On December 12, Three Northshore Towns Take Turns With the Holidays

The biggest holiday Saturday in St. Tammany Parish this year is Dec. 12, and the three towns hosting events that day have their schedules lined up so they barely overlap. Old Mandeville's Christmas Past Festival takes the morning on Girod Street. Covington hands off in mid-afternoon with a parade and a tree lighting at the Trailhead. Slidell opens Heritage Park at 6 p.m. for an evening event that, for the first time, combines two of the city's December traditions.

You can start with Santa photos in Old Mandeville and finish under the Heritage Park lights, and the published hours leave room for the drive between towns.

Here is the day in order, using each organizer's posted times:

1. 10 a.m. The 22nd annual Old Mandeville Christmas Past Festival opens on Girod Street. Santa and Mrs. Claus take photos until noon.
2. 3 p.m. The Lollipops Marching Group parade leads Santa to the Covington Trailhead.
3. 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The 5th annual Christmas in Covington runs at the Trailhead, ending with the lighting of the city's Christmas tree.
4. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Slidell's Bayou Christmas Under the Stars is open at Heritage Park, 1701 Bayou Lane.

All four are free.

Morning on Girod Street

The Old Mandeville Business Association has run Christmas Past for 22 years, and the 2026 festival is planned around shopping. The parish tourism listing for the event mentions some of the Northshore's best shopping, food and drinks from local vendors, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and a Kids Zone with inflatables. Costumes and holiday clothes are encouraged, and there's an Ugly Sweater Contest for anyone who wants to compete.

Plan around the closing time. The festival's own FAQ page says the festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Girod Street. The Visit The Northshore listing gives a 3 p.m. close. Under the organizer's hours, Christmas Past's last hour runs at the same time as the Lollipops parade in Covington. If you want to see the parade, finish in Mandeville around lunchtime. If you'd rather catch the last vendors, plan to arrive in Covington for the tree lighting instead.

If Santa photos are the reason you're going, they run only from 10 a.m. to noon. Mornings are the busiest part of a day organized around children.

Afternoon at the Covington Trailhead

Covington's event is the shortest of the three and the most tightly scheduled. The City of Covington puts on Christmas in Covington and the Lighting of the Christmas Tree at the Covington Trailhead Museum and Visitors Center, 419 N. New Hampshire St. The event starts after the Lollipops Marching Group's 3 p.m. parade brings Santa to the Trailhead. Between 4 and 6:30 p.m. there are crafts and entertainment for children, and the tree lighting closes the event.

The city asks people at both the parade and the Trailhead event to bring canned or other non-perishable food for the Northshore Food Bank. That's an easy thing to load into the car in the morning before leaving for Mandeville.

The event ends at 6:30 p.m., and Slidell's gates open at 6. People driving across the parish will reach Heritage Park after the evening has started. That costs little, since Slidell's event is a three-hour walk through the lights, not a show with a fixed start time.

Night at Heritage Park, Where Two Traditions Are Now One

The biggest change on this year's calendar is in Slidell. Visit The Northshore describes the 2026 event, called Slidell's Bayou Christmas Under the Stars, as bringing "the festive fun of Christmas Under the Stars and Slidell's Bayou Christmas together in one celebration at Heritage Park." Admission is free, and it runs 6 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 11, 12, 18 and 19.

The two events have been moving toward each other for a couple of years. In 2024 the City of Slidell promoted the 11th annual Slidell's Bayou Christmas at Heritage Park, running Dec. 13–14 and Dec. 20–23. Christmas Under the Stars is much older. Last year was its 38th, and the city's November 2025 announcement said it would be held at Heritage Park while Griffith Park was being renovated. In that announcement, Mayor Randy Fandal invited the community to Heritage Park:

"This event brings families, friends, and neighbors together to celebrate the joy of the season, and I encourage everyone to come out, enjoy the lights and music, and make special holiday memories right here in Slidell."

This year both events are under one name at one park. According to the 2026 listing, the displays people know from Christmas Under the Stars are coming back, including the life-size Christmas Cottages and Slidell's Nativity. Visitors can also expect thousands of lights, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and live entertainment across the park. Last year's cottages were made by Lori Anselmo, and the 2025 setup also included Big Santa, Christmas Playhouses by the Rosies and a Community Christmas Tree.

The combined schedule also gives you choices. Because Slidell repeats on four nights, families who would rather not cross the parish on Dec. 12 can go Friday, Dec. 11, or come back the following weekend. Of the three towns, Slidell is the only one with a second chance.

The Same Streets Are Busy Before December

The Dec. 12 lineup is the end of a fall calendar that uses the same places. Girod Street, the Covington Trailhead and Columbia Street all host events in the weeks before December, and many of them are run by the same organizers. NOLA.com's 2026 fall events roundup for St. Tammany lists what's left between now and Thanksgiving.

The Slidell Food & Fun Fest runs Friday, Oct. 23, from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 25, from noon to 9 p.m. Proceeds go to the church's school. The festival allows clear bags only, and this year it added hoodies and non-religious head coverings to its list of banned items.

The Old Mandeville Business Association, which puts on Christmas Past, also runs WideWater on Halloween. That event has four stages on the Mandeville Lakefront, and costumes are encouraged. In Covington, the Trailhead is one of the Ozone Songwriter Festival's venues a month before the tree lighting. Ozone calls itself the state's largest songwriter festival, with more than 100 performances at places including the Southern Hotel, Columbia Street Tap Room & Grill, Cured on Columbia and Oliver & Cecile Lodging & Lounge.

The Three Rivers Art Festival takes over downtown Covington the next weekend. The parish tourism listing calls this year's edition the 30th annual, running Nov. 14–15 on Columbia Street from the 200 through 600 blocks. NOLA.com expects more than 200 juried artists working in ceramics, painting, photography, fiber art and woodworking, along with a children's village and live music.

Abita Springs has the quietest event on the list. The Abita Springs Opry, produced by Abita Opry Inc., holds its November concert at Town Hall on Nov. 21.

One More Date to Watch on the River

Madisonville's Twinkle on the Tchefuncte Lighted Boat Parade was held on Dec. 13, 2025, according to the Town of Madisonville's event page. If you're planning the whole weekend, check that page for this year's date.

The Dec. 12 plan starts on Girod Street at 10 a.m., moves to the Covington Trailhead for the 3 p.m. parade and the tree lighting, and ends at Heritage Park, 1701 Bayou Lane, where the lights stay on until 9.

The Joseph S. Pappalardo Jr. team at Wurth Real Estate Services keeps track of calendars like this one across Mandeville, Covington, Slidell and the rest of the Northshore, from Girod Street to Heritage Park. If you'd like to know what your home is worth in a parish with a December calendar like this one, start with a free home valuation.