On Saturday, Dec. 12, CoolToday Park will run Jingle Jam as one evening. The Parade of Lights rolls at 6 p.m. from the ballpark through Wellen Park and finishes on the field. At 7 p.m., decorated golf carts can drive onto the plaza for the ballpark's first-ever drive-in concert, with Jesse Daniels Band on stage. Admission is free.
That night caps a change you can follow through the ballpark's own event listings. Jingle Jam began as a two-day holiday fair that included a golf-cart parade on one day. Each year since, the parade has taken up more of the schedule, and in 2026 the event's name, its timing and its headline act are all built around the carts. The rest of CoolToday Park's off-season calendar has moved the same way, toward evenings and toward the same nights Downtown Wellen schedules its own events.
Four Decembers of Jingle Jam
The Englewood Chamber's listing for the 5th annual Jingle Jam describes a free daytime event on Dec. 2 and 3, 2023. It ran 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with horse and carriage rides, carnival games, a holiday market and a Coca-Cola Caravan on Saturday only. The Caddy Carts Golf Cart Parade appeared once, as a Sunday-only line in a list of activities.
| Edition | Format | Where the parade fit |
|---|---|---|
| 5th annual Jingle Jam, Dec. 2–3, 2023 | Two days, roughly 10 a.m. to evening | One item on the Sunday schedule |
| 6th annual Caddy Carts Parade of Lights | Listed as its own event, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. | Ran from CoolToday Park through Downtown Wellen Park and back, with a loop around the field |
| 7th annual Jingle Jam | Daytime family activities and a holiday market, then an evening program | 4 p.m. plaza party, then the Saturday parade at 6 p.m. |
| 8th annual Jingle Jam: A Merry & Bright Night, Dec. 12, 2026 | Billed as "a new, nighttime twist" | 4 p.m. pre-parade party, 6 p.m. parade, 7 p.m. drive-in concert for the carts |
The parade has run after dark for a while. The 6th annual parade was set for 5:30 p.m., and the 7th annual edition's listing put the parade at 6 p.m. on a Saturday. That edition still packed the daytime with a long program: Palmer's North Palm Putt-Putt with a Toys for Tots toy as the entry fee, a Kids Market by young entrepreneurs, cookie decorating classes with The Curated Sugar in the LECOM Legends Club, and a Boozy Hot Chocolate Bar under the Sip, Shop & Sleigh banner.
The 2026 changes are the event's name, its 4 p.m. start for the main program, and what happens after the parade. In past years the carts finished on the field and their drivers went to an awards ceremony. This year the carts stay for the music.
How Dec. 12 runs, hour by hour
The 2026 events guide lists the holiday market as its own morning event, which leaves the evening to the carts.
- 10 a.m.: Sip, Shop & Sleigh Holiday Market. Local vendors, holiday food and drinks, and live music.
- 4 p.m.: Pre-Parade Party. Cart drivers check in and finish their decorations. Happy hour specials are at the Jingle Bell Bar. On North Palm Plaza you'll find photos with Santa in the Visiting Clubhouse, Storytime with Mrs. Claus, Holiday Glow Golf and rides on the Palmer Express.
- 6 p.m.: Parade of Lights, presented by Thoroughbred Golf Carts. The lit-up carts leave CoolToday Park, travel through Wellen Park and finish on the field. The ballpark says the parade is best viewed from inside the seating bowl. An awards ceremony for the best-decorated carts follows on the plaza.
- 7 p.m.: Drive-In Concert. Jesse Daniels Band plays the plaza stage, and golf carts can drive onto the plaza. If you come on foot, bring lawn chairs and blankets for a designated seating area.
If you want a good view of the parade and a spot near the stage, timing matters. The parade finishes inside the stadium and the concert is on the plaza, so you'll want to move from the seating bowl to the plaza once the last carts leave the field.
The first December weekend has two calendars on it
The week before Jingle Jam, the ballpark and Downtown Wellen book the same evenings.
On Friday, Dec. 4, the Braves Beer Run starts at 6 p.m. It's a one-mile run, walk or stroll around the concourse under the stadium lights, with a beer or soda after each lap. That same night, Downtown Wellen holds Wellen Wonderland, with Santa, live music and the Christmas tree lighting. Wellen Park's listing says more details are coming.
Saturday, Dec. 5, splits more neatly. The Braves Tomahawk 5K starts at 7:30 a.m. on a flat course along the roads near the park. It then cuts through the stadium grounds, circles the warning track on the field and ends with a post-race breakfast. The evening belongs to Downtown Wellen. Check-in for the Glow Bike Ride begins at 6 p.m., and Holiday Dueling Pianos plays the Solis Hall stage from 6 to 9 p.m.
That makes it possible to run the 5K in the morning and hear the pianos that night. Friday is harder, because the Beer Run and Wellen Wonderland both fall in the early evening.
November's double booking
On Saturday, Nov. 21, the two calendars line up again. CoolToday Park calls its Grilled Cheese Festival its "most iconic event." It starts at 11 a.m. with local food trucks, a craft beer garden with souvenir mugs, live music and kids' activities. Downtown Wellen hosts the Festival of the Arts that same day and Sunday, Nov. 22. It runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days with free admission, and artists from Florida and around the country show painting, sculpture, glass, ceramics, jewelry, woodworking and more.
The art festival runs two days and the grilled cheese runs one, so you can catch both if you save the art for Sunday.
Before then, Downtown Wellen's Night Market & Dueling Pianos is listed for Nov. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. The Wellen Park events calendar lists the Wine Festival for Nov. 14 from 1 to 4 p.m., though a promotion elsewhere on the same page mentions Nov. 13 and 14. The festival page describes a ticketed tasting with more than 40 wineries, so check your date there when you buy.
The ballpark on an ordinary Thursday
Between festivals, the off-season revolves around the Superior Pools Tomahawk Tiki Bar & Grill. It's an open-air, covered restaurant above the left field line, reached through Gate 3 or the VIP elevator, and it's open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. Happy hour runs from noon to 5 p.m. except on event days, with $10 starters, $4 drafts and $5 well cocktails. There's live music every weekend. The non-gameday menu mixes ballpark food with Caribbean-inspired dishes, from Kitchen Sink Nachos and a Cuban sandwich to a jerk chicken bowl.
Thursday nights at 6 p.m. bring Music Bingo: four rounds hosted by Suncoast DJ Bingo at the Tiki Bar, presented by Florida Avenue Brewing Co.'s You're My Boy Blue beer.
The ballpark also runs facility tours on the last Tuesday of the month, though the schedule can change around events. The one-hour walking tours start at 11 a.m. They may include time on the field, the Braves dugout and bullpen, the press box, the luxury suites and the auditorium inside The Academy, then lunch at the Tiki Bar. Stops depend on what's happening at the ballpark and on the weather. All tours are wheelchair accessible. You have to book by 7 a.m. on the Friday before your tour, and confirmations go out by 5 p.m. that Friday. If the schedule holds, October's tour is Tuesday, Oct. 27, with a booking deadline of Friday, Oct. 23, the day after this post goes up. November's tour would be Tuesday, Nov. 24, with a deadline of Friday, Nov. 20.
Event times and details can change, and CoolToday Park and Wellen Park post updates on their own pages, so check them before you go. Weather already canceled one Downtown Wellen event this season, the Oct. 8 Night Market.
If you're decorating a cart for Dec. 12 or deciding between the Beer Run and the tree lighting, Stone & Coast Realty Group keeps up with the Wellen Park calendar all season. We're glad to share which Wellen Park villages sit closest to the ballpark and Downtown Wellen.
