The Christmas Festival takes over a traffic-free town centre from 5pm on Friday 27 November. No switch-on time or celebrity guest has been named yet.

Henley’s Christmas Festival and light switch-on is on Friday 27 November 2026, from 5pm to 9pm, in a town centre closed to traffic. That is the date on Henley Town Council’s own events calendar and on Experience Henley’s calendar of events. Neither has yet published a switch-on time, a running order or the name of whoever pulls the switch.

The council’s one-line description is the only official account of the evening so far: “The town centre will be closed to traffic and filled with stalls and rides to entertain the whole family.” (Henley Town Council events)

What is confirmed, and one thing that is not

Two council-linked sources give the date slightly differently, and it is worth knowing which is which before you book a babysitter.

  • Experience Henley lists Henley Christmas Festival as a single evening: 27 November 2026, 5pm to 9pm, Henley town centre, free. (Experience Henley calendar)
  • Henley Town Council’s calendar entry for the same event spans 27 to 28 November, again 5pm to 9pm.

The festival has been a one-night Friday event in recent years, so the Friday is the evening to plan around. Whether anything runs on the Saturday has not been explained anywhere the council publishes.

What the evening usually looks like

Nothing below is confirmed for 2026. It is what the town published for the last festival Experience Henley documented in full, on Friday 29 November 2024, and it is the best guide to the shape of the night.

  • Road closures from 3pm, two hours before the festival opened.
  • Stage entertainment from 5pm: children’s theatre, choirs and dance groups.
  • Lantern parade arrival at 6.30pm, pantomime cast on stage at 6.40pm.
  • Lights switched on at 7pm by the Mayor, the Christmas card competition winner and a guest, who in 2024 was Dame Mary Berry.
  • Carols and music from 7.10pm to 8.30pm, shops open until 9pm.
  • Santa’s grotto 4.30pm to 7.30pm, with a quieter sensory session from 4pm.
  • More than 80 stalls, food traders and fairground rides.

(Experience Henley: Christmas Festival and late night shopping)

No traffic order for the 2026 festival had been published on Oxfordshire County Council’s upcoming public events page as of 5 September, so the exact closure times and the roads affected are not yet on record. (Oxfordshire County Council)

The rest of Henley’s Christmas diary

The switch-on is the start of a five-week run of town events, and three of them already have firm dates from the town council.

Shop Under the Stars, Thursday 3 December, 5pm to 8pm, Market Place. A new late-night shopping evening with live music, described by the council as timed “just after payday”.

Henley Living Advent Calendar, 1 to 24 December. A different door or window opens somewhere in town every evening in December for a surprise performance, free, with no booking. The council’s listing gives the time as 6.15pm every evening, though the calendar block on the same page shows a 6pm to 7pm slot. The Living Advent Calendar’s own page still describes the 2025 run, which launched on the Town Hall steps on 1 December and finished at St Mary’s Church on 24 December, with 24 venues and 24 partner charities. The 2026 venue list is not out yet. (Visit Henley)

The Mayor’s Christmas Party, Tuesday 8 December, 12 noon to 3pm, Town Hall. Councillor Ian Reissmann has invited Henley residents aged 65 and over to lunch, entertainment, a raffle and bingo. Places are booked through the Henley Information Centre.

There is no separate multi-day Christmas market in Henley. The festival night is the market, which is why the stalls arrive and leave in a single evening.

Getting there and parking

Expect the town centre car parks to fill early on the Friday and the streets around Market Place to be shut to cars. Henley’s two biggest car parks, Kings Road and Greys Road, cap you at three hours, which is tight for a 5pm to 9pm event. The station car park and the district council’s Southfields are the alternatives. Full prices and stay limits are on our parking in Henley page, and anything else closing that week will show up on the Henley roadworks and travel page.

For what is on at the Kenton over the same weeks, including this year’s pantomime, see Henley pantomime and Christmas shows.

Details verified against the organisers’ published pages on 5 September 2026. This page will be updated when the 2026 running order, switch-on time and road closures are published.