Boerne's Holiday Weekends Start Selling Out Weeks Before Dickens Opens
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
Boerne's downtown holiday season runs three straight weekends, from Dickens on Main on November 27 through Kinder Fest on December 13. The two events most likely to sell out, though, go on sale on November 5 and November 11. Two groups run the season. The City of Boerne owns the big Thanksgiving weekend festival. Hill Country Mile merchants run the smaller ticketed events around it. Knowing who runs which part explains why some of it is free and open to everyone, and why some of it is gone in minutes.
Here is the calendar in order, starting a week from today:
The first two dates matter most for anyone hoping to do the ticketed events. The Cookie Crawl page puts it plainly: "Sometimes tickets sell out in minutes, and sometimes they sell out in hours."
Dickens on Main is a city event. The 2026 vendor guidelines say vendor payments can't be moved to another event "as this event is owned by the City of Boerne." This year is the festival's 26th.
City staff do the work behind it. In a 2025 sponsored preview published by Community Impact, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Rudy Vega and Special Projects Manager Mary Woods described planning that starts in February. Woods put it this way:
"Dickens on Main requires every single city department, plus volunteers and community partners working together to pull it off."
Ahead of last year's season, that same piece said Dickens on Main and the parade together "draw roughly 70,000 visitors over two weekends."
The 2026 vendor guidelines lay out four villages along the Hill Country Mile:
Vendors in all four villages keep noon to 9 p.m. hours on both days. A Tour Texas listing gives public hours of noon to 10 p.m. The official Dickens page promises live music, performers, lights, food, children's activities and snow, and says to check back for more event details. The rules show what the city is going for. Dickens Village sells handmade arts, crafts and food only unless an exception is approved. Every vendor booth, cart and food truck has to carry a Victorian or Christmas theme.
Last year's lineup, as that 2025 Community Impact piece described it, included giant 20-foot screens, chainsaw ice-carving duels, a new Nutcracker show in North Pole Village, an ice slide in Tiny Tim Village and a Friday night tree lighting. The 2026 lineup hasn't been posted.
The two weekends after Dickens look different. They're smaller and spread across individual storefronts, and the ticketed pieces are where the Boerne Retail & Restaurant Owners Association comes in.
The Cookie Crawl shows how the money works. A $30 ticket gets a child a Christmas cookie at a dozen participating stores, plus a bag to carry them in. The participating businesses pay for the cookies they hand out, "so that the entire total of ticket prices can used to fund our Christmas events," the association's Kinder Fest page says. Every ticket sold helps pay for the season, and every cookie is a cost the shop covers itself. Confirmed 2026 participants so far are Chateau, The Dienger Trading Co, Alene's Boutique, The Christmas Shoppe, Celeste, Carriage House Gallery of Artists, Richter, La Te Da, Tre Pizzeria and DeVino Cellars.
The Stocking Stroll works the same way. Its event page sets it for Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in historic downtown. Ticket holders collect a gift at each participating business they visit, on either day or both. The 2026 price hasn't been posted.
Sponsors help too. The Dickens page still shows last year's sponsors, including the GVTC Foundation, the Boerne Retail & Restaurant Owners Association, Methodist ER Boerne, Ford of Boerne, H-E-B and Visit Boerne. 2026 sponsors haven't been announced.
| Date | Event | Where | Ticket? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri.–Sat., Nov. 27–28 | Dickens on Main | Four villages along Main Street | None listed |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 4–8 p.m. | Wassail Walk and Caroling Contest | Hill Country Mile businesses | None listed |
| Fri.–Sat., Dec. 4–5, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Stocking Stroll | Participating downtown businesses | Yes, on sale Nov. 5 |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Oma's Christmas Fair | Kendall County Fair Grounds, 1307 River Road | $5 at the door |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 6 p.m. | 39th Weihnachts Parade | Main Street | None listed |
| Fri.–Sat., Dec. 11–12, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Cookie Crawl | About a dozen downtown merchants | Yes, $30, on sale Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. |
| Fri.–Sat., Dec. 11–12, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Santa Scavenger Hunt | Participating downtown merchants | No, free |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 12–13 | Christmas Market Days | Main Plaza, 100 N. Main | No, free |
On Saturday, December 5, three events overlap. Oma's Christmas Fair runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kendall County Fair Grounds on River Road, with nearly 100 vendors across three buildings and $5 admission at the door. The Stocking Stroll's second day runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. downtown. At 6 p.m. the 39th annual Weihnachts Parade sends nearly 100 floats down Main Street.
The Weihnachts Weekend page says shops, breweries and bistros along the Hill Country Mile stay open late that night. It suggests bringing a chair for the parade route and asks visitors to "make reservations early for meals and lodging during these busy nights." Friday night, December 4, is the Wassail Walk and Caroling Contest, from 4 to 8 p.m. Participating businesses serve their own take on wassail while carolers compete for votes. The 2026 list of participating businesses isn't out yet. Last year's list included the Shoppes at 222, Joli Boutique, Alene's Boutique, Tre Pizzeria, The Boerne Bookshop and Lost Oak Cellars. Caroling groups signed up through The Christmas Shoppe at 132 S. Main.
For parking, the holiday FAQ lists public lots at the Visitors Center, City Hall and Patrick Heath Public Library, plus surrounding street parking. The lots are first-come, first-served. The same page asks visitors to leave pets at home and notes that portable toilets, including accessible units, are set up for Dickens and the parade. Its street-closure dates are from 2025, so check for a 2026 update before moving a car off Main Street.
The last weekend is aimed at families with kids home for Christmas break. The association invites everyone to wear ugly Christmas sweaters, silly pajamas and "Whoville hairdos."
Besides the Cookie Crawl, the free Santa Scavenger Hunt runs Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Kids pick up a passport that morning, look for Santa at participating businesses, then turn in the passport for a drawing for a child's gift basket. The 2026 list so far includes Tre Pizzeria, La Te Da, The Boerne Bookshop, The Sanctuary, Carriage House Gallery, Shoppes at 222, Hey Love, Celeste, The Christmas Shoppe, Lulu-Bells, The Dienger Trading Co, Chateau, ART Spa House, Linen & Dove and Taylor's Ace Hardware.
On Saturday, December 12, an ice sculptor works at The Shoppes at 222, 222 S. Main Street. Over at Main Plaza, Christmas Market Days runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission.
Hosting family for parade weekend this year, or thinking about whether your own place downtown is ready for next season? The Impact Group knows how Boerne's calendar shapes the local market, and we're happy to talk it through. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll keep the conversation as local as Dickens weekend.
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