Freeport’s 2026 Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony is set for Saturday, Dec. 5 at City Hall, with the parade stepping off at 5:15 PM and the tree lighting to follow at 6:00 PM.

Freeport Mosquito Control will conduct a small spray mission in the Kaleidoscope and Steamboat Landing areas tonight between 6 and 7 PM, taking advantage of the early sunset to go after mosquitoes the city says are “still out and hungry.”

Freeport residents still clearing Hurricane Isaias debris should keep the paint cans, motor oil, batteries and propane tanks out of their roadside piles. Walton County Emergency Management says household hazardous waste collection has not started yet, and mixing those items in with storm debris will only slow the cleanup.

Freeport residents get their chance to shape a proposed Comprehensive Safety Action Plan for the city’s sidewalks, paths and street crossings at a public outreach meeting Wednesday, October 28 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers at 112 Highway 20 West.

Freeport homeowners still cleaning up from Hurricane Isaias could soon have a federal aid pipeline. Florida has formally asked President Donald Trump for a Major Disaster Declaration that would open Individual Assistance to eligible Walton County households, and the request is now awaiting a decision at the White House.

The City of Freeport has opened registration for the 2026 Festival of Trees, the decorated-tree competition that fills City Hall with holiday displays each December and lets the public vote for the winning tree.

Fifty years after Freeport High School fielded its first football team, the players who started the program returned to campus this month — a reunion of men who had never played the game before 1976 and cleared rocks to build their own field.

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners meets in Freeport on Tuesday, October 27 — the board’s first session in the city since August, convening at 1 p.m. in the Freeport BCC Boardroom at 842 State Highway 20 East, Suite 118.

Freeport City Council took no vote on annexing roughly 1,000 acres for the Marquis Way East bypass but directed staff to negotiate road right-of-way and utility commitments with the developer before bringing an ordinance back for a first reading.

Walton County Fire Rescue, the agency that answers fire and medical calls in Freeport and across the county, has a newly promoted lieutenant who can reach frightened families in two languages. Tristen Martins, the son of a Cuban mother and a Brazilian father, grew up surrounded by Hispanic culture and says the Spanish he learned at home helps people feel understood during emergencies.