November 27
The Eventeny listing for the 2026 parade sets the schedule. All entries must be in place by 6 p.m., and the parade starts at 6:30 p.m. It begins at the Community Center and ends at Town Hall, where the annual Tree Lighting starts. PanoramaNOW's 2026 listing puts the lighting at 7 p.m. It also lists Santa and Mrs. Claus, free hot cocoa and treats, holiday crafts and a Toys for Tots collection, the same basic program as last year.
The biggest change is who takes part. Last year, families followed a costumed character. This year, organizers invite "businesses, schools, churches, community groups, organizations, families, and other local participants" to enter. There's no fee, and entries are encouraged to decorate floats, vehicles and walking groups with holiday lights. Applications to march are due November 20, 2026.
The organizers have also posted some rules for entries:
- Vehicles and floats move at parade speed.
- Riders stay seated or secured while moving.
- An adult supervises every child in the parade.
- No candy or other items get thrown toward spectators or into the road.
- Entries must be family-friendly, and any entry judged unsafe can be removed.
The candy rule matters if you plan to watch from the curb with small children. Entries may still hand things out, but nothing will be tossed toward the crowd.
Three details are still open. First, no street-by-street route or road-closure notice has been published. The listing says parking and arrival instructions will go to approved participants before the event. Second, the time block on the Eventeny listing reads 6 to 7 p.m., while the description gives the 6:30 p.m. start. The 6 p.m. time is when entries must be lined up, not when the parade begins. Third, PanoramaNOW's calendar widget lists the event in the morning, which is a typo. Its own description says 6:30 p.m. for the parade and 7 p.m. for the lighting.
We also couldn't find a 2026 version of the Grinch afternoon at the Community Center. The Parks & Recreation page on Eventeny lists three 2026 events, and none of them is a November 27 afternoon program. Something could still be announced. For now, the confirmed schedule for that evening starts at 6:30.
The Trees Stay Up Until January 8
The parade lasts about half an hour. The decorations at Town Hall stay up much longer. Through a sponsorship campaign from the Schererville Chamber of Commerce, businesses and individuals could buy trees through October 1. Those trees will be displayed around Town Hall for the November 27 lighting and will stay up through January 8, 2027.
The sponsorship window has closed, so the number of trees is already set. That gives the lawn at 10 E. Joliet St. about six weeks of decoration after a single night of crowds. The Chamber's own listing gives its address as 122 E. Joliet St., also on that stretch.
Four Addresses, the Whole Season
Here's the full calendar the town and its partners have posted so far.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween trick-or-treat | Townwide | 5 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 and Sun., Nov. 8 | Holiday Craft Show | Community Center, 500 E. Joliet St., and Homan School, 210 E. Joliet St. | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | 1st Annual Tree Lighting Parade, then Tree Lighting | Community Center to Town Hall, 10 E. Joliet St. | Parade 6:30 p.m., lighting 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Crafts at the Crossroads Handmade Christmas Craft Show | Community Center, 500 E. Joliet St. | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Nov. 27 through Jan. 8 | Chamber-sponsored tree display | Around Town Hall, 10 E. Joliet St. | Ongoing |
The Halloween hours come from the Town of Schererville's calendar, which doesn't list a venue. Everything else is on East Joliet Street, at the Community Center, Homan School, the Chamber office or Town Hall.
One more note on the calendar. The Town's own November and December calendar doesn't show the parade or either craft show. For now, the organizers' Eventeny pages and the Chamber's site have the most complete schedule.
Two Craft Shows With Different Rules
Both craft shows are at the Community Center, and they're five weeks apart, but they're different kinds of events.
Parks & Recreation calls the Holiday Craft Show on November 7 and 8 "Schererville's longest-running and most anticipated holiday event." It also calls it the department's most attended and biggest show of the year. It has more than 200 crafters spread across the Community Center and Homan School, which the listing describes as "just a short walk apart." Admission, parking and raffles are free, and food trucks will be on site. One thing to know: the description on that page still says "November 7 & 8, 2025." The page title and date field both show 2026, so the 2025 in the description looks like leftover copy.
The Crafts at the Crossroads show on December 12 is in its eighth year. It's smaller, with more than 100 vendors at indoor and outdoor booths, and it has stricter rules. Everything must be handmade, and direct sellers aren't allowed. The listing calls it "one of the few handmade-only craft shows in the area." Admission, parking and raffles are free here too, and food trucks are expected.
So the November show is the bigger one and comes early in the season, while the December show is limited to handmade work and falls two weeks before Christmas. Together with the parade, they put the Community Center at the center of three Joliet Street weekends between early November and mid-December.
The parade is the newest of these events. It also connects the Community Center and Town Hall, the two buildings where most of the season's events happen.
If your business, church or group is thinking about entering a float on November 27, the deadline is November 20. If you're a homeowner near the Joliet Street corridor wondering how this new tradition might affect your street and your home's value, Favela Real Estate can walk you through it in English or Spanish. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll show you what's selling between the Community Center and Town Hall.
