Park Shore's 2026 holiday season runs on two calendars, a few blocks apart. The first belongs to The Village Shops on Venetian Bay. It opens Saturday, Nov. 21, and its last listed event is on Dec. 12. The second belongs to the Park Shore Association. It has one evening on it, a screening of ELF at the private beach park, and the City of Naples application puts it on Dec. 23. The bay starts the season in public, and the beach closes it for members only. The dates below follow the season from one end to the other.
The bay goes first, and it goes big
The season opens with Grand Illuminations at The Village Shops, 4200 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 3 to 7 p.m. The Village's event listing calls its tree the tallest Christmas tree in Naples and says more than 100,000 lights will go on along the waterfront walkways. The listing also promises complimentary photos with Santa, the Dickens Carolers, holiday characters and a snow show at 6 p.m.
That date sits five days before Thanksgiving, which falls on Thursday, Nov. 26, this year. The Village has its own event that morning. The annual Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Day 5K runs from 7:30 to 11 a.m., with race announcements at 7:20 a.m. The course loops around the Village and onto neighboring Naples streets. If you plan to drive along Gulf Shore Boulevard North early on Thanksgiving, check the race listing before you leave.
The next morning starts the Black Friday Stroll & Shop, which runs Nov. 27 through Nov. 29. The Village lists shopping hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Three of the Village's five listed holiday events fall in the nine days from Grand Illuminations through Sunday, Nov. 29.
December thins out on the bay
After that weekend, the Village calendar slows to two evenings.
Santa Paws is Thursday, Dec. 10, from 4 to 7 p.m., with complimentary pet photos. It is the only stop of the season built around dogs.
Holiday on the Bay is Saturday, Dec. 12, from 3 to 7 p.m. It repeats the opening night's format: Santa photos, carolers, holiday characters and another snow show at 6 p.m. Families who miss Grand Illuminations on Nov. 21 get a second chance at the same evening three weeks later.
Holiday on the Bay is the last holiday event the Village lists. From Dec. 13 on, the bay has decorations, shops and dinner reservations, but nothing else on its calendar.
The beach park takes the last date
The Park Shore Association fills that gap. On Sept. 10, the Association announced "Holiday Movie Night, Park Shore Association Presents: ELF Under the Stars," an outdoor screening at the Beach Park.
The City of Naples special-event packet gives more detail. It lists "ELF Christmas Movie in Private Beach Park" at Park Shore Beach Park on Wednesday, Dec. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m., with setup from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The Park Shore Association is the applicant. The packet was an application on the consent agenda for City Council's Sept. 16 regular meeting. Members should treat the date and time as planned, and check the Association's news page for final details closer to the holiday.
This is the only evening on either calendar that is just for Park Shore. The Association describes the Raymond L. Lutgert Beach Park as a private, members-only beachfront park of 2.7 acres. Grand Illuminations draws families from all over Naples. On Dec. 23, the audience on the sand is the neighborhood itself, two days before Christmas, after the bay's last listed event.
The full season at a glance
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Who can attend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Grand Illuminations | The Village Shops on Venetian Bay | 3–7 p.m., snow show at 6 | Public |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Day 5K | Village and neighboring streets | 7:30–11 a.m. | Registered runners |
| Fri.–Sun., Nov. 27–29 | Black Friday Stroll & Shop | The Village Shops on Venetian Bay | 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Fri.–Sat., noon–6 p.m. Sun. | Public |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Santa Paws | The Village Shops on Venetian Bay | 4–7 p.m. | Public, pets welcome |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday on the Bay | The Village Shops on Venetian Bay | 3–7 p.m., snow show at 6 | Public |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | ELF Under the Stars | Park Shore Beach Park | 6–8 p.m., per City application | Park Shore Association members |
Dinner after the lights
Both Village evenings end at 7 p.m. That is early enough to stay on the water for dinner. The Village's waterfront dining directory lists six restaurants.
- Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar
- Fish Restaurant
- M Waterfront Grille
- MiraMare Ristorante
- T-Michaels Steak & Lobster
- The Village Pub
The same directory lists Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Black Letter Coffee + Cafe. Those two are the quicker options for families with children who need to be home before the snow show ends. The Village ran a dining feature on Oct. 14 that put the waterfront tables at the center of its season. On the two Saturday event nights, Nov. 21 and Dec. 12, call ahead. These restaurants get the same crowd the tree does, and posted hours can change once season starts.
For a morning before the Thanksgiving 5K or a weekday errand nearby, Park Shore Plaza now has Juice Society at 4233 Ninth St. N. According to Gulfshore Business, the juice, smoothie and superfood-bowl café opened May 13 in the space Duck Donuts left the summer before.
The beach park members will walk into on Dec. 23
The movie night will also be many members' first evening visit to the beach park since the Association announced upgrades early this year. In a Feb. 28 post, the board described these planned changes.
- A two-station column shower at ground level on the north side of the bathhouse, replacing the deck showers so water stops damaging the deck
- A new water fountain with bottle-filling and chilled-water options, mounted on the bathhouse wall to keep it above recent flooding
- Wi-Fi coverage to support a new camera system
- Replacement picnic tables for the ones damaged and removed after Hurricane Ian, in designs better suited to the coast, including an ADA-compliant table near the bathhouse
The announcement described this work as "coming months" and gave no completion date. The picnic tables matter most for a movie night. In February, the board said it was still investigating replacements, so members may want to bring their own beach chairs on Dec. 23 instead of counting on park seating. A blanket is good insurance too. The City application lists 4:30 to 6 p.m. for setup, ahead of the 6 p.m. start.
The Association has a separate deadline this fall. On Sept. 10, it reported that City Council had extended public review of the Naples 2045 comprehensive plan. The HOA Coalition was asked to send comments to the Planning Advisory Board by Oct. 23. That date falls on the Friday after this post is published. Members who want to weigh in can find the details on the Association's plan update page.
If the holidays have you wondering how Park Shore's private beach park membership works, or how close a given building is to the Village on event nights, Michael Moreiras can walk you through it. Let's Connect.
