The first Christmas tree to light up in Duck this year belongs to Scarborough Faire Shopping Village, not the Town. It goes on at dusk on Saturday, November 28, with carolers, after an afternoon of Turkey Bowling and a holiday market run by the village's own shops. The Town of Duck lights its tree at Town Park a week later, on Saturday, December 5, when Santa arrives at the Yuletide Celebration.
Those two trees, a week apart, bookend a holiday stretch with two different hosts. The first half runs out of one shopping village at 1177 Duck Road and starts on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The second half belongs to the Town. If you live here, the calendar works out to one long weekend in the village, then a free Saturday afternoon in the park.
Date | Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
Wed., Nov. 25 | 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. | Turkey Trot packet pickup, Suzi Jacuzzi from 4 p.m. | Swells'a Brewing Duck Dive Bar |
Thu., Nov. 26 | 9 a.m. start | Duck Turkey Trot 5K | Christopher Drive at Scarborough Faire |
Sat., Nov. 28 | 1 to 3 p.m. | Turkey Bowling, holiday market to follow | Vine & Board, Scarborough Faire |
Sat., Nov. 28 | 6 to 7 p.m. | Christmas Tree Lighting with Carolers | Scarborough Faire |
Sat., Dec. 5 | 3 to 5 p.m. | Duck Yuletide Celebration | Town Park |
Wednesday night at a disc golf bar
Packet pickup for the Duck Turkey Trot 5K runs from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, at Swells'a Brewing's Duck Dive Bar, and Suzi Jacuzzi starts playing at 4. The Duck Dive Bar sits at 106 Scarborough Lane in downtown Duck. It's an outdoor bar pouring rotating Swells'a craft beer along with cocktails and wine, and it has live music and its own par-3 disc golf course.
That puts a Thanksgiving-eve gathering on the calendar before anyone has run a step. According to the race announcement in The Outer Banks Voice, pickup is also a chance to meet other runners and walkers and some of the event's sponsors. The same bar is on site the next morning for the post-race celebration.
Thanksgiving morning puts runners on NC 12
The race starts at 9 a.m. sharp on Thursday, November 26. If you're not running and you plan to drive Duck Road that morning, the course matters to you. Runners head east from Christopher Drive, turn south on Ocean Way, come back toward the sound on Scarborough Lane, and then run north on NC 12 to Schooner Ridge Drive, across from the Global Methodist Church. The athlete guide puts northbound runners in the northbound vehicle lane of Route 12 and tells them to stay on the road, because returning racers will be coming back fast on the sidewalk and bike path.
From the start, the course runs like this:
- East on Christopher Drive toward the ocean, then south on Ocean Way.
- Back toward the sound on Scarborough Lane to NC 12.
- North on NC 12 to Schooner Ridge Drive, up and over the hill, and around Chip Court.
- Out of Schooner Ridge and south on NC 12 to the finish near the start on Christopher Drive.
The guide tells participants to park nearby, but not at Scarborough Faire, and walk to the start and finish at 102 Christopher Lane, which is closed to cars on race morning. Awards start at 10 a.m., the course closes by 10:30, and the party wraps up at 11. Police will be on site. The race isn't chip-timed, there's a race clock at the finish, and pets aren't allowed.
A revived race that sold out last year
The Duck Turkey Trot carries on the tradition of the Advice 5K Turkey Trot, which was retired in 2021. According to The Outer Banks Voice, the race came back to Duck in 2025 after a three-year break. The 2025 race sold out less than a month before Thanksgiving, and the 2026 race stays open only until it reaches capacity. On the 2025 timeline, the window to register is closing now. The entry price went up after November 1, so check the registration page for the current fee and whether spots are left.
The race is produced by the Outer Banks Track Club, an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The club backs youth runners in Dare County with scholarships, camps, equipment, clinics, track facility improvements, and travel for student-athletes. Gray Berryman of the club put the race's appeal this way in The Outer Banks Voice:
"Whether you run the whole course, walk with your family or come out in costume just to have some fun, it's a great way to start Thanksgiving and be part of the Duck community."
The costume contest has three categories: Best Thanksgiving Costume, Most Ducky Costume, and Best Group Costume. Contest registration runs from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Costume Contest Table, and you need a race bib to enter. The first male and female finishers win pies from Sweaterbox Confections, and other prizes go out at random. The check-in package includes a ticket for one beer or one lemonade on tap. Bananas, water, coffee, and hot chocolate are waiting at the finish, and anything from the vendors costs extra.
After the finish, the celebration moves into Treehouse Cafe + Coffee in Scarborough Faire, at 1177 Duck Road, Suite 34. The cafe is known for homemade biscuits, breakfast dishes, espresso drinks, and cold brew.
Saturday belongs to Scarborough Faire
Two days later, the village hosts again. Turkey Bowling runs from 1 to 3 p.m. on November 28 at Vine & Board. A holiday market with Scarborough Faire businesses follows, and the tree lighting comes at dusk. Vine & Board is a wine shop in Suite 23 that serves charcuterie boards and gourmet small dishes. Owner Jennifer Casias opened it in spring 2022 as a brick-and-mortar shop that grew out of her catering business.
Scarborough Faire lists the Christmas Tree Lighting with Carolers from 6 to 7 p.m. that evening. Holiday-weekend hours for individual shops weren't posted at the end of October, and the village directory suggests confirming hours with each store.
Taken together, Wednesday's pickup, Thursday's race and after-party, and Saturday's bowling, market, and tree lighting all happen at Scarborough Faire or just off it on Scarborough Lane. For a resident, that's three outings over Thanksgiving week in the same corner of downtown Duck.
The Town's tree waits a week
The Town of Duck's Yuletide Celebration is on Saturday, December 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Town Park, presented by TowneBank. The Town promises holiday music, activities for the whole family, a tree lighting, and the arrival of Santa. It's the only community program on the Town's calendar for that stretch apart from routine public meetings, and a Town Council meeting falls three days earlier, on December 2.
Treats come from the Town and from Duck's Cottage, Coffee & Books. The cottage, at 1240 Duck Road in the Duck Waterfront Shops, has been a coffee shop and bookstore since childhood friends John Power and Allen LeHew opened it in 2002. Jamie Anderson, who had managed the bookstore, bought the business in 2023. Its posted schedule has it opening at 7 a.m. every day, aiming for 363 days a year and closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. A current notice says it closes at noon on Sundays. Since the cottage is closed Thanksgiving morning, race-day coffee comes from the Treehouse after-party. At Yuletide on December 5, the treats come from the cottage.
The second tree goes up at Town Park on a Saturday afternoon, with Santa on hand, one week after carolers sang at the first one in Scarborough Faire.
Whether you're making Duck's Thanksgiving week a family tradition or hosting guests who'll want to see both tree lightings, I'm always happy to talk through the village calendar and what's happening around town. I'm here for the questions that come up between holidays, too. Ashley Massey would love to hear from you. Let's Connect.
