In 1975, a group of San Marco residents and business owners started meeting about one problem in the Square: the fountain was getting old. The San Marco Preservation Society says that group made the first attempts to repair it, began drafting a long-term revitalization plan, and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) by mid-March 1976.
Fifty years later, the holiday season that starts this month runs out of the same few blocks. The Preservation Society and the San Marco Merchants Association put on nearly every event between now and Christmas, most of them in Balis Park beside the fountain that started it all. SMPS is marking its golden anniversary from March 19, 2026, to March 18, 2027, so this December's Luminaria falls in the middle of the society's 50th year.
A Season Run by the People Who Saved the Square
SMPS describes its 50 years of work as tightening zoning laws, sponsoring beautification projects, coordinating renovation and construction, applying for and administering city and state grants, and working with the city on streets and parks. Holiday events fit that work because they bring people back to the public spaces the society has spent decades maintaining.
The merchants' side of the calendar does the same thing for storefronts. The San Marco Merchants Association calendar puts the Art Festival, the tree decorating, the tree lighting and the Festival of Lights 5K at Balis Park, 1999 San Marco Boulevard. One association brings people into the shops, and the other looks after the park they gather in, so the season works as a joint program.
The Calendar, Night by Night
The schedule starts the Saturday after this post publishes and runs to the Saturday before Christmas.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Story Time in the Square | Balis Park gazebo | 10 a.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | San Marco Art Festival | Balis Park | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Holiday River Fest | Riverfront Plaza, 2 W. Independent Dr. | Tree lighting 6:25 p.m., boat parade 6:30 p.m., fireworks about 8:30 p.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | San Marco Art Festival | Balis Park | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 1 to Fri., Dec. 4 | Deck the Square: Tree Decorating | Balis Park | 9 a.m. Dec. 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 4 |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Holiday Magic: Tree Lighting Ceremony | Balis Park | 6 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Story Time in the Square | Balis Park | 10 to 11 a.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Magic | San Marco Square | 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 31st Annual Festival of Lights 5K | Balis Park | 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Holiday Luminaria | Neighborhood streets | After sunset |
Story Time is a monthly event. SMPS and the San Marco Bookstore hold it on the first Saturday of every month from 10 to 11 a.m., rain or shine except in major weather. Seating is first come, first served, and the stories are aimed at the youngest listeners, so bring a chair or blanket.
The busiest stretch is Dec. 4 and 5. The tree goes up Friday evening, and on Saturday Holiday Magic and the Festival of Lights 5K both run from 5 to 8 p.m. around the Square.
November 28 Has a Day Half and a River Half
The busiest Saturday in November has events on both sides of the St. Johns. The Art Festival fills Balis Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. About an hour after it closes, the City of Jacksonville's Holiday River Fest lights its Christmas tree at Riverfront Plaza at 6:25 p.m. The Light Boat Parade starts at 6:30, and fireworks are planned for about 8:30.
The Main Street Bridge is the most direct crossing between the two, and it's under construction this season. Resident News reported that the city's Main Street Bridge Nub Removal work began Aug. 24. Southbound traffic toward Riverplace Boulevard is down to one lane, and the southbound pedestrian walkway is closed. The estimated completion date is Jan. 30, 2027. The project is the first step toward a permanent pedestrian link from the bridge to Riverfront Plaza. The City of Jacksonville expects Riverfront Plaza Phase 2, which includes a bike and pedestrian bridge connection, to be finished by December 2027 or January 2028. Right now, getting from the Square to the boat parade on foot takes some extra planning. In a couple of years, the city expects it to be a direct walk.
Hendricks Place Is the New Stop on the North End
Until 2021, the corner of Hendricks Avenue near bb's Restaurant and Bar was Reddi-Arts. The Times-Union calls the art-supply store a Southbank institution for 67 years before it moved to Springfield and reopened under new ownership in 2021. WJCT reported that Kings Ave Properties LLC bought the property in 2021. Allen Stevens, president of Dav-Lin Interior Contractors, manages that company. According to Resident News, the redevelopment replaced parts of the old building with four buildings totaling 13,500 square feet for retail, office and restaurant use.
The complex is now called Hendricks Place, and two businesses are open there.
- Tavola San Marco is a family-owned Italian trattoria that opened Aug. 3. Carl and Lindie Garrett own it as part of their Table Mesa Restaurant Group. The Jacksonville Daily Record listed pizza, stromboli, pasta and zeppole on the menu.
- The Huguenot is a wine, cheese and charcuterie bar at 1039 Hendricks Ave., Suite 5. It opened at 3 p.m. on Sept. 29. It's open Tuesday through Saturday from 3 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday. Seating is walk-in only, and groups of six or more are asked to call ahead.
The Huguenot doesn't serve full meals. Co-owner Chad Munsey told The Florida Times-Union that the bar has no kitchen and cooks nothing, so a meal there is a series of small plates. "We call it noshing dinner," he said. "It ranges from olives to Marcona almonds to caviar." The menu includes sharing boards of artisan cheese and charcuterie, along with gourmet tinned seafood. The roughly 1,500-square-foot space seats about 44 in the main lounge, 25 on the patio and 30 in the Salon Privé, a private event room.
The owners have deep roots in the neighborhood. Munsey co-founded and co-owns The Bearded Pig at 1808 Kings Ave., which the Times-Union reports recently earned a place in the Michelin Guide along with seven other Northeast Florida restaurants. He was also an owner of The Grotto, one of Jacksonville's first wine bars, which closed in 2016 after 15 years. Lauren Munsey, an artist and art teacher for 20 years, designed the interior. It includes vintage prints from a summer trip to Paris and reclaimed wooden doors she found in Callahan.
The name also has a local history. Munsey told the paper it honors the French Huguenots who settled Fort Caroline on the St. Johns in 1564 and who are credited as the first Europeans to make wine in the New World.
Parking is free at the front of the complex off Hendricks Avenue and in the back off Kings Avenue. There is also parking half a block north under Interstate 95. That means you can park once on a Friday or Saturday in December and walk between dinner and the Square.
December 19 Moves the Celebration Onto the Streets
Every other San Marco event on the calendar happens in or around Balis Park. Luminaria happens across the neighborhood. SMPS describes it as lanterns lining San Marco's streets after sunset on the Saturday before Christmas. This year that's Dec. 19.
Residents take part by buying Luminaria kits from SMPS, and the sales help pay for the society's preservation work. A 2013 SMPS newsletter described the kit as 12 white bags, 12 candles and sand. That year, kits were sold at a table in front of Take Out Gourmet. SMPS hasn't posted this year's kit sales details yet. The SMPS events page is where the society says to watch for golden anniversary events and projects.
So the money from a bag of sand and a candle on your curb goes to the same group that formed in 1975 to fix the fountain in the Square.
If you're planning your December around these dates and want to talk through which San Marco streets put the Square and Hendricks Place within an easy walk, the Willie Lane Group is happy to help. Schedule Your Consultation.
