Thanksgiving events in Boise, Idaho

Boise Turkey Day 5K

A Thanksgiving morning 5K run and walk that starts at Cecil Andrus Park beside the Idaho Capitol and finishes on Capitol Boulevard downtown. Organizers describe it as a whole family fun run rather than a race, and there is a separate kids' 5K for ages 12 and under. 2026 is the 16th year the event has benefited the Boise Rescue Mission and Camp Rainbow Gold, and runners are asked to bring canned food or volunteer as well. Entry is online and the price rises after early October, so signing up early is cheaper.

Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees

A six day holiday fair inside the Boise Centre where designer decorated Christmas trees are displayed and auctioned to raise money for Saint Alphonsus. Alongside the trees there are visits with Santa, an interactive LEGO display built by IdahoLUG, a children's scavenger hunt and a gallery of artwork by Boise School District students. The 2026 edition runs November 24 through 29 and it is open on Thanksgiving Day itself, though only from 2 to 6 p.m. Seniors get in for $5 on the Wednesday Senior Day, and the Festival is not accepting cash this year.

Boise Holiday Parade

A free downtown parade on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, in its 78th year in 2026, stepping off at Jefferson and 10th at 10 a.m. and running about an hour and a half. Organizers tell spectators to bring chairs or blankets and to arrive early for a good seat, and to dress for weather that has ranged from bitterly cold to unseasonably warm. Nothing is ticketed, which makes it the easiest thing on this list to turn up to with children.

Downtown Boise Holiday Tree Lighting

The evening downtown Boise switches on its holiday tree, a 45 foot spruce donated each year and strung with more than 5,000 lights on the Grove Plaza. The free hour long event includes a candle lighting ceremony, live holiday music from local band Payette, special guests and a countdown, and it doubles as the launch of the Women's and Children's Alliance Giving Tree program. It has fallen on the Friday after Thanksgiving in recent years. The Downtown Boise Association had not posted a 2026 date when this page was written, so check before you go.

Holidays on the Grove

A vendor market that fills the sheds on the Grove Plaza with local makers and food through the holidays, opening the Saturday after Thanksgiving and running to December 20. In 2025 it ran on Wednesday evenings from 5 to 8, with live performances and extra programming on weekends. It is new enough that the Downtown Boise Association keeps updating the schedule, and it has not posted admission or 2026 dates, so treat the times here as the pattern rather than a promise.

Winter Garden aGlow

The Idaho Botanical Garden's light display, now in its 30th season, wraps the garden paths in more than 850,000 lights and is the garden's largest annual fundraiser. Recent seasons have added a lodge style Yuletide Bar, a silent disco, a community gingerbread house exhibit, Santa on select nights and the return of the model trains. Entry is by timed ticket in half hour slots and the garden asks people to buy through its own site for the best price. It opens in late November and runs through December, but the garden had not published 2026 dates or prices when this page was written.

Thanksgiving Buffet at The Riverside Grill

A Thanksgiving Day buffet in the restaurant at The Riverside Hotel on Chinden Boulevard, a few minutes from downtown and right on the Greenbelt. Reservations are required and are taken by phone or through OpenTable. The hotel has run the buffet through Thanksgiving afternoon and evening in past years but had not posted a 2026 date or a price when this page was written, so call before you plan around it.

Caldwell Turkey Day 5K

The Caldwell half of the same Thanksgiving morning run as the Boise race, starting at 9 a.m. at Memorial Park in the middle of town. Same organizers, same entry price and the same causes: the Boise Rescue Mission and Camp Rainbow Gold. It is roughly a 30 minute drive west of Boise, which makes it the better option if you live in Canyon County or want a smaller field than the downtown Boise start.

Canyon County Festival of Trees

Canyon County's own festival of decorated trees, held in the Horse Park Arena at the Ford Idaho Sports Complex in Nampa over the Friday to Sunday after Thanksgiving, with a gala and live auction on the Monday. Money raised goes to the Meals on Wheels programs that feed seniors in Nampa, Caldwell, Middleton and the surrounding towns. General admission is cheaper than the Boise festival, is sold only at the door for cash or card, and parking is free. Add on events include Cookies with Santa on the Friday evening and Breakfast with Santa on the Saturday morning.