At about 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27, Georgetown Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Pitts and Williamson County Court Judge Steven Snell will flip the switch on the east steps of the historic Williamson County Courthouse, 710 S. Main St. That lights the courthouse, its grounds and the strings around the Square, and the City of Georgetown's event listing says those lights stay on every evening through Jan. 1.
The Christmas Stroll gets most of the attention, and with reason. The Downtown Georgetown Association counted more than 72,000 attendees in 2025. The Stroll fills one weekend. The rest of the season runs about six weeks, from the first holiday curtain at the Palace on Nov. 20 to the last night of lights on Jan. 1, and most of it is built for a few hundred people. If you live in Escalera Ranch, the drive in is easy. Take Hwy 29 east across the I-35 bridge, and Main Street is about three-quarters of a mile past the interchange, per the Downtown Georgetown Association's directions.
| Dates | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 20 to Dec. 30 | A Wonderful Life on the Springer Stage | Georgetown Palace Theatre, 810 S. Austin Ave. |
| Nov. 27 to Dec. 30 | Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some) on the Playhouse Stage | Georgetown Palace Theatre |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Annual Lighting of the Square | Courthouse east steps, 710 S. Main St. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Shop Small Business Saturday and the Coffee & Cocoa Crawl | Kickoff at 505 S. Austin Ave. |
| Dec. 4 to 6 | 45th Annual Christmas Stroll | Around the Square |
| Dec. 12 to 13 | Preservation Georgetown Home Tour | Headquarters at Grace Heritage Center, 817 S. Main St. |
| Nightly through Jan. 1 | Square and courthouse lights | Downtown |
The Palace runs are the longest stretch on this calendar. Both shows play through Dec. 30, so a weeknight show on any of about five weeks can be paired with the lit-up Square. The theater lists A Wonderful Life, the musical adaptation of the Frank Capra film, at about 120 minutes with an intermission and rates it appropriate for all ages. It also gives a content note about mild adult themes, so parents can decide in advance.
The Lighting of the Square falls on the day after Thanksgiving. The Uptown Carolers perform from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with the switch flipped around 6. After that, Williamson County Brown Santa takes photos with Santa inside the courthouse from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for an unwrapped toy or a monetary donation. The entrance is on the south side, along Eighth Street. The city's listing also encourages toy donations to the Georgetown Police Department's Blue Santa and to Williamson County Brown Santa, and it notes that many stores will stay open late.
Road closures start early that day. According to the city's event page, Austin Avenue closes between Sixth and Ninth streets from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Main Street between Sixth and Ninth, plus Seventh and Eighth streets between Austin and Church, close from 6 a.m. to about 10 p.m. Rock, Church and Ninth streets stay open. For anyone coming in on Hwy 29, that leaves the Rock Street side of downtown as the open approach.
The city lists the same free parking for the Lighting and for the Stroll:
The garage at 502 S. Main St. is still fairly new. The city lists its opening as Nov. 21, 2025, so this is only its second holiday season.
The next morning is about as small as the season gets. Georgetown's Main Street Program runs its 4th Annual Coffee & Cocoa Crawl from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 28, alongside Shop Small Business Saturday. Tickets are $25 and include a keepsake mug plus samples at downtown businesses. Only 500 tickets are available, and sales opened Oct. 1. That cap is roughly 1 for every 144 people who came to the Stroll last year.
The day starts at 10 a.m. at the Downtown Development & Special Event Offices, 505 S. Austin Ave., where the first 300 shoppers get a free canvas tote. The participating businesses listed so far are Red Horn Coffee House & Tap Room, Blue Corn Harvest, Urban Cottage Boutique, Hogaboom Road, Inc., The Exchange, Therapie Boutique, Handcrafts Unlimited and Divine Treasures. Proceeds go to the Georgetown Main Street Façade & Sign Grant Program, which has awarded more than $800,000 to downtown business and property owners. A ticket also helps pay for the storefronts people come downtown to see in December.
The 45th Christmas Stroll is "Hometown Christmas Stroll: A Season to Gather." Here is the DGA's schedule:
The DGA lists more than 200 artisan and boutique vendors. Portable restrooms will be at Ninth Street and Austin Avenue and at Sixth Street and Austin Avenue, with more restrooms at Grace Heritage Church through the back entrance at 817 S. Main St. The organizers also ask visitors to leave in-store restrooms for paying customers. Free parking is at the same lots and garages listed above. Before you leave on Saturday morning, check the DGA's Stroll page for this year's street-closure details.
Several changes this fall reward walking a few blocks past the courthouse lawn. Downtown and Tourism Director Kim McAuliffe put the city's goal plainly in an interview with Community Impact:
"We want people to go off and enjoy the rest of our downtown, because our downtown is 52 blocks, but most people only think about the nine blocks of the square."
The signs are changing. Community Impact reports that new wayfinding signs are replacing ones installed around 2004. The new signs are designed with the city's poppy motif in blue and red. Under the plan, they will point drivers to the free lots and the garage and point pedestrians to places like the Williamson Museum, the Georgetown Palace Theatre and public restrooms, and interactive kiosks will carry directory maps and event calendars. Installation was expected to start in late October, with the final signs due by mid-to-late November, before the Lighting.
Monument Cafe brought back its beer garden. The garden came with the cafe's 500 S. Austin Ave. building when it moved there in 2008. Co-owner Cristy Schuler closed it in 2012 and spent the past two years reestablishing it, Community Impact reported. The beer garden opened Oct. 8 with outdoor seating and craft beer on tap, along with a new market for grab-and-go items and pickup orders from the full menu. The cafe is a short walk south of the Palace, which makes it an easy stop before a show.
Churros ATX moved closer to the Square. The food truck relocated Aug. 1 to The Grounds, behind Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. at 1005 S. Rock St., according to Community Impact. Rock Street stays open during the Lighting, so it's a good pick for dessert that night.
Street patios are pending. A two-year pilot program would let businesses in and around the Square build enclosed seating on sidewalks and in parking spaces. Its ordinance was scheduled for a first reading Oct. 27, with final adoption targeted for a November consent agenda. Businesses can already apply for internal review, so construction can begin once the program is approved. Whether any patios open before the Stroll depends on that vote.
The season's last big daytime event comes a week after the parade. Preservation Georgetown's Home Tour runs Saturday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 13, from noon to 5 p.m. The tour is based at Grace Heritage Center, 817 S. Main St., the same block that serves as a restroom stop during the Stroll. You can pick up tickets there or at any home on the tour, and the home addresses will be printed in the ticket booklet closer to the date. After the tour, the Square's lights stay on each evening, and both Palace shows keep running until Dec. 30.
Downtown is part of what living in Escalera Ranch means, from the 6 p.m. lighting on Nov. 27 to a Wednesday at the Palace in mid-December. If you're thinking about your next move in the new year, whether within Escalera Ranch or somewhere else along the Hwy 29 corridor, Merissa Anderson Group would love to help you weigh how close you want to be to the Square. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll start with the drive in.
Whether you're moving up or looking for your dream home, we're here to guide you every step of the way. Let’s make your real estate journey a seamless success!
