Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Town of Ocean View turns John West Park into a temporary playground. In 2024 the program listed a gingerbread slide, a "winter playground," train rides and an ornament craft table. In 2025, Coastal Point's holiday preview listed a gingerbread maze, mechanical reindeer, train rides, children's crafts and a new Snowball Fight Zone. The rides and games go home at dusk. The permanent playground stays behind them, and some of its equipment has been there since 2002.
This year the two meet. The 8th Annual Old Town Market & Tree Lighting is on the town calendar for Saturday, Nov. 28, 2026. That is the last holiday season before the town plans to open a rebuilt, fully accessible playground in the same park, by June 1, 2027.
What's confirmed for Nov. 28
The Town of Ocean View's event listing gives the basics and nothing more:
- Event: 8th Annual Old Town Market & Tree Lighting
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 28, 2026, two days after Thanksgiving
- Hours: 1 to 5 p.m.
- Place: John West Park, 32 West Ave., Ocean View
The town hasn't posted a 2026 program on that page yet: no vendor list, no Santa arrival time, no performers. The listing ends at 5 p.m., a half hour earlier than the 5:30 p.m. close on both the 2024 and 2025 listings. In past years, Santa's arrival and the tree lighting came in the last hour. If the town posts a fuller schedule, check the times before you head out.
What the afternoon has looked like the past two years
The two most recent programs show what to expect. Every item below comes from a past year, and the 2026 lineup could differ.
| 2024 (Nov. 30) | 2025 (Nov. 29) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours listed | 1 to 5:30 p.m. | 1 to 5:30 p.m. |
| Kids' features | Gingerbread slide, winter playground, train rides, ornament craft | Gingerbread maze, mechanical reindeer, train rides, children's crafts, Snowball Fight Zone |
| Food | Scout Troop 281 food sales | Scout Troop 281 with roasted chestnuts, hot dogs, burgers, chili; coffee and sweets from Three Blond Bakers |
| Music | Indian River High School choir and the Belle Tones at the gazebo | Live music |
| Santa | Arrives 4:40 p.m. by Millville fire company truck, then visits on the porch | Arrives around 4:30 p.m.; candy canes and coloring books for children |
| Lights | Tree lit at dusk; Trail of Lights stays lit through the New Year | Tree lit at dusk; Trail of Lights stays lit through New Year's |
Two things have held steady. Scout Troop 281 runs the food, and the Trail of Lights stays on after the market closes, lit each evening through New Year's. The trail is the part of the event that outlasts the crowd. The rest of the program is built for young children and changes a little every year, with a slide one year and a maze the next.
In its 2025 preview, Coastal Point advised families that Santa draws a crowd and that young children should arrive early. With a 5 p.m. end time on this year's listing, the early-arrival advice probably holds.
The playground behind the market
The play area most families use the other 364 days of the year is due to be replaced. In October, Coastal Point reported that Town Manager Carol Houck told council that part of the existing equipment was installed in 2002, has a 15- to 20-year life expectancy, and that some pieces are older still. Houck also flagged access. Coastal Point quoted her memo to council: the protective surfacing and the step up into the play area render it
"a non-accessible playground, which is undesirable and less common now for public facilities like ours."
According to the same report, the plan calls for a fully accessible protective rubber surface and unique designs. Funding comes from two sources.
- $800,000 from town reserves
- $475,000 identified through borrowing
- $1.27 million in total for the work
Here's how the decisions were scheduled. Council set a public workshop for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, to review the proposed redesign and take comments. The Oct. 29 special meeting agenda listed discussion and a possible vote on a recommendation for the playground redesign program. The town's target for opening the renovated playground is June 1, 2027. The town hasn't announced when the current equipment comes out, so keep an eye on town notices if your weekday park routine depends on it.
For one afternoon a year, the holiday market brings temporary play features onto the lawn. The rebuild is meant to give the park a permanent playground with an accessible surface that serves children all year. If the June 2027 target holds, the 9th annual market will be the first one set up next to it.
The same block, beyond the park
John West Park sits at West and Oakwood avenues. Its regular amenities include picnic tables, grills, a picnic pavilion, exercise and playground equipment, and restrooms at the rear of Town Hall. Next door, at 39 Central Ave., is the Historic Village in Ocean View. Its buildings include the Tunnell-West House, the Ocean View Post Office, Hall's Store Education and Visitor Center, the Coastal Towns Museum, a replica of Cecile Steele's Chicken House and the Woodhouseum barn. Its Wednesday open houses run only from just after Memorial Day to Labor Day, but private tours are available by appointment.
The Historic Village has two holiday fundraisers that take place away from Central Avenue:
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026: Dine & Donate at FINS Ale House & Raw Bar, 33544 Market Place, Bethany Beach, 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 16: Dine & Donate at Cottage Cafe, with no time posted yet on the Historic Village site.
If you plan to visit both, the FINS night comes ten days before the tree lighting, and the Cottage Cafe date falls while the Trail of Lights is still on.
If one tree lighting isn't enough
South Bethany holds its fifth annual Holiday Tree Lighting a week later, on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, at 5 p.m. at the South Bethany Town Hall Fitness Park, 402 Evergreen Road. Organizers plan live music, snacks and a collection for the food pantry. South Bethany's event page has the details. Ocean View's event runs on a Saturday afternoon and South Bethany's starts at 5 p.m. a week later, so you can go to both without a conflict.
For the Ocean View date, here's the short version. Nov. 28, 1 to 5 p.m., 32 West Ave. Plan to arrive well before Santa, and come back on a December evening to walk the Trail of Lights.
At The Delashore Team, we follow Ocean View's town calendar and council agendas closely, from the tree lighting to the playground rebuild, because this is where we live and work. If you own a home a few blocks from John West Park and want to know how the area's recent sales compare with your house, request a free home valuation and we'll put together a local read for you.
