Christmas Stroll Festival on Friday and Saturday
The 39th annual Christmas Stroll is this weekend in downtown Georgetown around the Courthouse Square. This free, family-friendly holiday festival sponsored by the Downtown Georgetown Association is 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7. See all the event details at TheGeorgetownSquare.com.
The Christmas Stroll on Saturday includes a parade at 10 a.m., live entertainment, and holiday shopping at more than 200 arts and crafts booths as well as downtown merchants. The food court areas offer a variety of food items, including hot chocolate, funnel cake, and other seasonal treats. Enjoy Santa’s Village on Saturday, including photos and visits with Santa from noon to 8 p.m.
The young and young at heart can visit Willie’s Winter Wonderland featuring a human snow globe, mechanical reindeer, bungie jump activities, and other children’s activities on Austin Avenue. The event also includes street hockey, a children’s train, and a Who hair salon. Visitors are also invited to make s’mores at Texas Design Company, 403 W. Seventh St., on Saturday from 6:30-8 p.m.
On Friday night from 5 to 6 p.m. enjoy Cookies with the Grinch, and a screening of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at 6 p.m. at Main and Sixth streets. Hill Country Kettle Korn will be providing free kettle corn for children during the screening. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets.
Stop by Bethlehem Village on Friday and Saturday to enjoy booths, displays, and performers in costume from the time of Jesus of Nazareth.
Parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday
The Stroll parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Mayor will be in the parade and look for Santa on the firetruck. If you come to the Stroll parade, please bring a toy for Blue Santa. New, unwrapped toys will be collected by Blue Santa Elves along the parade route, which travels along Church Street and Austin Avenue through the downtown Square. Blue Santa is a program of the Georgetown Police Department to provide toys to children in need in Georgetown. New, unwrapped toys also can be brought to donation barrels at many Georgetown locations.
For safety reasons, the Georgetown Police Department asks that no candy or any objects be thrown from floats or participants in the parade. For donation barrel sites and more information, go to BlueSanta.Georgetown.org.
Free Event Parking
Parking is available at the Williamson County parking garage at Third and Rock streets, the lot at Seventh and Rock streets, and the City parking lot on the west side of Austin Avenue at Fifth Street.
The City parking lot at Eighth and Martin Luther King Jr. streets will be used for handicapped parking. The City lot at Ninth and Main Street will be open Friday and Saturday evening.
The City parking lot at Sixth and Main streets will be closed on both days.
Street Closures
Austin Avenue will be closed from 6 a.m. on Saturday until 1 a.m. on Sunday between Sixth and Ninth streets. The Austin Avenue closure will expand from Second to 11th streets on Saturday between 9 a.m. and noon to allow for the Stroll Parade. The Austin Avenue detour will be on Rock Street.
A half-block of Ninth Street will be closed between Main and Founders Park at 6 a.m. Thursday until 1 a.m. Sunday.
Main Street will be closed between Eighth and Ninth streets at 7 p.m. on Thursday until 1 a.m. on Sunday.
Other streets around the Square will be closed starting at 6 a.m. on Friday through 1 a.m. on Sunday. Street closures include Sixth and Ninth streets between Austin Avenue and Church Street, Seventh and Eighth streets between Rock and Church streets, and Main Street between Sixth and Ninth streets. Visit TheGeorgetownSquare.com for details.
GoGeo route changes for Christmas Stroll
Take GoGeo to the Christmas Stroll and don’t worry about parking! Service hours on Friday are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
GoGeo bus routes are altered Friday and Saturday due to downtown street closures for the Christmas Stroll. Anticipate delays in service due to heavier downtown traffic on all routes. Transfer connections could be affected by traffic delays. All routes will stop at the Public Library hub.
Orange Route 471: On Friday and Saturday, the bus stops along Seventh and Eighth streets will be closed, as well as Stop 6105 at Maple Street and Southwestern Boulevard.
Blue Route 473: On Saturday, the stop at Austin Avenue and Fifth Street will be closed.
All stops will be open on the Purple Route 472 and the Red Route 474.
Go to gogeo.georgetown.org for details on routes and schedules.
More Information
Admission to Stroll is free. A donation of a new toy to Blue Santa or Brown Santa is appreciated.
Stroll is a rain or shine event. In the event of severe weather conditions such as lightning or high winds, festival activities will be adjusted as warranted. Check the City social media pages for updates.
For more information, go to the Downtown Georgetown Association website at TheGeorgetownSquare.com. The Stroll is brought to you by the Downtown Georgetown Association with the support of the City of Georgetown.
