Between the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the second Saturday of December, Maryville and Alcoa hold their holiday events in seven different places. The season starts at a market hall and a parking garage on Broadway. Then it moves to a pedestrian bridge in an Alcoa office park, the courthouse lawn, a community center field and an amphitheater. It ends with a parade that, for 2026, stops sooner in downtown Maryville than it has in past years.
That makes the season a relay. Each event gets handed to a new spot a few days later, and a good plan starts with where each one is and what it overlaps with.
Seven Stops in Fifteen Days
Here is the full run, in order. All dates are for 2026.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Downtown Holiday Market | White Star Station, 133 W. Broadway Ave. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | City of Maryville Tree Lighting | Maryville Parking Garage on Broadway | About 5:30 p.m. |
| Mon., Nov. 30 | City of Alcoa Tree Lighting | Springbrook Corporate Center pedestrian bridge, 223 Associates Blvd. | Vendors 4 p.m., lighting 6 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Blount County Festival of Trees opening | Blount County Courthouse lawn, 345 Court St. | Lighting 6:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | H.O.M.E. for the Holidays | MLK Jr. Community Center, 209 E. Franklin St., Alcoa | Lighting 6 p.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Reindeer Run 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk | Greenbelt Amphitheater | 5K at 2 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Blount County Jaycees Christmas Parade | Alcoa to downtown Maryville | 11 a.m. |
Four of these are tree lightings, and they fall within eight days of each other. Each one is tied to a different place, and no two events share a site. That's why getting from one to the next takes more planning than the dates suggest.
The Market Ends With the Lights
The season opens on Small Business Saturday. The downtown Holiday Market at White Star Station runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on November 28. Naturally Rustic Soaps & Salts has announced it will be set up inside White Star Station.
The timing to watch is late in the day. According to the Maryville-Alcoa-Blount Parks & Recreation Hometown Christmas page, the City of Maryville tree lighting is planned for about 5:30 p.m. at the Maryville Parking Garage on Broadway, "to help close out the downtown Holiday Market." The market closes at 6, so the tree lighting falls in the last half hour of shopping. If you plan to do both, shop first and walk over to the garage before 5:30. Going the other way leaves you about thirty minutes back at the market. The lighting is free.
Two Days Later, the Lights Move to Alcoa
On Monday, November 30, the next tree lights at the pedestrian bridge at Springbrook Corporate Center, 223 Associates Boulevard in Alcoa. This is the one weeknight event that starts in the afternoon. Food trucks and craft vendors open at 4 p.m., the tree lights at 6, and afterward there is music, refreshments and Santa. The event is free.
The 4 p.m. start means dinner can come from a food truck at the bridge. Someone coming straight from work in Alcoa can get there well before the lighting.
Thursday, December 3, Is the Crowded Night
The Blount County Festival of Trees opens Thursday, December 3, with a 6:30 p.m. lighting on the Blount County Courthouse lawn at 345 Court Street. The opening includes entertainment, refreshments and Santa. This is the one stop on the list that stays up afterward. Parks & Rec calls it a month-long display of live trees you can drive past or walk through, so if you miss opening night you can still see it later in December.
If your family, church, club or business wants a tree on the lawn, entries are due November 6. That's about a week after this post goes up. Parks & Rec handles entries at 865-983-9244, and both the registration form and participation guide are linked from the Hometown Christmas page.
December 3 is also the pre-race packet pickup for the Reindeer Run, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Dick's Sporting Goods at Hamilton Crossing. A runner who wants both can pick up the packet right at 5 and still reach the courthouse lawn before the 6:30 lighting. Packet pickup also runs on race day, so skipping Thursday's window is an option too.
A Back-to-Back Weekend
The first weekend in December holds two events in two places.
On Saturday, December 5, H.O.M.E., the Hall-Oldfield-Maryville Empowerment group, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center hold H.O.M.E. for the Holidays at 209 E. Franklin Street in Alcoa. The tree lights at 6 p.m., with family activities and light refreshments. Anyone placing a tree in the lower field has to get it there by November 28, a full week before the event.
On Sunday, December 6, the Reindeer Run takes over Greenbelt Amphitheater. It's the last leg of the Healthy Blount Triple Crown of Running.
- Day-of check-in runs 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. Packet pickup closes at 1:30.
- The 5K starts at 2 p.m. The 1-mile fun run/walk starts at 2:45.
- Prizes go to the best male and female Christmas costume. Every fun run/walk participant gets a keepsake.
- Part of the proceeds goes to the Empty Pantry Fund.
Registration timing matters most for adults. Adult 5K entry is $32 through November 23, $38 from November 24 to 30, and $40 from December 1 through race day. Students 18 and under pay $25 through November 30, then $30. The 1-mile is $20 through November 30, then $25. Thanksgiving falls during the $38 week. If the race is on your list, signing up before that holiday week saves the most. Registration is through the Reindeer Run sign-up page or in person at Parks & Rec, 316 S. Everett High Road.
The Run 4 Fun training program at Springbrook Park Pavilion and Trail is built around this race. It meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and its last session is December 1, five days before the race.
The Parade's New Downtown Finish
The season wraps up on Saturday, December 12, with the Blount County Jaycees Christmas Parade. Lineup starts at 9 a.m. and the parade steps off at 11. This year's theme is "The Reason for the Season," and the rain date is Sunday, December 13, at 3 p.m.
The route is what changed. Here is how the Jaycees describe it on their parade site:
"While the parade will follow its traditional route through Alcoa and downtown Maryville, it will turn onto Cates Street near the McCammon-Ammons Funeral Home area and conclude on East Church Avenue, behind CBBC Bank in downtown Maryville. The parade will no longer continue in front of the Maryville Municipal Building."
The organizers say the change is meant to improve traffic flow and safety.
The route, start to finish
- Staging on Rankin Street and Joule Street in Alcoa
- Into New Midland Plaza, through the shopping center, and out at Gill Street
- Right onto Calderwood Street
- Into Maryville on Cusick Street
- Right onto Broadway Avenue
- Left beside McCammon-Ammons Funeral Home onto Cates Street, ending on East Church Avenue behind CBBC Bank
What that means on parade morning
If you've watched from in front of the Municipal Building in past years, that stretch is off the route now. You'll need a new spot farther back along Broadway, Cusick, Calderwood or the Alcoa end. The parade rules also say candy has to stop before the ending point near Amburn's Market. Kids hoping to collect candy should line up upstream of the turn onto Cates Street.
Driving gets harder too. Every side street connecting to the route closes during the parade. Parking lots along Broadway on the route can't be entered or exited while the parade passes. If you park in one of those lots, you could be stuck there until the last float goes by. The Jaycees decide on weather by 10 a.m. on parade day and post updates on Facebook and at (865) 973-9945. The official lineup is published in The Daily Times by Friday, December 11.
The same morning, Parks & Rec runs a Basic Fly Rod Casting class on the Greenway next to the Blount County Courthouse, 9 a.m. to noon, for $10. That's a short walk from the parade's new finish on East Church Avenue.
Before Any of It, Friday Night on West Broadway
The season's warm-up is the day after this post goes up. The Parks & Rec Spooktacular Extravaganza fills West Broadway in downtown Maryville on Friday, October 30, from 5 to 8 p.m. Most activities are free, and the dog costume contest costs $5. It's on the same downtown stretch where the parade will finish six weeks later.
Mandy and our team grew up in Blount County, so this calendar is our home calendar too, including which Broadway lots close on parade morning. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of the courthouse lawn or the parade route, or you want to know what your current place near downtown is worth, start with an instant home valuation from Mandy B. Street and we'll take the conversation from there.
