Where does a Hobe Sound holiday season start? For 39 years the obvious answer was Dixie Highway on parade day. This year the first marker comes three weeks earlier and a couple of miles west. On Friday night, Nov. 13, a 126-acre farm on SE Bridge Road turns on its lights for a Christmas market. The traditions people grew up with come later, packed into four nights in early December.
Here is the calendar, with tree preorders closing today, Thursday, Nov. 12:
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Last day of Fraser fir preorders | Hobe Sound Farms, online | 10% off presale |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Country Christmas Night Market, 6–10 p.m. | 1425 SE Bridge Road | $10 presale, $15 at the door |
| Nov. 13–29 | Christmas tree pickup, seven days a week | Hobe Sound Farms farm stand | Prepaid |
| Dec. 3–6 | 29th Annual Singing Christmas Tree, 7 p.m. nightly | 11295 Gomez Ave. | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 40th Annual Hobe Sound Christmas Parade, 1 p.m. | Downtown Hobe Sound | Free to watch |
A Farm Founded in 2020 Now Starts the Season
Hobe Sound Farms is newer than it feels. Discover Martin's directory says the Hobe Sound Farmers Market was established in 2020 on the 126-acre Bridge Road property. It began as a pumpkin patch in October and a Christmas tree farm in December. Zach and Catherine Gazza own the land. In January 2022, close to the market's first anniversary, TCPalm reported that the weekend market had suspended operations while the owners worked with Martin County to win back the right to host it.
The market reopened and now runs all year. The farmers market page lists hours every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Besides the vendor stalls there's a barrel tractor ride, a cattle feeding station, an animal meet-and-greet, the Bouquet Bunker for launching seed bombs, and the Gem Jungle. The farm also hosts field trips, birthdays, weddings and photo shoots. So by the time the holidays come around, a lot of local families have already been out to the property for something else.
That background explains how a farm founded in 2020 now opens the season for a town whose parade is turning 40.
Friday Night on Bridge Road
The Country Christmas Night Market is billed for 6 to 10 p.m., but the published schedule has the market opening half an hour early.
- 5:30 p.m. More than 60 vendors open, along with food trucks, a bar and farm activities.
- 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Santa is on the grounds for photos and wish lists.
- 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Samantha Russell plays the opening set. The farm notes she has played Super Bowl LIVE and SunFest and opened for Dierks Bentley.
- 7:30 p.m. Smokey Jones and The 3 Dollar Pistols, an Atlanta band that has opened for Brooks & Dunn and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, take the stage with line dance, two-step and Western swing.
- 8:30 p.m. Kids from Just Dance perform during the band's break.
- Until 9:30 p.m. The band plays its second set before the market closes at 10.
Presale tickets are $10. At the door they're $15, and children under 5 get in free.
The Just Dance kids are a thread that runs through the whole season. At last year's Christmas parade, Just Dance shared the Judges Choice award with Jenkins Landscape.
The Tree Window Opens Tomorrow
Friday is also the first day of Fraser fir pickup. Trees reserved during the presale, which runs from Oct. 3 through today, can be picked up at the farm stand seven days a week from Nov. 13 through Nov. 29. Ordering ahead takes 10% off and comes with a free ornament. The Christmas at the Farm page lists these presale prices.
| Size | Presale price |
|---|---|
| Table top | $49.50 |
| 5'–6' | $99.00 |
| 6'–7' | $117.00 |
| 7'–8' | $135.00 |
| 8'–9' | $153.00 |
| 9'–10' | $207.00 |
| 10'–11' | $382.50 |
Prices climb steadily up to nine feet. The jump from a 9-to-10-foot tree to a 10-to-11-foot tree is $175.50, more than the full presale price of an 8-to-9-foot tree. That matters most if you have a tall great room.
Pickup ends Nov. 29, four days before the Singing Christmas Tree opens.
Four Nights in December Carry the Older Traditions
The season peaks over the weekend of Thursday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 6.
Hobe Sound Ministries will present its 29th Annual Singing Christmas Tree each of those four nights at Hobe Sound Bible College/Church, 11295 Gomez Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the program starts at 7. Admission is free. The production has 75 singers on a lighted tree of thousands of lights, a 25-piece orchestra, a children's choir and a drama cast of 50. The organizers say more than 5,000 people attend each year. Groups of 25 or more can call 772-546-5696 to reserve seats.
The Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce has scheduled the 40th Annual Hobe Sound Christmas Parade for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, the third night of the Singing Tree run. The parade starts at 1 p.m. and the Saturday Singing Tree doors open at 6, which leaves room to do both on the same day.
The 2026 route isn't posted on the Chamber's page yet. For reference, Hometown News reported that the 2025 parade ran along Dixie Highway from Venus Street to Bridge Road, turned onto Hercules Avenue and ended at J.V. Reed Park. That was last year's route. Check this year's before you pick a spot along the curb.
Last year's winners show how local the parade is. Best Overall went to Preston Contemporary Dance Theater and Merritt Chiropractic. Hobe Sound Bunco won Most Humorous, the South Fork High School Band won Best Marching, 3 Natives Hobe Sound won Most Original, and Apollo School won Best Hobe Sound History. The 2026 parade application is posted on the Chamber page for groups that want to enter.
On the U.S. 1 side of town, another long-running spot isn't going anywhere. In September, TCPalm reported that Harry and the Natives, which opened in Hobe Sound in 1941 and has been in the MacArthur family for 85 years, is not being sold.
The Highway Study Drawn Through the Farm
The farm that opens the season sits inside a state transportation study. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is studying a system-to-system interchange to connect Florida's Turnpike and I-95 near SE Bridge Road, project number FPID 446975-1. According to WQCS, the plan calls for two sets of direct connection ramps, one north and one south of Bridge Road, plus about two miles of Turnpike widening in each direction. A Turnpike spokesperson told the station the project "will not add a new interchange with Bridge Road or modify the existing I-95/Bridge Road interchange."
In October 2025, CBS12 reported that the proposed route would cut through private farmland, including Hobe Sound Farms. Zach Gazza told the station that the family farm has become a community hub for field trips, weekend markets and agricultural events.
"There's a business here! There's something being taken here."
Gazza said that to CBS12 after a virtual project meeting.
WQCS reported in November 2025 that the project was in the Project Development and Environment study phase, the combined cost of the ramps and widening was estimated at $447 million, and design funding was expected in Fiscal Year 2030. No money for right-of-way or construction was programmed in the five-year work program. The FDOT District Four work program covering July 2026 through June 2031 lists the project as a study, with $30,000 for environmental work in 2027 and no design, right-of-way or construction funding.
Under the latest published timeline, the earliest step after the study is design funding in FY2030. This season's trees, the Night Market and the weekend market go on at 1425 SE Bridge Road as scheduled.
If you live near Bridge Road and want to understand what the interchange study could mean for your property's value over the next few years, or what your home is worth today, Jill McCarthy Thogersen can take you through the Hobe Sound numbers in a market consultation. Request a free home valuation or schedule a market consultation, any time before or after the parade.
