Haverhill's Christmas Carnival is on Saturday 28 November 2026 with a High Street parade. Last year: switch-on 5.15pm, fireworks 5.30pm, roads shut 4pm.

Haverhill’s Christmas Carnival is on Saturday 28 November 2026. Haverhill Town Council has the date in its events list and has confirmed a Christmas Carnival parade along the High Street. The timetable, the lights switch-on time and any fireworks are not out yet.

The quick answer

  • Saturday 28 November 2026, Haverhill town centre. Confirmed by Haverhill Town Council, with “more information to come”.
  • Last year’s running order: market from 9am, parade 4.30pm, Christmas lights switch-on 5.15pm, fireworks 5.30pm.
  • Last year’s road closures ran from 4pm to 6.30pm on Camps Road and the High Street. Expect the same shape, but no 2026 order has been published.

What is confirmed for 2026

Two things, both from Haverhill Town Council. Its events page lists “Haverhill Christmas Carnival - Saturday 28 November” with “More information to come”, and warns that its dates are subject to change.

On 21 September the council asked schools and community groups to take part: “This year we will once again be hosting a Christmas Carnival parade along the High Street, featuring bright costumes and music.” Schools can join the parade, make crafts and decorations, create costumes or perform a dance routine. The contact is sara.marsh@haverhillartscentre.co.uk.

Not yet confirmed for 2026: the start time, the parade time, a Christmas lights switch-on, fireworks, the market and any road closures.

How the day ran in 2025

The council’s letter to town centre businesses of 17 November 2025 set out the whole day for Saturday 29 November 2025:

Time What
9am to 5pm Charity and makers market on the High Street and Queen Street
10am to 3pm Music and entertainment on the Market Square
11am to 2pm Live reindeer, location given as TBC at the time
All day Polar bear selfie station, Queen Street
4.30pm to 5pm Christmas Carnival parade, Haverhill Arts Centre to Queen’s Square
5.15pm Christmas lights switch-on
5.30pm Fireworks display

The council said all of those times were subject to change. If 2026 follows the same pattern, the switch-on and the fireworks come straight after the parade, about an hour after dark.

Road closures last year

The same 2025 letter listed these closures for the parade:

  • Camps Road, from the Clements Lane roundabout to the High Street, 4pm to 6.30pm.
  • High Street, from Camps Road to Duddery Road, 4pm to 6.30pm.
  • Queen Street, from the High Street to Lower Downs Slade, 4pm to 5.30pm.
  • St Mary’s Churchyard, 5.15pm to 5.30pm.
  • The one-way rule was lifted to allow two-way traffic on Mill Road (Helion’s Park Avenue to Chauntry Road, 4pm to 6.30pm) and Swan Lane (Lordscroft Lane to Murton Slade, 4pm to 5.30pm).

No 2026 closure has been published. Suffolk County Council’s temporary traffic orders on the Public Notice Portal had nothing for Haverhill town centre on 28 November when we checked on 3 October. Any order that appears will go on our roadworks and travel page.

Parking

West Suffolk Council runs Haverhill’s town centre car parks, and its Haverhill car parks page gives the details. Charges apply Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm, so a Saturday visit is charged until 6pm. The free-after-3pm rule applies to Fridays only, not the carnival Saturday.

  • Arts Centre, CB9 8DN: 260 spaces, £1.50 for up to three hours, £2.50 for 8am to 6pm. This is next to where last year’s parade set off.
  • Corn Exchange, CB9 9LB: 33 spaces, £1 for up to two hours, £2 for 8am to 6pm.
  • The Meadows, CB9 0BB: £1 for 8am to 6pm.

For Bury St Edmunds’ own car parks, see our parking page.

Other Christmas dates nearby

Bury St Edmunds’ Christmas Lights Event is on Thursday 19 November, 3pm to 8pm, with no switch-on ceremony: see our Christmas lights page. The town’s markets, including the cathedral market on 26 to 28 November, are on our Christmas markets page.

What this page will say next

When Haverhill Town Council publishes the 2026 timetable, the switch-on time, the fireworks and the road closures, they go here with the source.

Checked on 3 October 2026 against Haverhill Town Council’s events page, its 21 September call for parade entries and its November 2025 letter to businesses, West Suffolk Council’s Haverhill car parks page and the Public Notice Portal.