Woodstock Festive Fayre is Friday 27 November, 5pm to 8pm, and Saturday 28, 10am to 6pm. The Night of a Thousand Candles switch-on has no 2026 date yet.

Woodstock Festive Fayre 2026 is on Friday 27 November, 5pm to 8pm, and Saturday 28 November, 10am to 6pm, across three venues in the town centre. That comes from the fayre’s own page, run by the traders’ association Wake Up To Woodstock. The page’s web address still says 2025, but its heading and dates are for 2026.

The town’s Christmas lights switch-on, the Night of a Thousand Candles, has no 2026 date yet. The organisers describe it as held on “the last Saturday of November”, which this year would be Saturday 28 November, the fayre’s second day. Until they publish it, treat that date as likely rather than confirmed.

The quick answer

  • Festive Fayre: Friday 27 November, 5pm to 8pm, and Saturday 28 November, 10am to 6pm. Confirmed.
  • Night of a Thousand Candles: not announced for 2026. Last year it was Saturday 29 November, 5.30pm to 7pm, outside Woodstock Town Hall.
  • Parking: the Union Street long-stay car park off Hensington Road is free; Blenheim Palace pass holders cannot park free at the Palace during its Christmas event.

Woodstock Festive Fayre
Friday 27 November 5pm to 8pm
Saturday 28 November 10am to 6pm
Venues St Mary Magdalene Church, The Oxfordshire Museum, The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Organiser Wake Up To Woodstock
Year The ninth fayre

The fayre is a festive shopping weekend of artisan and gift stalls. It starts at St Mary Magdalene Church, and the organisers tell visitors to “cross the road from the church” to the other two venues, The Oxfordshire Museum and The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, which share a site on Park Street, OX20 1SN. Questions go to fayre@wutw.co.uk.

The stallholder list for 2026 has not been published yet.

Night of a Thousand Candles

This is Woodstock’s Christmas lights switch-on: a free evening with live music, carols from the school choir, food and drink. Wake Up To Woodstock’s listing for the 2025 event gave the time as 5.30pm to 7pm, outside Woodstock Town Hall, on Saturday 29 November 2025, and Woodstock Town Council published the same details in its documents library.

For 2026, the organisers’ events page carries only the 2025 listing, now marked “This event has passed”. We will add the date and times when they are published.

Parking and getting there

Woodstock gets very busy in late November, and the fayre organisers warn that “parking in town can prove challenging”. From Wake Up To Woodstock’s getting here page:

  • Union Street car park, off Hensington Road, is a large free long-stay car park, with 12 electric vehicle chargers.
  • Town centre street parking is free for the first hour with a ticket displayed, then £1 an hour up to four hours, and free again after 6pm. A Friday evening visit to the fayre falls inside the free period.
  • The nearby Park and Ride, for a small fee, is suggested on busy days.
  • Blue Badge bays are by the Oxfordshire Museum on Park Street, by the pharmacy on the High Street and by the Town Hall on Market Place.

Blenheim Palace’s Christmas event runs from 13 November, and the fayre page notes that Blenheim pass holders “are not able to park for free” at the Palace at this time of year. Our Blenheim Christmas page has the Palace’s own parking charges.

No road closure has been ordered for the fayre or the switch-on. Oxfordshire County Council’s large public events register, checked on 2 October 2026, lists only October’s Woodstock Street Fair for the town. Our roadworks and travel page and parking page cover the rest of the district.

The same weekend elsewhere

What we will update

  • The date and times of the 2026 Night of a Thousand Candles.
  • The fayre’s stallholder list.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Woodstock Festive Fayre 2026? Friday 27 November, 5pm to 8pm, and Saturday 28 November, 10am to 6pm.

Where is it held? At St Mary Magdalene Church, The Oxfordshire Museum and The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, all in the centre of Woodstock.

When are the Woodstock Christmas lights switched on? Not yet announced for 2026. The organisers hold the Night of a Thousand Candles on the last Saturday of November; in 2025 it ran from 5.30pm to 7pm outside the Town Hall.

Where should I park? The free Union Street car park off Hensington Road. Street parking in the centre is free for the first hour and after 6pm.

Sources