The Hallmark movie is going to Carlinville, Illinois. Hallmark announced the grand-prize winner of its Merriest Christmas Towns Contest at a surprise celebration on Carlinville's historic square on Thursday, Oct. 15, EdGlenToday reported. Collierville finished as one of the 25 finalists. Hallmark calls those finalists "Official Hallmark Christmas Towns."
You'll see that title on the Town's Christmas page this season, and it's accurate. But what fills the Square from mid-November through the week before Christmas is a schedule the Town of Collierville and Main Street Collierville built themselves. Hallmark doesn't run any of it. The schedule also gets fuller each week, so the date you pick decides what you'll see.
What the Hallmark seal actually is
Hallmark Media opened the contest on July 1 as part of Hallmark Channel's 25th birthday. Nominations ran through Aug. 10, 2026. According to Hallmark's announcement, all 25 selected towns get an official seal and promotional materials to share the designation. One grand-prize town gets the chance to be featured in an original Hallmark movie.
Action News 5 reported in August that Collierville was the only Mid-South town on the list. The station also noted that the town had already appeared as a backdrop in Hallmark's Wedding at Graceland. Ashley Carver, the Town's tourism director, told the station, "Anyone who has ever visited Collierville during the holidays knows that our town doesn't just look like a holiday movie set, our community truly lives the spirit of the season."
Public voting allowed one vote per day and closed Sept. 4, WREG reported. After that, Hallmark's judges scored the finalists on community spirit, holiday traditions, neighborhood charm and goodwill. The seal recognizes traditions Collierville already had, and those traditions are the events below.
November starts with shopping
The first two events are both on Saturday, Nov. 14, two days after this post goes up. They run at the same time, so you can do both in one morning.
The Collierville Burch Library's 2026 Holiday Market runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Town says it will have more than 40 vendors, live music, face painting and a Santa photo booth. Main Street Collierville's Holiday Open House also starts at 10 a.m. that day on the Town Square, with holiday decor, refreshments and local shopping.
On Thursday, Nov. 19, Main Street holds Girls Night Out from 5 to 8 p.m. Merchants offer specials, in-store giveaways and prizes. Receipts over $25 qualify you for a basket drawing. Until the lights go on, the Square's holiday season is mostly about the shops.
Nov. 24: the lights come on at 7
The tree lighting is on a Tuesday this year, Nov. 24, at Town Square Park, 96 Center St. It runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Here's the order of the evening, according to the Town's event listing:
- At 5:30 p.m., the Board of Mayor and Aldermen starts serving hot chocolate.
- Kevin and Bethany Paige play a one-hour holiday concert.
- At 7 p.m., the tree and nearly a quarter-million lights around the Town Square switch on.
- After the lighting, Santa sits in the gazebo for photos until about 8 p.m.
There's no rain date. On the Town's main Christmas page, the light count is 250,000. After Nov. 24 they stay on, and most of what follows happens around them.
The Saturdays add more each week
Christmas in Collierville Saturdays fall on the first four Saturdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Santa is in the gazebo every one of those Saturdays. Photos with him are free and first come, first served, so bring your own camera. He leaves at 2 p.m. sharp.
Santa is the constant. Everything else changes from week to week, and the Town's Saturday schedule adds more as the month goes on:
| Saturday | Santa in the Gazebo | Additions that week |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 28 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Opera Memphis Strolling Carolers, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a break from 12:30 to 1 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Model train displays in the Depot; Children's Entrepreneur Market for sellers ages 5 to 17, on N. Rowlett Street in front of the Depot Visitors Center; Opera Memphis carolers return |
| Dec. 12 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Model trains; Contemporary Club Home Tour & Holiday Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; performances from Schilling Farms Elementary, Sycamore Elementary and School of Rock |
| Dec. 19 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Model trains; School of Rock holiday set, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; violinist Zoe Johnson, noon to 1 p.m.; Skyy Jordan Sings Christmas, 1 to 2 p.m. |
Each Saturday has a different draw. Nov. 28 is the quietest of the four, with Santa and carolers. Dec. 5 is the day to bring kids who want to see the trains or buy from other kids. Dec. 12 runs longest because the home tour goes until 4 p.m. Dec. 19 has live music from 10:30 a.m. through 2 p.m., with just a short gap at 11:30.
The Dec. 12 home tour is the one event that sends people away from the gazebo. The Contemporary Club opens four Collierville homes decorated for the holidays. Its holiday market and bake sale are at the Linda Kerley Center, 175 W. Poplar Ave. Tickets are sold online and at the Linda Kerley Center on the day of the tour.
The weeknight Square
The Saturdays are packed. Weeknights are calmer, and that's when the Town runs carriage rides. Rides go nightly from Friday, Nov. 27, through Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m. There are no rides on Dec. 24 or Dec. 25. Each carriage holds five or six people and costs $30 per trip. With a full carriage of six, that comes to $5 a person for a ride under 250,000 lights. If weather forces changes to the schedule, the Town posts them at colliervilletn.gov/christmas.
Carriage rides keep going for 11 days after the last Santa Saturday on Dec. 19. That makes them a good option for relatives who arrive between Christmas and New Year's.
One more weeknight event is on the Town calendar. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, Music in the Gazebo presents "Christmas on the Square with Ella Gracen" from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. For dinner afterward, Maeve's Tavern is at 78 N. Main St. The Daily Memphian reported that Brazen Restaurant Group's Irish pub opened on the Square in June.
Dec. 4: the parade is not on the Square
The 49th annual Collierville Christmas Parade is Friday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. It doesn't go through the Square. It runs along Byhalia Road, starting at Polo Run Road north of White Road and ending at West Collierville Middle School. The Town lists the event from 7 to 9 p.m.
Like the tree lighting, the parade has no rain date. The Town says that's because of scheduling conflicts. For questions about traffic and parking on parade night, the Collierville Journal points readers to the police non-emergency line, 901-853-3207.
The timing also works in your favor. The parade is Friday night and the busy Dec. 5 Saturday starts the next morning. If you have guests in town that weekend, they can see the parade on Byhalia Road and then the trains and the Children's Entrepreneur Market at the Depot about 15 hours later.
The season's dates
| Date | Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Burch Library Holiday Market | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Collierville Burch Library |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Main Street Holiday Open House | Starts 10 a.m. | Town Square |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Girls Night Out | 5 to 8 p.m. | Town Square shops |
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Tree Lighting | 5:30 to 8 p.m.; lights at 7 | Town Square Park, 96 Center St. |
| Nov. 27 to Dec. 30 | Carriage rides, $30 per trip | 5 to 8 p.m. nightly, except Dec. 24 and 25 | Town Square |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Christmas in Collierville Saturday | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Gazebo |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 49th Christmas Parade | 7 p.m. | Byhalia Road |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Saturday plus trains and kids' market | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Gazebo, Depot, N. Rowlett St. |
| Tue., Dec. 8 | Music in the Gazebo: Ella Gracen | 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. | Gazebo |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Saturday plus home tour and market | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Gazebo; Linda Kerley Center |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Final Saturday, most live music | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Gazebo, Depot |
If you have family coming for the parade and someone asks what it costs to live within walking distance of the Square, I'm happy to give you a straight answer about the homes around the Square, condition issues included. Reach out to Anthony Lavelle and start a conversation.
