At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, carolers take the Main Stage on the Llano courthouse square. That half hour closes the stage program for A Dickens of a Christmas in Llano. The Llano Lighted Christmas Parade starts at 6:00 p.m. Between those two times there is no stage show, no contest and no scheduled performance downtown.
The festival runs Dec. 4 through 6. Its organizers describe it as a three-day event that "brings together community organizations." That's how Saturday works. A church hall, a theater group, a women's club, the Chamber of Commerce and a historical commission each run their own piece on their own clock. Most of those pieces happen in the morning or after dark. The middle of the afternoon belongs to one home tour and whichever downtown kitchens are open.
The morning runs on a church hall and a stage schedule
The day starts at 9:00 a.m. with Breakfast with Santa & Mrs. Claus in the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 903 Berry St. According to the Llano Chamber of Commerce calendar, it costs $5 per person and includes pancakes, sausage, a drink and a kids' craft. Tickets are sold at the door or at the Llano Visitor Center. It wraps up at 10:30.
The square program starts at 10:00 a.m. The official festival schedule lists caroling, a Gingerbread House Station, arts and crafts and a petting zoo. It also splits the entertainment between the Main Stage and the lawn beside it, so two acts often overlap:
- 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. Jake Scott on bagpipes, Main Stage
- 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. River City Tappers, Main Stage
- 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. Keenan Fletcher's Youth Orchestra, Main Stage
- 11:30 a.m. to noon Hill Country Highland Dancers on the Main Stage, with James Arthur's Magic Show on the lawn
- Noon to 12:30 p.m. Costume Contest in front of the Main Stage
- 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. Highland Lakes United Methodist Church Handbell Choir on the Main Stage, with Honey Goodenough's Puppet Show on the lawn
- 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. Reidar Eliassen on accordion, Main Stage
- 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. James Arthur's Magic Show, lawn
- 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. Pet Costume Contest in front of the Main Stage, with a second Honey Goodenough's Puppet Show on the lawn
- 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. Christmas Carols and Carolers, Main Stage
City tourism listings for the weekend also mention a Christmas Tree Forest, bed races, an art guild bazaar and gingerbread house decorating. The Chamber's description adds a fruitcake baking competition and ice carving demonstrations. None of those have their own published time slots, so the stage list is the firm part of the plan. For a family with small children, the 2:00 p.m. half hour packs the most into one spot, with the pet contest out front and puppets on the lawn.
The home tour is what carries the day past 3 p.m.
One Saturday event is built for the afternoon. The Woman's Culture Club of Llano Holiday Home Tour runs from noon to 5:00 p.m., and the Chamber calendar lists the Club's clubhouse at 210 East Sandstone Street as its location. The festival includes it in its own Saturday schedule. Tickets are sold online through the club's 2026 home tour listing.
The tour starts at noon, during the costume contest, so you can either stay for the stage or start touring homes. People who stay on the square until the carols finish at 3:00 can still fit in two hours of touring before it closes at 5:00. That's the cleanest way to bridge the gap, and it means the stage program and the tour don't have to compete for the same hours.
The parade also starts building during this window. Under the 2026 parade application, entries check in at Parade Headquarters, 1110 Berry St., no earlier than 4:00 p.m. Floats, pickups, 18-wheelers, bicycles, bands and walkers can all enter, and the rule is that everything has its lights on. Businesses and groups that want to enter must register by Dec. 1.
Where the 3 to 6 p.m. stretch can go
For anyone who isn't on the tour, the gap is mealtime. Getting dinner before the parade beats competing for a table after it, because the parade ends at 7:00 and Starry Starry Nights is already lit by then. These three downtown-area kitchens publish Saturday hours that cover both the gap and the hours after the parade:
| Place | Address | Published Saturday hours |
|---|---|---|
| The Barrel House | 101 E. Grayson St. | Kitchen 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., bar until 10 p.m. |
| Joe's Bar | 107 W. Main St. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que | 604 W. Young St. | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
Holiday weekends can change a kitchen's plans, so call ahead before you build an evening around any of them.
Main Street also has smaller stops within a short walk of the square. Fuel Coffee House is at 106 E. Main St. Besides coffee, it serves smoothies, breads and pastries. Llano River Creamery and Gift Shop at 105 W. Main St. pairs a full kitchen and ice cream with a gift shop. Bronson & Ryder Brewing is at 209 E. Main St. War Trail Spirits is at 122 E. Main St. Mava Java Coffee is at 1004 Ford St., on the same street as the square. If your family splits up for the gap, with some on the tour and some on the square, Main Street is the natural place to meet back up.
Six o'clock moves the day from Ford Street to the river
The parade runs from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and the Chamber lists the Llano Courthouse Square at 801 Ford St. as its location. The Chamber, as sponsor, has arranged Santa's ride, so the parade has only one Santa. For safety, no candy or other items may be thrown to the crowd. Judging happens during the parade, and winners in the commercial and non-commercial categories are announced the next day.
Visit Llano says the evening includes "a dazzling lighted parade and a walk through of lights." The walk-through is Starry Starry Nights Lighted Christmas Park at Badu Park, 300 Legion Dr. Its 2026 season runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 31. According to the same Visit Llano page, the park is open every night from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., with hot chocolate and displays along the Llano River. With the parade ending at 7:00, you have two hours of park time that night. That's the second time the schedule leaves room, and this window is longer than many people expect.
Badu Park already has two other dates on the calendar this season. The Llano Volunteer Fire Department brings Santa to the park on the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27. On Saturday, Dec. 12, the park hosts Snow Day from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. People who skip the lights on Dickens night have plenty of other evenings before New Year's Eve.
Friday and Sunday bring the ticketed dinner and tea
Apart from the home tour and the $5 breakfast, Saturday is free. The dinner theater and the tea sit on either side of it, and the Llano County Historical Commission sells tickets for both.
On Friday, Dec. 4, Llano Community Theater presents "When Dickens Came to Llano," an original play by Elke Jones, as A Dickens of a Dinner Theater in the LISD Community Room. The room is at 1400 Oatman St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the show starts at 6:00. Dinner theater tickets cost $55 plus a $2.10 service fee.
On Sunday, Dec. 6, the Dickens Christmas Tea starts at 3:00 p.m. in the historic Celebration Train Car. The train car is at 100 Train Station Drive. Tea tickets are also $55 plus a $2.10 service fee. The Celebration Train Car is in the Historic Railyard District, where the Llano River Railroad hosts Cars & Coffee the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
All of this money goes to one cause. The festival's home page states that all proceeds go directly to Llano youth in foster care. The tickets that are hardest to get are the ones that raise the most for that cause, so the dinner and tea are worth booking ahead.
At CC Herber Co., Real Estate, we've been a family-owned Hill Country brokerage since 1979. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of the square or near the river at Badu Park, we'd be glad to talk it through over coffee on Main Street. Schedule a Consultation.
