This year Irvington's holiday season opens and closes on a Thursday. On Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, the Village Improvement Association starts the 26th Irvington Turkey Trot at the Town Commons on King Carter Drive. Two weeks later, on Thursday, Dec. 10, the Town of Irvington lights its tree at 5:30 p.m., just before Town Council sits down for its regular meeting. Volunteers run the first Thursday and the town runs the last one. Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28, falls in between, and that day belongs to the Tides Inn and the shops along King Carter Drive.
| Date | What | Who runs it | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 26 | 26th Irvington Turkey Trot | Village Improvement Association | 9 a.m. first start |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving dinner at Salt & Meadow | The Tides Inn | Noon to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Christmas Kickoff and Santa by seaplane | The Tides Inn | 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Santa visits Irvington's shops | Small Business Saturday | 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. |
| Mon., Dec. 7 | "The Holly & the Ivy" | Historic Christ Church & Museum | 3:30 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Illuminate Irvington tree lighting | Town of Irvington | 5:30 p.m. |
The First Thursday Belongs to the Volunteers
In 2025, its 25th year, the Turkey Trot it drew a record 779 runners and walkers, according to VIA's Michelle Lybarger in the Rappahannock Record. A village this size doesn't put that many people on its streets on many mornings. The VIA calls the course "a scenic run through the charming neighborhoods of Historic Irvington," and the race goes off rain or shine.
The race-day schedule on the VIA's Turkey Trot page is tight:
- 8:00 to 8:45 a.m.: packet pickup at Irvington Baptist Church, closing sharp at 8:45
- 9:00 a.m.: 2-mile race start
- 10:00 a.m.: 5-mile race start
- 11:00 a.m.: free Tot Trot start, no registration and no T-shirt
The official RunSignup listing puts all three starts at Irvington Town Commons, 98 King Carter Drive. Because the 2-mile and 5-mile start an hour apart, you can run both. The fee is $35 for one race and $40 for both, after the $5 increase in early November.
The date that matters most comes before the race. Online registration closes Sunday, Nov. 22, at 5 p.m. Walk-ins can still sign up during packet pickup on Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Irvington Baptist Church, and after that there is no race-day registration. If houseguests arrive Wednesday night hoping to join in, Wednesday afternoon is their last chance. T-shirts go to participants, sponsors and volunteers while supplies last, so sizes run out for anyone who signs up late.
Part of the money goes back into the county. The VIA will donate a portion of race proceeds to animal welfare organizations in Lancaster County, the Rappahannock Record reported.
Thanksgiving Afternoon Moves to Carter's Creek
The Tot Trot starts at 11, and Salt & Meadow at the Tides Inn begins Thanksgiving service at noon. Seating runs until 8 p.m. and reservations are recommended. The Tides Inn lists the dinner at $120 for adults and $65 for children. Overnight guests can also order an in-room Thanksgiving plate for $40 and a pie for $10. Details are on the inn's Thanksgiving dinner page.
If you're hosting at home, it helps to know the noon-to-8 window. Out-of-town guests who don't want to crowd your kitchen can eat on the creek and still be back for pie.
The Saturday in the Middle Is the Businesses' Day
Two days after the race, the village hands the season over to its businesses. The Tides Inn's Christmas Kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 28, runs on a schedule as exact as the race:
| Time | At the Tides Inn |
|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. | Candy cane hunt |
| 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. | Complimentary cocoa and cookies at Fish Hawk |
| 10:00 a.m. | Santa arrives by seaplane at the Tides Inn Beach |
| 11:00 a.m. | Santa departs |
| 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. | Ornament making workshop, $75 per person |
In the ornament workshop you can shape clay, paint a pre-made design, or turn oyster shells and crab claws from around here into decorations. You don't need a room to see the seaplane land. Virginia's River Realm lists the 10-to-11 a.m. arrival on Carter's Creek as open to the public.
When Santa leaves the beach, he heads into town instead of flying home. River Realm's Small Business Saturday schedule has him visiting the retail shops of Irvington from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. He then continues to Main Street in White Stone and Kilmarnock. Saturday morning starts on the water at 10 and moves to the shops by 11:30, so you can take visiting family to see the landing and then do your shopping in the same trip.
A Monday-Afternoon Pause at Christ Church
Between the Saturday rush and the town's Thursday comes something quieter. On Monday, Dec. 7, at 3:30 p.m., Historic Christ Church & Museum presents "The Holly & the Ivy," an afternoon of traditional songs, carols and music. Members of The Chesapeake Chorale and the Christchurch School Cantorion perform, and refreshments follow. Admission is two non-perishable food items for Healthy Harvest Food Bank, according to the church's programs page. Bring your two cans in place of a ticket.
The Last Thursday Belongs to the Town
Illuminate Irvington closes the season. Its 2026 date came out of a scheduling problem. At its Sept. 21 meeting, the Town's Public Safety and Events Committee looked at the proposed Dec. 10 date and noted it fell on the same evening as the regularly scheduled Town Council meeting. The committee kept the date and put the two events back to back. Its Oct. 12 minutes set the tree lighting for 5:30 p.m., before Council convenes. This year the tree lighting and the Council meeting share one Thursday evening.
The village will look different this year as well. At the same September meeting the committee talked about getting ready to install the Town's new holiday decorations.
Last year's Illuminate gives a sense of the evening. The Rappahannock Record's 2025 preview described a family event sponsored by the Town and the Irvington Virginia Business Association. It had photos with Santa, holiday treats, a gift raffle for kids, decorated golf carts, caroling and the tree lighting, plus two holiday decorating contests that ran through the month. In 2025 it opened on Thursday, Dec. 4. This year's Dec. 10 date moves it six days later.
The later date also places Irvington's evening right before its neighbor's. Kilmarnock's 47th Lighted Christmas Parade steps off Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., with Carroll Lee Ashburn as grand marshal, according to the Lancaster by the Bay Chamber. That makes the tree lighting on Thursday at 5:30 and the parade on Friday at 7 two nights in a row.
Your Calendar, Working Backward
Each part of the season has a cutoff that comes before the day itself:
- Sunday, Nov. 22, 5 p.m.: Turkey Trot online registration closes.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 3 to 6 p.m.: last walk-in registration and packet pickup at Irvington Baptist Church.
- Thanksgiving morning by 8:45: race-day packet pickup closes.
- Before Thanksgiving: Salt & Meadow reservations are recommended.
- Monday, Dec. 7: two non-perishable items in hand for Christ Church.
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 5:30 p.m.: be on time, because the tree lighting comes right before the Council meeting.
The seaplane landing on Nov. 28 is the only event on the list with nothing to book, sign up for or bring.
Holiday mornings on Carter's Creek are one part of the year in Irvington. If you'd like to talk over what this stretch of the Northern Neck is like the rest of the year, Beth Groner would be glad to meet. Schedule a personalized market consultation with Beth.
