"We also want to keep the east end of the boardwalk open for as long as possible, especially through Thanksgiving weekend when Santa makes his annual arrival by boat with the Coast Guard," Mayor Sean Reardon told The Daily News of Newburyport as fencing went up on the waterfront in late October. In other words, a $1.8 million construction job is working around a single Sunday afternoon in November.
The schedule shapes how the 2026 holiday season plays out downtown. The work is moving along the boardwalk from west to east. Meanwhile, once Santa lands at the water's edge on Nov. 29, every later event takes place inland: in Market Square, at the Tannery, in Brown Square, on Titcomb Street and finally on front walkways on Christmas Eve.
A rebuild with a holiday in its schedule
The Peter J. Matthews Memorial Boardwalk was built in the late 1970s, then extended and re-decked in 2002. The city's engineering consultant, GEI, found that about 90 percent of the supports under the deck were in satisfactory shape. It also estimated that about 60 percent of the boardwalk needs new decking, after years of splintering boards and screws whose threads had corroded in the pressure-treated stringers.
Atlantic Coast Tug and Marine, known as ACT Marine and based in Hampstead, New Hampshire, won the contract with a bid of $1,443,150, according to the Daily News. The full budget comes to just over $1.8 million with contingencies. Most of it is a $1,492,500 grant from the state's Seaport Economic Council, plus $285,000 in Community Preservation Act funding and $50,000 from the Waterfront Trust.
The season dictates the order of the work. The city's project page explains that construction has to happen in the off-season so it doesn't disrupt boating or summer use. The page's Oct. 22 update says crews mobilized on Friday, Oct. 23, after the Yankee Clipper Harbor Tours floats came out of the water at the western end. ACT fenced off two laydown and staging areas, one on each side of the embayment, along with a first work zone at the western end. The Daily News placed that fencing near Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar.
The plan keeps the contractor on the western end through November 2026 before the fencing moves to the next section, with much of the boardwalk staying open as the crew works east. Starting at the west gives the city room to keep the eastern end, where Santa's boat comes in, open through Thanksgiving weekend, which the mayor named as the goal. The mayor told the Daily News he expects completion by the end of April if everything goes to plan. The city's stated goal is to finish before the summer of 2027.
Sunday, Nov. 29, from the river to Market Square
The Santa Parade & Tree Lighting falls on Sunday, Nov. 29, as it does every year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The volunteers of the Newburyport Rotary Club host it. The Merrimack River Coast Guard Station brings Santa in by boat, and the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce supplies the Market Square tree and the downtown decorations. Rotary's official window is 3 to 5:30 p.m. A preview on Newburyport.com gives the expected order of events:
- About 3:30 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus board the Coast Guard boat. The boat runs up the river toward Michael's Harborside so people on shore can see them on the water.
- About 3:45 to 4 p.m. The parade lines up at the boardwalk and sets off. The walk to Market Square takes about 15 minutes.
- In Market Square the mayor hands Santa the key to the city, which is kept at The Brass Lyon the rest of the year. The Newburyport and Triton High School bands and choruses lead about 15 minutes of caroling.
- About 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. The tree is lit.
Those times can shift. The preview notes that Merrimack River tides affect when Santa's boat arrives, and that the event moves quickly once he's on his way. If you want to watch the boat come in, arrive early and plan to stand on the eastern part of the waterfront, away from the work zone. From there, the parade is a short walk up to Market Square.
After the tree lighting, the season moves inland
Once the tree is lit, nothing else on the December calendar happens on the water. The Chamber's events page, updated Oct. 28, puts the rest of the season on downtown streets and in Brown Square. The calendar picks up two weekends before the parade and then runs every Friday and weekend in December:
Date | Event | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
Sun., Nov. 15 | 4th annual Bring on the Holidays Vendor and Craft Fair | Newburyport Senior Community Center, 331 High St. | Opens 11 a.m. |
Sun., Nov. 29 | Santa Parade & Tree Lighting | Boardwalk to Market Square | 3 to 5:30 p.m. window |
Fri., Dec. 4, 11 and 18 | Yuletide Invitation Nights | Downtown, the Tannery, Merrimac Place, Horton's Yard | 6 to 9 p.m. |
Sat. and Sun., Dec. 5 to 20 | Santa's Workshop | Brown Square | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
Fri., Dec. 11 to Sun., Dec. 13 | 4th Annual Port Gingerbread Festival | Central Congregational Church, 14 Titcomb St. | Fri. 4 to 7, Sat. 11 to 6, Sun. noon to 4 |
Thurs., Dec. 24 | Light the Port luminaries | Walkways, porches and streets citywide | At dusk |
The November craft fair at the Senior Community Center is organized by North Shore Vendor Events and lists more than 35 local vendors and crafters, according to its Patch listing.
On the three Invitation Nights, the first three Fridays of December, merchants downtown, at the Tannery, at Merrimac Place and at Horton's Yard open their doors with hospitality, entertainment, shopping and dining. Santa's Workshop opens in Brown Square on the Saturday after the first Invitation Night, with visits and photos. The Newburyport Horticultural Society decorates it.
The Port Gingerbread Festival lands on the middle weekend. It's a contest and free public exhibition open to every age and skill level. Past entries have included ships, churches, lighthouses and carriages as well as traditional houses. Judges award prizes by category, visitors vote for People's Choice, and proceeds benefit Nourishing the North Shore. The church is a short walk from Market Square, so the Dec. 11 Invitation Night and the festival's Friday hours can share one evening.
The Chamber pays for much of this through its Port of Wonder Holiday Décor initiative. That fund covers the Market Square tree, the downtown lights, the Green Ticket Shopping Spree and the December festivities, and it's open to business and community sponsors. The Chamber itself now works out of 14 Inn Street.
Christmas Eve ends on front walkways
The last event on the calendar is the farthest from the river. Light the Port asks households to set out luminaries at dusk on Dec. 24, whether along a walkway, on a porch or up and down a street with the neighbors. Each kit includes star-cut bags and flameless LED candles. A 10-pack costs $25, a 20-pack $45 and a 50-pack $100. Kits are sold at participating downtown shops during the Dec. 4, 11 and 18 Invitation Nights and at Momentum Studio in Salisbury, and sales support Momentum's GirlStrong and Kids Run Club programs. To be ready for Christmas Eve, buy at one of the December Friday events.
City Hall has two holiday items under review. A proposed order on the City Council's Oct. 26 agenda would waive daily parking fees in every city lot and the garage from Dec. 18 through Dec. 25, 2026, with "Free Parking - Season's Greetings" shown on the kiosks and the parking app. It went to the Public Works & Safety committee for its Nov. 2 meeting. If it passes, free parking would start on the night of the last Invitation Night. The same council packet also includes an application for a Hanukkah menorah display in Market Square from Nov. 29 through Jan. 1.
By the time the luminaries go out on Christmas Eve, the plan calls for ACT Marine to have moved past the western end and on to the next section of the boardwalk. If the timeline holds, the rebuilt boardwalk will be ready for next year's boating season, a few months before Santa arrives by boat again.
Kevin grew up in Newburyport, and our team keeps track of how projects like the boardwalk rebuild change the waterfront that so many homes here look out on. If you're thinking about what the next year holds for your Newburyport home, Kevin Fruh and our team can tell you where it stands this season. Request your complimentary home valuation.
