Two holiday weekends sit one week apart on downtown Georgetown's calendar this year. On Thanksgiving weekend, Austin Avenue and Main Street close for about 16 hours, on Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. On the Christmas Stroll weekend, the same streets close at 5 a.m. on Friday, December 4, and stay closed until midnight going into Monday, December 7. That's 67 hours, and the closure reaches one block farther than it did in 2025.
Both weekends center on the courthouse, the lights and Santa, but getting there works differently for each. On the first weekend you can drive to the Square and park on its streets the next morning. On the second, the Square is a pedestrian zone from Friday's first light until the weekend is over.
Friday, November 27: one evening, one switch
The season starts the day after Thanksgiving with the annual Lighting of the Square on the east steps of the historic Williamson County Courthouse at 710 S. Main St. The Uptown Carolers perform from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. At about 6 p.m., Georgetown Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Pitts and Williamson County Court Judge Steven Snell switch on the lights on the courthouse, its grounds and around the Square. Many stores stay open late that night.
The rest of the evening is about giving. The event collects toys for the Georgetown Police Department's Blue Santa and Williamson County's Brown Santa. After the lighting, Brown Santa poses for photos inside the courthouse from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The price is an unwrapped toy or a monetary donation, and the entrance is on the south side, on Eighth Street. The City of Georgetown pays for the lights around the Square and Williamson County provides the ones on the courthouse. They stay on every evening through January 1.
The closures that Friday are small. Austin Avenue between Sixth and Ninth streets closes from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. So do Main Street between Sixth and Ninth and Seventh and Eighth streets between Austin and Church. Rock, Church and Ninth streets stay open. The City lists free parking at Seventh and Rock, at Austin Avenue and Fifth Street, at Martin Luther King Jr. Street between Seventh and Eighth, and in the garages at Sixth and Main and at Fourth and Rock.
The Georgetown Palace Theatre also opens A Wonderful Life on its Historic Springer Stage at 810 S. Austin Ave. that night. The show runs from November 27 to December 30, so you can pair a performance with the lighting on opening night or plan a later evening once the crowds have left.
Thanksgiving weekend stays open for shopping
Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend have no street closures. The weekend's main events are built around individual shops and a park, so the streets don't need to close.
On Saturday, November 28, the Georgetown Main Street Program holds its Shop Small Business Saturday and Coffee & Cocoa Crawl. It starts at 10 a.m. at 505 S. Austin Ave., and the crawl runs until 2 p.m. Advance tickets cost $25, sales stop at 500, and the first 300 shoppers get a tote. The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Preservation Georgetown and the Downtown Georgetown Association co-sponsor it. The participating businesses include:
- Red Horn Coffee House & Tap Room
- La Vaquerita Creamery
- Blue Corn Harvest
- Hogaboom Road, Inc.
- Urban Cottage Boutique
- Therapie Boutique
- The Exchange
- Handcrafts Unlimited
- Divine Treasures
- To Have & To Hold
- Six Strings Guitar and Lounge
On Sunday, November 29, the city's Sunday with Santa is held at Garey House in Garey Park, away from downtown. There are three sessions, from 12 to 2 p.m., 1 to 3 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. The fee is $25 per child and pre-registration is required. Because the city sells sessions in advance, the sign-up page fills the role that a parking plan does for the other events.
December 4 to 7: downtown closes for the Stroll
The 45th Christmas Stroll is the event with the big footprint. The Downtown Georgetown Association runs it with support from the City, business sponsors and community partners. This year's theme is "Hometown Christmas Stroll: A Season to Gather," and admission is free. The hours are 4 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, December 4, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 6.
The closures for these three days are bigger than last year's. Here is how the DGA's 2026 parking and closure plan compares with the City's 2025 Stroll notice:
| 2025 Stroll | 2026 Stroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Avenue closure | Sixth to Ninth streets | Sixth to Tenth streets |
| Closure begins | 6 a.m. Friday | 5 a.m. Friday |
| Parade-morning garage closure | 8 a.m. to noon | 6 a.m. to noon |
| Theme | Candyland | Hometown Christmas |
In 2026, Main Street is also closed from Sixth to Tenth. So are Sixth Street from Austin Avenue to Church Street and Seventh and Eighth streets from Rock to Church. All of these closures last from 5 a.m. Friday until 12 a.m. Monday, December 7. On Saturday, the Austin Avenue closure grows to run from Second Street to 11th Street between 6 a.m. and noon for the 10 a.m. parade, and traffic detours onto Rock Street.
The parking plan changes over the weekend too:
- Friday, December 4. Free parking is available in the public garage at 502 S. Main Street, the Williamson County garage at Third and Rock, the lots at Seventh and Rock and at Eighth and Martin Luther King Jr., and the city lot on the west side of Austin Avenue at Fifth Street. The east side of the Georgetown Public Library lot is reserved for accessible parking.
- Saturday, December 5. The 502 S. Main garage is closed for the parade from 6 a.m. to noon, and any car already inside stays there until it reopens. Accessible parking is still reserved on the library lot and at the city lot at 10th and Main.
- Sunday, December 6. The east side of the library lot opens to everyone.
The parking lot at Sixth and Main Streets is closed the whole time, from December 3 to December 7. The DGA also asks drivers to obey the posted No Parking signs on residential streets. The Stroll and parade go ahead rain or shine, and activities may change if there is lightning or high wind.
Saturday, December 5 is the busiest day
The DGA's Stroll guide lists Santa's Village, Whoo Hair face painting, a Kids Zone, Snowy Lane and two stages, the Jingle Bell Stage and the Silver Bell Stage. The guide lists them with Saturday's schedule, and other organizations put their own holiday events on that day too.
The day starts with the 10 a.m. parade. That evening, the Williamson Museum holds its free Cocoa with Cowboys from 6 to 8 p.m. East Side Performing Arts presents The Nutcracker at the Palace Theatre on December 5 and 6, and the city calendar lists performances at 2 and 6 p.m. The San Gabriel Chorus performs "On a Winter's Eve" at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 6.
So a 6 p.m. Nutcracker ticket on Saturday means walking to the Palace through a closed, crowded Stroll zone. Park before the parade-morning closures start or at the Third and Rock garage, and plan for the walk. Sunday is quieter. The Stroll ends at 4 p.m., the library lot is open to everyone, and the chorus performs after the Stroll ends.
Coming in from north of the river
The Austin Avenue bridges north of the Square are still under construction, which affects how you reach the Square on both weekends. The City's Lighting of the Square page says those bridges are down to one lane in each direction and suggests other routes.
The Williamson County Sun reported in June that contractor Cekra Inc. was removing and re-pouring the bridge deck. Under the city's schedule at the time, the southbound decks would be finished first, then work would move to the northbound decks, with a traffic switch planned for November. The city expected the bridges to be fully complete and open in April 2027. With a traffic switch scheduled for this month, lanes may be in a different place than they were in October. The city's Austin Avenue bridges project page is the place to check before you drive downtown from the north side.
On Thanksgiving weekend, Rock and Church streets stay open, so you still have routes around the closed blocks that Friday evening. On Stroll weekend, the parade-morning detour puts Austin Avenue traffic on Rock Street. That detour is in place from 6 a.m. to noon on December 5, the same morning the bridges are still under construction.
The lights on the Square stay on every night through January 1, long after the closures end and the streets reopen at midnight on December 7.
If your plans for next year include a home within walking distance of the Square, or a quieter place to come back to after the parade, Ealy & Company knows downtown Georgetown in every season. Inspire your next chapter: schedule a consultation.
