"After last year's success, I think we have found our place for Light Up Dunwoody," Dunwoody Homeowners Association President Tim Brown told Rough Draft Atlanta this month. The place he means is the lawn of the Donaldson-Bannister House, where Chamblee Dunwoody Road meets Vermack Road. It is not the Shops of Dunwoody, where the event used to be held.
That one move changed the shape of the whole season. With Light Up settled at the farm, the Village courtyard is free for its own event a week later. So Dunwoody now has two neighborhood tree lightings on back-to-back Sundays, run by different groups at different ends of Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The city's big Brook Run display doesn't switch on until December, after both are done.
The Crowd That Outgrew the Village
Light Up Dunwoody moved to the farm for the first time in 2025, after the crowd outgrew its old venue at the Shops of Dunwoody. Organizers estimated last year's attendance at about 3,500, all in a single afternoon.
This year's event is Sunday, Nov. 15, from 2 to 6 p.m. at 4831 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The DHA and the Dunwoody Preservation Trust co-host it, and Jimmy and Leah Economos of EEP Events produce it. The city lists local musicians and dancers, Santa photos, reindeer and a Spruill Center craft corner. Food trucks will serve dinner and desserts before the tree and menorah are lit. Discover Dunwoody lists admission as free. The lighting of the Christmas tree, the menorah and the farmhouse itself closes the event at 6 p.m.
The farm also supplies the evening's best local detail. Members of the Chesnut family, who owned and lived at Donaldson-Bannister Farm from 1975 to 2005, will flip the switch. Look for a new addition on the lawn while you're there. "Kirby," a life-sized fiberglass cow by a local artist, was set to be unveiled there on Nov. 10 as a permanent installation. It is part of DeKalb County's "The Cows are Coming" initiative.
Nov. 22: The Village Lights Its Own Tree
Create Dunwoody and the Dunwoody Village Merchant Alliance are bringing back the Dunwoody Village Holiday Celebration and Lantern Parade on Sunday, Nov. 22, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. It covers the greater Dunwoody Village area and is free to attend.
The two events feel different, and the schedules show why. Light Up is one lawn and a single lighting. The Village event spreads out. A Kids Market at the Shops of Dunwoody opens at 3 p.m. with more than 37 vendors, and there are inflatable dinosaurs at Front Porch at the Cheek Spruill House. From 4 p.m. the main stage runs a lineup of local groups: James Violin Studio Group, Stayin' Alive Crew, Expressions in Motion Dance, North Georgia School of Ballet, Dunwoody Elementary singers, Georgia Dance Force and The Collective Dance Project.
The posted schedule for the final hour, which organizers say may change:
- 5:25 p.m. Parade judging and line-up behind the Courtyard Funwoody screen
- 5:40 p.m. Dunwoody High School Choir
- 5:45 p.m. Lantern Parade
- 6:00 p.m. Lantern and Tree Award Ceremony
- 6:15 p.m. Tree lighting in the courtyard with Santa
The lantern workshops ran Nov. 7 at Diwali in Dunwoody and Nov. 8 at the Shops of Dunwoody Farmers Market. Organizers say lantern kits will also be sold at Village Ace Hardware. Overflow parking is at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. If the weather turns, performances, awards and some activities move into the church gym.
The tenant mix around that courtyard is changing too. Beyond Juicery + Eatery has opened at 5482 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. North Atlanta Star reported in June that Tenku Sushi, JETSET Pilates and SWEAT440 had also signed leases at the Shops of Dunwoody. The same report says Tenku is expected to take over the center's evening dining role from Wasabi House, which closed June 14 after 27 years.
The Week Between, Down at Perimeter Center
The two Sunday lightings are about two miles from Perimeter Center. Between them, the area's shops and arts venues run their own holiday schedules, and a few dates overlap with the Village and farm events.
- Spruill Gallery Holiday Art Fair, 4681 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Nov. 13 through Dec. 23. Its free events include Pictures with Santa on Nov. 15, the same afternoon as Light Up, plus an AMPLIFY mural unveiling on Nov. 21, a wine tasting on Dec. 9 and Mistletoe & Margaritas on Dec. 18. Details are on Spruill Center for the Arts.
- Skate the Street at High Street, 101 High Street. Discover Dunwoody lists the ice rink for Nov. 19 and 20 at 6 p.m. High Street plans themed skate nights and seasonal pop-ups and posts the full schedule on its own site.
- Perimeter Mall Photos with Santa, Lower Level Nordstrom wing, daily from Nov. 14 through Dec. 24, according to Perimeter Mall.
The rink sits next to the newly opened Varuni Napoli and Rosetta Bakery. Rosetta, an Italian bakery and café at 120 High St. #100, sells pastries, sandwiches and coffee. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is also new to High Street this year, as noted in Rough Draft's September restaurant roundup.
The Spruill calendar connects the neighborhood events. The farm event on Nov. 15 includes a Spruill Center craft corner, and the gallery is offering Santa photos the same day. So families can plan an afternoon that starts at the gallery and ends at the farm's 6 p.m. lighting.
Brook Run Goes Last, and Stays On the Longest
The two neighborhood lightings each last one afternoon. The city's display runs every night for a month.
Dunwoody Parks and Recreation opens Holiday Lights at Brook Run Park on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 4 to 7 p.m., with a ceremonial lighting, free hot cocoa and this year's theme, "Chasing Aurora." The walk-through display covers about 100,000 lights in and around the playground and is free. After opening night it runs nightly from Dec. 2 through Dec. 31, 5 to 10 p.m., at 4770 North Peachtree Road. Lucky Goat Coffee will sell coffee and hot cocoa there on Friday and Saturday nights throughout December.
The display started in 2020 as a way to bring the community together, and it has grown every season since. Getting there on foot is easier this year. In September the city finished new trail lighting between Pernoshal Park and Brook Run, and it re-striped the trailway from Brook Run to Georgetown Park.
Brook Run also picks up a daytime event before the lights go on. On Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28, the DHA Farmers Market runs at Brook Run from 9 a.m. to noon. Dunwoody Journal reports that it continues on Saturdays through Dec. 19.
The city runs two letter campaigns alongside the lights. Letters to Seniors can be dropped off at Dunwoody City Hall, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, or at the Spruill Arts Center, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. They go to residents of Dunwoody assisted living communities. Children can email Letters to Santa and get a personalized reply in the mail. The parks department takes questions at [email protected].
The last night on the city's 2026 calendar is Dec. 31, from 5 to 10 p.m.
Living close to Brook Run, the Village or the farm shapes your Dunwoody December in small ways: which lighting you can walk to, and which trail gets you to the park after dark. If you're thinking about where in Dunwoody your next home should be, Matthew Evans would be glad to talk through how each part of the city fits your routine, this season and the rest of the year. Let's Connect.
