Doylestown's 112th Tree Lighting is set for Friday, Nov. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the corner of Main and State streets. PECO Energy is installing a new gas main on that same corner and the blocks around it, under a PennDOT permit that runs to Friday, Dec. 4. That leaves one week between the parade welcoming Santa and the permit's last day. Every November weekend on the calendar falls inside the project's schedule, from Cranksgiving and the wreath hanging through the Tree Lighting and Small Business Saturday.
What the permit actually allows, block by block
PennDOT's District 6 announced the project in late July. Crews close one section at a time, and the published work windows are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The work began Aug. 4. These are the four sections and the detour PennDOT assigned to each:
- State Street, Clinton to Hamilton: drivers are sent to Court Street and Hamilton Street.
- State Street, Hamilton to Main: drivers are sent to Clinton Street, Ashland Street and Main Street.
- State Street, Main to Donaldson: drivers are sent to Court Street and Pine Street.
- Main Street, State to Court: southbound drivers use Court, Clinton and Oakland Avenue, and northbound drivers use Ashland, Clinton and Court.
According to the notice, local access will be maintained at all times, backups may occur, and the schedule depends on the weather. The windows leave three hours open between 3 and 6 p.m. A downtown errand that fits into that gap misses both published closure periods. The Tree Lighting starts inside the gap, at 5 p.m., and runs past 6, when the evening window opens. No change to the schedule for the event has been announced. Before you drive in that evening, check PennDOT's 511PA service, which the notice recommends for current conditions on major roads.
The season, counted against Dec. 4
The holiday calendar runs straight through the permit's final weeks. Here it is in order, with the gas main deadline as the marker it builds toward.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Doylestown Farmers Market on South Hamilton Street, between West Oakland Avenue and West State Street. Its outdoor season runs Saturdays through Nov. 21, so Nov. 14 and Nov. 21 are the last two dates. The market's site still lists last winter's dates, so watch it for the 2026–27 winter schedule.
- Sunday, Nov. 8, 8:30 a.m. to noon. Bike Works' Cranksgiving starts at Broad Commons Park, 10 Doyle St. As TAPinto Doylestown reports, this year's ride follows a redesigned, family-friendly nine-mile route inside the Borough, with stops at Simply Fresh by McCaffrey's and the Doylestown Acme. Event-day registration opens at 8:45 a.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 9:30 a.m. to noon. Decorate the Town, covered in the next section.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 5 to 8 p.m. The 112th Tree Lighting at Main and State. Free DART shuttles leave from the parking garage starting at 5 p.m. Santa's Cottage opens the same day and stays open through Dec. 24. The County Theater, at 20 E. State St., shows The Grinch as a 10 a.m. family matinee that morning.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Small Business Saturday. The County Theater shows Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at 10 a.m., and The Grinch plays again on Sunday, Nov. 29.
- Friday, Dec. 4. The last day of the PECO permit, weather permitting.
- Dec. 5 through Dec. 13. The Polar Express plays at the County Theater on Dec. 5 and 6, and Elf plays Dec. 12 and 13, all at 10 a.m. Temple Judea's Hanukkah celebration is Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 2 p.m., and the Ugly Sweater Walk is at Broad Commons Park on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Under the current notice, everything after item six happens once the permit has ended. Everything before it shares downtown with the project.
Wreaths on the light poles, ladders on the sidewalk
Decorate the Town is the first event on the list that needs volunteers on the street. On Saturday, Nov. 14, Discover Doylestown asks volunteers to meet at 9:30 a.m. at Starbucks, 10 N. Main St. They work in pairs, each pair brings a 6-foot ladder, and they fasten the wreath and snowflake decorations with two heavy-duty plastic ties the organizers hand out. The organizers say tools are no longer needed, which makes the job quicker. The decorations go on the historic light poles along the roads leading into downtown, according to New Hope News. Volunteers sign up through dtownwinterfest.com. The Winterfest calendar shows an earlier time for the same morning, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., so check the volunteer signup before you load the ladder.
That Saturday falls on a weekend inside the permit, and the morning shift overlaps the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. window. If you're bringing a ladder downtown, plan your parking around whichever section is closed that week.
The same New Hope News piece quotes Kris Boger, volunteer and president of Discover Doylestown, on who comes back for this shift each year:
"Many of the residents who have volunteered specifically at the Decorate the Town spot in November help year after year, and it's been really neat seeing their kids grow between seasons."
Student groups from National Honor Society, National Charity League and Key Clubs also help with the decorating and again at the Tree Lighting, the outlet reported. The participant list for the parade is still being finalized. Last year's procession had more than 20 groups and about 140 participants.
Parking on the day after Thanksgiving
The Tree Lighting falls on the day after Thanksgiving, and one Borough rule changes how that evening works. Doylestown Borough's parking page says Borough lots and metered areas are free after 5 p.m. and also free on the day after Thanksgiving. The Broad & Union garage is listed as public, open 24 hours a day, every day, at $1 an hour. So Borough lots and metered spaces are free all day on Nov. 27, the day the Tree Lighting, Santa's Cottage and the first Grinch matinee all happen. DART shuttles start running from the garage at 5 p.m.
On Small Business Saturday, the next day, Borough parking goes back to its usual rules, though the after-5 p.m. exemption still applies. The shopping day runs until 9 p.m., so after 5 o'clock it falls into the same free window.
After the gas main, State Street gets repaved
State Street has a second project waiting, separate from the gas main. On June 2, the Borough announced that Pennsylvania had awarded a contract to resurface East and West State streets. It will be the first resurfacing since the 1990s. The project is fully state-funded and belongs to a PennDOT program to resurface 16 miles of state highways across Bucks County, worth $8,339,767 in total. The Borough credited State Senator Steve Santarsiero, State Representative Tim Brennan, Borough Council, the Mayor and the residents who brought the street's condition to PennDOT's attention. The schedule had not been set when the announcement went out. The Borough said only that the work was expected later this year.
The resurfacing is a separate contract from PECO's gas main work, and no public date connects them. Keep the Borough's news page bookmarked into December.
One closure that runs past the holidays
On the Township side, the Bike & Hike Trail along Sandy Ridge Road, from east of Ren Way to Iron Hill at Ash Way, closed the week of Oct. 26 for replacement. Pedestrians and cyclists are kept out during the work. Doylestown Township expects to finish by Dec. 31, 2026, almost four weeks after the downtown permit ends. If you usually walk or ride that stretch, you'll need another route through the whole holiday season.
If you own a home on one of these downtown blocks and are thinking about how this season's street work and a resurfacing that hasn't been scheduled yet fit into your listing timeline, the Lisa Povlow Team can work through that calendar with you. Schedule a private consultation.
