Tequesta's Thanksgiving Week Runs Down Seabrook Road and Tequesta Drive

At 400 Seabrook Road, the Parish Hall at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church becomes the busiest room in Tequesta during Thanksgiving week. On Tuesday, November 24, runners come in for race bibs and shirts. On the same campus, the church's food pantry runs its weekly drive-through shift. Across Seabrook, at the northwest corner of Dover Road, Constitution Park hosts the start line two mornings later.

The 26th Annual Run 4 the Pies benefits the Good Shepherd Food Pantry. In a message on the Run 4 the Pies race page, the church calls the event "a key source" of the pantry's food. So the week works as a food drive with a 4-mile course attached, and almost all of it happens within one intersection.

The Week, Hour by Hour

The schedule starts two days before the holiday, and the early pieces are the ones people miss.

The Tuesday overlap matters for one reason. Palm Beach Roadrunners asks everyone at packet pickup to bring a non-perishable food item for the pantry. On that afternoon, the pantry itself is open on the same property. A can handed over at the Parish Hall on Tuesday is going to a pantry that is serving families that same week.

The organizers "strongly recommend" picking up on the 24th or 25th, not on race morning. You'll need a copy of your registration confirmation, and one for each person you're collecting for. If you're picking up for more than three people, the race asks for a list of names by 3 p.m. the day before so the packets can be ready.

What the Pantry Asks For

The pantry is clear about what it needs. The race page says "Canned proteins (chicken, tuna, stews) are really needed!" That's a more useful request than the usual "bring a can."

In its message on the race page, the church describes the pantry's growth this way:

"In the past three years, we have grown exponentially, from serving 3-4 families per week to serving an average of 65 families per week, or 250 people!"

The church says each visitor receives a bag with cereal, pasta, peanut butter, canned tuna or chicken, plus fresh bread and produce donated by local supermarkets. It also says the pantry is "supported solely through donations from our community." Going from three or four households a week to about 65 is a big jump for any parish ministry, and the race has become one of the main ways it keeps the shelves stocked.

If you aren't running, you can still give on the race's schedule. The Good Shepherd Food Pantry page lists three standing drop-off windows:

• Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Food Pantry
• Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the adjacent Thrift Shop
• Sundays, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., at church

So the Sunday before Thanksgiving, packet pickup days and the Friday after the holiday all work for dropping off food. The pantry operates as a drive-through. Use the south driveway, follow the signs and stay in your car while an attendant greets you.

Thanksgiving Morning at Constitution Park

Palm Beach Roadrunners describes the race as a Thanksgiving Day tradition in Tequesta since 2000, and bills the 2026 race as the 26th annual.

There are three events on race morning. The 4-miler starts at 8 a.m. on Dover Road. A 1-mile youth run for ages 8 to 12 and the Li'l Pilgrim Dash for the youngest kids both start at 7:15 a.m., the 1-miler on Dover and the dash on Seabrook. Strollers and dogs aren't allowed on the course. Only registered participants wearing official bibs can enter the start and finish area.

Parking takes some planning. The organizers point people to parking in the public shopping plazas. They suggest arriving no later than 7 a.m. so you have time to park, walk over, stop by the vendors and warm up. For neighbors who live within walking distance of Seabrook and Dover, walking will likely beat circling a plaza lot at 6:50.

The costumes are part of the tradition. The race holds a Thanksgiving costume contest with prizes in four categories: Male, Female, Child, and Couple/Group. Judges walk the corrals before the start checking bib numbers, and winners are announced at the post-race awards ceremony. The race also lists finisher medals, tech shirts, age-group awards and Publix pies among its extras.

Registration Is Tighter Than It Looks

The organizers say the race "sells out every year." As of late October, the RunSignup event page still showed the 4-miler open at a $60 race fee plus a $7.16 signup fee. Palm Beach Roadrunners members get $10 off. The page listed registration as closing November 5, 2026, at 12:35 p.m. The Li'l Pilgrim Dash showed 61 spots left at $10 plus a $4.16 fee. The virtual option, which can be run anywhere between November 25 and 30, was down to 4 spots. Those numbers change daily, so check the page before you plan around a spot.

If the race is full, you can still help by volunteering. The volunteer portal listed open shifts, including goody-bag assembly on November 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and bib distribution on race morning from 5:15 to 8:15 a.m. You can also add a donation for the pantry through the race's donation page without registering to run.

After the Race, Tequesta Drive Has a New Room Coming

Most people head home to cook after the awards ceremony. For the rest of the long weekend, the nearest change worth knowing about is a short drive up Seabrook on Tequesta Drive.

In late August, JupiterDaily reported that Tequesta Restaurant Group, a new company formed by local residents Gary Haseley, Dan Reedy, Bob Bailey and Ken Kennerly, had bought two neighboring spots. One is Local's Pub at 381 Tequesta Drive. The other is The Salty Zebra next door at 377. According to that report, Local's Pub keeps its current format, staff and live music. The Salty Zebra space is being fully renovated and will reopen as The Pub Tequesta, which the group calls an upscale sports and dining destination with elevated food and cocktails, live entertainment, premium televisions and a new audiovisual system.

On timing, JupiterDaily reported that the group expected renovations to be finished by late November 2026. The Pub Tequesta's own site says "Opening November 2026!" and doesn't give a day. It may or may not be open by Thanksgiving weekend. The site has an email sign-up for updates.

Local's Pub is already open. Its posted hours are Monday through Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight and Sunday noon to 10 p.m. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Live music runs every Thursday and Friday. Those are its regular hours, so call ahead before counting on Thanksgiving night itself.

When The Pub Tequesta opens, a sports-focused venue with a full renovation behind it will sit right next to the casual neighborhood bar many locals already know. In a village where the Saturday routine centers on Gallery Square North, that gives Tequesta Drive a second evening anchor.

The Next Drive Arrives by Water

The season's next collection runs on boats. The 32nd Annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade, organized by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, is set for Saturday, December 5, 2026. Boats head north on the Intracoastal from North Palm Beach at 6 p.m. and are expected in Jupiter around 8 p.m., with the finale at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. Its toy drive benefits Toys for Tots and Little Smiles.

The route ends at the lighthouse and doesn't continue into Tequesta. The closest viewing spots on the association's public list include Sawfish Bay Park and Lighthouse Park in Jupiter. The association estimates the Indiantown Road Bridge opening around 7:30 p.m. and the Jupiter Federal Bridge around 7:45 p.m., which is useful timing if you're driving south that evening. It notes the exact openings depend on conditions.

Two donation drives, one on a church driveway and one on the water, sit just over a week apart. For most of Tequesta, the first one is a short walk from home on Seabrook Road.

Whether you're running the 4-miler, dropping off canned chicken on Tuesday, or just want to know what's changing on Tequesta Drive, George Richetelli and The Richetelli Group have followed this village since long before the first Run 4 the Pies, and are glad to talk about the streets around it. Schedule a consultation, or visit our Tequesta neighborhood page for more on the area.