"Yelm during Christmas is a literal Hallmark movie," Line Roy, Yelm's communications and recreation coordinator, told the Nisqually Valley News last November. The calendar she was describing had already started to change. For years, Christmas in the Park was a single weekend: the tree went up on Friday night and the parade came down Yelm Avenue on Saturday morning.
That is no longer the schedule. The City of Yelm will light the tree at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Yelm City Park. The Yelm Chamber of Commerce's Christmas Parade steps off four days later, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. The parade no longer opens the season. It falls in the middle of a stretch that starts with a craft market the Saturday before Thanksgiving and ends with a selfie spot that stays up until Christmas Eve.
Three Years, Three Calendars
The shift is easiest to see laid out year by year.
| Year | Tree lighting | Parade | Time between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Friday, Dec. 6 | Saturday, Dec. 7 | Overnight |
| 2025 | Monday, Dec. 1 | Saturday, Dec. 6 | Five days |
| 2026 | Tuesday, Dec. 1 | Saturday, Dec. 5 | Four days |
The 2024 weekend was the tightest version of the tradition, and it had extra weight. The parade's theme that year was "100 years of Christmas cheer," and Yelm turned 100 the next day, Sunday, Dec. 8. Tina Richardson, the Chamber's executive director, told the Nisqually Valley News that she hoped the parade would add "to the momentum, excitement and pride that Yelm has for itself."
By 2025 the lighting had been pulled out of parade weekend and set on Dec. 1. Free photos with Santa took over the Friday evening slot. In 2026 the lighting stays on Dec. 1 even though that date lands on a Tuesday. Two years in a row, Yelm has lit its tree by the date instead of the weekend.
A Tuesday Evening at City Park
Holding the lighting on a weeknight makes it a smaller, more local evening. It runs from 5 to 6 p.m., it is free, and it centers on two things. The first is the switch: this year's Masters of Merriment will be introduced and will turn on the lights across the park. The second is new for 2026. The city is asking people to write their favorite memory of the year on an ornament and hang it on a Community Christmas Tree.
The ornament tree fits the new timing. On parade weekend, people come mainly to watch the floats. A weeknight hour in the park, with the parade still days off, leaves time to stop, write something down and stay a while. The city lit the park in a similar way in 2024, when families walked through a tunnel of lights at the lighting ceremony.
Yelm City Park is at 115 SE Mosman Ave., and the Yelm Community Center is at 301 2nd St. SE. Most of the season happens at those two places.
The Honor That Replaced the Grand Marshal
The Masters of Merriment make the tree lighting worth attending in its own right. The honor started in 2019. Before that, Christmas in the Park named Grand Marshals, and the City of Yelm's honor roll lists them back to Gladys EH Iverson in 2000.
The Masters of Merriment so far:
- 2019: Bill and Sara Devore
- 2020: Brad and Susie Carlson
- 2021: Tad and Debbie Stillwell
- 2022: Stephanie Kangiser
- 2023: Larry Schorno
- 2024: Gary and Debbie Edwards
- 2025: Wayne McCarten
Being named means a busy few weeks. According to the Nisqually Valley News, the 2024 honorees took part in the official tree lighting, appeared at community events, served as grand marshals in the parade and switched on the park's Christmas lights. Gary Edwards was born and raised in Yelm. He served as Thurston County sheriff and later as a county commissioner, and his great-grandfather J.C. Conine was one of Yelm's first teachers in the 1870s.
The 2025 honoree has the same kind of local roots. The city describes Wayne McCarten as born and raised in Yelm, and apart from a few years studying at Washington State University and working in Bellevue and Olympia, he has lived there most of his life. He serves on the boards of the Yelm Chamber of Commerce and the ACU Foundation, cooks for the monthly dinner and Bingo nights at the Yelm Senior Center, and helps organize the Nisqually Valley BBQ Rally and the ACU Foundation Pub Crawl. In the city's announcement, he talked about the season in terms of his decades in restaurants:
"I've had the privilege of hosting countless celebrations for families and businesses. There's nothing better than seeing the joy and connection that happens when people come together."
In 2024 the news came by phone from city staff. Debbie Edwards told the Nisqually Valley News that when Roy called, she assumed the honor was only for her husband until Roy said, "Debbie, we mean you and Gary." The 2026 Masters of Merriment will be named at the park on Dec. 1.
Saturday Morning on Yelm Avenue
With the lighting on its own night, the parade is a separate event. The Chamber's 2026 listing puts it at 9 a.m. on Dec. 5 in downtown Yelm, with floats, music and an appearance by Santa, under the theme "Have a Holly Dolly Christmas!" The Chamber also says it will go ahead "rain or shine." Details are on the Yelm Chamber's parade page.
Last year's parade gives a sense of what to expect. In 2025, entries lined up at 7:30 a.m., the route ran along Yelm Avenue from Yelm Cinemas to the Yelm Community Center, and the Chamber gave awards for best float and best entry. Yelm Farm and Pet, J&I Power Equipment, and Crossroad Community Covenant Church all had entries, along with the Rainier High School marching band and the Yelm and Ridgeline middle school bands. After the parade, Christmas in the Park activities ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park and Community Center. The day ended with a magic show on the Centennial Stage.
The Weeks on Either Side
Here is the 2026 calendar as it stands at publication:
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Creative Market: Crafted for Christmas at the Yelm Community Center. The City of Yelm Parks and Recreation Department organizes it to feature professional artists, creatives and handmade goods.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.: Get Fit Yelm's "Gobble and Grind" Thanksgiving workout at the Fitness Court in Yelm City Park.
- Tuesday, Dec. 1, 5 p.m.: Christmas in the Park tree lighting, the Community Christmas Tree ornaments and the introduction of the 2026 Masters of Merriment.
- Dec. 1 through Dec. 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The Chamber's Holiday Selfie Spot. The Chamber has said more details are coming.
- Friday, Dec. 4: An SRO Theater holiday dinner show at Farrelli's Pizza in Yelm.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m.: The Yelm Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade.
- Wednesday, Dec. 9: A beginner Christmas cookie-decorating class from City of Yelm Parks and Recreation and Michelle's Cookie Kisses.
Last year the parks department also scheduled events after the parade. A free Cocoa Trail at Yelm City Park on Dec. 13 had people building hot chocolate one ingredient at a time at stations through the park, and on Dec. 14 Yelm's Dog Park hosted free Santa photos for dogs. The season has been moving off a single weekend for at least two years.
A New Way Into Town on Foot
Since the season now spreads over several weeks around City Park, getting there on foot matters more. Phase 1 of the City of Yelm's Veterans Park and Memorial Walk was nearing completion in early November, with paving scheduled for Nov. 5. Public Works Director Cody Colt told the Nisqually Valley News that the project realigns Mill Road, adds a turn lane, and builds sidewalk along SR 507 from St. Columban Catholic Church, through the memorial site and toward Ridgeline Middle School. Plants, trees, a park sign and work around the wetland come after the paving.
The route is modeled on Yelm City Park. Colt said the city chose to run the sidewalk through the memorial grounds rather than build a second sidewalk along the highway, the same approach it took at City Park, where a sidewalk winds through the park. "You'll get a little history lesson on your walk from Ridgeline Middle School to downtown Yelm," he said. Phase 2 of the memorial is fully designed. Colt said it is waiting on state funding and that, if the money comes through, construction would start in the summer.
When Phase 1 is finished, the sidewalk will connect the Ridgeline Middle School area to downtown, where the parade runs on Dec. 5.
The Masters of Merriment roll shows how long Yelm families have stayed involved in this town. If you own one of the Nisqually Valley homes that is part of that history and are thinking about its next chapter, Morrison House Sotheby's International Realty would be glad to hear its story. Request a private consultation.
