November 5, 2026
Fremont has three tree lightings this year, and no two fall on the same night. Niles goes first on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Pacific Commons follows two days later. The City of Fremont holds its own the next Friday. Each one is run by a different kind of host: a merchants' association, a shopping center and the city. Each one leans on its district's own strengths.
Here is how the eight days line up.
| Date | District | Host | Hours | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Niles | Niles Main Street Association | 6–8:30 p.m. | Niles Town Plaza, 37482 Niles Blvd. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Niles | Niles Main Street Association | 9 a.m.–7 p.m. | 37573 Niles Blvd. |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Pacific Commons | Pacific Commons Shopping Center | 6–8 p.m. | Near Market Broiler |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Downtown | City of Fremont | 5–9 p.m. | Downtown Event Center Plaza |
The Saturday row isn't a tree lighting, but it shows how Niles uses its slot. The district holds two days in a row, the parade on Friday night and shopping on Saturday, before anyone else in town turns on a light.
The Festival of Lights Parade and Tree Lighting is set for Friday, Nov. 27, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Niles Town Plaza. The Niles Main Street Association says it starts the Christmas season in Niles every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Its listing promises more than 60 floats and other entries, marching bands, specialty service units, costumed characters and an appearance by Santa Claus.
The parade belongs to the community in a literal sense. The association says it is sponsored by members of the Niles community and the wider Fremont community, and sponsorships start at $250. A parade with 60-plus entries depends on local businesses and groups signing up. That kind of event does best on a night when nothing else in town competes for the crowd.
The next morning, the same association holds Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., listed at 37573 Niles Blvd. With the parade on Friday and the shopping day on Saturday, Niles holds the first two days of the stretch, and the people who came for the floats have a reason to come back to the boulevard in daylight.
One more holiday tradition starts in Niles and runs through most of the stretch. The Niles Canyon Railway's Train of Lights leaves Niles Station at 37029 Mission Blvd., at Mission Boulevard and the Sullivan Underpass. It makes a 1.5-hour round trip through Niles Canyon in antique coaches and open cars lit up inside and out.
The 2026 schedule runs from Nov. 20 to Dec. 30. Trains leave Niles at 4:30 p.m. and Sunol at 7:30 p.m. There is no service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Laid against the tree-lighting calendar, the operating dates show a pattern:
So the one night Niles has no train is the night it fills its plaza with floats.
This year's rides are already spoken for. The railway's page, updated Oct. 3, says all 2026 tickets are sold out. It calls the Train of Lights its largest fundraiser as an all-volunteer, nonprofit railroad museum, and points riders to its Facebook page and email list for updates. For reference, the posted prices were $40 for general seating and $70 for the First Class Dome car.
Anyone driving to the Sunol depot should know that Caltrans is replacing the 1939 Arroyo de la Laguna Bridge on State Route 84 in Sunol. According to the Caltrans project page, the work includes intermittent overnight full closures of Niles Canyon Road between Main Street and Pleasanton-Sunol Road, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., with daytime construction continuing through November 2026. Caltrans says all work depends on weather and schedule.
Two days after the parade, the season moves south to the freeway retail district. Pacific Commons lists its Holiday Celebration & Tree Lighting for Sunday, Nov. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m., near Market Broiler. The center describes a countdown to the tree lighting, a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus for photos, face painting, balloon art, holiday music and treat bags while supplies last.
This one plays to the center's strengths: two hours, built around families, set beside restaurants and stores. A Sunday evening slot also catches the last day of the holiday weekend, after Niles has had its Friday and Saturday.
There is new retail in the picture this season too. In July, Tri-City Voice reported that a Barnes & Noble was coming to Pacific Commons in a 24,638-square-foot space that DSW used to occupy. DSW moved to a smaller spot on the same block. The paper said Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan shared on Instagram that the store was scheduled to open in November.
The same Tri-City Voice article traces how Fremont's bookstores have moved between districts over the past 15 years:
The paper called the result "a great reshelving." By its account, the new location puts distance between Barnes & Noble and the downtown bookstores. The tree lightings are spread out the same way, one district and one night each.
The City of Fremont holds its event last. Holidays at the Plaza is set for Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Downtown Event Center Plaza. The city's listing calls it a family-friendly celebration with holiday activities and community fun.
The city's economic development events page describes it as a December event at the plaza with a tree lighting, hot chocolate, a holiday market, a ticketed gingerbread-decorating activity and more. Last year's version, on Dec. 5, 2025, at the Downtown Event Center and Plaza at 3500 Capitol Ave., had a 6 p.m. tree lighting, live music, food trucks, a photo booth, ticketed cookie decorating, winter activities and an appearance by the Grinch. The 2026 listing gives the date and hours. The city's posted program for this year is shorter than last year's list.
The Dec. 4 date means the city's event doesn't compete with either Thanksgiving-weekend lighting. It also runs four hours, the longest window of the three, on a weeknight evening when the holiday weekend is over and Downtown has the night to itself.
For anyone who wants all three:
From Niles Boulevard to Pacific Commons to the Downtown plaza, each stop is a different part of Fremont, and the calendar lets you see all three in a week and a day.
At Tony Ngai, we follow Fremont one district at a time, the same way its holiday calendar is laid out. If you'd like to see how Niles, Pacific Commons and Downtown compare on the numbers too, request your free neighborhood market report and home valuation, and we'll put it together for you in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.
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