Troup Doesn't Wait for the Weekend to Start Christmas

In 2012, two sisters who owned businesses in downtown Troup wanted to start the Christmas shopping season with a reminder to shop small and stay local. Their idea became Holiday in the Country. According to the Troup Community Development Corporation's announcement in the Jacksonville Progress, the TCDC now runs it, and it has grown to more than 80 vendors.

One part of their design never changed. Troup holds the festival on a weeknight, and the Christmas parade that follows is on a Thursday. Plan for two evenings after work, not a Saturday.

Four Hours on a Weeknight, Fourteen Years Running

Holiday in the Country has landed on a Monday in mid-November for at least the past three years:

• 2023: Monday, Nov. 13, per KETK's coverage posted that night
• 2024: Monday, Nov. 18, which KETK covered the next morning
• 2025: Monday, Nov. 17, per KETK's preview

The 2026 announcement keeps the same hours, 4 to 8 p.m. in Historic Downtown Troup, and gives the date as "Monday, Nov. 17." That date and weekday don't line up this year, because Nov. 17, 2026 is a Tuesday. Before you ask for the afternoon off or line up a sitter, check the "Holiday in the Country 2026" page on Facebook or the Troup Community Development Corporation for the official date. The release names both as the places to watch for updates and vendor maps.

The 4 p.m. start matters too. The TCDC suggests arriving right at 4 if you want time to get through all five venues, and for many working households 4 p.m. on a weekday is the hardest hour to make. If you can't arrive before 5:30, pick your venues ahead of time.

Five Venues Spread Across Downtown

This year the festival spreads across five vendor venues, plus the regular downtown storefronts that stay open late with treats and shopping specials. Some of the names on the list are better known than others:

1. Troup Farmer's Market. The market's home base is 102 E. Paschal St., where it usually sets up farmers, bakers and makers on Saturday mornings.
2. First Methodist Church. It's a downtown landmark and one of the indoor vendor sites.
3. Cameron J. Jarvis Municipal Library. The library at 102 S. Georgia calls itself a community center, and local groups already use its community room.
4. Hometown Market / Bobby's. The two share a building at 501 W. Duval, where the City of Troup's business directory lists Hometown Market in Suite 101 and Bobby's Coffee in Suite 103.
5. Frosty Pines. Frosty Pines describes itself as an outdoor family destination serving gourmet shaved ice, specialty lemonades and limeades, porch teas, dirty sodas and floats, with plans to add seasonal events as it grows. Its listed address is 22192 State Highway 110 South.

Admission and parking are both free. So are Santa photos, old-fashioned wagon rides down the historic streets, and photo spots with a Fairy Princess, her Snow Bear and a baby kangaroo. Food trucks line the streets all evening.

Plan the Evening Around 6 p.m.

Everything in the four-hour window builds to one moment. At 6 p.m., honorary tree lighters flip the switch on the Downtown Christmas Tree. The TCDC says it will announce this year's lighters soon.

The lighting is newer than the festival. KETK called the 2024 lighting of the 30-foot downtown tree the "second annual," so the tradition dates only to 2023. In practice, 6 p.m. divides the night. Shop the venues before it, then use the last two hours for food trucks and the storefronts staying open late.

TCDC Executive Director Brooke Ranshaw summed up the event's growth in the release published by the Jacksonville Progress:

"When Holiday in the Country started, business owners wanted to remind people of the magic right here in our own backyard. To see it grow from a local shopping night into an event that hosts over 80 vendors, food trucks, and even kangaroos, is a testament to the incredible spirit of Troup. We really do have everything to offer."

Two Duval Street Stops That Weren't There Last Holiday Season

The festival started as a shop-local night, so it helps to know which storefronts are new. Two businesses on Duval Street opened in 2026 and are heading into their first holiday season.

Bobby's Coffee held its ribbon cutting on Saturday, March 14, 2026. The ETX Bell described it in April as a coffee shop with house-made coffee and tea syrups, gluten-free baked goods and other sweets, sharing the building with Hometown Market, which the same owners run. That makes this year Bobby's first Holiday in the Country as one of the five vendor venues. In the April coverage, its regular hours were 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, so on an ordinary week it's a morning stop.

Gaucho's Spirits opened at 1506 W. Duval in a 4,500-square-foot space. The Tyler Morning Telegraph covered it in June with a curated selection of bourbon, whiskey, tequila and craft beer. The Troup Chamber directory lists its phone number as 903-312-1470, which is handy if you're gift shopping for someone particular about their bourbon.

The Season Ends on a Thursday, Too

The Troup Chamber of Commerce holds its 2026 Christmas Parade on Thursday, December 10, starting at 6 p.m. Entries line up by 5 p.m., and the Chamber asks that nobody throw candy from floats or vehicles. If you're planning curbside with kids, that rule changes what they'll come home with.

Floats, vehicles, bands, walking groups and other entries are all welcome. The entry form can be mailed to P.O. Box 336, emailed to [email protected], or dropped off at City Hall, 106 E. Duval. Questions go to 903-574-3928, and updates are posted on the Chamber's Facebook page.

Jacksonville runs on a similar weeknight schedule, a week earlier. The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce holds its parade Thursday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m., starting on Commerce Street at Bolton Street. This year's theme is "A Christmas Story," and Jacksonville ISD Superintendent Brad Stewart is grand marshal.

That gives the season three dates, all on weeknights and all starting by 6 p.m. Each one is worth blocking on the calendar now, before work schedules fill up.

I've lived in this part of East Texas my whole life, and downtown Troup on a lit-up weeknight is one of my favorite things about it. If you live off Duval Street or out on Highway 110 and you're wondering what your place would bring this winter, I'm glad to walk through it with you over coffee at Bobby's. Reach out to Norton Property Group and Get Your Free Home Valuation.