From Leaf Piles to the Parade Lineup, Berkley's Late Fall Runs Along Bacon Avenue

Where does the Berkley Holiday Lights Parade line up? Last December it started at 12 Mile Road and Bacon Avenue, according to C&G Newspapers. Right now that corner sits at the top of an active construction zone, and the city has the rest of the job due by the end of November 2026. City leaf trucks will be working the same curbs over the same weeks. Between Halloween and the first Saturday of December, the timeline that shapes Berkley is the timeline for its curbs.

Halloween Weekend Stays on the Sidewalk

The DDA's Monster Mash Block Party on Saturday, Oct. 24, closed Coolidge between 12 Mile and Catalpa for the afternoon. The second Halloween event this year leaves the streets alone. The Downtown Berkley DDA's Trick or Treat Stroll runs Saturday, Oct. 31, from noon to 3 p.m., with families collecting candy at participating businesses along 12 Mile and Coolidge. The DDA asks walkers to travel clockwise along the 12 Mile sidewalks. It also says the stroll and the Monster Mash are separate events this year, so a costume worn on Oct. 24 has a second outing ahead.

The stroll falls six days into leaf season, so the curbs it passes may already have their first rows of leaves.

Leaf Season Opens Before Bacon Is Finished

Berkley's curbside leaf collection runs Oct. 26 through Dec. 18. The Department of Public Works has a short list of rules:

• Rake only leaves to the curb, in neat rows. Yard waste stays out of the piles.
• Keep sticks, twigs, pumpkins and straw or hay bales out of the street entirely.
• Bagged leaves can go to the curb on your regular trash day.
• Yard waste season ends the week of Dec. 18. After that, leaves and yard waste go to a drop-off site in the DPW parking lot at 3238 Bacon.

The city also runs a live leaf pickup map. It shows how many passes the trucks have made in each part of town, and a search function finds your neighborhood.

Bacon Avenue runs on a different leaf clock. The city's construction page asks residents not to blow leaves into the street until as early as Nov. 14, 2026, almost three weeks after citywide collection begins. Leaf bags have been available at the DPW since Oct. 1. On Bacon, the bag is the default until paving crews are out of the way.

What's Left on Bacon Avenue in November

The Bacon Avenue project replaces the water main, storm catch basins and pavement from 12 Mile down to 11 Mile. Crews also remove and replace driveway approaches and sidewalks in the city right-of-way. The city is paying for it through the Capital Improvement Project Millage voters approved in 2018, plus grant money.

These are the conditions to expect through November, according to the city:

1. Bacon is open to one lane of northbound traffic only.
2. Parking is not allowed on either side of the street for the length of the project.
3. Paving is done from 12 Mile to Wiltshire Road, but the city still treats Bacon as an active construction site and allows no drop-offs or foot traffic along it.
4. Catalpa was scheduled to close between Cummings and Phillips starting Wednesday, Oct. 7, while paving was finished, with detour signs posted.
5. Residents whose driveways are blocked got passes for overnight street parking through January 2027. More passes are available at the DPW, 3238 Bacon.
6. Parking on the north side of Beverly Boulevard, north of Angell Elementary, is no longer open to residents.

The overnight passes run into January, past the November finish date. The city's work runs longer than the paving, and it notes that all dates and durations can change with the weather. Questions go to Public Works at 248-658-3490 or [email protected].

The Department of Public Works sits on Bacon itself. The same office handing out leaf bags and parking passes this fall will host the off-season leaf drop-off after Dec. 18.

November Moves Indoors, and Toward a Parade

While the curbs belong to trucks and crews, Berkley's November calendar moves inside. Several dated events are already posted:

1. Nov. 6: The Berkley Area Chamber holds a ribbon cutting at Berkley VFW, 3025 Coolidge Hwy.
2. Nov. 13: The Chamber's State of the Cities event takes place at Gillham Recreation Center in Huntington Woods.
3. Nov. 16: Berkley Public Library hosts an adult lecture, 100 years of Detroit's Thanksgiving Parade, on the parade's history and how its oversized floats are made.
4. Nov. 20: The library holds a BerkBuster Anniversary Celebration.
5. Nov. 23: The Berkbuster Film Club shows a holiday movie, title still to be announced.
6. Dec. 1 and Dec. 3: Family Storytime and Infant and Toddler Playtimes are back on the library calendar in the week leading up to the parade.

The Nov. 16 talk is about Detroit's big Thanksgiving parade. Three weeks later, Berkley holds its own parade, which volunteers run on donations.

Dec. 5, Starting From the Corner That Spent the Fall Under Construction

The Berkley Holiday Parade Committee's countdown lists the 2026 Holiday Lights Parade for Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5:30 p.m. The committee describes it as a first-Saturday-of-December tradition. The city's online calendar currently shows the parade on a Sunday, Dec. 6, with no year attached. The committee's date is the one to plan around. Check with the committee at [email protected] before you finalize plans.

The 2026 route and activities haven't been published yet, so last year's version is the best guide. In 2025, C&G Newspapers reported that the parade began at 12 Mile and Bacon, went down 12 Mile to Coolidge, and ended at the gazebo at City Hall, 3338 Coolidge Hwy. Santa rode in the parade and then led the tree lighting. The Berkley Holiday Lights Parade Committee and the Berkley Junior Women's Club organized it. Downtown activities began at 1 p.m., with a petting zoo, cookie decorating, a warming station and a s'mores station.

Last year also added something new. Berkley Director of Communications Caitlin Flora told C&G Newspapers:

"There is going to be a holiday market (on North Griffith Avenue) with some vendors. So, that will be really cool to see, too."

The committee's site describes the Berkley Holiday Market as its inaugural 2025 market for local artisans, crafters, bakers and makers. C&G's weekend guide listed it from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on parade day. No 2026 market date has been posted, so a second year is possible but not confirmed.

The committee says the parade has run for more than two decades and stays free through donations and volunteers. It also credits school bands, public safety officers and the DPW for keeping it running. The same Public Works crews spend October and November on Bacon and on leaf passes before the parade sets up on 12 Mile. Groups that want to enter a float can request forms at [email protected].

Dinner on Coolidge, and What Comes After Dec. 18

For a sit-down meal near the end of last year's route, The Beverly is at 3180 Coolidge, just south of 12 Mile. The Detroit News reported in January that restaurateur Travis Fourmont and chef Norman Valenti were opening it as a neighborhood restaurant. It is now taking reservations through OpenTable, so book ahead if you're planning dinner after the tree lighting.

Curbside leaf collection ends Dec. 18. After that, the DPW lot at 3238 Bacon takes leaves and yard waste for the rest of the off-season. Farther out, the J's Community Center on Woodward is under construction at 27333 Woodward Avenue in Berkley. The Jewish News reports a planned spring 2027 opening, with a café, a library and living room space, classes, co-working and a children's play café.

New pavement, new sidewalks and new driveway approaches all show up when a home on Bacon or a nearby street comes on the market. If you'd like to know how this fall's work affects what your home could sell for next spring, Residential Rome can walk your block with you and put together the numbers. Request Your Home Valuation, and Jerome will get back to you personally.