Downtown Fernandina's Holiday Season Now Starts at the River

For years the big anchor sat in front of Brett's Waterway Cafe at the foot of Centre Street. Beside it stood the city's monument to the shrimping industry. At the end of March, the City of Fernandina Beach moved both a short distance south to the new Amelia River Waterfront Park, near the south basin of Fernandina Harbor Marina. Amelia Island Living reported that the anchor and monument went in alongside new trees, shrubs, sidewalks and pavers.

The park opened on April 11, 2026. This will be its first December. The 2026 holiday calendar already gives it a night of its own, on the Thursday before Dickens on Centre fills Centre Street. The downtown holidays now start at the river.

A Park That Hasn't Been Through a Holiday Season Yet

Amelia River Waterfront Park runs along the marina next to the city's downtown parking lots C and D. Its event listings give the address as 123 S Front Street. Before it opened, Amelia Island Living described its features as lighting, a pavilion, restrooms, a play structure and benches. The city paid for the play structure with a T-Mobile Hometown grant.

The park also has a new pirate statue. Jacksonville Today reported that Jett Paxton carved it in wood to replace Peg Leg Pete. Artist Wayne Ervin carved Pete from a single 10-foot piece of live oak. The statue was placed on the historic waterfront in 1978, later moved to the Amelia Island Welcome Center, and now sits at the Amelia Island Museum of History. Students in grades 6 through 12 named the new pirate through a contest run by the city's Youth Advisory Committee, and the winner was announced at the April grand opening.

Over the summer the park took on its first regular programming. The city scheduled a free Summer Sunset Concert Series with local vendors and food: Morelli & the Groove on July 26, Your Mom's Favorite Band on August 23 and Alrighty Then on September 27.

Thursday, December 10, Before Dickens Takes Centre Street

The new event is Tidings and Twinkle, A Community Holiday Celebration, at Amelia River Waterfront Park on Thursday, December 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. It's free and open to everyone. The listing promises storytelling, music, performances, a community marketplace and seasonal food, and says the event will support local businesses and community arts organizations.

The Amelia Island holiday guide bills it as a chance to "start a new holiday tradition." The guide also explains how it connects to the weekend that follows. You can pick up a paper lantern or glow wand there, along with your Dickens on Centre program. A free trolley runs from Central Park from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

So the riverfront now serves as the starting point for Dickens. You can get your program on Thursday evening by the water and have it in hand when the market opens Friday afternoon.

The Dickens Weekend It Leads Into

The 12th annual Dickens on Centre runs December 11 to 13 and is free to the public. The festival page notes that downtown parking is very limited and many lots won't be open to the public. Free parking and trolleys are available on 11th Street at Central Park, the same lot that serves Tidings and Twinkle. The trolleys start earlier and run later than the market each day:

Several parts of the weekend need a reservation:

• Enchanted Village, with Le Marché, seats groups in one of ten themed Christmas snow globes for 75 minutes.
• Fezziwig's Courtyard, with Art Culinarian, gives you a reserved table for an hour with festive food and a holiday drink.
• Portraits with St. Nick in Tiny Tim's Kid Zone are booked through Boston Photography.
• Run Like the Dickens is a one-mile fun run on Main Beach. Costumes are encouraged and well-behaved dogs are welcome. Partners are Sandbar Amelia, the YMCA, Coastal Vision Center and Salty Sports Society.
• Dickens After Dark, Marley's Masquerade is at its "grand new home at The Pavilion" at 116 North 2nd Street on Saturday, December 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. It's 21 and over, Victorian costume is required, and the night includes stilt walkers, jugglers, live music and dancing. Tickets went on sale October 1.

The festival's Parade of Paws starts at Centre and 4th Streets at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The Weeks on Either Side

Dickens is the busiest stretch, but it's the middle of a season that runs from the night before Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. These are the dates already listed for 2026:

1. Wednesday, Nov. 25. The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island lights its 40-foot tree, and Santa arrives by Christmas train. The night includes live music, fireworks, cookies and cider. A $20 charity ticket is required for anyone 10 or older.
2. Friday, Nov. 27. The busiest single day. The Omni Turkey Trot 5K starts and finishes at Omni Amelia Island Resort Racquet Park. Downtown merchants host the Black Friday PJ Party. The City of Fernandina Beach holds the Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach Tree Lighting. The Shops at Omni Amelia Island lights its tree at 6 p.m., free and open to the public.
3. Dec. 4 and 5. The Holiday Home Tour, with tickets through the Amelia Island Museum of History, where Peg Leg Pete now lives.
4. Dec. 4 through 13. Amelia Musical Playhouse stages Scrooge the Musical.
5. Saturday, Dec. 5. The Lighted Christmas Parade on Centre and Ash Streets, free, with lighted floats and vehicles from local businesses and organizations.
6. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 5 p.m. The annual outdoor Menorah lighting downtown, with music, latkes, Chanukah doughnuts and crafts for kids.
7. Wednesday, Dec. 16. The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival brings two-time GRAMMY winner Nicole Zuraitis and her quartet to an outdoor concert under the Ritz-Carlton's tree. Dinner afterward at Salt is booked directly with the hotel.
8. Dec. 18 through 20. Crescendo Amelia and the Florida Music Academy present How the Big Band Stole Christmas.

Thousands of white lights will stay up in historic downtown from November into January 2027.

Where to Sit Down Between Events

Several downtown and mid-island places that are new this year will see their first holiday rush:

• Coastal Tea Cafe opened October 1 in a renovated historic home at 27 South 5th Street, a few blocks from the Dickens market. It serves breakfast, lunch, baked goods, coffee and hot and iced teas, including an iced tea flight. It has a book nook, and dogs are welcome in the courtyard, which makes it an easy stop after the Parade of Paws.
• Lazy Jacks Provisions opened September 3.
• Amelia's Latin American Grill opened in June at 320 South 8th Street, serving Puerto Rican and Cuban dishes.
• Sue's Market has moved from Sadler Square to a larger store at 1986 Citrona Drive, across from the post office and behind Walgreens. Owners Brandi and Nate Whitaker added a Mahjong Lounge and a bigger wine bar and tasting room with Thursday soirées. The shop still carries grab-and-go casseroles and curated gifts, which helps on nights when you'd rather not cook before a parade.

The Spa at Omni Amelia Island reopened in May 2026 after a multi-phase renovation, and it's close to the Omni's Turkey Trot and tree lighting.

New Year's Eve, Back at the Water

The season ends where Tidings and Twinkle begins, on the downtown riverfront. The New Year's Eve Shrimp Drop on Thursday, December 31, is listed from 5 to 8 p.m. It brings music and food vendors, and the crowd gathers along the downtown riverfront. The shrimp drops at 7 p.m., followed by fireworks over Fernandina Harbor Marina. This year the marina's south basin has a park beside it, with the anchor and the shrimping monument facing the same water the fireworks light up.

My own home is on Doctor's Lake, and the parts of Northeast Florida I keep returning to are the ones built around the water. Downtown Fernandina's new riverfront park is one of them. If you're thinking about a home close enough to walk to Tidings and Twinkle or the Shrimp Drop, or you want to know how living near the water shapes the rest of your year, Glen Hamilton would be glad to talk it through over coffee at one of those new downtown spots. Let's Connect.