Boerne Bright won't be held this year. First Baptist Church Boerne hosts the free walkthrough show, with more than 500,000 lights synced to Christmas music, on its campus at 631 South School Street. On the Boerne Bright site, the church says ongoing construction on the campus means the event will skip 2026. It plans to return in December 2027.
For the next seven weeks, Main Street is the only free light display in town, and it has a schedule. The Hill Country Mile has planned events on three weekends: Thanksgiving weekend, the first weekend of December and the second. The larger light shows outside downtown are still running, but they sell tickets at the gate. Getting through December well, especially with guests in town, comes down to knowing which weekend has what.
What Goes Dark With Boerne Bright
Boerne Bright was free and you saw it on foot. The church's site also lists the Journey to Bethlehem train ride, which tells the Nativity story with lights and narration. For many families, an evening of Christmas lights cost nothing more than the drive to School Street.
The two biggest light displays near Boerne this season both charge:
| Old West Christmas Light Fest | The Jones CHRISTmas Ranch | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Walkthrough at Enchanted Springs Ranch | Drive-through, 4 million+ synchronized lights |
| 2026 season | 15 nights, Nov. 27 to Dec. 23 | Every night, Nov. 7 to Dec. 31 |
| Hours | 5 to 10 p.m. | 6 to 10 p.m. Sun.–Thu.; 6 to 11 p.m. Fri.–Sat. |
| Price | $25 general, ages 6 and up; $20 military and first responders with ID; free for ages 5 and under | $40 per vehicle; $35 on the last nights of December |
| Worth knowing | Free parking; $37.50 season pass; new barrel train ride for young children | Pay at the ticket booth; cash preferred, 3% fee on cards; tune to 94.5 FM |
The two places charge differently, and that matters more than the headline prices. At Old West Christmas Light Fest, you pay per person. Two adults and two children ages 6 or older pay $100 at the general rate, and a child 5 or under gets in free. At The Jones CHRISTmas Ranch, you pay $40 per car no matter how many people are in it. So a full SUV of visiting relatives costs the same as a couple on a date night. The Jones Ranch also stays open until midnight December 20 through 22, and it's open 6 to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Jones Ranch season opens nightly from November 7. Old West opens the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Weekend Lights Up Main Street
Main Street's lights come on the day after Thanksgiving. The City of Boerne posted its holiday announcement on October 23, confirming that Dickens on Main returns Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28, with four holiday villages along the Hill Country Mile. The Dickens on Main program places them at:
- North Pole Village in Main Plaza, 100 N. Main
- Dickens Village at 157 S. Main
- Tiny Tim Village on East San Antonio Avenue, where Santa visits
- South Pole Village at 437 S. Main
The season starts on Friday night, November 27. The city says the snowy tree lighting at the Main Plaza gazebo starts at 6 p.m. sharp, with carolers and Castle Brass. The same Friday-at-6 tree lighting in Main Plaza goes back at least to the 2021 Dickens. In the years Boerne Bright ran, the tree lighting was one of several free displays. This year, it's the one most of December's other events build on.
The program runs markets and food from noon to 9 p.m. both days. The city says shops on the Mile open as early as 10 a.m. Two favorites from last season are back. The Greater San Antonio Academy of Ballet performs a version of the Nutcracker each afternoon on the North Pole Village stage, and the 22-foot ice slide is set up behind North Pole's main stage. The city also lists ice sculpting shows, live music, free kids' crafts and street performers along Main. Some attractions charge a fee, including the Claw and the trackless-train rides.
Old West Christmas Light Fest opens that same Friday. That puts the season's free display and one of its paid ones on the same night. For households hosting family over Thanksgiving, the Main Plaza tree lighting at 6 p.m. is the free option for Friday night.
The First Weekend of December Moves the Lights Onto Floats
The lights on the Mile stay up all season, according to the city. The next big evening downtown comes a week after Dickens. Here's how Weihnachts Weekend plays out:
- Friday, December 4, 4 to 8 p.m.: the Wassail Walk and Caroling Contest along the Hill Country Mile, hosted by the Boerne Retailers & Restaurant Owners Association
- Saturday, December 5, 6 p.m.: the 39th annual Weihnachts Parade down Main Street, with about 100 lighted floats; the city says shops stay open late
- Both days, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: the Stocking Stroll downtown, a ticketed event with limited tickets sold through the Boerne Parks & Recreation registration portal
The parade is the closest thing downtown has to the light show residents lost: a long string of lit displays they can watch for free. It also means Main Street closes for the evening. Last year, the city's parade notice closed Main Street from 3 to 9 p.m. on parade Saturday. Vehicles parked on Main between River Road and Blanco Road after 2 p.m. were towed, and traffic from the north side was sent via Adler Road to Plant Street to Blanco Road. That 2025 notice went out on December 6, the day of last year's parade. Anyone who parks on Main for errands that Saturday should check the city's news page that week.
Parade Saturday is also the day for Oma's Christmas Fair at the Kendall County Fairgrounds, 1307 River Road. On December 5 it's open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A $5 two-day ticket is sold at the door, children 12 and under get in free, and parking is free. The fairgrounds sit just off River Road, the southern edge of last year's no-parking zone on Main. So you can spend the day at the fair and head to the parade route by evening.
The Second Weekend Ends the Downtown Season
The city lists one more holiday weekend on the Mile. KinderFest, also from the Boerne Retailers & Restaurant Owners Association, runs alongside Christmas Market Days in Main Plaza on December 11 through 13. The city calls it "a perfect weekend for a more relaxed holiday vibe." The market's organizer, Events Off Main, usually runs Market Days in Main Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. It also says hours and locations change in October through December.
After that weekend, the downtown calendar ends. The Mile's lights stay up, but the planned evenings are over, and Old West and the Jones Ranch carry the rest of December. Old West's last night is December 23. The Jones Ranch runs through New Year's Eve.
A Season Built Around Three Weekends
Put the dates together and the 2026 season looks like this:
- November 7 through December 31: The Jones CHRISTmas Ranch, nightly, $40 per vehicle
- November 27 and 28: Dickens on Main, with the Main Plaza tree lighting Friday at 6 p.m.
- November 27 through December 23: Old West Christmas Light Fest, 15 nights, $25 general admission
- December 4 and 5: Wassail Walk, Stocking Stroll and the 39th Weihnachts Parade
- December 5: Oma's Christmas Fair at the Kendall County Fairgrounds
- December 11 through 13: KinderFest and Christmas Market Days in Main Plaza
In past years, Boerne Bright gave families a free evening of lights near downtown on just about any night of the season. This year the free evenings fall on those three weekends, and the rest of December goes through the ticket booths at Enchanted Springs Ranch and the Jones Ranch. First Baptist Church Boerne expects Boerne Bright back in December 2027.
If family is coming to Boerne for the holidays and someone at the table starts asking what it would take to live here, Jennifer Santrock can help. Request a free Relocation Kit before they arrive, and you'll have a calm, organized place to start that conversation when they're ready.
