On Friday, Dec. 4, at 5:15 p.m., the Forest Hills Central Choir will sing at the foot of Ada's Historic Covered Bridge. The Ada Business Association will dedicate Ada's Heritage Tree, and then the crowd counts down until the bridge lights up. Forty-five minutes later, Cascade Charter Township lights its tree outside the Cascade Historical Museum on Thornapple River Drive.
So the two townships share one Friday for their biggest holiday moment. What happens in Ada that night also sets up what you can still see weeks later. The bridge, the decorated trees in Legacy Park and the lit storefronts along the village streets are the same stops that make up Ada Township's Winter Lights Walking Trail, which runs Dec. 1 through Jan. 31. Friday night is the crowded version of a walk you can take on any evening into January.
5:15 in Ada, 6:00 in Cascade
The schedules are staggered, so you can plan around both. Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys runs 5:15 to 8:30 p.m. and is free. Christmas in Cascade runs 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Cascade Historical Museum, 2839 Thornapple River Dr. SE. It has holiday music, hot cocoa, cookies, crafts and photos with Santa, and the tree lighting is at 6 p.m.
Here's how the evening lines up:
| Time | Ada Village | Cascade |
|---|---|---|
| 4:00 p.m. | Merry & Made Holiday Market opens at Ada Christian Reformed Church | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Covered bridge lighting | |
| 5:30 p.m. | Trolleys start; Santa arrives at Santa's Village; reindeer at Ada History Center | Christmas in Cascade begins |
| 6:00 p.m. | Sled dogs at Amy Van Andel Library; the Grinch at Fruition | Tree lighting |
| 7:00 p.m. | Live music at Ada Garage Bar; market closes | Event ends |
| 8:30 p.m. | Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys ends |
Cascade wraps up at 7, and Ada keeps going for another 90 minutes. A family could watch the bridge light up, drive over for Cascade's tree and still get back for the trolleys, the reindeer and the sled dogs. You'll want to get to the bridge early. Foxtail Coffee Co. is handing out free hot chocolate in Veterans Park, on the north side of the bridge, while the Forest Hills Central Brass Band plays.
The Six Trolley Stops, Block by Block
Trolleys start running at 5:30. Each stop is hosted by businesses you already pass on a regular Tuesday.
- Ada Drive and Bronson Street. Godwin Ada Hardware has fresh popcorn and free mini donuts. Love's Ice Cream has a Christmas Village window and warm drinks. Plumfield Books has live music and a holiday craft. Schnitz Ada Grill has specials all evening, and The Pantry has a live nativity, caroling and harp music.
- Santa's Village at The Community Church. Santa arrives at 5:30, and Discover Ada provides the photos. There's an Elf Clubhouse, a Grand Rapids Aerial Lounge performance and artwork from the Ada Arts Council and Artists Creating Together in the lobby. The Olly's Donuts and The Corner Twist food trucks will be outside.
- Ada History Center. Live reindeer are here from 5:30 to 8, along with Mrs. Claus, museum tours, the Foxtail Coffee truck and the Ada Historical Society wreath sale in the barn. Food trucks set up across Headley Street in the Fred L. Hansen lot.
- Amy Van Andel Library. The sled dogs are here from 6 to 8, along with a Friends of the Library book sale and Mathnasium's Santa's Workshop Emergency puzzle challenge in Community Room 1.
- Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery. Sonder CPA hosts a DJ dance party, Brick & Minifigs runs an open LEGO trolley build at Ludus, and DuoMassage gives chair massages for Ada Pharmacy & Wellness.
- River Street. Ada Hotel has a hot chocolate bar and Social District drinks from The Post Tavern. You'll also find the Candy Cane Forest, a candy cane hunt at Croft Haus, spiked cocoa and mulled wine at The Lark, and letters to Santa at Pursuit Paper & Gift. The Festival of Trees is in Legacy Park.
Stop 6 matters more than one night. The Festival of Trees at Legacy Park stays up Dec. 1 through 31, and so does Discover Ada's storefront window competition. You can see the trees on any evening in December, without the trolley crowds.
The Santa's Scavenger Hunt runs across the whole village. Find one of 50 small red boxes with ribbon and turn it in for a Love Your Local gift card, limit one per person.
Getting In Without Circling the Village
The Ada Business Association lists extra event parking at Ada Vista School and at Ada Christian Reformed Church on Bradfield Street. From there, follow the event signs to the pedestrian tunnel, or take the shuttle to Historic Ada.
Ada Christian Reformed Church is also hosting this year's new event, the Merry & Made Holiday Market, run by Ada Homeschool HUB. It's open Friday, Dec. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Friday, a limo bus runs from Trolley Stop 1 to the market. Since the market opens at 4, you can park at the church, shop for an hour and walk to the bridge in time for the countdown.
Saturday Morning Picks Up Where Friday Left Off
Ada's Santa Parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, and lasts about 40 minutes. Ada Township's permit resolution, in the Oct. 26 board packet, sets the route:
- Starts on River Street and heads to Headley Street
- Turns left onto Ada Drive
- Turns right onto Thornapple River Drive
- Ends at the Ada Fire Station on Bronson Street, just south of East Fulton Street
At the front of the parade is The Santa Dash, an untimed 0.7-mile run and walk on the parade route, organized by Tris4Health. On RunSignup, registration is $34, and the price goes up after 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15. Children 9 and under run free with a registered adult. Every runner gets a Santa suit and a finisher medal, and the listed gathering spot is Downtown Ada, 7432 Thornapple River Drive. If you're reading this on Thursday, you have three days to register at the lower price.
Cascade's Saturday is at the library. At the Kent District Library's Cascade Township Branch, 2870 Jacksmith Ave. SE, the Friends of the Library used book sale runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the first hour is for members only. From 10 to 11 a.m., the branch hosts Ready for Reindeer!, with live reindeer outside. It overlaps with Ada's parade, so families will probably have to choose one. The Merry & Made market reopens at 9 a.m. too.
The Season Around the Weekend
Several events fall before or after the Dec. 4–5 weekend.
Wreaths, starting Nov. 20. The Ada History Center at 7144 Headley Street SE lists its wreath sale on Fridays and Saturdays from Nov. 20 through Dec. 12. The barn sale during Tinsel, Treats & Trolleys is one of those dates.
Gingerbread, Dec. 1. Gingerbread Lane at the Cascade branch, 10 to 11 a.m., is a gingerbread-house decorating morning.
Thursday, Dec. 10. Both townships have evening events. Ada Village hosts Women's Night from 5 to 8 p.m. In Cascade, the library hosts Meet the Sled Dogs from 5 to 6 and a Kids and Teens Craft Sale from 5 to 7. If you missed the dogs on Dec. 4, you can see them here.
Dec. 12. The Cascade branch holds a Kids Zone from 10 to 11 a.m.
The Walk That Runs Into January
The Winter Lights Walking Trail stays up after Friday. Ada Township describes the route as going through the Covered Bridge, into Legacy Park for the Festival of Trees, and along the village's shops and storefronts, all with holiday lighting. The trail is a returning event. FOX 17 reported its return in November 2025, and the 2026 schedule runs Dec. 1 through Jan. 31.
Those are the same places the trolleys pass on Dec. 4. The bridge is where the evening starts, Legacy Park is Stop 6, and the storefront windows are entered in December's competition. After the Festival of Trees comes down at the end of December, the bridge and the village lights stay up through January. If you've already walked through Ada Village for dinner, as we covered in our look at its restaurant blocks, you can extend that walk across the bridge on any winter evening. In Cascade, the Thornapple River has seen work of its own this year, which we covered in our post on the new water trail.
If the holidays have you thinking ahead to spring and wondering what your place in Ada Township, Cascade Township or anywhere in Forest Hills is worth before the new year, the team at Rodriguez Homes can give you a clear, local answer. Get Your Instant Home Valuation, then enjoy the lights.
