A barge sits off the riverfront by the courtesy dock, and the old floating docks are coming out in sections. In August the contractor drove two temporary test piles to check soil conditions, bearing capacity and depth. Both piles performed as expected, which cleared the contractor to order 118 concrete piles, listed as 14x14, for phase one of the replacement.
That construction will still be underway when downtown Stuart puts on its busiest holiday run of the year. In nine days, from Thanksgiving night to the first Saturday of December, there are a tree lighting, a stroll, a street parade and a boat parade. One of them happens on the river. This year, the City of Stuart Weekly says plainly that boats may not tie up at the dock while construction is underway.
Every plan for the season starts from that one change.
The Calendar From Halloween Through the Boat Parade
The holiday nights come after a busy October, and several of the October dates are run by the same downtown organizations.
- Friday, Oct. 16, 6 to 10 p.m. Spooktacular Night at the Park, at Memorial Park, 300 SE Ocean Boulevard.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 to 11:30 a.m. Kiwanis Park Super Saturday and Ribbon Cutting, at 451 S. Colorado Avenue. The ribbon cutting opens a new accessible swing area and the Harmony Highway, a musical path with drums, chimes and a 15-note instrument children can play.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, noon to 3 p.m. Hobgoblins on Main Street, downtown.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 and 8. Fall Sidewalk Sale, listed by Stuart Main Street.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 4 to 7 p.m. Christmas On Main.
- Thursday, Dec. 3. Winter Stroll.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m. Stuart Christmas Parade.
- Saturday, Dec. 5. Stuart Boat Parade and Watch Party.
Items five through eight fall inside one stretch of nine days. Three of those four nights are Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the same week.
What the Riverfront Is Missing This Season
The dock that's out of service is the smaller, older one. The city is replacing a 5,533-square-foot floating dock and its pilings with a marina-style layout. The new setup has a 7,590-square-foot fixed dock, a 1,400-square-foot concrete floating dock and a 300-square-foot floating vessel platform.
When it's done there will be 44 boat slips, 26 more than the old dock had. The city puts current use at about 1,450 boaters a year.
The city chose a fixed dock based on how the old one held up. In the May 15 City of Stuart Weekly, Public Works Director Milton Leggett is quoted from a city commission meeting:
"With the floating dock, every year storms and wave action damage the finger piers. The fixed dock never had any damage, so we have decided to go with a fixed dock which has been more durable and will minimize long-term costs."
The project costs about $3 million. It's funded by a $1,150,000 F.I.N.D. grant plus CRA money. Cummins Cederberg, Inc. is the engineer, and Custom Built Marine Construction, Inc. is building it.
Construction started Monday, July 6, 2026. The city aims to finish in time for the Fourth of July celebration in 2027, a timeline WQCS also reported when work began.
The most recent progress report I could find is the Aug. 21 city newsletter. It says City of Stuart Project Manager Marc Rogolino reports the work is on schedule and within budget.
Even if work stays on schedule, the dock won't reopen until well after the holidays.
Boat Parade Night, Seen From Shore
The boat parade has the most direct tie to the river, so it's the night most affected by the closure.
The 2026 date is Saturday, Dec. 5, on the Stuart Main Street calendar. As of today, Oct. 12, a 2026 start time, route and boater registration details haven't been posted in anything I reviewed.
Recent years give a sense of what to expect, though these details may not carry over. In 2025, the city's notice listed Stuart Main Street and the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast as organizers. The watch party ran 6 to 9 p.m. at Riverwalk Stage Plaza by the Christmas tree, with live music, Santa photos, vendors and children's activities.
The association's 2024 listing said boats started in Manatee Pocket and finished near Flagler Park downtown, staging near the Sandspirit Park docks.
The city hasn't said whether the dock work changes any part of the parade, and none of the city updates I reviewed name a substitute tie-up downtown.
The newsletter does mention one exception for boaters. A gate at the end of the fixed dock stays open for passenger pickup and drop-off. If you're coming by boat to meet people at the watch party, someone can step off at that gate. The boat then has to leave, because it can't stay tied up.
For most households, Dec. 5 will look like the rest of the week. You'll drive or walk downtown, find a spot along the Riverwalk, and watch the lighted boats from shore.
Friday Night on Ocean Boulevard
The night before the boat parade, the Stuart Christmas Parade fills the streets. The parade has run since 1960. The 2026 parade starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, with the theme "Santa's Stuart Vacation." Stuart Christmas Parade, LLC runs it.
The parade's own FAQ addresses parking directly. Public parking is on SE Ocean Boulevard and the side streets, and Smithfield Plaza is drop-off only.
The parade site posts a parade and traffic map with the route, road closures and food vendor locations, and that map is where the official 2026 route will be.
The 2025 arrangements, again only as reference, show how parade night typically works. The city described the route as SE Ocean Boulevard from SE Monterey Road to SE Georgia Avenue. Parts of SE Monterey Road near Kingswood Terrace closed around 4 p.m. for lineup. Ocean Boulevard closed from Monterey Road to Confusion Corner around 6 p.m. and was expected to reopen around 9:30 p.m.
If your normal drive home goes through Confusion Corner on a Friday evening, Dec. 4 is the evening it may not.
Two Nights That Open the Season
Christmas On Main and Winter Stroll come before the parades, and both are street events in Historic Downtown Stuart.
Christmas On Main is the 27th annual tree lighting, presented by Stuart Main Street and the Historic Downtown Business Association of Stuart. It runs 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
The schedule includes:
- Lighting of a 30-foot tree
- Arts and crafts and children's activities
- Photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus
- Sleigh rides
- Vendors, music and performances
- Cookies and hot chocolate from the VNA
The event page doesn't list an admission price or any parking, shuttle or road closure information.
Winter Stroll is on Thursday, Dec. 3, according to the Stuart Main Street calendar. The 2026 details haven't been posted yet.
Last year's listing on the city calendar describes the event as produced by Stuart Main Street, held in Historic Downtown Stuart from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2025. Those hours are from last year and may not be the 2026 hours.
Following the Dock Through Winter
The city has a public Capital Project Dashboard for tracking construction, and a QR code on the project sign leads to the same page. Questions about the dock go to Marc Rogolino at (772) 221-4700 or [email protected].
For boaters, that means docking somewhere else through this holiday season and the winter. The next big downtown celebration, July 4, 2027, is the one the city is aiming to open the new 44-slip dock for.
If you'd like to know how downtown changes and riverfront projects like this one show up in a particular Stuart home or street, Erin Duke-Warren and The Benchmark Group can walk you through it, from parade-night logistics to the waterfront access you'll have next summer. Let's Connect.
