This year's Christmas paperwork lists vendor setup at 205 S. Railroad Ave. That address belongs to Tom's Pond, home of the Tom's Pond Veterans Memorial. Lake Park dedicated the memorial on Armed Forces Day in May 2025, and on Saturday, December 5, 2026, it becomes the home base for the city's Christmas celebration.
The city's registration form calls the event the "2026 Christmas Golf Cart Parade and Celebration." With a new name, a new location, and a later time of day, Lake Park's holiday has been rebuilt around the newest public place in town.
Three Decembers, Three Different Formats
To see how much has changed, set this year's plan beside the last two the city posted. The 2023 Christmas Festival Weekend was listed as an all-day event on December 9, 2023. The 2024 Christmas Parade and Festival was set for 1:00 p.m. on December 7, 2024, at Lake Park City Hall.
| Year | City's event name | Date | Time listed | Location listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Christmas Festival Weekend | Saturday, Dec. 9 | All day | Not specified on the event page |
| 2024 | Christmas Parade and Festival | Saturday, Dec. 7 | 1:00 p.m. | Lake Park City Hall, 120 N. Essa St. |
| 2026 | Christmas Golf Cart Parade and Celebration | Saturday, Dec. 5 | Vendor setup 2:00 p.m., event ends 7:00 p.m. | Tom's Pond, 205 S. Railroad Ave. |
In 2024 the parade was a 1:00 p.m. event. This year the vendor window runs from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. In early December, a schedule that runs to 7 p.m. carries the celebration past sunset. The 2026 event is built for the late afternoon and early evening, and it is held at the memorial park.
What the Council's 4:30 Request Shows
The date was set at a Lake Park City Council meeting this summer. According to a Citizen Portal summary of the council's action dated August 3, 2026, the council set December 5, 2026, for the celebration. It also directed staff to ask the Georgia Department of Transportation for a permit covering 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.
That 90-minute window is the clearest sign of when the golf carts will be on the move. It is a requested permit window and not a published start time. The city has not posted a parade route either. If you're planning where to set up chairs, the vendor area at Tom's Pond is the one location the city has confirmed. Your family should be there by mid-afternoon, before the 4:30 window opens.
Under the city's plan, the afternoon goes like this:
- 2:00 p.m. Vendors begin setting up at Tom's Pond.
- 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. This is the window the council asked GDOT to permit for the event.
- 7:00 p.m. The celebration ends.
Why Tom's Pond Carries Weight in Lake Park
For many Lake Park households, the memorial grounds are still new. The project itself is not. Valdosta Daily Times reported at the May 2025 dedication that the memorial took nearly two decades of planning by community members, city leaders, and veterans' advocates.
The timeline from that coverage and the city code:
- 2007: First discussions about a memorial
- 2015: Formal planning begins
- 2016: Groundbreaking
- 2017: Lake Park adopts Ordinance No. 114, creating a dedicated trust fund for Tom's Pond Veterans Memorial Park that may be used for building, improvement, utilities, and maintenance, per the city's Code of Ordinances on Municode
- May 2025: Dedication ceremony on Armed Forces Day
The dedication featured patriotic music and a presentation of colors by the Moody Air Force Base Color Guard. Valdosta Daily Times reported that the keynote came from Larry Hauser, a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant and former pastor of Lake Park Methodist Church.
"Every man or woman who signed their life on the dotted line, raised their right hand and swore an oath that they would be willing to give their life for the freedom of this wonderful country which we live in."
That is how Hauser put it in the Valdosta Daily Times account.
The paper also reported that city officials used the ceremony to recognize the community involvement that made the memorial possible, from private donations and engraved brick purchases to city council action and SPLOST funding support. Officials described plans to expand the memorial with six flagpoles, one for each branch of the military.
Families who bought an engraved brick, or watched the memorial take shape over those years, will spend this Christmas evening on the same grounds. Moving the celebration from City Hall to Tom's Pond puts the town's biggest December gathering at a place many hands helped build.
Three Ways to Take Part Before December 5
The city has posted what it needs from vendors and volunteers. Golf cart entrants should go straight to City Hall.
Decorating a golf cart. The registration form on the city's website is a vendor application. It does not cover golf cart entries. The city has not published a cart entry form, fee, deadline, lineup spot, or judging details. The rules for driving a golf cart on Lake Park streets also aren't covered in the event materials. If your household wants to enter a decorated cart, call City Hall at 229-559-7470 to ask how entries work and what's required.
Running a booth. The 2026 registration and release form lists two vendor categories:
| Vendor type | Fee | Space |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, crafts, and retail | $25 | 10' x 10' area |
| Food trucks and trailers | $50 | 10' x 10' area |
A few details on the city's homepage and the form matter to anyone planning a table:
- The city must approve every vendor application.
- Once approved, vendors have 21 days to pay. Vendors who miss that deadline can't participate.
- Fees are non-refundable.
- No electricity will be provided, so anyone running lights, warmers, or a register needs their own power.
- The city asks vendors to send photos of their products for event advertising.
- The form describes the celebration as a family-oriented event, and vendors agree to follow decisions of the Christmas Parade and Celebration Committee.
Completed forms go back to City Hall at 120 N. Essa Street, Lake Park, GA 31636. They can also be emailed to the addresses printed on the form. With 37 days between Thursday, October 29, and December 5, an application sent this week leaves time for approval and the 21-day payment window.
Volunteering. The city says on its homepage that it is looking for volunteers to help with the event. It hasn't posted a separate signup, so the same City Hall number applies.
One Lake Park Deadline Comes Sooner
If the memorial makes you think of a neighbor who has served the town, there's one more deadline, and it comes first. The City of Lake Park is accepting nominations for its Citizen of the Year Award through the last Friday in October, which is Friday, October 30, 2026.
The city's eligibility rules are short:
- The nominee must live in the City of Lake Park.
- The nominee must be at least 18 years old.
- City employees, elected officials, and city contractors are not eligible.
The city says the award is meant to recognize kindness, volunteerism, civic pride, and dedication to improving the lives of others. The nomination form is linked from the city's homepage. Completed nominations go to the Citizen of the Year Program at 120 N. Essa Street.
The city's homepage also notes open seats on city committees and boards, with an application available through City Hall. Between the Christmas committee, the volunteer call, and these openings, Lake Park has several ways for residents to get involved this fall.
Tom's Pond came together over almost twenty years with help from donors, brick buyers, and city leaders, and on December 5 it hosts Lake Park's Christmas celebration. If you're decorating a cart, staffing a booth, or watching from a lawn chair by the memorial, I'd love to hear how the evening goes. If a move to the Lake Park area is on your mind, you can reach me through Rachelle Anderson and we can talk about what makes this town feel like home. Let's Connect.
