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Hey neighbor! 👋
Happy Friday! The holidays are taking over downtown Fredericksburg this weekend, and we’ve got your game plan: Holiday Open House all weekend, the Tree Lighting at Riverfront Park on Saturday from 4 to 7 PM, Santa’s return to the Visitor Center, and big news about Santa Train tickets. Plus free 4-hour parking and the free holiday trolley so you can skip the parking hunt altogether.
We also mapped out your perfect downtown Saturday, started the Thanksgiving countdown (some order deadlines are already here!), unveiled our brand-new dessert guide, and found a very pink day trip just down I-95. Plus your weekend events list.
Grab your coffee and let’s dive in. 🌊
Dori
Neighbor Poll
🥧 The Great Pie Debate
Before we dive in, we need your vote. Families have been divided over less. We'll share the winner next week.
The Great Pie Debate: What's the best Thanksgiving pie? 🥧
Local Pulse: FXBG Edition
🎄 The Holidays Are Taking Over FXBG!
Downtown Fredericksburg is getting ready for a weekend full of holiday cheer. Here’s everything you need to plan your visit.
🛍️ Holiday Open House Weekend: Sat Nov 14 and Sun Nov 15
Explore your favorite shops, discover new ones, and enjoy special discounts and free gifts with purchase at participating businesses. Whether you’re continuing a family tradition or starting a new one, there’s no better place to begin the holiday season.
🎄 Tree Lighting: Sat Nov 14, 4 to 7 PM at Riverfront Park
The lights, the music, the excitement of the season officially beginning! Bring your family and friends for live music and performances, vendors, food trucks, and festive fun. Little ones can enjoy the Kid Zone, and everyone gets to watch the magical moment when Fredericksburg’s Christmas tree lights up for the season.
🎅 Santa Is Coming to the Visitor Center
Santa is making his merry return to the Fredericksburg Visitor Center, and he’s ready for photos, smiles and wish lists! Bring the family for a special five-minute visit, complete with cookies, hot cocoa and holiday coloring sheets. Tickets are just $5 per family or group, plus processing fees. Book your Santa visit
🚂 Santa Train Tickets Are Going Online Only
The VRE Santa Train is back for another season of holiday magic, with one big change: tickets will be sold online only and will no longer be available at the Visitor Center. Tickets go on sale Monday, November 30, at 10 AM, so mark your calendar! Santa Train ticket info
🪟 Window Wonderland: Ready to Solve the Riddles?
Stroll downtown, admire the decorated storefronts, and solve the riddles in participating shop windows for a chance to win prizes, including downtown gift cards. Window Wonderland details
🎟️ Holiday Shopping Passport: Nov 14 to Dec 31
Download the free Visit Fredericksburg app and find the Holiday Passport under the Goals icon. Shop at participating downtown businesses and scan their QR codes to collect stamps. Five stamps from five different businesses enter you to win prizes!
🚗 Free 4-Hour Parking: Nov 14 to Jan 10
Free on-street parking in the Main Street District goes from the usual 2 hours to 4, so you can take your time shopping, grab lunch and stay for the lights.
🚋 Free Holiday Trolley: Nov 14, Nov 27, Nov 28 and Dec 19
Skip the parking hunt altogether! Park at the VRE Lot or the Fall Hill Lot and hop on the free trolley from Trolley Tours of Fredericksburg, which makes five stops downtown from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM. See the shuttle map and stops
Save the date for more downtown holiday fun
⛸️ Downtown Skating Rink opens Nov 27. Grab your skates and your favorite people, then warm up with a drink or a meal downtown. Ticket link coming soon!
🛍️ Small Business Saturday, Nov 28. Shop downtown for one-of-a-kind finds, stop for a cup of hot chocolate, and enjoy special holiday shopping surprises along the way.
💛 Giving Tuesday, Dec 1. Donate $100 or more to Fredericksburg Main Street and get a free FMS T-shirt and baseball cap. Plus, during Giving Tuesday week, Anita’s will feature three special drinks, with a portion of sales going back to Main Street.
🍪 Cookie Crawl, Dec 12. A little holiday exploring and a lot of cookies! Tickets are on sale now.
There’s something special about the holidays downtown: the twinkling lights, finding the perfect gift at a local shop, and making memories with the people who matter most. This year, make Downtown Fredericksburg part of your holiday tradition. 💛
For the latest updates, visit Fredericksburg Main Street.
🗺️ Your Perfect Downtown Saturday
Not sure where to start this weekend? We planned the whole day for you. Wear comfy shoes.
9 AM: Beat the crowds at the Fredericksburg Pottery Throwdown in Hurkamp Park and snag a one-of-a-kind handmade gift before it’s gone.
10:30 AM: Refuel with coffee and something sweet on Caroline Street. Agora, Eileen’s, and Anita’s are all within a few blocks.
11 AM: Shop the Holiday Open House, hunt for Window Wonderland riddles, and start collecting Holiday Passport stamps.
1 PM: Lunch downtown, then try a FAM-tini drink at one of the six participating spots and vote for your favorite at famva.org/fam-tini.
3 PM: Treat yourself to an old-fashioned milkshake in a metal tin at Goolrick’s Soda Fountain, back on Caroline Street after a four-year restoration.
4 PM: Head to Riverfront Park for the Tree Lighting, with live music, food trucks, the Kid Zone, and the big moment when the tree lights up. ✨
7 PM: Keep the night going! Walk across the street to City Vino for live music from Alejandro & Caroline, benefiting Hub of Hope. 🍷
Thanks to free 4-hour parking, you can take your time. You’re welcome. 😉
Worth the Drive
Courtesy / Virginia Museum of History and Culture
💖 Day Trip: George Washington Gets the Barbie Treatment
Road trip alert! The Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond is hosting Barbie: A Cultural Icon through January 18, 2027, and it's only about an hour down I-95.
The exhibit follows Barbie from her 1959 debut to today with more than 250 vintage dolls, plus fashion, ads, and memorabilia. Bring your phone: you can pose inside an oversized Barbie box, explore a re-creation of the original Dreamhouse renderings, and snap a pic with a mirror-pink 1984 Corvette.
The best part? Six "Virginia is for Barbie" dolls inspired by Virginians:
George Washington, displayed with shoe buckles he owned from Mount Vernon. He spent his boyhood at Ferry Farm in Stafford, so we're claiming him.
Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, born in Newport News.
Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician who lived in Newport News and worked in Hampton.
Gabby Douglas, the Olympic gymnast born in Newport News, shown with a leotard signed by her and her teammates.
UVA and Virginia Tech cheerleaders, because the rivalry runs deep, even in doll form.
Good to know: Museum admission is $15 and includes the Barbie exhibit. The six Virginia Barbies will stay on display even after the exhibit closes. It makes a fun girls' day out or a winter break outing with the kids.
📍 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond. Plan your visit: virginiahistory.org
FXBG’s Got It
Your go-to local guides for the holiday season. Bookmark these!
🦃 13 Days Until Thanksgiving. Is Your Turkey Handled?
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and if cooking the whole feast isn't in the cards this year, good news: you don't have to. Our Turkey Dinner Guide rounds up local restaurants, caterers, and bakeries taking Thanksgiving orders. A few standouts:
Hot Burgs Hot Chicken fries whole turkeys that are ready to carve at pickup, and it’s open Thanksgiving Day for turkey pickup.
Locavore’s Thanksgiving Take Home Kit includes a heritage turkey, gravy, sides, and apple pie to feed 5 to 6, and it’s known to sell out.
Eileen’s Bakery & Cafe takes orders for Thanksgiving feasts, fresh-baked rolls, and homemade pies.
⏰ Deadline alert: some caterers close Thanksgiving orders 10 to 14 days before the holiday, which is right about now, and HoneyBaked asks for orders 7 to 10 days ahead. Check the deadlines at the bottom of the guide before you wait another day. See the guide: Turkey Dinner Guide
🍰 NEW: The Fredericksburg Area Dessert Guide
Somebody has to bring dessert this Thanksgiving. (Spoiler: it's probably you.) Our brand-new Dessert Guide rounds up bakeries, ice cream shops, and dessert spots across Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and King George, sorted by town and by occasion. A few sweet finds:
Mary’s Cakery & Candy Kitchen in King George has been making cakes and candy since 1972, with more than 25 flavors of fudge. Hello, stocking stuffers.
Paul’s Bakery on Lafayette Boulevard has baked yeast-raised donuts, pies, and holiday trays since 1973. Pro tip: it closes in the early afternoon, so plan morning pickups.
Kickshaws Gluten-Free Bakery bakes everything in a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, a lifesaver when you’re hosting guests with food allergies.
Abner B’s Ice Cream scoops year-round from a rotating list of about 120 house-made flavors, downtown and at Embrey Mill.
Need a Thanksgiving pie? Paul’s Bakery, Eileen’s Bakery and Café, and The Battlefield Country Store all sell holiday pies. Order deadlines vary, so call early. See the guide: Fredericksburg Area Dessert Guide
🎁 Shop Small With Our Local Gift Guide
Heading downtown this weekend? Bring our Local Gift Guide along. It features more than 100 locally owned businesses across Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and King George, sorted by town and by what they sell, with holiday deals from many of them. Browse the guide: Local Gift Guide
What’s Happening In & Around the ‘Burg
Here are some of the top events happening soon. Always check with the venue for the latest details. Got an event coming up? Add it to our calendar.
Friday 11/13
Yoga Pawty - Enjoy puppy cuddles and a beginner-friendly yoga session supporting the dogs at Old Dominion Humane Society.
Skate Night: Harvest Night - Roll into the harvest season with an autumn-themed skate night at Dixon Park.
90's Alternative Music Bingo - Play free music bingo featuring ’90s alternative hits at Laudenbach Brewing.
Saturday 11/14
FXBG Pottery Throwdown - Shop pottery from more than 30 regional artists alongside demonstrations, music, and market treats at Hurkamp Park.
[TRNSCND] 2026 - Attend faith-based creative workshops and performances at Calvary Chapel Fredericksburg.
Holiday Open House and Live Music with Alejandro & Caroline at City Vino - Enjoy holiday festivities and live music from Alejandro and Caroline at City Vino.
Fall Harvest, Fused Glass Night Light Class for Kids and Adults - Design a seasonal fused-glass night light in this all-ages class at LibertyTown Arts Workshop.
Sunday 11/15
DIY Holiday Simmer Pot Making Activity - Create a festive seasonal simmer pot at Tater's Corner.
Holiday Cocktail Series at A. Smith Bowman Distillery - Take a distillery tour followed by a festive cocktail-making class at A. Smith Bowman Distillery.
Holiday Card Block Printing by Cristina Piecuch - Carve a festive printing block and make handmade holiday cards at LibertyTown Arts Workshop.
Free Choral Concert at St. George's - Vox Humana - Hear Vox Humana perform music inspired by birds, flight, and freedom at St. George's Episcopal Church.
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