Each house starts out the same: a primed structure held together with screws. Then it goes to a business or group that has paid to finish it. Whatever happens next, from the paint and the props to the trim and whether it lights up at night, is up to that sponsor. Finished, each one stands about 4 feet by 4 feet and 7 feet tall.
Those houses make up Candy Cane Village, the ring of tiny buildings around Goodlettsville City Hall at 105 S. Main Street. The City's holiday kickoff is over by Saturday night, Dec. 5. The village is the one piece of Hometown Holidays that stays up for the rest of the month, and its sponsors build and light every house.
Sponsors Paint the Village, and Sponsors Power It
The Candy Cane Village rules split the work cleanly. The City's Tourism and Parks and Recreation departments supply the primed structure. Sponsors handle the rest.
- Paint: Sponsors buy their own exterior paint, and the City strongly encourages a clear polyurethane coat to protect it from the weather.
- Props: Props have to be attached to the house, because the village stays outside in all weather through December.
- Content: Every house has to be family friendly and suitable for all ages.
- Lighting: Lights are encouraged. The rules also say the City does not provide electricity.
Since the City supplies no power, a house glows only if its sponsor brought a way to light it. Walk past at noon and you see a row of painted houses. Walk past at 7 p.m. and the brightest houses are the ones whose sponsors planned for power.
Sponsorship costs real money. The City's sponsor application lists a standard fee of $200 for a returning sponsor reusing an existing house. A new sponsor, or a returning one who needs a new house, pays $350. Applications are due by Sept. 30 for that year's display. Sponsors who apply by Aug. 15 and pick up their house before that date get 25% off.
The $150 gap between those two fees explains how the village renews itself. Because the houses are screwed together, a sponsor can take one apart, store it, and prime and repaint it the next year. The rules say the Tourism Department can no longer store houses because it has run out of space. Sponsors have to tell the City before Dec. 31 if they'll store their own house. Otherwise the house is either destroyed or reused by another sponsor the following season. So the house you photograph this year may be wearing someone else's paint next year.
The Houses Arrive Before the Party Does
You may see the village before it officially opens. Sponsors have to bring their houses to City Hall between the Monday of Thanksgiving week and the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year, so that window runs from Nov. 23 through Dec. 2. Anyone driving down Main Street that week can watch the houses come in.
The official unveiling is set for the first Friday night in December, at the Christmas tree lighting. This year that's Dec. 4.
About 26 Hours, Start to Finish
The City's December calendar puts the whole kickoff into one Friday evening and one Saturday evening. Here it is in order:
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4, 6:00–6:30 p.m. | Tree Lighting Ceremony | City Hall, 105 S. Main St. |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 6:30–8:30 p.m. | Santa's Holiday Party | Delmas Long Community Center, 200 Memorial Dr. |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 4:00–5:00 p.m. | Christmas Parade | Main Street, with staging at Delmas Long |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 5:00–8:00 p.m. | Yulefest | Historic Mansker's Station, 705 Caldwell Dr. |
Friday's events are built to flow into each other. At last year's kickoff, the mayor and special guests switched on the big tree in front of City Hall and the lights inside Candy Cane Village, and Wanette Turner performed. After the tree lighting, the City invited guests to walk through the tiny houses on their way to Santa's party at Delmas Long. Kids got time with Santa, hot chocolate and cookies, a holiday craft and live entertainment. Parking was available at City Hall and at Delmas Long.
That walk is the first time the village is seen lit up, with the whole crowd passing through at once. After that night, it belongs to whoever stops by.
Saturday works differently. The parade and Yulefest are back to back, and they're in different parts of town. Last year the parade started at Delmas Long Community Center, went up Memorial Drive, turned right onto Main Street and ended at Goodlettsville Plaza on Rivergate Parkway. Yulefest took place at Mansker's Station in Moss-Wright Park. This year's calendar again ends the parade at 5 p.m., the same minute Yulefest opens. If you want both, expect to miss the start of one, and plan your parking so you can get from one to the other.
Yulefest Is the Oldest Piece
Candy Cane Village is the newcomer. Yulefest has been the start of Goodlettsville's holiday season since 1988, and the City's calendar listing calls it "a cherished part of the holiday tradition." In its Nov. 14, 2025 news brief, the City noted that the only year it didn't run was 2020.
In that brief, the City described last year's event as a free night of 18th-century festivities with a 1780s theme. Mansker's Fort and the Bowen House were both open, and the Visitor's Center had Olde World Santa in his workshop. The evening also included music, storytelling, carriage rides, refreshments and shopping in the Gift Shop. The 2026 calendar keeps the same location and the same 5-to-8 p.m. hours.
Taken together, Saturday's kickoff ends at a frontier fort lit for the 1780s, and Friday's started at a village of painted houses lit by local sponsors.
The Village Is Lit on the Calendar Every Day After That
Once the kickoff is over, the village is still there. The City's calendar lists Candy Cane Village at 105 S. Main Street every day from Dec. 4 through Dec. 31. That includes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and each entry shows 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. The City's event page says you don't need a reservation, and parking is available at or near City Hall. Under the sponsor rules, the houses stay up through Jan. 1 and come down the first week of January.
For the rest of December, Delmas Long Community Center at 200 Memorial Drive has smaller events that pair well with a village visit:
- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: Winter Concert for Senior Adults.
- Wednesday, Dec. 9, 10–11 a.m.: Preschool Pictures with Santa in the gymnasium. Santa and Mrs. Claus will both be there, and the listing asks families to bring their own camera.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 5–7 p.m.: Family Arts & Crafts with a Grinch and Candy Land theme, $10 per family. The listing invites families to "create your own pieces to Whoville."
The Dec. 11 crafts night lets out at 7 p.m., after dark, which makes it a good time to see which sponsors wired their houses for light.
Homeschool families have another December option at Mansker's Station. On Dec. 11 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., the station and the Bowen House open for Homeschool Day. The City offers it once a month to groups of any size, from single families to large co-ops.
Planning Around It
The kickoff runs on a tight clock, with 6 p.m. Friday at City Hall and 5 p.m. Saturday at the fort. Candy Cane Village has no clock at all, so you can visit any weeknight evening through New Year's Day without a reservation. And if you run a business that wants a house next year, the application deadline is Sept. 30, and applying by Aug. 15 gets you 25% off.
At Urquhart Realty Company, I keep track of what goes on the Goodlettsville calendar each season, from the first painted house on City Hall's lawn to the last carriage ride at Mansker's Station. If you're thinking about where your own family will spend next December, schedule a free consultation and we'll talk it through.
