Madisonville's December Runs Two Parades From the Same Dock: One on Pine Street, One on the River

At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6, a Christmas parade will leave Maritime Museum Louisiana at 133 Mabel Drive and roll away from the Tchefuncte. It heads through town to the park at 1007 Pine Street. Six days later, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, a second parade leaves the same museum, but these entries float. They go downriver, come back through the bridge, and finish against the riverfront wall.

Both parades start in the same place and run under the same Merry Madisonville name. They send the crowd to different ends of town, though, and they set different deadlines. The Sunday parade asks you to show up. The Saturday parade has been in the works for weeks before the first boat lights up, and for anyone who wants a boat in it, those weeks start now.

Sunday, Dec. 6: the parade that leaves the water behind

The 18th Annual Merry Madisonville Parade & Celebration is the older of the two by well over a decade. It's a park day built around a parade. The festival at the Pine Street park runs from noon to 6 p.m. and is free. Here's how the afternoon is scheduled:

• Noon: The park opens with Santa's Workshop crafts and games, the Market Munchkins farmers market run by kids, live music and performances by local young people, food trucks, and hot cocoa.
• 2 p.m.: The parade leaves the Maritime Museum on Mabel Drive and heads to the park.
• 4 p.m.: Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the gazebo for meet-and-greets and photos.
• 6 p.m.: The celebration wraps up.

The afternoon also doubles as a Toys for Tots drive. Bring a new, unwrapped toy to the park or the parade lineup. Donation boxes will be near the gazebo and at the Pine Street park entrance.

The timing works in your favor if you plan around it. The parade reaches the park two hours after the festival opens and two hours before Santa does, so families can split the afternoon around three fixed points. Last year's version followed the same pattern. In its 2025 holiday roundup, NOLA.com described a 2 p.m. parade from the museum through historic downtown to the Pine Street park, followed by a 4 p.m. Santa visit.

Saturday, Dec. 12: the parade that stays on the river

Twinkle on the Tchefuncte brings the season back to the river. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m., and the boats start moving at 6 p.m. It's free and doubles as a holiday decorating contest. The 2026 route goes like this:

1. Boats leave Maritime Museum Louisiana on Mabel Drive.
2. They head downriver to Marina del Ray.
3. They turn around and come back through the bridge.
4. They join up with the flotilla on the north side of the bridge.
5. Santa arrives by boat and leads the procession to the wall.

The crowd gathers where the route ends up. For the 2025 parade, the Town pointed spectators to the Madisonville Riverfront on the north side of the bridge and suggested chairs and blankets, with ice chests welcome. According to NOLA.com's account, that edition had dozens of lit boats that passed the riverfront crowd several times before docking at the wall for candlelight caroling. Because the boats keep looping, you don't need to stake out a spot hours early the way you might for a street parade. If you're anywhere along the north-side riverfront, the parade will come past you more than once.

This year the ending is bigger. Organizers are inviting everyone on the riverfront to join the caroling, then finish with a sing-along of the Hallelujah chorus, an attempt at the largest outdoor performance of the piece on the Northshore. After the parade, families can meet Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The deadline that comes before the lights

For people watching from the bank, Dec. 12 is just a date to save. For boat owners, the parade is already on the calendar. The 2026 listing says to register boats by emailing [email protected], and it doesn't list a deadline or a fee.

The latest registration form we have is from the 2025 parade, which ran Saturday, Dec. 13. It shows what organizers asked of captains then. The 2026 details are set by Merry Madisonville, so confirm them before you plan around these:

• Entry was free, and no permits were required for the Saturday parade.
• Boats gathered at the Maritime Museum dock between 5 and 6 p.m.
• Captains had to attend a meeting on Monday, Dec. 8, five days before the parade.
• Registration asked for the boat's name, make and model, dimensions, and decoration theme, plus proof of insurance.
• Entries were grouped as sailboat, houseboat, under 31 feet, or over 31 feet.
• Throws were allowed only after docking and caroling. Nothing could be thrown during the procession, and beads and sharp objects were banned.

If 2026 follows the same calendar, the captains' meeting would fall the Monday before Dec. 12, so the real deadline for having your decorations planned comes about a week before the parade. Each edition can have its own theme, too. In 2025, NOLA.com reported, the boats were decorated in patriotic style to honor veterans and first responders. If you're thinking about entering, the Merry Madisonville accounts on Facebook and Instagram are where updates are posted.

A river parade that has always kept a backup date

This is only the fourth December for the boat parade. In 2023, the first Twinkle on the Tchefuncte ran into high winds and heavy rain. Organizers didn't cancel it. They moved it to Dec. 23, and NOLA.com reported that a few hundred people still came out to the riverfront that close to Christmas. The night included a short program honoring two grand marshals, former District Attorney Warren Montgomery and longtime Mayor Peter Gitz, and it ended with carols by candlelight.

That first year explains why the two parades need different kinds of planning. Wind on a park day is an inconvenience. Wind on the river decides whether boats can safely go out at all. The Dec. 6 parade is a fixed afternoon you can count on. For the Dec. 12 parade, keep an eye on the Merry Madisonville pages as the day gets close, because the first one already moved once.

Where to eat on a river parade night

The 2026 listing promises "special eats and treats at participating restaurants." In 2025, NOLA.com reported that local restaurants offered special prices on drinks and treats during the parade. The 2026 list of participating restaurants hasn't been released, but several places sit close to the route:

• Social, 708 Water St. This modern Peruvian restaurant comes from Habs Hospitality Group founder Omar Lugo and chef Adolfo Gosálvez. It takes reservations, which helps on a busy night.
• Tchefuncte's and The Anchor, both at 407 St. Tammany St. on the riverfront. Tchefuncte's posts dinner, lunch, brunch, and bar hours, and The Anchor advertises daily drink specials.
• The Wakehouse, 100 Marina Del Ray, on the Tchefuncte. Marina del Ray is where the parade turns around, so the boats pass The Wakehouse before heading back toward the bridge.

The Dec. 6 festival handles food differently. Food trucks and hot cocoa are at the Pine Street park, so lunch is already taken care of if you stay through the afternoon.

Filling the weeks before December

November in Madisonville is quieter. Fairview-Riverside State Park offers Trail and Texture, a short walk beside the river followed by nature-inspired collage-making, on Nov. 7 and Nov. 21 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. On the riverfront, the Town's Lighting of the Oaks has opened Merry Madisonville in recent years. The 2025 event was on Nov. 29. Watch the Merry Madisonville pages for this year's date. Once you have it, all three events go on the calendar: the lighting under the oaks, the Sunday parade to Pine Street, and the Saturday parade on the river.

Thinking about putting your boat in Twinkle on the Tchefuncte, or wondering which stretch of Madisonville riverfront has the best December view? Patricia Conaghan lives and works on the Northshore and is glad to talk Tchefuncte life with you, in English or Spanish. Let's talk about your next move.