The Atlanta Braves don't play another game at CoolToday Park until February 21, 2027. Between now and then, the stadium's calendar shifts toward evenings and toward the streets around it. The year's last big event, the 8th Annual Jingle Jam on December 12, is now billed as "A Merry & Bright Night." It starts at 4 p.m. and ends with residents' decorated golf carts parading through Wellen Park, onto the field, and then onto the plaza for a concert.
That shift builds over the coming weeks. Each event below reaches a little further beyond the stadium gates, ending with a December night when the neighborhood itself becomes part of the show.
Where the season already started
The fall lineup opened October 3 with Pork & Pigskin. The plaza was set up as a football field with big viewing screens, tailgate food, a live pregame show and a field goal kicking contest. That was a daytime event centered on the plaza, which is how most of CoolToday's offseason has run until now. Everything after it pushes later or wider.
November 21 fills both ends of Wellen Park
The 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Festival returns Saturday, November 21, at 11 a.m. Admission is free. The stadium calls it "CoolToday Park's most iconic event." This year's version includes local food trucks, a craft beer garden with souvenir mugs, live music and kids' activities. The event page names these trucks:
- PopDawgs
- Gran Arepa
- Big Blue Grilled Cheese Company
- Do Some Donuts
- The Brunchy Bunch
Jesse Daniels Band is on the music lineup. Remember that name, because the band comes back in December. The festival page mentions a souvenir beer mug but doesn't list its price.
That same Saturday, the Wellen Park Fine Art Festival opens in Downtown Wellen. It runs November 21 and 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, and it's free. Two free festivals with overlapping hours on one Saturday is rare even for Wellen Park. If you want both, one easy plan is the art festival in the morning and grilled cheese for lunch. You could also save the art for Sunday, when the stadium is quiet again.
December 4 and 5 move from the concourse to the roads
The first weekend of December has two races, and each one stretches the stadium in a different direction.
The Braves Beer Run is Friday, December 4, at 6 p.m. It's a one-mile run, brisk walk or "leisurely stroll" around the concourse under the stadium lights, with a beer or soda after each lap. This is the 5th annual Beer Run.
The next morning, the 8th Annual Tomahawk 5K starts at 7:30 a.m. The course is flat and runs along the roads near the park. It then cuts through the stadium grounds, loops the warning track on the field and finishes with breakfast. The race page names the Atlanta Braves Foundation as the beneficiary of race proceeds.
The Atlanta Braves Foundation registration form sets these prices:
Registration | Price | What the stadium says is included |
|---|---|---|
Beer Run only | $35 | Custom T-shirt, three 10-ounce draft beers or sodas |
Tomahawk 5K only | $40 | Shirt, custom medal, breakfast, two soda-or-beer tickets |
Both races | $70 | Both packages |
Packet pickup fits the same weekend. Advance pickup is Friday, December 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gate 2, a window that overlaps the 6 p.m. Beer Run start. Race-day pickup is Saturday, December 5, from 6 to 7 a.m. at Gate 2. If you're doing both races, plan to grab your 5K packet before the Beer Run starts at 6 p.m. so you can skip the early line Saturday.
December 12 hands the stadium to the neighborhood
Last year's Jingle Jam was mostly a daytime event. The 7th annual edition had a Kids Market by young entrepreneurs open until 1 p.m. and a holiday market open until 5 p.m., and the illuminated carts paraded from Wellen Park to the field at 6 p.m.
This year's edition moves the main event to the evening and adds a full night program after the parade. The 8th Annual Jingle Jam: A Merry & Bright Night is free and runs in this order:
- 4 p.m., Pre-Parade Party. Golf cart entrants check in and finish decorating. The Jingle Bell Bar runs happy hour drink specials.
- 6 p.m., Parade of Lights, presented by Thoroughbred Golf Carts. Lit-up carts leave CoolToday Park, travel through Wellen Park and finish on the field. The stadium says the best view is from the seating bowl.
- After the parade, Awards Ceremony. The best-decorated carts get awards on the plaza.
- 7 p.m., Drive In Concert. Jesse Daniels Band plays a free show on the plaza stage. Golf carts can drive onto the plaza. Everyone else can bring lawn chairs and blankets to a separate seating area.
The stadium calls it "our first ever Drive In Concert." Family activities run through the evening on North Palm Plaza: photos with Santa Claus in the Visiting Clubhouse, Storytime with Mrs. Claus, Holiday Glow Golf and rides on the Palmer Express.
The stadium's 2026 events guide also lists a Sip, Shop & Sleigh Holiday Market at 10 a.m. the same day, with local vendors, holiday food and drinks, and live music. So December 12 still has a daytime shopping block. The new part is what happens after dark, and that part depends on residents' carts.
As of early October, the stadium hasn't published the golf cart entry fee, registration deadline, cart rules or exact parade route. If you plan to decorate a cart, check the Jingle Jam page as December gets closer.
What runs every week underneath all of it
The big dates sit on top of a weekly schedule that never stops, and that's what keeps the stadium busy between festivals.
- Live music at the Superior Pools Tomahawk Tiki Bar & Grill every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- Music Bingo on Thursdays at 6 p.m. Suncoast DJ Bingo hosts four rounds at the Tiki Bar, presented by Florida Avenue Brewing Co.'s You're My Boy Blue Beer.
- Facility tours on the last Tuesday of the month, which can change around events.
The tours make the most sense for out-of-town guests in the offseason. They're one-hour walking tours that start at 11 a.m. Stops can include the field, dugout, bullpen, press box, luxury suites and the Braves Academy auditorium, and lunch at the Tiki Bar is included. You have to reserve by 7 a.m. the Friday before the tour, and the stadium confirms by 5 p.m. that Friday. The tour page doesn't currently list a ticket price. Based on the last-Tuesday schedule, the next two tours should fall on October 27 and November 24.
When baseball takes the stadium back
The Braves' 2027 spring schedule has the home opener at CoolToday Park on Sunday, February 21, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Battery Power reported the schedule on September 4, 2026, and noted it could change depending on labor negotiations. Treat that date as announced, not guaranteed.
That leaves about ten weeks between the parade awards and the first pitch. Until then, the last big stadium event of 2026 is a free evening where Wellen Park residents' own golf carts are the show.
If living close to CoolToday Park's calendar is part of what you're weighing in a move within Wellen Park, Brianna Smith can help you think through how location fits the way you want to spend your weekends. Let's Connect.
