Viera's holiday season happens in two places. The tree goes up in Central Park at The Avenue Viera, and the parade goes down Stadium Parkway. This year those two places keep different hours. The Avenue holds most of its events on weekday evenings through December. Stadium Parkway fills up on weekends with fireworks, floats, youth baseball tournaments and a dog-friendly Santa. On two Saturdays, November 28 and December 19, both are busy at the same time. Those are the days worth planning around.
Central Park takes the weeknights
The season opens on a Friday. Merry & Bright, The Avenue Viera's annual tree-lighting celebration, runs November 20 from 5 to 8 p.m., and Health First sponsors it. The event is free, but The Avenue asks guests to register in advance so it knows how many people to expect.
The evening is spread across different spots on the property, so it helps to know the order:
- 5:30 p.m. The Classical Movements Collective performs a holiday ballet outside AMC, near the Splash Pad.
- Throughout the evening a DJ plays holiday music in Central Park, and Santa and Mrs. Claus pose for photos at the Central Park stage.
- While supplies last kids can make reindeer food at a station in the breezeway near LOFT.
- 7:55 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus lead the countdown, and the 40-foot tree lights up.
After that, Central Park keeps an evening schedule. Carols in the Park runs December 1 through December 24, with local schools, choirs and community performers singing at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. That's 24 straight evenings with two sets each, so a Tuesday night in December has music in Central Park just like a Saturday does.
Sur La Table at The Avenue adds two holiday classes. The Global Holiday Feast is Wednesday, November 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. The Holiday Macaron Workshop is the morning of Saturday, December 5, from 9 a.m. to noon. Both sign up through The Avenue's event pages.
Three ways to see Santa at The Avenue
Santa Visits 2026 runs from November 14 to December 24 in Central Park, and Health First sponsors it. There are three versions, and each has its own schedule and booking rules.
| Visit type | Dates | Hours | Cost and booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Mini Sessions with Alyssa Dougherty Photography | Nov. 14, 15, 28, 29 and Dec. 5, 6 | 2 to 5 p.m. | $155 for a 10-minute session and five edited photos; reservation required |
| Sensory Santa | Thursday, Dec. 10 | 3 to 6 p.m. | Bring your own camera; reservation required through Eventbrite |
| Complimentary visits | Dec. 11, 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 | 5 to 7:30 p.m. | Free, no reservation |
| Complimentary visits | Dec. 13, 20, 24 | Noon to 2:30 p.m. | Free, no reservation |
The paid mini-sessions come with an online proofing gallery delivered within seven days. Booking a November date means the photos arrive in time for holiday cards. The free visits start December 11, and most are on weekday evenings after work and school. That matches the rest of the Central Park schedule: the busiest stretch at The Avenue comes after dark in the second half of December.
Stadium Parkway takes the weekends
Stadium Parkway runs on a weekend schedule. It's home to the USSSA Space Coast Complex at 5800 Stadium Parkway, which holds three holiday-season tournaments this year:
- Thanksgiving Super NIT, November 27 to 29
- Space Coast Toys for Tots, December 12 and 13
- The Elf Games, a holiday-themed youth baseball and fastpitch event, December 18 to 20
All three are for ages 8U to 14U, and spectators need a gate pass. The Thanksgiving Super NIT has a "stay to play" rule, which means every participating team has to book lodging through the event's housing provider. That rule fills the complex on Thanksgiving weekend with teams booked into event lodging.
The same road has other holiday stops. On Sunday, December 6, Slow and Low Bar-B-Que at 5490 Stadium Parkway hosts Santa Paws from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's a fundraiser for Rescue Rebels by Cash 4 Canines. A $10 donation gets you a goody bag and a framed photo of your pet with Santa, according to the Viera Voice event listing.
Holiday grocery shopping happens on this road too. Two of the three established Viera-Suntree Publix stores are on Stadium Parkway: Stadium Corners at 5380 Stadium Parkway and Addison Center at 7655 Stadium Parkway. The third is at Suntree Square, 7777 N. Wickham Road. A fourth store anchors the new Viera Promenade, just south of Viera Boulevard at the northeast corner of Murrell Road and Berglund Lane. According to Viera Voice, the plaza's tenants include a Publix Liquors, a Sergio's Tacos and a Pigtails & Crewcuts children's hair salon, along with an outdoor seating area. A Publix spokesperson told the paper the store has an upstairs seating area. For anyone running Thanksgiving errands from the Murrell Road side of Viera, the Promenade is off the parade route.
Saturday, November 28, from afternoon to fireworks
Brevard County Sheriff's Office Charity, Inc. is hosting the Light Up Viera Christmas Parade for the third year in a row, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Lindsey Deaton, the group's executive director, explained the early date in an interview with Viera Voice:
"I think it really is so well attended because it's the first thing that kind of kicks off the Christmas season in Brevard. We do it early for that reason."
The parade falls on the middle day of the Thanksgiving Super NIT, on the same road as the ballfields. The Avenue also has Santa mini-sessions booked that afternoon. Here's how the day lines up:
- Tournament day two: Thanksgiving Super NIT games at the USSSA Space Coast Complex, 5800 Stadium Parkway.
- 2 to 5 p.m.: Santa Mini Sessions in Central Park at The Avenue Viera.
- 5:30 p.m.: Roads around the parade route close.
- 6 p.m.: Fireworks go up from an area next to Viera Middle School, and the parade starts right after.
- The route: The parade starts at Judge Fran Jamieson Way and Stadium Parkway, heads down Stadium Parkway, turns left on Viera Boulevard and ends at Manatee Elementary.
Deaton recommended arriving early. This year there will be restrooms in the Viera High parking lot for the first time. As of late October, more than 30 floats had signed up, and registration was still open. That 5:30 p.m. closure matters most for families with a mini-session that ends at 5 p.m. They'll have about half an hour to get from Central Park to a spot along Stadium Parkway before the roads shut.
Thanksgiving week starts earlier, too. Brevard Zoo's Wild Turkey Trot 3K steps off at 7:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, inside the zoo at 8225 N. Wickham Road. Registration is $38, or $28 for ages 11 and under, and closes November 22 at 11 a.m., according to the race's sign-up page. The race benefits the zoo and is presented by Orlando Health.
Saturday, December 19, starts in a Santa suit
The second busy Saturday comes a week before Christmas, and this one starts early:
- 7:30 a.m. The Run Run Santa 1 Mile, a race run in Santa suits, starts at Calvary Chapel, 2852 Fellowship Place. Entry is $35, or $30 for Space Coast Runners members. Proceeds go to Calvary Chapel's youth ministry, and the race page sends participants to Power of Pizza Charities for more details.
- Tournament day two The Elf Games continues at the USSSA Space Coast Complex.
- 5 to 7:30 p.m. Free Santa visits in Central Park, no reservation needed.
- 6 and 7 p.m. Carols in the Park sets in Central Park.
On that day, a family can run the race in Santa suits in the morning, catch Elf Games action on Stadium Parkway, see Santa after dinner and stay for the 7 p.m. carols. After the Elf Games wrap up on December 20, Central Park keeps going with free Santa visits Monday through Wednesday evenings and a final midday visit on Christmas Eve. Carols in the Park runs through December 24.
Holiday weekends like these are also when Aaron and Valerie at Island Pineapple Realty hear from Viera and Suntree homeowners wondering what their place would be worth in the new year. If that's on your list between the parade and the carols, we're happy to drive over and talk it through. Request a Free Home Valuation, and we'll put together real numbers for your street before the tree comes down.
