"A new holiday tradition begins this year!" That line sits at the top of the Cranberry Artists Network's page for Mistletoe & Masterpieces 2026. The exhibition it announces is scheduled at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center from November 9, 2026 to January 2, 2027, with one ticketed Friday evening in the middle.
That turns 2525 Rochester Road, the building where you pay a sewer bill or sit in on a council meeting, into the township's main holiday venue for eight weeks. One week after the ticketed opening on November 13, Santa's First Stop brings Cranberry's free tree lighting to the same address. Taken together, the calendar points to the Municipal Center as the place where Cranberry spends its holiday season this year.
Eight Weeks on the Walls, One Ticketed Night
The opening reception is a fundraiser on Friday, November 13, from 6 to 9 p.m., and it is limited to guests 21 and over. According to the Cranberry Foundation's event page, tickets cost $40 for one adult or $35 each for two or more. Each ticket includes entry, one drink ticket, hors d'oeuvres, live music and a chance to meet the artists, and the bar is cash after that first drink. The ticket deadline was Friday, November 6.
If you didn't get a ticket, you haven't missed the show. The Cranberry Artists Network says tickets are needed for the opening reception, and it lists the exhibition itself as running from November 9 through January 2. Opening night is one evening out of about 55 days the work is scheduled to hang.
Why a Township Building Can Hold 200 Pieces of Art
The size of the show makes more sense once you know the building. The township's announcement says the Municipal Center has 106 feet of dedicated gallery wall plus hundreds of feet of display panels. In the township's words, that is "one of the region's largest continuous spaces for exhibiting artwork." The announcement also says the event will show off the Municipal Center "as an emerging arts destination," with artists from the Cranberry Artists Network displayed throughout the building.
The show includes more than 200 pieces from artists across six counties, and all of them are for sale. If you go looking for a holiday gift, you can buy original regional art in the same hallways where you usually stop for a permit.
The Trees Are the Part Built to Come Back
Mistletoe and Masterpieces also launches the Cranberry Foundation Tree Gallery. Local nonprofits each decorate a tree to highlight their own causes, and the township describes the gallery as "a holiday tradition highlighting local nonprofits and the causes they support through creatively decorated trees."
Nearly four dozen trees are planned, and each one represents a different local nonprofit. The Cranberry Eagle reported that the Foundation means for the Tree Gallery to become a tradition, so the trees are the part of this year's event built to return each season.
Where the money goes
According to the Cranberry Eagle, the fundraiser is sponsored by Ryan Homes and Experience Butler County. Proceeds support both the Cranberry Foundation's Project of the Year and the Cranberry Artists Network.
The Foundation names its 2025–2026 Project of the Year as an Outdoor Fitness Court. The project is a partnership with the National Fitness Campaign, and its goal is to offer free fitness resources for people of all ages and abilities. A holiday art night ends up supporting outdoor fitness equipment that's open to everyone all year.
November 20 Brings the Whole Township to the Same Address
Exactly one week after the opening reception, the township holds Santa's First Stop at the Municipal Center and on the Armstrong Great Lawn. It runs Friday, November 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. The opening reception has a ticket price and a 21-and-over limit. Santa's First Stop is free and built for families.
Experience Butler County's listing gives the plan for the evening:
- 6 p.m. The grounds open with live reindeer, holiday games and crafts.
- Through the evening: A Lego train display by Steel City LUG, the Cranberry Township EMS Toys for Tots drive and caroling by the Dutilh Church Choir.
- 7 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, take the stage and flip the switch to light the township tree on the Armstrong Great Lawn.
- 8 p.m. The event wraps up.
The listing calls these "returning favorites," so the program will look familiar to families who have come before. The new piece this year is the exhibition running inside the building during the same weeks. It's the same lawn that hosted Concerts in the Park over the summer, and on November 20 it gets its tree lit. If you have a Toys for Tots donation in mind, this evening gives you one place to drop it off, sing along with the carolers and see the lights come on.
The Building Is Also Hosting a Conversation About Places Like This
The holiday events aren't the only reason to be at the Municipal Center this season. The township is holding a series of public sessions called Cranberry Conversations, facilitated by township staff and czb LLC. The final session is set for Tuesday, December 1, at 6 p.m. at the Municipal Center, and its topics are activity centers and quality of life. When the township announced the series on October 27, it said registration for that session would open soon, so check the township site before you go.
That evening, a session on how Cranberry thinks about gathering places meets in a building that is hosting more than 200 artworks and a gallery of nonprofit trees. If you have opinions about where community life in the township should happen, that night puts you in the room with the people planning it, with a working example on the walls around you.
Planning Your Season Around 2525 Rochester Road
Here are the dates in order for anyone building a holiday calendar around the Municipal Center:
- November 9: The Mistletoe & Masterpieces exhibition begins its scheduled run.
- Friday, November 13, 6–9 p.m.: The ticketed opening reception, 21+, which also launches the Cranberry Foundation Tree Gallery.
- Friday, November 20, 6–8 p.m.: Santa's First Stop, free, with the tree lighting at 7 p.m. on the Armstrong Great Lawn.
- Tuesday, December 1, 6 p.m.: The final Cranberry Conversations session, on activity centers and quality of life.
- January 2, 2027: The exhibition's listed closing date.
For a quieter visit on a weekday, call the township at (724) 776-4806 before you drive over to confirm building hours around Thanksgiving and the December holidays. If you're crafting with kids in December, the Cranberry Public Library's calendar lists a children's Decoration Drop-In on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, with a new decoration each week and an adult required to come along. Teens and adults can register and pay for "Christmas Ribbon Wreath with Teresa," a 14-inch wreath workshop in The Forge Makerspace on Tuesday, December 1, from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
A piece of art bought at the Municipal Center this season will probably end up in a Cranberry living room, and that is the part of the season our team pays attention to. At The Honeywill Team, we keep up with how Cranberry's public spaces are changing because buyers ask us about them and sellers benefit when we can describe them. If you're curious how this season's Cranberry market looks for your own home, Request a Free Market Valuation and we'll walk you through it.
