Burnet’s courthouse square earns its keep three times a year now — the Bluebonnet Festival in spring, Oktoberfest and the Plein Air Festival in fall, and this one, the Lighting of the Square, to open the holiday season. Here’s what it is and why the timing is deliberate.
TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read): Your Guide to Burnet’s Lighting of the Square
- The Lighting of the Square happens every year on Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, at the historic Burnet courthouse square.
- The ceremony runs roughly 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., with the lights switched on around 5:45 after remarks and holiday activities.
- Festivities typically include Mrs. Claus reading Christmas stories and singing carols, free hot chocolate, a cookie decorating table, and the Historical Jail opened for tours with complimentary hot cider.
- Downtown shops stay open late for the event, tying the lighting directly to Small Business Saturday’s local-shopping message.
- It’s a single-evening event, distinct from Marble Falls’ month-long Walkway of Lights — a shorter, more intimate way the Highland Lakes opens the holiday season.
What the Lighting of the Square Actually Is
Burnet times its holiday kickoff deliberately to Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when the national shop-local movement lines up with the historic courthouse square lighting up for the season. The ceremony runs from about 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., building through free hot chocolate and a DIY cookie decorating table around 5:30, followed by brief remarks before the square’s lights are switched on around 5:45. Mrs. Claus is typically part of the evening, reading Christmas books to kids and leading carols, and the Historical Jail opens its doors for tours with complimentary hot cider while several downtown shops stay open late.
One Square, Three Seasons
This is the third major event Burnet’s courthouse square hosts across the year, alongside the spring Bluebonnet Festival and the fall Oktoberfest and Plein Air Festival. Seeing all three in context says something real about how much that one square actually gets used — it’s not a backdrop, it’s the genuine center of Burnet’s civic and social calendar.
What It’s Like Living in Burnet During the Lighting
Because this is a single evening rather than a multi-day festival, the disruption is minimal even for downtown residents — expect extra foot traffic and a couple of hours of parking pressure around the square, then a quiet return to normal. For residents, it functions less as an inconvenience and more as the unofficial start of the holiday season, the kind of event where you run into people you know while warming up with hot chocolate on the square.
What to Consider If You’re Buying in Burnet
The Lighting of the Square rounds out a pattern worth understanding about downtown Burnet specifically:
- Three real seasonal events on one square. Between the Bluebonnet Festival, Oktoberfest and Plein Air, and the Lighting of the Square, Burnet’s courthouse district has a genuinely full calendar across spring, fall, and winter.
- A shorter time commitment than Marble Falls’ holiday season. If you want a single festive evening rather than weeks of Christmas-in-Marble-Falls programming, Burnet’s version is easier to fully participate in without it taking over your December.
- Walking distance to the square is a real amenity. If you want to be part of these three events without driving, that narrows which parts of Burnet make sense.
- Small-town scale, on purpose. Burnet isn’t trying to be Marble Falls’ month-long production — it’s building its own, more contained version of the same civic spirit.
How I Can Help
I work Burnet real estate regularly through Uncommon Highland Lakes Realty, and I can tell you which parts of town put you in easy walking distance of everything the courthouse square hosts across the year. Start with the current Burnet, TX homes for sale, or schedule a consultation.
Robbie English, Broker at Uncommon Highland Lakes Realty.
