Oakdale's downtown Christmas has a new organizer. The Oakdale Chamber Foundation is moving Small Town Christmas to Small Town Gatherings, a new nonprofit set up to keep the tradition going. The 2026 calendar shows the new organizer's first priorities. The rink returns with longer sessions and a new ticket tier. The Gene Bianchi Community Center Plaza becomes a Christmas market for the first time. The season now stretches from Thanksgiving weekend to Jan. 3 and is built around the ice.
This guide covers the season in order and what changed from 2025, using dates the organizers have already posted.
The handoff, in the Chamber's words
The announcement on the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce events page is short:
"The Oakdale Chamber Foundation is proud to announce the transition of Small Town Christmas to Small Town Gatherings, a newly established nonprofit organization dedicated to carrying forward this cherished Oakdale tradition."
Last year the Oakdale Leader described Small Town Christmas as a Chamber Foundation project. The new group's own site, Small Town Gatherings, says it is a nonprofit focused on "memorable community experiences." The event calendar still runs under the familiar name at smalltownchristmas.co. The Chamber hasn't stepped away completely. The Dec. 5 Christmas Parade is listed as organized by A Small Town Christmas together with the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce.
The clearest sign of the new organizer's approach is the rink.
The rink is where the change shows first
The Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating Rink was new in 2025. It honors Julia Haidlen, a former Oakdale Citizen of the Year who served in several community organizations. Her family chose the rink as a way to remember her, according to the Oakdale Leader. The first season ran Dec. 3, 2025, through Jan. 3, 2026, at Yosemite Avenue and G Street, just south of Wood Park.
The rink's page now says it is "brought to you by Small Town Gatherings" and welcomes skaters back for a second season. Here is how the 2026 terms compare with last year's:
| 2025 season | 2026 season | |
|---|---|---|
| Session length | One hour | 90 minutes |
| Adult ticket | $20 | $20, ages 13 and up |
| Child ticket | $15, 12 and under | $15, 12 and under |
| VIP tier | None | $30, with access to a VIP area |
| Weekday public hours | 4 to 10 p.m. | 4 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Friday |
| Weekend public hours | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Dec. 20 |
| Holiday break | Not listed | Dec. 21 to Jan. 3, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday |
| Mondays | Public skating | Private parties only |
| Closed | Christmas Eve, Christmas Day | Christmas Eve, Christmas Day |
Ticket prices stayed the same while sessions grew by half. A $20 adult ticket now buys 90 minutes on the ice, up from 60, and still includes skate rental. Skate Buddies, the support aids for less steady skaters, rent for $10 while supplies last. The rink is cashless and takes credit cards and Apple Pay. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Moving Mondays to private parties is the change that reads most like a nonprofit planning to pay its own way. The same goes for the sponsorship call. Businesses and organizations have until Oct. 31, 2026, to submit interest in sponsoring the rink, two days after this post goes up.
The opening date is the one detail not yet posted. The hours page runs from "Opening Day Through December 20th," and the ticket page says tickets are coming soon. A Nov. 28 skating session already appears in the Small Town Gatherings shop, at the same $20, $15 and $30 prices. If the rink does open on Nov. 28, that would be the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, nearly a week earlier than last year's Dec. 3 start.
Thanksgiving weekend belongs to the Cowboy Museum
The season's first big weekend comes from the event in town with the longest history. Cowboy Christmas started as a Chamber-sponsored event before the Oakdale Cowboy Museum took over as host, according to a 2012 Oakdale Leader report. That year it had 34 indoor and 29 outdoor spaces. By 2025 the Leader counted close to 60 vendors, inside the community center and out in the Town Plaza. It also reported 200 visitors to Cowboy Santa. Museum manager Bambi Porter told the Oakdale Leader the event is free and that "We do it for our community."
The 2026 event listing bills it as the 30th annual, though the Leader's 2025 story called last year's edition the 31st. This year it runs at Gene Bianchi Community Center, 110 S. 2nd Ave.:
- Friday, Nov. 27, 5 to 9 p.m. Last year's Friday hours ended at 8 p.m. This year's Friday description also includes Plaza vendors.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the main day, with Cowboy Santa from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free horse-and-carriage rides leave from Story Books + Toys at 150 S. 2nd Ave., on the same block as the community center.
On Saturday morning, the Cowboy Santa hours and the carriage rides overlap almost exactly, a few doors apart. That window gives families the most to do in one spot on Thanksgiving weekend. If the rink opens that day, as the shop listing suggests, Nov. 28 brings all three pieces of the new season together on the same morning.
Dec. 5 runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The second big point of the season falls on the first Saturday of December. Almost every event Small Town Gatherings has scheduled for 2026 lands on this one date, spread across downtown:
- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Magical Christmas Photo Op at The Shoppe on 3rd Avenue, 110 N. 3rd Ave.
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Small Town Christmas Market at the Plaza, at the Gene Bianchi Community Center Plaza. The listing calls it new this year and says it is the first time the Plaza will be turned into a Christmas market, with a Santa meet-and-greet, the Grinch and Scrooge.
- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Downtown Christmas on First at Momma's Closet, 139 N. 1st Ave., with more than 50 local vendors and a free s'mores bar hosted by Momma's Closet.
- Noon to 3 p.m. Meet The Mean One at Gene Bianchi Community Center, and the free Christmas Carriage Ride from Story Books + Toys.
- 5 to 7 p.m. The 10th annual Christmas Parade, listed at N. Yosemite Avenue and E. F Street.
- 6 to 8 p.m. Light Up A Life, a tree-lighting ceremony at Clarence Wood Park presented by Community Hospice & Health Services Foundation.
'Ike Loa Candle Co., at 136 N. Maag Ave., is also holding a Christmas Workshop that day. No hours have been posted yet.
The parade is the event with a history to compare against. The Oakdale Leader dates it to 2017 and reported nine entries in the first year. Nine years later, it closes out a full day of events instead of being the main draw on its own.
The day moves around three blocks of downtown. Morning and midday center on 2nd Avenue, between the Plaza market, the community center and Story Books + Toys. The afternoon and evening move to First Avenue for Momma's Closet, Yosemite Avenue for the parade, and then Clarence Wood Park for the tree lighting. The Shoppe on 3rd stays open the whole twelve hours, from first light to after the parade.
What runs past the parade
Several things keep going after Dec. 5.
The Christmas Light Fight is a contest for decorated homes, with a $500 prize. Entries open Nov. 15 and close Dec. 1 through LoveOakdale.com. Public voting runs Dec. 6 to 15, the top five are announced Dec. 17, and the grand-prize winner is named Dec. 20. Lights need to be up before entries close on Dec. 1, and voting opens the day after the parade.
The Santa Drop is set for Dec. 20 at Oakdale Skatepark, 445 S. Yosemite Ave. Hours haven't been posted.
The rink switches to holiday-break hours Dec. 21 through Jan. 3, with public skating 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Jan. 3 was also last season's closing date, so if the rink opens Nov. 28, all of the added time would come at the start of the season.
Other listings on the calendar don't have firm dates yet, including Making Spirits Bright at Reata on 3rd and a Christmas Window Decorating Contest. Check smalltownchristmas.co again in November.
Oakdale's holiday calendar now puts weeks of events on downtown blocks like 2nd Avenue and F Street. If you own a home near downtown Oakdale and want to know what that could mean when you sell, Levy Real Estate Group can walk you through it. Request a White-Glove Consultation.
