Last year, the Festival of Trees at the Garden at Elm Bank opened on Friday, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving. Its listing called the first stretch "Thanksgiving Weekend." This year the Massachusetts Horticultural Society has moved the start to Wednesday, November 25, which it calls a "NEW OPENING DAY." That is the day before Thanksgiving. Four days earlier, on Saturday, November 21, the Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club holds its 48th Wellesley Marketplace at Wellesley High School.
These are two of the largest ticketed holiday events in town. Both are run by nonprofits, and Mass Hort calls the Festival its biggest fundraiser of the year. In 2025 they were six days and one holiday apart. In 2026 both take place before anyone sits down to Thanksgiving dinner.
Here is how that week looks on the calendar:
- Saturday, November 21. Wellesley Marketplace at Wellesley High School, 50 Rice Street. VVIP and VIP entry starts at 9 a.m., and general admission runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Same afternoon. Free drop-in public tour at the Davis Museum, 2 to 3 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 25. Festival of Trees opens at the Garden at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street.
- Thursday, November 26. Thanksgiving. The Festival is closed.
What the earlier start changes at Elm Bank
The move adds more than one day. In 2025, after opening weekend, the Festival was open Thursdays through Sundays in December, plus vacation-week hours. The 2026 schedule runs Wednesdays through Sundays from November 25, plus special vacation-week hours. It closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The closing date is still December 28. With an earlier start and one more open day each week, the season has more dates to choose from in the same calendar.
Ticket prices have not changed from last year. Peak tickets are $29 for adults and $10 for children 3 to 17. Off-peak tickets are $24 and $8. Mass Hort members pay $22 at peak and $17 off-peak, and members' children are $5. Children 2 and under are free. Those are the same figures the 2025 listing showed.
Admission is sold by time slot, and the Mass Hort Festival of Trees page is clear about the terms. The time on your ticket is your entry window, and you should arrive five to ten minutes early. Once you are inside, you can stay until closing at 7:30 p.m., or 2:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Tickets cannot be transferred or refunded, and there are no group discounts, so a family that picks the wrong evening has no way to switch. Mass Hort also says peak days and times sell out fast.
Inside, the exhibits are the ones regular visitors know. Model trains in HO and O scale run through scenes that include Boston at Christmas, Fenway Park and the North Pole. Local organizations and families donate themed trees. The garden is lit up after dark, and hot cocoa and a s'mores kit for the firepits come with every paid ticket. Raffle tickets for the trees are sold on site at $15 for a sheet of 25. Winners get a phone call on Tuesday, December 29, and pick up their trees the next day between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
A few practical points from the FAQ:
- Parking on site is free, and every lot is within 150 yards of the entrance.
- Mass Hort recommends leaving strollers at home because the spaces between displays are tight. Some paths are grass or crushed stone.
- Dogs are not allowed, and neither is outside food. Guests with allergies or dietary restrictions may bring their own s'mores supplies.
- You will walk outdoors between buildings and through the lit garden, so dress for the weather.
Mass Hort says more than 18,000 guests attend each year. Before this year, none of those visits could happen before Thanksgiving. Now November 25 is a full Festival day, which gives households with guests arriving early in the week a new option.
Four days earlier, at the high school
Wellesley Marketplace is a different kind of event. It runs for one day only, has more than 200 vendors spread across two floors of Wellesley High School, and serves food indoors and outdoors. Vendors sell jewelry, bags, home goods, apparel for adults and children, paper goods and food. Organizers spread the categories across both floors on purpose, so shoppers walk the whole building.
The Club lists two additions for 2026, a VVIP ticket tier and a shopper's lounge for taking a break. Here is how the tiers compare:
| Ticket | Price | Entry | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| VVIP | $50 | 9 a.m. | Reserved parking spot for the day, special edition gift, swag bag, coupon flyer |
| VIP | $30 | 9 a.m. | Special edition gift, swag bag, coupon flyer |
| Advance general | $15 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Admission |
| Day-of general | $20 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Admission |
Tickets for children 10 and under are $5, and children under 2 get in free.
Comparing the two early-entry tickets, the extra $20 for VVIP mainly buys a guaranteed parking spot at the high school. Both tiers include the 9 a.m. hour, the gift and the swag bag, and both are sold in limited quantities. Buying general admission in advance saves $5 per adult over paying at the door. Credit card fees are added to every ticket price. If you don't have a VIP ticket, the vendor coupon flyer costs $5.
Parking is the main planning question. There is parking in the Wellesley High School lot and on some nearby streets, and the Club asks drivers to follow the signs posted by the Wellesley Police. Two satellite lots have free shuttles that run all day straight to the Marketplace entrance and back:
- Wellesley Farms commuter rail lot, 90 Croton Street
- Babson College, Nichols Parking Lot, Nichols Road
Raffle baskets are sold in bundles, and each bundle includes free tickets. Five tickets plus one free costs $50, and twenty plus four free costs $200.
Where the Saturday money goes
The Club says 100 percent of Marketplace proceeds fund scholarships and grants for the local community. On its scholarships page, the Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club reports $135,000 in scholarships and awards to 26 Wellesley students in 2026. Individual awards ranged from $1,000 to $10,000. The Club has given scholarships since 1972 and has awarded more than $1.5 million in total. This year it also added the Green Apron Scholarship, a one-time $10,000 award on top of its annual program.
Recipients are graduating Wellesley High School seniors, Wellesley residents graduating from other high schools, and Wellesley residents enrolled full-time as undergraduates. Applications are judged on financial need, academic achievement and community service. The deadline for the next round is March 1, 2027. The Club's named scholarships include the Patricia C. Doiron Memorial Scholarship for early-childhood education and the Brenda Capobianco Scholarship for female students in STEM.
The grants side funds programs that address mental health, hunger, access to education, bullying, poverty and domestic violence, according to the Club's grants page. When The Swellesley Report covered the 47th Marketplace last November, it described the same use of proceeds: scholarships for local students and grants for education, enrichment and essential services.
Side by side
| Wellesley Marketplace | Festival of Trees | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 21 only | Nov. 25 through Dec. 28, Wednesdays to Sundays |
| Place | Wellesley High School, 50 Rice St. | Garden at Elm Bank, 900 Washington St. |
| Adult ticket | $15 advance, $20 at the door | $24 off-peak, $29 peak |
| Parking | On site, plus shuttles from Wellesley Farms and Babson | Free on site, within 150 yards |
| Proceeds | Scholarships and community grants | Mass Hort's largest annual fundraiser |
The smaller dates around the big two
The rest of the month adds a few low-cost events around these two weekends.
- Babson Dance Ensemble Fall 2026 showcase, Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 8 p.m. in the Carling-Sorenson Theatre. Tickets are $5. The listing warns of explicit language and strobe effects.
- Davis Museum drop-in tours, Saturday, November 14 and Saturday, November 21, 2 to 3 p.m., meeting in the museum lobby. The tours are free and first-come, with a limit of 20 people each. The November 21 tour fits easily into a Marketplace afternoon.
- "A Day in the Life of the Lagoda: A Whaling Ship," Saturday, November 14, 2 to 4 p.m. This is an online Wellesley Free Library program led by New Bedford Whaling Museum docents. Registration is required, and there are 80 spots.
- Wellesley Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert, Saturday, December 5 at 2 p.m. in the MassBay Community College Auditorium, 50 Oakland Street. The program includes holiday favorites and a sing-along.
By the Symphony concert on December 5, the Festival of Trees will have been open for ten days. Last year the Festival opened on November 28.
If Thanksgiving week brings visiting family who start asking about Wellesley's neighborhoods, I'm happy to have that conversation. Laura Wurster is a Wellesley-based broker and real estate attorney who knows how this town's calendar works, from a Saturday at the high school to the closing table. Schedule a consultation whenever you're ready to talk through a move.
