What do you bring to a Troutman holiday event this year? It depends on the date. On Thanksgiving morning it's a can of food. At the parade it's a new, unwrapped toy. At the Jingle Run it's a pair of pajamas or a pack of paper towels. Raffle tickets at the Festival of Trees help pay for scholarships and for kids' meals.
From November 13 to December 13, every event on Troutman's holiday calendar collects for a specific local cause. Two of those events are brand new in 2026, and both come from the Troutman Ruritan Club, which formed only four years ago.
The club behind the two new dates
The Troutman Ruritan Club formed in June 2022. It's a volunteer group whose members pick local projects, and it says all of its service and fundraising stays in Troutman. Its own list of past work covers backpacks and supplies for students in Troutman schools, Thanksgiving meals for families, Christmas gifts for families in need, home repairs for elderly neighbors, and refurbished rooms at the local domestic violence shelter. It also handed out candy at Trails and Treats.
The club meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at its new home, Lifespan, at 147 Iredell Avenue. Members are welcome from outside town limits too. When Iredell Free News covered the club's start in 2022, it was a new group recruiting members. This fall it is running a two-day holiday weekend at a high school, built around a first-year Festival of Trees, plus a first-year Thanksgiving Day race.
November 13 and 14: a weekend at South Iredell High School
The club calls it Christmas Community Weekend, and the Town of Troutman lists it among area events. Both nights are at South Iredell High School, 299 Old Mountain Road in Statesville.
Friday, November 13, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. "Come Let Us Adore Him" is a community gospel celebration with local church choirs, gospel groups and soloists. Coffee, sweets and drinks are for sale. Tickets are on Eventbrite.
Saturday, November 14, 2 to 7 p.m. The Festival of Trees & Christmas Market is free to get in, and the kids' activities are free too. Inside you'll find themed Christmas trees loaded with gifts, gift cards and experiences, a market of local vendors and handmade crafts, and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Sandwich Express is selling food.
The trees run on a raffle. According to the Iredell Free News event announcement, each tree is worth at least $300, and many carry gifts donated by local businesses. Tickets cost $1 each or 25 for $20. You put your tickets toward the trees you want, and you don't have to be there to win. At the 25-ticket price, $20 buys you 20 cents off every ticket. Against a $300 prize, that's a cheap way to spread your chances across several trees.
All weekend proceeds go to four places:
- Scholarships for graduating seniors in the Troutman community
- The South Iredell High School women's basketball program
- Student needs at Third Creek Middle School
- Food For Days, which provides meals for children facing food insecurity
The club says it hopes the weekend becomes a holiday tradition.
Thanksgiving morning at ESC Park
The club's second new event starts at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, November 26: the first annual Troutman Gobbler Run 5K. It starts at Troutman ESC Park, 338 North Avenue, and goes through town. If you know ESC Park from the fall calendar, it's the same park that hosted most of Troutman's autumn weekends.
Registration is on RunSignup and costs $35 plus a $3.10 online signup fee. You can register online on race day, up until just before the start. The guaranteed t-shirt deadline was October 31, so new sign-ups may not get a shirt. Every runner gets a swag bag, and the top three men and women in each age group get medals.
The money pays school tech fees for students whose families can't cover them. Runners are also asked to bring nonperishable food to stock the community Blessing Box at Troutman Town Hall. Hoke Building Supply is one of the race's sponsors. The race is walker-friendly, and an 8 a.m. start gets you home with time to spare before dinner.
December moves to Town Hall
After Thanksgiving, most of the calendar moves to the Town's older traditions, and most of them center on Town Hall at 400 N. Eastway Drive. The Ruritan Club shows up here too.
Lighting of the Town, Tuesday, December 1, 6 p.m. Iredell Family Care Center of Troutman presents it. There's music from local groups, a visit from Santa Claus and Ms. Claus, and the moment the town's decorations come on. The Troutman Ruritan Club serves the cookies and hot chocolate.
Christmas Parade, Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. The parade leaves from CATS on Old Murdock Road, turns onto Eastway Drive, and ends at Troutman Baptist Church. House Doctors & Maid Right of Mooresville present it. Entering is free. Instead of a fee, organizers collect new, unwrapped toys for the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program, and a trailer behind Santa takes donations from spectators along the route. Gifts for kids 12 and older are especially needed. Groups that want to march can sign up through the Town's parade notice.
Drive Thru Live Nativity, December 10 through 12, 6 to 8 p.m. This one is at the Iredell County Fairgrounds, and the Town points to Troutman Baptist Church for details.
Jingle Run 5K, Sunday, December 13, 3 p.m. The race starts at Troutman Town Hall and loops through town. Costumes are encouraged and strollers are allowed. Register by November 24 to guarantee your shirt size, either at runsignup.com/jinglerun5k or in person at Troutman Parks & Rec, 334 North Avenue. Runners collect for My Sister's House. The holiday wish list includes pajamas in all sizes for women and children, women's slippers, robes, scarves, mittens, toboggans, blankets and new unwrapped toys. The ongoing-needs list includes paper products, cleaning supplies, bottled water and dark-colored towels.
What each stop collects
Once you put the dates side by side, you can shop for the whole month in one trip:
| Date | Event | Where | What to bring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 13 | Community Gospel Celebration | South Iredell High School | Eventbrite ticket |
| Nov 14 | Festival of Trees & Christmas Market | South Iredell High School | Cash for raffle tickets and vendors |
| Nov 26 | Gobbler Run 5K | ESC Park, 338 North Ave | Nonperishable food for the Blessing Box |
| Dec 1 | Lighting of the Town | Town Hall, 400 N. Eastway Dr | A warm layer |
| Dec 5 | Christmas Parade | Old Murdock Rd to Eastway Dr | New, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots |
| Dec 10–12 | Drive Thru Live Nativity | Iredell County Fairgrounds | A full tank |
| Dec 13 | Jingle Run 5K | Town Hall | Item for My Sister's House |
The parade has the longest window. You can drop toys at Troutman Parks & Rec or Town Hall any time before December 5, so you don't have to carry one to the curb.
The building at the center is about to change
Town Hall hosts the tree lighting, starts the Jingle Run, takes parade toys, and holds the Blessing Box that the Gobbler Run restocks. The building is also headed for an overhaul. Iredell Free News reported on October 6 that town staff had spent months working with Fuller Architecture on the conceptual design, renderings and floor plans. After reviewing them, the council gave Town Manager Justin Longino permission to add a resolution to its Thursday agenda that would let staff move ahead with a design-build process, with the contractor still to be chosen. The first estimate is just over $17 million, and the council has $4 million in reserve. Longino plans to bring a loan package for the rest to the council in November or December.
The same report notes that one of the council's 2026–2028 priorities is to launch a signature Troutman event. Erin Ruyle, the Town's new Communications and Public Experience Manager, started September 28. Her list includes that event, a downtown business association, a downtown revitalization incentive, and a study of whether a social district would work. For now, those are assignments, not dates on a calendar. The calendar that does exist this season runs from a high school to a fairground and ends at Town Hall on December 13. The newest stops come from a volunteer club that holds its monthly meetings in a cottage behind a building on Iredell Avenue.
If you'd rather check the dates in one place, the Town posts its annual events on its news page. Our Troutman area guide covers the rest of town, from ESC Park to the small businesses on Wagner Street.
At Southern Charm Realty & Retreats, we keep a close eye on the north end of the lake, from ESC Park to the tree lighting at Town Hall on December 1. If you'd like to see the area from the road or from the water this season, schedule a Lake Norman consult, by car or by boat.
