Rolesville's First Tree Lighting Is at a Shopping Center. The Town's Comes 16 Days Later, on a Monday.

Rolesville lights two Christmas trees this year. Cobblestone Village lights its tree at 6 p.m. sharp on Saturday, November 21. The Town of Rolesville lights its own 14-foot tree at Redford Place Park on Monday, December 7.

The rest of the local calendar is arranged around those two dates: a downtown social the night before the first lighting, a parade the day before the second and a ticketed breakfast the Saturday after. Each event works differently for families depending on the day it falls on, the time it starts and which kitchens nearby are serving at that hour. The full sequence:

The season opens with a Friday and Saturday back to back

The first two events fall on consecutive days, Friday, November 20, and Saturday, November 21.

The Rolesville Chamber of Commerce lists Mingle on Main as an evening downtown social on Friday, November 20, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Chamber describes live music, a free raffle, food and bar drinks, and pop-up shops, and it points attendees toward the businesses in Cobblestone Village and at the corner of Young and Main Streets.

The next afternoon, the same block puts on a bigger show. Cobblestone Village's Lighting of the Tree runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. The program includes:

• Holiday music and entertainment through the afternoon
• Horse-drawn carriage rides through the Village
• Visits with Santa and holiday characters from Enchanted Wishes
• Holiday shopping in the Village shops
• The tree lighting itself at 6 p.m., which the center bills as "6:00 PM SHARP"

Because the lighting comes at the end of the event, the afternoon finishes right at dinnertime. The center's own directory lists the places within walking distance once the tree is lit: Mezcalito Grill & Tequila Bar, Artisan Beer & Cheese, Pixels Bar & Arcade, Lime & Lemon Grill & Bar, and Papa John's Pizza, along with Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming and Local Charm Boutique for shopping.

Lime & Lemon's hours fit that 6 p.m. finish well. Wake Forest Magazine reported a Saturday schedule of 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., then 4:30 to 10 p.m. The kitchen's afternoon break ends 90 minutes before the tree lights up.

A Sunday parade that ends as the taproom opens

Two weeks later, the season moves up Main Street. The Rolesville Christmas Parade steps off at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 6, and the Chamber schedules it to run until 3 p.m. Its listing promises floats, music and marchers along Main Street, with entry categories for professional, homemade and nonprofit floats as well as vendors.

A mid-afternoon parade lines up with local Sunday hours in a particular way. Here is how the Wallbrook and Cobblestone kitchens stack up against a 2 to 3 p.m. parade:

1. El Jefe Modern Mex, 831 S. Main St., posts Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on its own site, so it covers a late brunch before the parade and dinner after.
2. Jeff's Bagel Run, 101 Rolesville Center Dr., posts 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day on its location page, so it closes just as the first float moves.
3. Lime & Lemon stops lunch service at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays and reopens at 4:30 p.m., according to Wake Forest Magazine's October report, so the second half of the parade and the hour after it fall in its closed window.
4. The Pub Hub, 811 S. Main St., posts Sunday hours of 3 to 8 p.m. on its own site, so the taproom opens at the hour the parade is scheduled to end.

Where a family eats on parade day comes down to whether they want to eat before 2 p.m. or after 3 p.m.

The Town's lighting falls on a Monday night

The next day, the Town takes its turn. The Town of Rolesville's Tree Lighting runs from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 7, at Redford Place Park. The program starts with lighting the 14-foot tree, followed by a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, a performance by a local elementary school choir, photos with Santa, family activities and snow flurries. Event parking is at Redford Place Park and Rolesville Elementary School, and accessible parking is in the park's lot. The Town is taking food truck and vendor applications electronically on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Cobblestone lighting comes at the end of a Saturday afternoon. The Town's comes at the end of a school and work day, starting just as many commutes wind down. That makes the posted Monday hours worth knowing:

• El Jefe Modern Mex is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays.
• The Pub Hub is open 3 to 10 p.m. on Mondays.
• Lime & Lemon serves dinner from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

All three post hours that run well past the 7:30 p.m. end of the event. On a Monday, a family can go from the choir at Redford Place Park to a sit-down dinner without anyone cooking.

The last date needs a ticket bought ahead

Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 12, is the one event of the season that can't be decided on the day. The Chamber's listing runs from 8 to 11 a.m. at 207 Pulley St., an address the Town's Rolesville directory lists as WG Arnold Lodge No. 683, the Rolesville Masonic Lodge.

The Chamber describes breakfast, cookie decorating, holiday crafts and time with Santa, served in three sessions. The listing says the event sells out and allows no day-of walk-ups. Pricing scales with the size of the family:

At the top tier, a family of ten pays $7.50 a person, less than the $9 single ticket. Registration runs through the Chamber's listing, and tickets have to be bought before the morning of the event.

Jeff's Bagel Run opens at 6:30 a.m. that Saturday, which gives families without tickets a breakfast option in town.

If you're working out how this season's calendar fits a household that's new to Rolesville, or one getting ready for a move in the new year, I'd love to hear from you. Call Tammy at Alexander Realty, LLC, and I'll share what I know about the town between Cobblestone Village and Redford Place Park.