Light Up Mars Starts at Noon Now. Here's How to Spend the Whole Saturday Downtown.

Two years ago, Light Up Mars started at 4 p.m. and the parade stepped off at 7:30, long after dark. On Saturday, Nov. 28, 2026, the market opens at noon and the parade starts at 6. The tree still lights at 5:30, the same as in 2024. Everything else has moved earlier, and the borough added a scavenger hunt through Mars businesses that runs the whole afternoon. This year, finishing the hunt gets you an entry for a chance to ride with Santa and Mrs. Claus in the parade.

The shopping now fills most of the day, and the tree lighting and parade close it out.

How the day moved earlier

Here is how the timing has changed, based on the Butler Eagle's 2024 preview, its 2025 coverage, and the borough's official 2026 Light Up Mars page:

• 2024, Saturday, Nov. 30: 4 to 8 p.m. Holiday market, horse-drawn carriage rides, tree lighting at 5:30, parade at 7:30.
• 2025, Saturday, Nov. 29: Noon to 6 p.m. Tree lighting at 5:30, parade at 6. The event doubled as Mars' Small Business Saturday, and anyone who finished the scavenger hunt could enter a raffle for gift baskets made by local businesses.
• 2026, Saturday, Nov. 28: Noon to 6 p.m. Same lighting and parade times as 2025. The scavenger hunt prize is now an entry for a chance to ride with Santa and Mrs. Claus in the parade.

Moving the start from 4 p.m. to noon added four hours of daylight, and the borough filled that time with shop visits. The 2025 Butler Eagle story described the event as Mars' Small Business Saturday. It mentioned longtime downtown names like Mars Pizza and Pfeifer's Hardware, plus FYIE Boutique, which held its grand opening that same Saturday. According to the same report, the market had vendors, tents, and food trucks, including sellers from elsewhere in Butler County such as Not Your Average Shop, a toy store in Evans City.

Why the 2026 prize matters

A gift basket was something you took home. A ride with Santa happens at 6 p.m. in front of the whole crowd. Because the prize is now part of the parade, the afternoon shop visits and the evening parade are tied together. Families who spend noon to 4:30 going door to door have a reason to stay until dark.

The hunt has one firm deadline. Cards are due by 4:30 p.m. at the Mars Area Public Library booth. That gives you an hour before the tree lighting and an hour and a half before the parade. If your group wants a shot at the parade ride, plan your shop stops around 4:30, not around the 5:30 lighting most people treat as the main event.

The afternoon, hour by hour

The borough's schedule for Nov. 28 breaks into blocks, and they overlap more than they look on the page.

1. Noon. The holiday market opens downtown at the spaceship with vendors, gifts, seasonal treats, and food and drink. The scavenger hunt starts at the same time.
2. 2 p.m. Horse-drawn carriage rides begin, provided by Misty Lane Farms Performance Horses. Rides start and end at Nosh & Curd on Grand Avenue.
3. 3 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus begin taking photos by the Mars spaceship and the holiday tree.
4. 4:30 p.m. Last call for scavenger hunt cards at the library booth.
5. 5:30 p.m. The market and carriage rides wind down, Santa photos end, and the holiday tree lights.
6. 6 p.m. The Light Up Mars parade.

The busiest stretch is 3 to 4:30. Carriage rides, Santa photos, and the scavenger hunt are all running then. If you have small children who will want both the carriage and the photo, aim to arrive early. One possible order for the afternoon: the market and the first few shops around noon, a carriage ride soon after 2, and Santa photos once that line opens at 3.

Misty Lane Farms is a family-run western Pennsylvania carriage company. It works weddings, parades, and community events across Pennsylvania and nearby states. The borough's event page spells the name "Misty Lanes," so expect to see both versions around town.

The borough hasn't posted a 2026 parade route or road closure plan on the event page. Under Mars Borough's event policy, closure and parking times are set case by case by the police chief, public works, and borough administration, then approved by borough council. In 2024, the parade started on East Railroad Street, went down Marshall Way, then onto Grand Avenue and Clark Street, and broke up there. That shows the general area the parade covers. It isn't the 2026 plan.

Where a scavenger card can take you

The borough hasn't published the list of businesses taking part in the hunt. These downtown businesses have 2026 activity or current listings, and they're within walking distance of the spaceship:

• Nosh & Curd, 113 Grand Ave. A gourmet cheese shop with charcuterie, catering, dine-in, workshops, and coffee. It's also where the carriage rides start and end. Regular Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• FYIE Boutiques, 134 Grand Ave. Owner Josette Gastonguay held a special event at the Mars boutique in July, according to 228 Times. Nov. 28 will be about one year since its 2025 grand opening.
• Cosmic Treats & Sweets, 509 Pittsburgh St. The Purvis Brothers' ice cream shop is open every day, year-round, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the Butler Eagle. It's open both before the market and after the parade.
• Mars Pizza. Takeout, delivery, and online ordering. Its posted Saturday hours are noon to 8 p.m., so it's open for the whole event.
• Grand Avenue Grille, 139 Grand Ave.
• Mars Agway, 101 Grand Ave.
• Stick City Brewing Company, 109 Irvine St. A block off the main route. It's also where the library holds its monthly Books & Brews meetups.

Keep an eye on the clock at Nosh & Curd. Its regular Saturday hours end at 4 p.m., but the carriage rides keep leaving from its door until 5:30. If you want cheese or coffee there, go early in the afternoon. Mars Pizza and Cosmic Treats are open well past the parade, so you can eat after the crowd starts to thin.

The library is at the center of the season

The scavenger hunt ends at the Mars Area Public Library booth, and that fits. In 2025, library director Janae Callihan told the Butler Eagle that the library's tent sold baked goods and gave free wrapped books to children. The library also has events on the calendar both before and after Nov. 28:

• Thursday, Nov. 5, 11 a.m.: Registration opens for "Here Comes Santa Claus," one week after this post goes up.
• Mondays, Nov. 9 and 23 and Dec. 7: "Holidays Around the World" take-home craft kits, picked up in the Children's Room.
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: "Here Comes Santa Claus" in the library's Purple Room at 107 Grand Ave. Registration is required. One page on the library's site lists a different date. The library's event calendar and Experience Butler both say Dec. 5.
• Saturday, Dec. 12, 1 p.m.: The Butler County Symphony's String Trio plays Christmas music at the library. The event is for all ages, and registration is listed.

If you'd rather shop downtown on a quieter night before Nov. 28, Experience Butler lists a Holiday Sip & Shop at Nosh & Curd on Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. It includes seasonal drinks and bites, local vendors, gift wrapping, and an Angel Tree. The listing doesn't give a year, so check with the shop before you go.

For your calendar, the dates in order: library Santa registration on Nov. 5, Sip & Shop on Nov. 12, Light Up Mars from noon on Nov. 28 with scavenger cards due at 4:30, library Santa on Dec. 5, and the string trio on Dec. 12.

Light Up Mars is one of my favorite Saturdays of the year, and if you're planning which Grand Avenue doors to hit before 4:30, I'm happy to compare routes. For more on what's happening around Mars, you can find me at Chelsea Dolny. Let's Connect.