On the evening of Thursday, October 8, Water Street held one long harvest table for dinner. Cocktail hour started at 5 p.m. and seated dinner at 6, and the food came out family-style from a group of local restaurant partners. No single kitchen catered it. Lake Minnetonka Magazine reported that more than 250 friends and neighbors came to that first Gathered on Water Street.
The dinner was a fundraiser. Its proceeds go to Christmas in Excelsior, the free Lions Club weekend that fills the same blocks of Water Street on November 27 and 28. So the town's biggest holiday event was partly paid for weeks ahead by the restaurants it will bring crowds to. December continues the pattern. The Chamber spends the following Saturdays sending shoppers back into those storefronts, and anyone who sends in a receipt from a member business can win local gift cards. Follow the money and you get the season's calendar too.
The supper that sold out before anyone sat down
Fromage Co. organized Gathered, and tickets sold out soon after going on sale September 4. Co-owner Jennifer Brisson told Lake Minnetonka Magazine the event now has "a very large waiting list." She also explained in that interview where the idea came from:
"The idea started with this image I couldn't get out of my head of one really long table running right down the middle of Water Street. I wanted it to feel less like attending an event and more like sitting down for dinner with 250 members of your family."
The restaurants split the meal, and each partner made a different part of it. Every guest was also invited to add a meaningful recipe to a new Gathered Community Recipe Collection, which Brisson described as something "that can grow with us year after year." She called an annual fall dinner "certainly the hope."
Christmas in Excelsior is where that money goes next. According to the event's FAQ page, 100% of the net proceeds raised at the weekend go to local charities. The event's own site describes the Excelsior Lions Club behind it as a charitable group that has served the community since 2016. One dinner in October helps pay for a free weekend in November, and that weekend raises money for local causes.
Christmas in Excelsior: the weekend after Thanksgiving
The event runs Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. It's free and fills historic Water Street between Lake Street and Third Street.
The attractions don't all run all day. Here's the schedule as currently posted on the event's music and activities page. Confirm times there before you go:
| Attraction | Hours, both days |
|---|---|
| Artisan Marketplace | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Santa | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Roving carolers | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Live reindeer from Red Stable | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Brand Valley Shires carriage rides | Noon to 3 p.m. |
| Fire dancer | 5 p.m. |
The reindeer leave at 2 p.m. and the carriage rides end at 3, so families who want both should arrive between noon and 2. The schedule also lists kids' games, Santa's Workshop, face painting and hair tinsel, Disney Princess appearances, huskies and llamas.
The live music tent has a different lineup each day. Friday's posted performers are Julie Tuck, who opens with Christmas carols from 10 to 11 a.m., followed by Ali Soul Shine, Anna Quady, Neville White, Lexi Chicoine and Mazarine. Saturday's are Julie Tuck, Jake and Josie, Ali Soul Shine, River City Rovers, Tory Schaefer, Declan and Katya, and Avery Rainey.
Where to park
The event FAQ lists three options: a ramp between Second and Third Streets, a lot behind the brewery, and street parking around the village. The ramp and the brewery lot are free. Street parking will be a mix of paid and unpaid spots. The ramp sits at the Third Street end of the event, so parking there and walking down Water Street toward the lake takes you through the whole thing.
Santa, indoors
Photos with Santa are inside the Excelsior Masonic Lodge #113 at 249 Water Street. That runs November 27 and 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., matching the street event. If the weather turns on a Minnesota November weekend, the Lodge is the warm option. It also has two more December dates, covered below.
December keeps the money on the same blocks
The street event ends Saturday evening. The Chamber's season starts that same morning. The Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce's Celebrating the Season campaign begins on November 28 with Small Business Saturday. Starting that day, participating businesses will have printed copies of the Chamber's Holiday Gift Guide. So the last day of Christmas in Excelsior is also the first day of a month of themed Saturdays.
The rewards are set up to keep spending local. Upload a photo of a receipt from a Chamber member business, for a purchase made in December, and you're entered to win one of eight $25 Community Cash gift cards. Community Cash cards can only be spent at participating Lake Minnetonka area businesses. Winners spend their prize back in the same stores.
Here's the December lineup in order:
- Tuesday, December 1: Giving Tuesday. The Chamber points residents to local nonprofits and charities to donate, volunteer or give back.
- Saturday, December 5: Stocking Stuffer Saturday. The Gift Guide highlights local finds under $20 from member businesses. Santa photos return to the Masonic Lodge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, December 12: Gift Guide Saturday. Shop any Chamber member business and upload your receipt for a chance at Community Cash. This is the last day for Lodge Santa photos, again 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, December 19: Deck the Halls Downtown. Decorated storefronts are the draw. The Chamber posts a Google Map of participating businesses and Gift Guide locations, and receipts from that day count toward the drawing too.
Only December receipts count. Anything you buy at the Artisan Marketplace or downtown during the November 27–28 weekend won't qualify for the drawing. Small Business Saturday still matters, because that's when the printed Gift Guide comes out.
One calendar, start to finish
Put together, Excelsior's holiday season runs about ten weeks, most of it on Water Street:
- October 8: Gathered on Water Street, the restaurant-cooked supper that benefits Christmas in Excelsior.
- November 27–28: Christmas in Excelsior, free, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Santa photos at 249 Water Street.
- November 28: Small Business Saturday and the Holiday Gift Guide release.
- December 1, 5, 12 and 19: Giving Tuesday, then three themed Saturdays, with Lodge Santa photos on the 5th and 12th.
For anyone who missed a seat at the October table, the waiting list Brisson described is the best sign of how quickly next year's tickets could go if Gathered returns. Until then, the free weekend those dinner guests helped fund opens on Water Street the day after Thanksgiving, at 10 a.m.
The restaurants and shops that carry this season are a big part of what Excelsior homeowners get from the village. If you're thinking ahead to a spring move and want to know what your Excelsior home is worth before the calendar fills up, Greg Winegarden Group is happy to talk it through. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll see you on Water Street on the 27th.
