On a 40-degree Saturday night in December 2023, people of all ages lined First Street waiting for the Christmas light parade. Some wore Santa hats and some wore Christmas sweaters. A few had light-up necklaces. InkFreeNews reported that the Pierceton Police Department led the parade, that Santa arrived on a fire truck thanks to the Pierceton Fire Department, and that one young man had decorated his scooter for the occasion.
That parade is the part of the day most people remember. It's also the last part of a schedule that starts about nine hours earlier in the same building. Christmas in Pierceton returns Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, and the Pierceton Chamber of Commerce lays it out as one loop through town. It starts at Pierceton Elementary in the morning, moves through the downtown shops in the afternoon, and returns to the school at dusk. From there the parade heads to Brower Park, and the night ends at Harvest Community Church.
The same school building opens the day and starts the parade
The first event of the day is the Heritage Gathering Primitives Show, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pierceton Elementary School. Admission is free, and the Chamber calls this year's show the 15th annual. Its listing promises "a wonderful assortment of primitive and vintage items."
It isn't a typical holiday craft fair. Before the 2024 show, InkFreeNews described a juried event: a Pierceton Chamber committee chose the antique, craft and primitive vendors so the whole show fit a primitive-antique look. That year organizers expected 30 to 40 vendors spread through the school's entry, gym, hallways and cafeteria, with refreshments and kettle corn. Visit Kosciusko County's 2025 holiday guide described the show as featuring dozens of primitive crafters.
The show closes at 3 p.m. About three hours later the parade lines up at the same school. The morning crowd and the evening crowd use the same building, and the downtown blocks connect them.
Between the gym and the parade, First Street is open
The afternoon belongs to the downtown Shop Hop. The Chamber's 2026 listing says shops will open between 9 and 10 a.m. and stay open until 4 or 5 p.m. Some will have snacks, giveaways, drawings and sales. Those hours overlap the primitives show for most of the day and run right up to the parade. You can start at the school, spend the afternoon downtown, and be back on First Street before the parade begins.
The Chamber's member directory lists antique and specialty storefronts such as Antiques on First Street, Purr-fectly Unique Boutique, Bluebird & Co., Homespun House, Kelsea Designs, Puck's Vintage Interiors, Second Fiddle, Gregory's Antiques and Lee & Co. It also lists Kelly Jo's, a boutique selling clothing, furniture and decor, and James Townsend & Son, which sells reproduction historical clothing and accessories. Hours and specials vary by shop, and the Chamber's Facebook page is where each year's shop details appear.
Downtown has a newer stop for a warm drink this year. Salt + Light Coffee Co. began serving customers July 2, and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce held its ribbon-cutting July 9, according to InkFreeNews. The shop serves Tiny Little Doughnuts and Blue Lion Coffee. Co-owner Olivia Targgart told the outlet its signature "Pierceton" drink is a brown sugar cinnamon latte. She also said, "We're really excited to be in this small town."
The Saturday before is the shops' own day
Pierceton's shops get two Saturdays in a row. Shop Small Saturday falls on Nov. 28, a week before Christmas in Pierceton. The Chamber runs it with less structure than Dec. 5, and here is how it works:
- Where to find the list: The Chamber posts the list of participating shops, with hours, sales, specials and giveaways, on its Facebook page the week of Thanksgiving.
- On the day: The same list is available in the shops on Nov. 28.
- The format: No central venue. It's a day to go shop to shop.
Supporting these shops is a large part of what the Chamber does. In a 2022 interview, Chamber president DeGaetano told the Times-Union that her role meant "connecting with all of Pierceton's shops so the Chamber can have its Shop Hop and Shop Small Saturday in November."
The evening route, stop by stop
After the shops close, the rest of the day follows a fixed route. Here's the 2026 schedule as the Chamber lists it:
- Pierceton Elementary, about 6 p.m. The Untangled Parade starts at the same school that hosted the primitives show that morning.
- First Street to Brower Park. The route ends at the park. In 2023, the crowd watched from along First Street.
- Brower Park lighting ceremony. The town lights its Christmas decorations after the parade arrives.
- Harvest Community Church, 512 S. Seventh St. Santa travels from the park to the church to visit with children, and a live nativity is on site.
Past years show what the route looks like in practice. The 2023 parade included golf carts, Jeeps, an ATV, a decorated Farmall, a motorized tank decorated by a group of youngsters, and members of the Pierceton Hayseeds. Afterward, cookies and hot chocolate were served at the park, and many residents walked through Brower Park to see the lights. In 2024, InkFreeNews reported a 6 p.m. light parade with Santa, the Grinch, Frosty, Mystery Inc. and Edward Scissorhands, along with a series of lighted Jeeps decorated with festive humor.
At the church that year, Mrs. Claus decorated in frosted pink and served gingerbread and sugar cookies alongside a hot chocolate bar with festive toppings. Outside, a live nativity scene with real animals stood in a stable under the star of Bethlehem.
Neighbors in several roles carry the evening
The evening portion didn't begin as a Chamber production. In the same 2022 Times-Union interview, DeGaetano said Christmas in Pierceton Untangled was run by another group, which raised the money and held a parade with carolers. She described what it was like to be part of it:
"Being a part of that, I was near sobbing... it was so exciting because our small town came together and did that for everybody around themselves."
The Untangled name has carried over into the Chamber's 2026 listing. The people at each stop explain how one evening connects a school, a park and a church. In 2023, Glenn Hall welcomed the crowd. InkFreeNews identified him then as pastor at Harvest Community Church, a Chamber member and the newest town council member, and credited Stephanie Campbey with coordinating the evening's events. In 2024, Hall said a prayer before Brower Park was lit, and Santa went on from the park to the church he serves. By September 2026, he was speaking as Council President at the ribbon-cutting for the upgraded Pierceton-Washington Township Community Park.
The church's role continues into the new year. The Chamber's calendar lists a pancake and sausage breakfast at Harvest Community Church on Feb. 27, 2027, from 8 to 11 a.m., with all proceeds going to the Pierceton Chamber Scholarship Fund.
Before Dec. 5
Plan around the clock more than around a single venue. The primitives show at the school runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Shop Hop runs until about 4 or 5 p.m., and the parade starts around 6 p.m. If you want a spot along First Street, keep in mind that the 2023 crowd lined the street before the parade began. The Chamber gives the parade start as "approximately" 6 p.m., and its Facebook page is the place for event details and volunteer opportunities.
If the walk from the Brower Park lighting to Santa at Harvest Community Church makes you wonder which Pierceton streets fit your next chapter, Deb Paton Showley Group knows the downtown blocks and the town's traditions well. We're glad to talk any time this season.
