The Wayne Theatre opened on January 18, 1926, as a vaudeville and motion picture house that called itself the finest theatre in the Shenandoah Valley. One hundred years later it will close out its anniversary with Ralphie Parker and a Red Ryder BB gun. A Christmas Story: The Musical opens at 521 W. Main St. on December 4. Its first Saturday falls on the same day as the Christmas Parade, the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops, and a 3 p.m. street closure that touches most of downtown.
That Saturday is the second of two. Most of Waynesboro's downtown holiday season fits into Saturday, November 28, and Saturday, December 5. Each one runs on a different clock, and the second asks for more planning than the first.
November 28 is spread out from morning to night
Winterfest doubles as Small Business Saturday. Destination Downtown Waynesboro, the nonprofit that promotes downtown businesses and events, is running it from about 10 a.m. until after dark. The first ticket of the day goes on sale before most shops open.
- 10 to 11 a.m.: Cookies and Cocoa with the Princesses at The Russell Museum. Tickets are $25 per child and include one adult, and every child gets a winter crown and wand.
- 10:30 a.m.: The Trot and Toddy Fun Run or Walk starts from the Constitution Park Pavilion. It's new this year: 3/4 mile out on the Greenway and 3/4 mile back, pay what you will. Everyone gets a Santa hat. Runners 21 and older get a Wassail Trail passport, and younger runners get a Kids Wassail passport.
- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The main stretch. The Cookie Trail, the Farmers Holiday Market, s'mores, crafts and free gift wrapping all run during these hours.
- 5:30 p.m.: Waynesboro Parks and Recreation holds an old-fashioned tree lighting in Constitution Park, also new to Winterfest this year.
The midday stretch has the most going on. The Winterfest Cookie Trail is already sold out. Ticket holders pick up their bags starting at 11 a.m. at the DDW info booth, 503 W. Main St., then collect a baker's dozen of cookies from 13 businesses. Stops include Boutique in the Boro, adorn., Rusticae, the Augusta County Rail Road Museum, The French Press, Stone Soup Books, Shelf Indulgence and Crack O' Dawn.
The Wassail Trail is still open to walk-ups. A $5 passport from the same 503 W. Main booth buys holiday drink samples from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at nine downtown restaurants and shops, with both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks on the list. You have to be 21 or older, and the trail runs under downtown's designated outdoor refreshment area, so you can carry your drink as you walk. Stops include Benny Stivale's, Royal India Palace, Pyramid, The French Press, The Russell Museum, Initial Inspiration and Rusticae. You vote on your favorite, and the winner takes home the Holiday Cheermeister award. Delly Up comes in billed as the undefeated champion.
For families, there's a second set of stops. Santa visits The Russell Museum from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for photos, and your dog can come along. He then reads at Stone Soup Books from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. Both visits are free. Parks and Rec sets up fire pits for free DIY s'mores from 11 to 4 in Bruce Alley, beside the P. Buckley Moss Gallery. That's in Bruce Alley, not Lumos Plaza. Also in Bruce Alley, the Office on Youth runs an ornament station. Shelf Indulgence, at 108 S. Wayne Ave., hosts a kids' craft, and City Hall has a giant snow globe for photos with a suggested $2 donation.
The Waynesboro Farmers Market's Holiday Market is new this year too. It runs at 522 W. Main St., beside The Russell Museum, with a reindeer food activity for kids. If you bring a receipt from any downtown business dated that day, adorn. at 141 N. Wayne Ave. will gift wrap your purchase for free.
Music fills the late afternoon and evening. The Shenandoah Valley Art Center hosts a bluegrass jam from 3 to 5 p.m. at 416 W. Main St., just before the tree lighting. After the lighting, the evening moves to the east end of Main, where at 8 p.m. Sun Dried Opossum plays The Foundry at Basic City Beer Co., 1010 E. Main St., with special guest John Shenk.
Nothing on November 28 overlaps much. The events are spaced through the day, so you can do the run, the Wassail Trail and the tree lighting without rushing between them.
December 5 crowds into a few hours and a few blocks
A week later, the schedule tightens. Here is the Saturday as the venues have posted it:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Water-based woodblock printing workshop with Lana Lambert | Shenandoah Valley Art Center, 416 W. Main St. |
| 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | "On With The Show, A Century of the Wayne Theatre" | Waynesboro Heritage Museum, 420 W. Main St. |
| 2 p.m. | A Christmas Story: The Musical matinee | Wayne Theatre, 521 W. Main St. |
| 3 p.m. | Holiday Pops Concert | First Presbyterian Church, 249 S. Wayne Ave. |
| 3 p.m. | Parade-route streets begin soft closing; no parking on the route | Downtown |
| 3:30 p.m. | No traffic allowed through any part of the route | Downtown |
| 6 p.m. | Waynesboro Christmas Parade | Downtown |
| 7 p.m. | A Christmas Story: The Musical evening show | Wayne Theatre, 521 W. Main St. |
The Holiday Pops downbeat, the start of the soft road closure and the parking ban all land on that hour. The City's parade notice says that after 3:30 no traffic may pass through any part of the route. Visit Waynesboro lists the matinee from 2 to 4 p.m. and the Pops concert from 3 to 4 p.m. That puts two audiences on the sidewalk at about the same time, after the streets have closed and with two hours to go before the parade.
Both venues sit on streets last year's parade used. According to The News Leader, the 2025 parade started near Arch Avenue and Short Street. It went north on Arch Avenue, west on West Main Street, and south on South Wayne Avenue, ending at South Wayne and 13th Street. The Wayne Theatre is on West Main. First Presbyterian is at 249 S. Wayne Ave. The City has placed one 2026 port-a-john at Market Avenue and 11th, near the south end of that 2025 path.
So on December 5, where you park counts more than the event times. If you hold matinee or Pops tickets and also want to watch the parade, park off the route before 3 p.m. and stay downtown on foot until the parade ends. That leaves about two free hours, which happen to cover the Heritage Museum's last hour and the start of dinner. The 7 p.m. curtain goes up an hour after the parade steps off, so evening ticket holders are arriving downtown while the parade is still on the streets.
The City's notice adds a few details for parade watchers:
- The Salvation Army collects toys for its Toy Convoy near the start of the parade.
- Port-a-johns stand at Main Street and Wayne Avenue, Arch Avenue and Main Street, and Market Avenue and 11th.
- A small wheelchair viewing area is on Main Street at the corner of Arch, in front of the Waynesboro Tourism building.
- In extreme weather, the parade moves to Tuesday, December 8, at 6 p.m. Any change will be announced on the City's website and Facebook.
If your group would rather be in the parade than watch it, participant applications are open at Play Waynesboro until Tuesday, November 24, at 5 p.m. The City's notice says no late applications will be accepted.
Friday, December 4, is the easier night
The Friday before is calmer, and the art center and the theatre both open their holiday runs that night. The Shenandoah Valley Art Center hosts Santa's Print Shop from 5 to 8 p.m., and the Make Waynesboro Pottery opening reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in the same building. At 7 p.m., A Christmas Story: The Musical opens at the Wayne Theatre. Out on East Main, The Foundry has Hometown Line Dancing from 7 to 11 p.m.
Friday evening is also the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra's other Holiday Pops show. This is the orchestra's sixth annual Holiday Pops. Both concerts are at First Presbyterian Church, with guest vocalist Peter Barber and narrator Charles Salembier. Tickets run from $5 to $20 and are sold through separate Friday and Saturday links on the orchestra's event page. The Friday ticket form prices adults at $20 and children ages 3 to 12 at $5. If you want the Pops without the 3 p.m. Saturday rush, the Friday show avoids it.
The musical has more dates after opening weekend. After December 5, it plays December 6 at 2 p.m., December 11 at 7 p.m., December 12 at 2 and 7 p.m., and December 13 at 2 p.m. The December 11 and 12 shows come with no parade and no road closures.
The centennial you can see on either Saturday
The Wayne Theatre's own story fits around both Saturdays. A block down West Main from the theatre, the Waynesboro Heritage Museum at 420 W. Main St. is showing "On With The Show." The exhibit traces the theatre's history and restoration. It opened October 10, 2026, and runs through June 5, 2027. Visit Waynesboro lists it open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both November 28 and December 5.
The building's past runs from vaudeville and film to a fire in 1980, closure in 1999, and a community-funded restoration that reopened the theatre as a nonprofit on March 1, 2016. So this December marks 100 years since the Wayne first opened and 10 since it reopened. "This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the Wayne Theatre's long history while also celebrating the growth and impact of the last decade," Executive Director Tracy Straight said in the theatre's anniversary announcement.
On November 28, the exhibit fits easily between the Cookie Trail and the tree lighting. On December 5, it fills part of the gap between the 4 p.m. crowd and the 6 p.m. parade, and you won't need to move the car.
If December 5 has you picturing what it would be like to walk to the parade from your own front door, I'd love to talk about downtown Waynesboro with you. Mary Beth Harris knows these blocks well. Let me help you find a house and create a home.
