Last December, the decorated windows along downtown North Branch filled in over three weeks. The North Branch Beautification Association's Downtown Christmas Window Contest ran December 1–20, and people voted on their favorites through an online form while the season played out.
In 2026 the contest has a new name, a longer stretch of road and an earlier finish. The Merry Main Street Christmas Decorating Competition asks businesses to have decorations up and a photo sent to the association by Wednesday, December 2. The winners are announced three days later, during the tree lighting at the 10th annual Christmas Festival in Central Park. So the holiday corridor is now built ahead of the festival, and the festival evening is when the results come in.
Last year's contest and this year's, side by side
The two versions differ in ways that change when Main Street is worth a slow evening drive.
| 2025 Downtown Christmas Window Contest | 2026 Merry Main Street Competition | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Downtown North Branch | Storefronts facing Main Street/Highway 95, from Grand Avenue to Jerry's Foods on Flink Ave/County Road 68 |
| Timing | December 1–20 | Decorations installed and photos submitted by December 2 |
| Who picks winners | Community vote through an online form | "The community will judge the entries and vote on the winners" |
| Winners announced | Not stated on the 2025 page | At the December 5 tree lighting |
| Prizes | Pizza lunch from North Branch Beautification | Trophy and framed certificate for 1st through 3rd; a company pizza party from Domino's Pizza for 1st and 2nd |
Entry is free. The instructions also tell businesses to "add lots of lights so your entry can be enjoyed in the evenings," which shows the contest is meant to be seen after dark from the road, not only through a window up close.
The corridor now runs well past downtown
The boundary is the biggest change. Last year's contest was about downtown windows. This year, any business facing Main Street/Highway 95 between Grand Avenue and Jerry's Foods at Flink Avenue and County Road 68 can enter. That takes in the older downtown blocks near the American Legion on Elm Street and Central Park at 6250 Main St., and continues along the highway to the grocery store at County Road 68.
If entries come in on time, that whole stretch should be decorated by the first week of December. Thursday evening, December 3, or Friday, December 4, is a good time to drive it. Every entry should be up by then, and the winners won't be named until Saturday night.
The association's page gives no details on how the public casts votes or where to see the full list of entries. It says only that the community will judge and vote. The Merry Main Street page is the place to watch for those details.
Saturday, December 5, in the order it runs
The Christmas Festival is free, runs 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Central Park, and is billed as "10 Years of Christmas Magic" by the North Branch Area Chamber of Commerce, which lists the event for the association. The order of the evening matters because the parade ends where the festival is already underway.
- 3:30 p.m., Central Park. The Christmas Market opens with local vendors selling gifts, handmade items and holiday treats. Food trucks set up, live music and performances start in the decorated Central Park gazebo, and the bonfire comes with free s'mores.
- 4:00 p.m., Elm Street. Parade entries check in at the American Legion, 6439 Elm St., get their lineup numbers and move to staging.
- 5:20 p.m., parade start. The Light Up the Night Christmas Parade leaves Grand Avenue and Elm Street, goes through downtown and ends at Central Park.
- About 6:00 to 6:15 p.m., tree lighting. Santa arrives at the park, leads the countdown and lights the community tree. This is when the association announces the Merry Main Street winners and the Best Christmas Parade Float, along with special announcements marking the festival's 10th year.
- About 6:40 p.m., Santa visits. Santa starts greeting kids and families after the tree lighting.
The association's parade page also lists games, cake for the kids next to the s'mores, and a live nativity scene at the park after the parade. No individual vendors, food trucks or performers have been announced so far.
The schedule leaves a gap on purpose. Market, music and fire start almost two hours before the parade, and the event's end at 7:30 p.m. comes less than an hour after Santa starts seeing families. If you arrive at 3:30, you get market browsing before dark, a spot near the fire as it gets colder, and a short walk to watch the floats roll in. If you come only for the tree lighting, plan on a crowd that has been there all afternoon.
Parade rules a spectator will notice
The parade rules shape what the curb looks like at 5:20. Here are the main ones from the Light Up the Night parade page:
- Every walking group, vehicle and float has to be lit for the evening, and battery packs and generators are allowed.
- Entries are asked to use a Christmas or winter theme.
- No other Santas, because "the 'real' guy will be on the last float making his way to the tree."
- Parade participants can't hand out candy or anything else, for safety reasons.
- No political entries, floats or signs.
Two of these matter most for families. Kids lining Main Street won't be collecting candy from the floats. The treats are at the park, with s'mores and cake waiting at the end of the route. And because Santa is always last, the end of the parade tells you the tree lighting is about to start.
The deadlines in November
The post goes up on Thursday, November 5, and the next few weeks decide who is in the parade and who has a booth. Both close on Friday, November 20.
Parade entries. It costs $30 per entry. You register and pay online, or mail or email the paper form with a check. The mailing address is NBBeautification Assn, 6063 Main St, Suite A Box 8, North Branch, MN 55056, and the email is [email protected].
Christmas Market booths. A standard 10-by-10 outdoor booth costs $50 and includes electricity. Food and beverage vendors pay $100 and must bring a generator, carry any applicable food license and hold general liability insurance. Vendors bring their own tents, tables, chairs and displays. Sidewalls and sandbag anchors are required, spots are assigned first-come, first-served, and setup runs from noon to 3 p.m. that day. The full terms are on the vendor registration page, and the association is the one to ask about what a particular booth needs.
Storefront entries. Merry Main Street is free to enter, with decorations and photos due December 2. Businesses can upload a photo with the online registration, or email it with the business name, contact name, phone number and address.
With the festival on December 5, floats and booths are locked in more than two weeks before the evening, and storefronts have until three days before.
The association behind the lights
The Christmas Festival is the biggest night of the year for the North Branch Beautification Association, but most of its work happens out of season. Its stated mission is to beautify North Branch and improve quality of life, through things like lamp-post banners, hanging flower baskets, park benches and a veterans memorial.
Some of that work is already visible downtown. The association lists the street-lamp banners, the senior community gazebo and the Main Street Coke mural as completed projects. The hanging flower baskets go up each spring, and the current sponsorship form lists them at $125 each. Its current projects include the Regional Veterans Memorial "Circle of Honor," a granite monument, and memorial benches people can buy.
On festival night, the chamber's schedule puts the live music and performances in the decorated gazebo at Central Park. The banners, baskets and mural that carry downtown through the summer are joined this December by a contest that asks every business from Grand Avenue to Jerry's Foods to have its lights on before the parade starts. Businesses or neighbors who want to sponsor the 10th anniversary festival can email the association at [email protected].
If you're getting the house lit up for Dec. 5 too, we'd love to hear where you'll be standing when the parade comes through. Michelle and everyone at Team Lundeen live and work in these towns, and the Light Up the Night parade is one of the evenings we look forward to most. If a move is part of your plans for next year, whether it's a new home or a sale, let's find your way home with a free home valuation once the tree is lit.
