After Cleburne's Christmas Parade, the Saturday Belongs to the Candlewalk
At 6:45 on Friday night, December 4, the Lighted Christmas Parade rolls through downtown Cleburne. After it ends, the crowd heads to Hulen Park for vendors, food and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. That night gets the headlines. The next morning, a different set of organizers takes over.
Saturday, December 5, runs on Save Old Cleburne, the preservation group that says it was founded in 1976 to promote preservation and get the community involved in local history. The group's Candlewalk Tour of Historic Homes runs from 1 to 8 p.m. that day, and a Holiday Market tied to the group opens that morning. The King's Daughters Hearts of Gold Christmas House fills the same hours, and the Plaza Theatre Company has curtains in the afternoon and evening. The whole day hangs on that seven-hour Candlewalk window, with the market before it and a show slotted into the middle or the end.
Here's how the December 5 calendar looks on Visit Cleburne and the organizers' own pages as of late October:
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. | Save Old Cleburne Holiday Market, free | Cleburne Conference Center, 1501 W. Henderson St. |
| 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | King's Daughters Hearts of Gold Christmas House | Venue not yet posted for 2026 |
| 1 to 8 p.m. | Candlewalk Tour of Historic Homes | Homes across the older neighborhoods; 2026 list not yet posted |
| 3 and 7:30 p.m. | A Christmas Carol, Plaza Theatre Company | Dudley Hall, 305 S. Anglin St. |
| 4 and 6 p.m. | Elf Jr, Plaza Jr opening day | Plaza Main Street Theatre, 111 S. Main St. |
The two listings disagree on when the market closes. Visit Cleburne says 5 p.m., and the DFW Craft Shows listing, last updated October 1, says 4 p.m. If you want to be safe, plan on 4.
The market's location is the first thing to plan around. The 2026 listing puts the Save Old Cleburne Holiday Market at the Cleburne Conference Center, 1501 W. Henderson St. It lists free admission, free parking, and space both inside and outside, with local vendors, food trucks, Santa and Mrs. Claus photos and face painting. The group's own website still shows an older Candlewalk Holiday Market at the J.N. Long Gym Building, 425 Granbury Street. If the gym is where you remember the market, check the 2026 address before you drive over.
The market opens at 10 and the Candlewalk doesn't start until 1, so the morning belongs to the market. You can shop at the Conference Center, grab lunch from a food truck, and still reach the first tour stop with the whole afternoon ahead of you.
The King's Daughters Hearts of Gold Christmas House is listed for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on December 5. It's an older tradition than the current calendar lets on. A 2019 Visit Cleburne listing names King's Daughters Hearts of Gold as the organizer and gives the location as Wright Plaza, 115 S. Main St. No 2026 venue has been posted, so treat that address as where the event used to be held until the organizers confirm it.
Earlier coverage in the Fort Hood Herald described a past Christmas House with a silent auction, ornaments, baked goods, raffles, and photos with Santa and the Grinch. It also said the proceeds went to area families in need. The 2026 lineup and beneficiaries haven't been announced. Still, the event's 6 p.m. close means you can stop by after the market and before the Candlewalk gets going, or between tour homes.
The 2025 tour was billed as the 47th Annual Candlewalk Tour of Homes. Save Old Cleburne organized it, and it ran from 1 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, 2025. This year's tour keeps the same hours and the same first-Saturday-of-December slot. Save Old Cleburne's site says the money raised by the tour supports the group and its programs.
The 2026 homes and ticket price haven't been posted yet. Last year's format is the best guide to what to expect. The Johnson County calendar for 2025 listed five ticketed houses:
That same 2025 listing put adult tickets at $18. They were sold in advance through the Cleburne Chamber and Eventbrite, and on tour day at the Layland Museum and Antique Findery. The Layland Museum at 201 N. Caddo St. was also a featured stop that didn't require a ticket. An earlier tour, written up in the Cleburne Times-Review, listed tickets at $19 and sold day-of tickets at the vendor market in the J.N. Long Cultural Arts Center. The price has shifted over the years. Once the 2026 details go up, check the current number rather than counting on last year's.
The 1 p.m. start and 8 p.m. finish shape how the tour feels. If you start early, you see the houses and their decorations in daylight. If you start later, you walk the last addresses after dark with the windows lit, which is what the name is all about. One option is to split it: a few homes after lunch, a break, then the rest after sunset.
The Times-Review's coverage of that earlier tour shows the kind of homes that end up on the route. Each year's list is different, so these are past stops, not this year's.
Those five homes span about 60 years of Cleburne building, from a house from around 1867 on North Buffalo to a 1928 home on Prairie Avenue. The same article says churches and businesses joined that year's tour too. So the route can cover more than private homes.
The Plaza Theatre Company has two shows running that Saturday, and the times line up well with the Candlewalk.
A Christmas Carol runs November 20 through December 23 at Dudley Hall, 305 S. Anglin St., with tickets listed at $17 to $32. On December 5 it plays at 3 and 7:30 p.m., and the 8 p.m. Friday show lands just after the parade starts. Dudley Hall sits on South Anglin, the street that held two of the 2025 tour homes on its north end. That makes it an easy pairing with the tour, depending on where this year's route goes.
Plaza Jr opens Elf Jr that same day at Plaza Main Street Theatre, 111 S. Main St., with 4 and 6 p.m. shows and tickets from $8 to $15. The run continues through December 19. For families with younger kids, the early show leaves time for the last few Candlewalk homes before 8.
Pick your show first, since it's the only part with a fixed curtain time. Then fit the market, the Christmas House and the Candlewalk around it:
When Save Old Cleburne posts the 2026 homes and ticket details, the route will decide which end of town you start from. Until then, the times above are set, and they're enough to plan the day.
The Candlewalk exists because owners on streets like Anglin, Buffalo, Wardville and Prairie have kept their houses up for generations. If you own an older Cleburne home and want to know how buyers value that kind of care and character, Joy Michelle Realty Group would love to walk through it with you. Schedule a Free Home Valuation, and we'll talk about your house's history and details along with its numbers.
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