How do you turn a state highway into a place to stand for one evening, in a town small enough that Sonoma Magazine describes its 830 residents being outnumbered three to one on parade night? Geyserville's answer is a schedule. On Saturday, November 28, Hwy 128/Geyserville Avenue closes completely from 6 to 8 p.m. The lighted rigs set off from the north end of town at 6:15 p.m. and make one pass.

Nearly every rule in the 2026 entry packet exists to protect those two hours. The same window shapes the rest of the night for spectators, from where you park and when you sit down to eat to when you can drive home.

Two Hours, Three Barricades

The Geyserville Chamber's entry form lists three closure points that go up at 6 p.m.:

• Highway 128 at Geyserville Avenue
• South Geyserville Avenue at Highway 101
• North Geyserville Avenue at Canyon Road

That covers the main ways onto the avenue from the freeway, the valley and the north end of town. If you're coming from outside the downtown blocks, the evening goes like this:

1. Before 6 p.m. You can still drive onto the avenue and park. Restaurants are open, and the Chamber's parade page says to book ahead. Tasting rooms are open by appointment.
2. 6:00 p.m. The barricades go up, and from here on the avenue belongs to people on foot.
3. 6:15 p.m. The first rig leaves the north end of town and heads south.
4. Until about 8:00 p.m. The closure stays in place until CHP reopens the road. The entry rules tell drivers not to head back north until that happens.

The street is shut for two hours to make room for one pass of the procession, and most of the night is spent waiting for it, watching it and waiting for the road to clear.

Why the Rigs Only Come Through Once

The parade started without much planning. In 2014, the Press Democrat reported that it began in 2010, when Northern Sonoma County Locals Unlimited, a group of friends from local farms and wineries, drove lit tractors to the town tree lighting. Tom Rued told the paper that the first parade had about 10 vehicles and that crowds had grown past 2,000 spectators by 2013.

The route used to run differently. In its 2015 coverage, the Press Democrat reported that more than two dozen decorated trucks and farm vehicles came down from the north end of town and made only one pass. In earlier years the parade had started at the south end and turned around, so spectators got a second look. Since that change, every rig travels in the same direction, from north to south.

Now the route ends on Banti Lane at the south end of Geyserville Avenue. Smaller vehicles keep going straight onto Banti Lane instead of making the 90-degree turn toward the freeway. Larger rigs that need room to take down their floats can pull over along the avenue before the Highway 101 underpass, under the underpass, or at the Independence Lane on-ramp. Entrants are told to be ready to wait up to 30 minutes. All of this keeps the floats moving away from the crowd, so the street empties toward the freeway and not back through town.

Forty Entries, Ten Strings Each

The other rules shape what the crowd actually sees. The 2026 parade is capped at 40 entries, with no more than two per company or individual. Any truck, tractor or vintage farm vehicle can enter. Each one needs at least 10 strings of 100 lights, which works out to a minimum of 1,000 bulbs per vehicle. The form puts it plainly: "This is a Light Parade!"

The rules also list what can't take part. Live Santas aren't allowed in the parade. Candy and giveaways aren't allowed. For safety, no one may walk along the route, and skateboards, bicycles and scooters are out too. Only vehicle floats can enter, and drivers must be 18 or older with a valid license. The candy and walker bans follow from the closure. When nobody is handing things out or walking beside the floats, children have no reason to step into the street while a lit tractor goes by.

Santa still comes to Geyserville, just not on a float. Visit California's 2026 holiday lights roundup says Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet visitors by the town Christmas tree.

Inside those limits, entrants have plenty of room to get creative. In 2023 the Healdsburg Tribune estimated the crowd at 3,000 or more. Halvorsen Solar Service won first place in the Large category, and Santa Rosa's RCX Inc. took Best of Show with a Peanuts-themed float. The paper's photos also show a holiday mail truck and the Geyserville Post Office Christmas Caboose. Entrants pick Large or Small on the form to be eligible for awards.

The parade has missed one year. In November 2020, a Sonoma County Gazette column reported that there would be no parade during the pandemic closures and that a Christmas light contest would run in its place. The Chamber's 2026 page starts with "Tractor Parade is ON!"

Dinner Has to Fit Around the Closure

Once the road closes at 6, you're on foot until about 8. That makes timing the main thing to plan with dinner. The places along Geyserville Avenue run on different schedules, and a few of them don't line up with the parade:

• Catelli's. Chef Domenica Catelli's restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon until "8ish." The restaurant encourages reservations and welcomes walk-ins. Closing around 8 means a late seating would overlap the end of the parade, so an early reservation is the safer choice.
• Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria. Diavola is open seven days a week. Its website says it takes reservations only Monday through Thursday, for parties of eight or more, so a Saturday table is first come, first served. The site gives two different closing times, so call before you plan a late dinner. The Press Democrat included it in an October 2026 roundup of the county's best pasta dishes and named Dino Bugica as chef-owner.
• Corner Project. Corner Project posts a new menu every week. The current one runs October 28 through November 1, and everything on it is available for dine-in or takeout. Takeout comes in handy on a night when the curb is the best seat in town.
• Pastasciutta. This Italian deli and fresh pasta shop at 21023 Geyserville Ave., between Diavola and the Gun Club, opened in late November 2025. It's owned by Dino and Sonja Bugica, and Sonoma Magazine listed its hours as noon to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. With those hours, it suits an afternoon stop for picnic supplies before the barricades go up. Call ahead, because hours can change after the first year.

The Visit Geyserville dining directory also lists Cyrus, Geyserville Grille, Fermata and Rustic. Call any of them about parade-night hours before you build an evening around one.

When the Road Reopens

When CHP reopens the avenue, the town's evening doesn't end. The Geyserville Gun Club opens at 5 p.m. every night and doesn't take reservations. It's 21 and over with no pets, and it has free live music from local bands every Saturday starting at 8 p.m. The bar's site lists live music for November 28. So the band is due to start right around the time the closure is set to end.

That makes the Gun Club a good way to wait out the traffic. The entry rules ask parade drivers to stay put until the road has reopened and traffic has cleared. If you parked downtown, the same patience helps on the drive home, and spending an extra hour on the avenue is easier than sitting at the Highway 101 ramp.

The avenue itself is also being studied. A Sonoma County feasibility study is looking at sidewalk access, curb ramps, crossings, bike facilities, lighting and traffic calming on Geyserville Avenue. The Geyserville Planning Committee's September update says the study wraps up in 2026, with design to follow in 2027 and construction expected in 2029. For now, the parade is the one night a year when the whole street belongs to people on foot.

If Your Rig Belongs in the Lineup

For anyone with a tractor, a work truck or a vintage farm vehicle and some lights, this is how 2026 entry works, according to the Chamber's form:

1. Register and pay online. Your payment receipt confirms your entry.
2. Entry costs $50 per vehicle through Friday, November 13, and $100 from Saturday, November 14 until noon on Friday, November 20.
3. The final deadline is noon on November 20. The form says no late entries will be accepted, with no exceptions.
4. Choose Large or Small to be eligible for awards. Staging instructions go out by email one week before the parade.

With a 40-entry cap and the lower fee ending November 13, waiting costs you money and could cost you a spot.

If you're weighing a home or a piece of land in northern Sonoma County and want to know what the place is like on nights like this, Kellie Larson is happy to talk it through. Contact Us.