Hudsonville's Parade Night Returns to a Downtown That Looks Different Than It Did Last November

Hudsonville's Tree Lighting & Nighttime Holiday Parade is Thursday, November 19. Most of the evening runs on familiar ground. The lights, cocoa and Santa photos are in the Gemmen's Ace Hardware lot on Kelly Street, and the parade lights up Harvey Street. The change since last year is at the other end, around Terra Square and the corner of Chicago Drive and School Avenue. That's where the Chamber sends people for restrooms, and since last November it has picked up a new distillery and an incoming pinwheel kitchen. The space Bosco's Pub used to fill is changing hands as well.

So you start the evening in a familiar place and may finish it somewhere you haven't spent much time yet. Here's how the night runs and what's new at the far end.

The Kelly Street half runs the way it did last year

The tree lighting runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Gemmen's Ace Hardware parking lot at 3488 Kelly St., and the tree is lit at 6 p.m. According to the Hudsonville Area Chamber of Commerce, these local sponsors cover the pre-lighting lineup:

• Hot cocoa and kids' activities: Hudsonville Family Dentistry, with more cocoa sponsored by Gemmen's Ace Hardware
• Food trucks: Pronto Pups, Big Red's BBQ and Travelin Tom's Coffee
• Petting zoo: sponsored by Todd Wenzel
• Horse and carriage rides: Hudsonville Dental and SoundOff Signal
• Face painting: Bloom Credit Union
• S'mores station: Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy
• Photos with Santa: J&H Oil
• A fire performer to round out the lot

The fire act is back after debuting last year. When WOOD TV8 previewed the 2025 event, Lindsey Hicks of the Hudsonville Area Chamber of Commerce said fire dancers were "new this year" and called the evening "the kickoff to the holiday season."

If you'd rather sit down at this end, DJ's Pizza Pub is around the corner at 3471 Kelly Street. Its posted Thursday hours keep the kitchen open until 10:30 p.m. and the bar until 11 p.m.

Thirty minutes, then an hour of lights

The parade steps off at 6:30 p.m., half an hour after the tree is lit. The Chamber lists Cherry Avenue, Harvey Street and School Avenue as the route and says this is the fourth annual nighttime parade, presented by Corewell Health. Last year WOOD reported the parade started near Gemmen's, ran about 60 minutes and finished at School Avenue and Allen Street. The Chamber hasn't published a 2026 run time or end point. If this year follows last year's pattern, though, you'll be standing at the School Avenue end around 7:30 p.m. with the evening still ahead of you.

Here's the timeline for planning:

1. 4:30 p.m.: The lot opens at Gemmen's with cocoa, food trucks, carriage rides and Santa.
2. 6:00 p.m.: The tree is lit.
3. 6:30 p.m.: The parade starts and follows Cherry Avenue, Harvey Street and School Avenue.
4. About 7:30 p.m.: Based on last year, the parade wraps up toward School Avenue.
5. 10:00 p.m.: The social district closes for the night.

The Chamber says there are several free parking options a short walk from the event. Its event page links a layout map, and the lot is the place to check before you go. Public restrooms are at Terra Square, and the tree lighting will have portable restrooms.

The Terra Square end was rebuilt this year

Terra Square is the city-owned building at 3380 Chicago Drive, near School Avenue. Its restaurant space is where most of this year's change has happened. City Commission minutes from April 28, 2026, review the history of that space "since the Bosco's lease was not renewed" and include a draft lease for future tenants. The next tenant is Pinwheel Kitchen.

Pinwheel Kitchen is New Holland Brewing's pinwheel concept, run as its own company. The first one opened in Grand Haven in 2025. In August, restaurant manager Nick Otten told WOOD TV8 that the Hudsonville spot would focus on takeout but have indoor seating, a front patio and a back patio shared with Terra Square, where he hoped to bring in live music. He told the station that pinwheels travel well in a social district:

"You grab your four-piece. You can walk around and take it with you. It's not like you're taking a whole pizza pie and you need plates and all that stuff."

Pinwheel's own site calls it a takeout kitchen with about 20 seats and a patio, and says customers can "take your Pinwheels out to explore the social district." The menu includes the Bacon Dill-icious, the hot-honey Trendsetters, the Backyard Bacon BBQ and Cinna-Wheels for dessert. The site gives November as the opening month and no specific day, so check before you plan a parade-night dinner around it.

Legacy Winery & Spirits opened in August below the Terra Station apartments. It's owned by Lance and Anjalie Wassink. WOOD TV8 reported that it has two rooms, a classic bar and a speakeasy-style space with five large bourbon barrels. It also offers "barrel thieving," where guests taste uncut, unfinished bourbon straight from the barrel. The station's August report listed hours of 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, which would cover a Thursday parade, but those were opening-season hours. Anna's Little Bakery shares the 5400 School Ave. address and opened about the same time.

Huddy's, at 5340 Plaza Ave., is billed by the City as Hudsonville's first ice cream shop. Its grand opening was announced for April 22. Ice cream on a November night depends on its winter hours, so check them first.

The social district changed along with the businesses

The Chamber suggests enjoying the social district along the parade route, and that district changed this year too. At the same April 28 session, the City Commission approved a boundary expansion for the Hudsonville Social District and recommended Legacy Winery & Spirits to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission for a social district permit.

The City's social district page shows both the old setup and the new one. Its 2026 map numbers four businesses: Legacy Winery and Spirits, Dorado's Grill and Bar, Wing Doozy and DJ's Pizza Pub. The written rules just above the map still name Bosco's. The safest guide on the night is the cup in your hand. Under the City's rules:

• Drinks must be bought from a participating business, and each cup carries a sticker showing which business it came from.
• Drinks stay inside the signed district boundaries and don't go into other businesses.
• The district is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday.
• Empty cups go in the downtown trash containers.
• State and City laws still apply.

The boundary map is linked from the same page, and it's worth a look before you head downtown.

Three doors in one building on Chicago Drive

The other end of the evening is mostly in one building. 317 Coffee, Wing Doozy and Dorados share 3424 Chicago Drive in Suites 101, 102 and 103. The two restaurants are on the City's social district map. Their posted Thursday hours all reach past the end of the parade:

If the parade wraps up around 7:30 p.m. like last year, 317 Coffee has about half an hour left for a warm drink. Dorados and the Kelly Street pub stay open well after that.

Farther west on Chicago Drive, Sara's Pizza at 3114 Chicago Drive is back with the Verstrate family. MLive reported that it reopened August 10 after a year under another owner. It's a good option for an early dinner before you drive in for the 4:30 start.

We covered how Harvey Street got here in Hudsonville's Harvey Street Spent Eight Years Waiting for This Fall, and our Fair Week guide has the summer version of the same town.

We'll be watching for the cocoa line at Gemmen's on the 19th. If the changes around Terra Square have you wondering how a busier downtown affects homes a few blocks away, Emily Garcia Homes is happy to talk it through over coffee, and you can always reach Emily and Dave here for a personalized market plan.