Wellington's Fourth of July parade moved off Cleveland Avenue this year. The 2025 Parade of Lights was billed as the last one on Cleveland before the renovation. As of early October, the Town hasn't posted a 2026 date or route for either the holiday parade or Trick-or-Treat. What's still on the fall calendar for Cleveland Avenue is a short list run by the shops themselves, and they're running it while their front entrances sit behind orange fencing.
That's how downtown works through the rest of 2026. The Town is rebuilding the street. A few storefronts are keeping it in use. Here are the practical details: where to park, which crossings are open this week, who's serving, and which nights are still on the calendar.
Where the Car Goes Now
Start with parking. When Coulson Excavating began active work on Cleveland Avenue on August 20, the Town said on-street parking downtown would be unavailable "until the end of the project." That left two public lots:
- Between Soul Squared Brewing at 3740 W. Cleveland Ave. and Rose & Co. at 3734 W. Cleveland Ave.
- Between the Larimer County Sheriff's Office at 3735 W. Cleveland Ave. and North Poudre Irrigation at 3729 W. Cleveland Ave.
You can also park on side streets north of the north-side alley and south of the south-side alley, as long as you stay at least 20 feet from any intersection. For through trips, the Town's suggested detours are 6th Street for north-south travel and Harrison or Roosevelt Avenue for east-west travel.
Crossings are harder, because they've changed several times in six weeks:
| Date of update | Closed at Cleveland | Open or mostly open |
|---|---|---|
| August 18 | 2nd, 4th, 5th Streets | 1st, 3rd Streets |
| September 18 | 2nd, 5th Streets | 3rd, 4th Streets |
| September 30 | 1st Street, for several days of storm-drain work | 3rd, 4th Streets, plus 6th outside the zone |
The Town said it would announce when 1st Street reopens. Work has also reached the sidewalk. Starting the week of September 28, crews moved onto the outer strip of the south-side sidewalk near the curb, which the Town calls the "amenity zone." The walkway right next to the buildings is expected to stay mostly open, though short closures are possible. Some businesses are posting directions to alternate entrances. The sidewalk work is expected to last several weeks, so this week's table will be out of date soon. The Town's Cleveland Avenue Construction Project page has the current traffic pattern, and you can sign up there for email or text alerts, including a weekly progress newsletter.
Six Doors Behind the Fencing
The crossings matter because the businesses depend on them. On September 22, Sam West, a reporter for the Wellington Bulletin, photographed construction materials blocking Thistle's front entrance and The Dragon and Cone's entrance with almost no parking nearby. The Bulletin is a newsroom run by a CSU advanced journalism class that's covering Wellington this fall. Its story described a significant drop in foot traffic and customer visits along the corridor. Matt Bourett, owner of The Dragon and Cone, told the paper, "We may have a beautiful downtown, but no businesses left."
Here's who is on the block and what their own pages said in early October:
- Owl Canyon Coffee, 3745 Cleveland Ave. Its site lists daily hours, coffee and non-coffee drinks, and house-made and locally sourced food. It hosted Santa, with free cocoa and cider, before last December's parade.
- Soul Squared Brewing, 3740 Cleveland Ave. Its site lists an open taproom with daily hours, locally sourced ingredients and gluten-reduced beers. It sits next to one of the two public lots.
- Rose & Co., 3734 Cleveland Ave. It's a variety shop for houseplants, accessories and decor. The Chamber lists its hours as Wednesday and Thursday 10 to 6, Friday and Saturday 10 to 7, and Sunday 12 to 5. Its online catalog also offers in-store pickup.
- The Dragon and Cone posts a daily flavor and serves craft sodas, cones and floats. Its menu includes vegan scoops and gluten-free baked goods.
- Thistle, 3713 W. Cleveland Ave. It carries artist-made, novelty and craft goods. Its site shows a temporary "CLOSED Oct. 4 - Oct. 10" notice, and online orders will ship after it reopens.
- Ghost Dog Deli, 3706 Cleveland Ave. It serves sandwiches, sides and desserts and showed open hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. When it opened in March 2025, the Coloradoan noted its housemade bread.
Hours were changing even during the research week, so call before a special trip.
What the Town Moved, and What Hasn't Been Announced
When the street closed, the Town moved its largest event. The 2026 Fourth of July parade lined up on Ruffian Way and ran north to south on Eagle Street, near Wellington Middle/High School at 2856 Cleveland Ave.
The holiday parade's 2026 plans are still unknown. The Town promoted the December 6, 2025 Parade of Lights as "the last parade on Cleveland before it closes for major renovations in early 2026." That night also included Holiday Shopping Bingo, a Local Business Elf Hunt and a Tour of Lights map. As of October 5, the Town's event calendar for the next twelve months shows 17 entries. None is a Wellington Lights event or a Halloween event. The Wellington Main Streets Trick-or-Treat page still describes the 2024 event on Cleveland. No 2026 date, route or venue for either event has been announced yet.
Timing makes this harder. The Bulletin reported that Coulson may have to hold off on paving because the main asphalt plants plan to shut down for winter. Nathan Ewert, the Town's deputy director of public works, told the paper, "This must be done by early to mid-June." The Bulletin connected that deadline to keeping events like the Fourth of July parade and St. Patrick's Day celebrations on Cleveland instead of moving them. The article doesn't say which year he meant. The same report said the project's final deadline was still to be determined.
The Nights Still Booked on Cleveland
Here's what remains on the Chamber's calendar for downtown this fall. Each Mingle on Main is listed at Cleveland Avenue with no alternate venue:
- Friday, October 16, Mingle on Main, 4 to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, November 1, Thistle First Sunday Pop N' Shop, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 3713 W. Cleveland Ave., with complimentary themed mimosas
- Friday, November 20, Mingle on Main, 4 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, November 28, Small Business Saturday, listed with no venue details yet
- Sunday, December 6, Thistle First Sunday Pop N' Shop, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Friday, December 18, Mingle on Main, 4 to 8 p.m.
December 6 is a useful comparison. Last year that date was the Parade of Lights. This year the only thing scheduled for it on Cleveland is one shop's Sunday open house.
The Town has added some support of its own. Its June report advertised monthly gift-card giveaways through the end of the year under the line "Shop locally during construction." In July, the Town reported that the Main Street Program had handed out more than 135 gift cards at the July 4 Main Street Market and was holding support meetings with Cleveland Avenue businesses.
There's also an event tomorrow, off the construction zone. The Town's Budget BOO-nanza runs Tuesday, October 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Leeper Center, 3800 Wilson Ave. Staff will walk through the proposed 2027 budget, and the first 100 attendees get pumpkins.
What the Torn-Up Street Is Building Toward
The long list of closures has a fairly simple goal, which is drainage. Before crews moved onto Cleveland, they installed about 175 feet of large-diameter reinforced concrete pipe on Fifth Street to carry stormwater from Cleveland and Fifth toward Coal Creek. That work included a custom inlet structure and a precast manhole for future maintenance access. Beyond stormwater, the project covers street infrastructure, pedestrian safety, ADA accessibility, parking and downtown lighting.
It's being paid for largely with $4,476,822 in grants from three programs administered by the Colorado Department of Transportation. North Forty News reported that those grants reduce how much Wellington has to contribute locally. The Town released a fly-through video of the finished street in March. It labels the video an artistic illustration, not the final design.
The published timelines don't agree. North Forty News expects work on Cleveland to run into late fall or early winter, depending on weather. The Wellington Bulletin's September 18 update put project closure in late 2026 or early 2027. Neither estimate gives a date, so neither says how much of the fencing will still be up on any of the six dates on the downtown calendar. Questions about the schedule go to [email protected].
If you own a home a few blocks from Cleveland and you're wondering how a construction zone and a not-yet-scheduled finish date affect when to list, Robert Crow will walk you through it on a short call. Request a free home valuation and a marketing plan tailored to your street, with photos and video timed for when the fencing comes down.
