Before Thanksgiving, the Deep Creek and Lake Claire marinas in Cape St. Claire get winterized. The bubbling spots that appear in the water afterward are de-icers, not broken pipes. That comes from the town manager's update in the November 2026 Caper, the Cape St. Claire Improvement Association's newsletter. The newsletter's opening line describes the season in 10 words: "The leaves are coming down, the boats are coming out."
Once the boats come out, the holiday season starts, and on this part of the peninsula it starts all at once. From Saturday, November 21 through Sunday, November 29, the biggest events land in one stretch of nine days, with Thanksgiving in the middle.
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21, 5 p.m. | Deep Creek Lighted Boat Parade, per event calendars | Deep Creek |
| Mon., Nov. 23 | Lights on the Bay opens for the 2026–27 season | Sandy Point State Park |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving | |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Goshen Farm Goodies Sale | Historic Goshen Farm |
| Sun., Nov. 29, 6 p.m. | 8th Annual Cape St. Claire Tree Lighting | The Gatehouse, Cape St. Claire Road |
Most of what comes after that week in December needs a reservation form, an order slip or a ticket. Short notice won't do.
The last thing on the water
Event calendars list the Deep Creek Lighted Boat Parade for Saturday, November 21 at 5 p.m. The listing describes a $35 entry fee for boats. It says the money raised covers prize money and a charitable donation. The organizers post the details, so check with them before you head out to watch.
The parade falls in the same weeks the Cape's marinas are being winterized, which makes the season's first holiday event on the peninsula one of the last on the water. Two days later, the season moves onto land at Sandy Point.
Monday, November 23: Sandy Point turns on
Lights on the Bay opens on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. The 2026–27 season runs from November 23, 2026 through January 3, 2027. The SPCA of Anne Arundel County runs the show, and every ticket supports the animals in its care. It covers a two-mile drive past about 70 animated and stationary light displays along the Chesapeake Bay. The show has been running for more than three decades.
Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It's open every night, holidays included. That makes Thanksgiving night and the Friday after it options for houses full of visiting family.
Admission is charged per vehicle, not per person:
- $25 per car
- $40 for large passenger vans, minibuses and trolleys
- $60 for buses
- $5 for 3-D glasses, sold at the park entrance while supplies last
How you buy the ticket changes the price slightly. An online ticket through Eventbrite gets you a QR code to scan at the gate and carries a $3.52 processing fee. Paying at the gate with cash or a credit card costs no fee. On a $25 car, that's about a 14 percent difference. The trade is speed at the gate on a busy night versus the lower price.
Military personnel and first responders get $5 off admission on December 21 and December 27, 2026, with valid ID. That discount is only available at the gate. The SPCA also plans three Lights & Leashes nights for walking the route with a leashed pet, and Santa will visit during those nights and on select other days. Every car can pick up a scavenger hunt card at the gate for a chance to win an Amazon gift card.
Thanksgiving weekend stays on the Cape
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 28, is the second Goodies Sale of the season at Historic Goshen Farm. The November Caper lists honey, hot sauces, loofahs and gourds among the items for sale.
The next evening, Sunday, November 29 at 6 p.m., the Cape holds its 8th Annual Tree Lighting at the Gatehouse on Cape St. Claire Road. Santa stays for visits until 7:30.
Lighting the tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving puts the Cape ahead of the wider area. The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce tree lighting is set for December 4 in Severna Park, five days later. Families who want both can still make both. The Cape's runs first.
That Sunday ends the nine days. From there, the calendar thins out, and most of what's left needs planning ahead.
December runs on forms and order slips
After Thanksgiving weekend, the Cape's holiday events mostly come with paperwork. Here they are in order:
- Tuesday, December 1. The Cape St. Claire Garden Club's Evergreen Wreath Workshop.
- Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, 7:30 p.m. The AACC Dance Company performs "Rhythms in Motion," a mix of student and faculty choreography followed by Duke Ellington's Jazz Nutcracker Suite. It's at the Robert E. Kauffman Theater in the Pascal Center for Performing Arts, and tickets are sold online through Anne Arundel Community College.
- Saturday, December 12. Breakfast with Santa at the Cape St. Claire Clubhouse, with seatings at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $6 for kids and $7 for adults. Reservations are required and seating is limited. You reserve by mailing in the form on page 16 of the November Caper. Every child gets a gift and a letter from Santa, and families should bring their own camera.
- Mid-December. The 2027 Cape calendar arrives. Its cover is "Deep Creek Heron," Chad Langley's winning photo in the calendar contest.
- Christmas Eve. Scout Troop 783's luminary fundraiser. Kits cost $2 each or 12 for $20, are delivered to your door, and are ordered through the QR code in the Caper.
Breakfast with Santa takes reservations by mail and has limited seating, so the form is easiest to send while the November issue is still on the counter.
One December option needs no reservation. The Cape Conservation Corps has updated the Cape's Big Trees list and turned it into a 27-stop self-guided driving tour of the neighborhood's most impressive trees. The stops include southern red oaks, willow oaks, a dawn redwood and a persimmon at Main Beach. The route and details are on the Cape Conservation Corps site. On a clear afternoon before an evening at Sandy Point, it costs nothing and needs no reservation.
What the farm is building for next year
Goshen Farm has a larger project going alongside its sales. The Goshen Farm Preservation Society is building the E. Joseph Lamp Community Pavilion. It will be a covered outdoor space for educational programs, field trips, historical presentations, cultural performances and community gatherings on the farm's 23 acres. It's named for E. Joseph Lamp, PhD, an educator who worked on the farm as a young man and came back years later as a volunteer.
The farm's project page puts the total at $115,000, with $90,000 already secured and $25,000 left to raise. The page credits the Lamp family and other supporters with making the project possible. The November Caper calls the project well underway and asks neighbors to help get it across the finish line.
For this year, the farm's holiday season is the sale on November 28.
If you're starting to think about spring, The ORSO. Team can walk you through how timing works in Arnold and Cape St. Claire before the boats go back in. Contact Us.
