Georgia celebrates every holiday on the calendar somewhere, from Easter sunrise on top of Stone Mountain to seven weeks of Oktoberfest in Helen and drive-through Christmas lights at Lake Lanier. Here is where to look, holiday by holiday, with links to our full guides.
Dates, prices and lineups change every year, so use the official links in each guide to confirm before you go.
- New Year’s & Winter
- Easter & Spring
- Memorial Day to Labor Day
- Oktoberfest & Halloween
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
New Year’s & Winter
Winter Guide
Snow tubing, ice skating, camellias on the coast and quiet waterfall hikes. See things to do in Georgia in winter and snow tubing and ice skating.
Lunar New Year
Stone Mountain Park includes a Lunar New Year celebration on its winter event calendar. See our Stone Mountain Park page.
Easter & Spring
Easter Sunrise Service
Stone Mountain Park holds an Easter sunrise service each spring; check the park’s site for the time and access details.
Spring Guide
Azaleas, dogwoods, waterfalls at full flow and festival season. See things to do in Georgia in spring.
Memorial Day to Labor Day
Fourth of July
Towns, lakes and parks across Georgia put on fireworks and cookouts, and Stone Mountain Park hosts a Fantastic Fourth celebration. Georgia State Parks list ranger programs and holiday events on the state parks events calendar.
Summer Guide
Lakes, swimming holes, tubing and mountain getaways. See things to do in Georgia in summer and our best swimming holes.
Labor Day Weekend
Stone Mountain Park marks Labor Day weekend with events and hosts the long-running Yellow Daisy Festival, an arts and crafts show, in September.
Oktoberfest & Halloween
Helen Oktoberfest
Helen’s Oktoberfest runs September 10 through November 1, 2026, at the Festhalle. See our Helen Oktoberfest guide for prices and events.
Halloween
Haunted houses like Netherworld, family events like Boo at the Zoo, state park haunted hikes and the Little Five Points and Wild Rumpus parades. See our Halloween in Georgia 2026 guide.
Pumpkins & Corn Mazes
Pick-your-own pumpkins, hayrides and corn mazes. See corn mazes and pumpkin patches, plus Stone Mountain Park’s fall Pumpkin Festival.
Fall Guide
Leaf season, apple orchards and harvest festivals. See things to do in Georgia in fall.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Traditions
Thanksgiving is November 26, 2026. Turkey trots in Atlanta, Marietta and Savannah, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech on November 28 and the light shows that open that weekend. See Thanksgiving in Georgia 2026.
Tree Lightings
Many towns light their Christmas trees Thanksgiving week. Gwinnett County lights its Great Tree at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville on Thanksgiving night, a tradition since the 1980s, and Helen and Dahlonega light their downtowns on November 27.
Christmas
Christmas Lights
Drive-through shows and small-town displays in every region. Start with the best Christmas lights in Georgia.
Magical Nights of Lights
A six-mile drive-through show at Lanier Islands, November 20, 2026, to January 3, 2027. See our Magical Nights of Lights guide.
Fantasy in Lights
Callaway’s seven-mile drive-through show in Pine Mountain, November 13, 2026, to January 3, 2027. See our Presidential Pathways Christmas lights guide.
Garden Lights, Holiday Nights
The Atlanta Botanical Garden’s walk-through show, November 14, 2026, to January 10, 2027. See our Atlanta Christmas lights guide.
Stone Mountain Christmas
Stone Mountain Park’s parade and drone and light show, weekends and holidays from November 7, 2026, to January 3, 2027. See our Atlanta Christmas lights guide and Stone Mountain Park page.
Christmas Tree Farms
Choose-and-cut farms open from mid-November, from Cumming and Fayetteville to Bishop, Tifton and the coast. See Christmas tree farms in Georgia.
Santa Trains
The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway’s Holiday Express, Kingsland’s Santa Special and the SAM Shortline’s Candy Cane Express to Plains. See Christmas train rides in Georgia.
More Festivals & Events
For the 2026 season, see Christmas in Helen, Christmas in Dahlonega, New Year’s Eve in Atlanta and Georgia and First Day Hikes on January 1.
Sources we checked
Facts in this guide were checked against the agencies and operators that run these places:
- Stone Mountain Park: seasonal events – Easter, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Yellow Daisy, Pumpkin Festival, Christmas and Lunar New Year events
- Georgia State Parks events calendar – park holiday programs
- Helen Chamber of Commerce: Oktoberfest – 2026 dates
- Lanier Islands: Magical Nights of Lights – 2026-27 dates
- Callaway Resort & Gardens: Fantasy in Lights – 2026-27 dates
- Atlanta Botanical Garden: Garden Lights, Holiday Nights – 2026-27 dates
Spot something out of date? Email Contact@n-georgia.com and we’ll check it against the official source. Read how we research our guides.