In 2014, The Newtown Bee described the Holiday Festival as "anchored at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street," offering "a little bit of everything under one roof." A festival ticket that year cost $10, or $25 for a family of two adults and two children.
The 41st edition comes to Historic Main Street on Sunday, December 6, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It no longer fits under one roof. It now spreads across Edmond Town Hall, Trinity Episcopal Church, four decorated homes and the Newtown Historical Society. The busiest parts run on a fixed schedule, and the last of them ends well before the 4 p.m. close. The pass gets you into everything. Your arrival time decides how much of it you actually see.
From One Roof to One Block
The Festival of Trees shows how the event has grown. In 2013 it filled the lower meeting room of C.H. Booth Library at 25 Main Street. A year later it moved into the Edmond Town Hall gym. NYFS's community coordinator told the Bee at the time that the move was "because of its popularity." This year the trees are in Trinity Episcopal Church's Glover Community Room, with music by The Handbell Trio.
By the 40th edition in 2025, the Bee reported an expanded schedule "located throughout Main Street, Trinity Episcopal Church, and Edmond Town Hall." The 2026 map looks like this:
| Where | Address | What's there December 6 | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmond Town Hall Theatre | 45 Main Street | The Nutcracker Suite | Noon and 2:30 p.m. |
| Edmond Town Hall front lot | 45 Main Street | Historic Trolley Tours | 11:10 a.m. to 2:05 p.m. departures |
| Edmond Town Hall Gym and Main Street | 45 Main Street | Indoor and outdoor holiday market | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Trinity Episcopal Church | 36 Main Street | Festival of Trees, gingerbread competition, Santa's vintage firetruck | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Newtown Historical Society | 44 Main Street | Matthew Curtiss House | After 12:30 p.m. |
| Tour homes | 63 Main St., 54 Main St., 5 Hanover Rd., 12 Glover St. | Holiday House Tours | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
Most of the day happens on a short stretch of Main Street with Edmond Town Hall and Trinity at either end. The schedule is what gets tight.
The Trolley Is the Tightest Part of the Day
The Historic Trolley Tours started in 2013, with narration by then-Town Historian Dan Cruson. In 2014 there were four 30-minute departures, at 11:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. The 2025 schedule had eight, with the last at 3:15 p.m.
For December 6, 2026, NYFS lists six departures: 11:10, 11:45, 12:20, 12:55, 1:30 and 2:05. Your festival ticket includes one ride. Trolley tickets are handed out first come, first served in the Edmond Town Hall lobby, and a festival ticket does not guarantee any particular departure time. If you arrive at 2:30, the festival still has 90 minutes to run, but the trolleys are finished for the day.
The Nutcracker Suite, performed by Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice in the Edmond Town Hall Theatre, has two showings, at noon and 2:30 p.m. Each ticket covers one. The theater, the trolley lot and the lobby are all at 45 Main Street, so you can plan both around the same building. The theater itself has 500 seats. Mary Elizabeth Hawley gave the building to Newtown and named it for her great-grandfather, Judge William Edmond. The Bee reports that construction finished in 1930.
The Houses Fill the Afternoon
The untimed parts of the festival are where a late arrival still gets a full day. The Holiday House Tours run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 63 Main Street, 54 Main Street, 5 Hanover Road and 12 Glover Street. House tours were left out in 2013. The Bee reported that organizers wanted to avoid repeating houses and that the holiday weekend was inconvenient for owners. The tours came back the next year, and two of this year's addresses have been on them before.
- 54 Main Street was on the 2014 tour. The Bee described it as built circa 1890, "a finely detailed example of the Queen Anne style of relatively modest, residential architecture," with a full-width front porch on four turned columns.
- 63 Main Street was one of four homes on the 2008 festival tour, according to the Bee's coverage that year.
- 5 Hanover Road and 12 Glover Street complete the 2026 tour, decorated for the season.
NYFS also points tour-goers to the Newtown Historical Society at 44 Main Street, which opens after 12:30 p.m. The Society's headquarters is the Matthew Curtiss House, built about 1750 and acquired by the Society in 1970. Trinity Episcopal Church is a few steps away. The parish dates to 1732, and the current church, finished in 1870, is the fourth building it has occupied.
So the afternoon has three buildings that span about 180 years of Main Street, and none of them closes before the festival does.
What the Pass Costs, and When Online Sales Close
The $10 ticket of 2014 bought access to a festival in one building. The 2026 pass covers one Nutcracker performance, one trolley ride, the holiday market, the house tours, the Festival of Trees, a sweet treats and crafts corner, a Main Street visit with Santa, the gingerbread competition, the Red, White, and Who Scavenger Hunt and an online silent auction.
- Adults: $42 online, $45 in person
- Seniors 65+: $38 online, $40 in person
- Children 3 to 12: $25 online, $28 in person, and free under 3
- Family of Four, two adults and two children: $110, online only
- Nutcracker only: $22 online, $24 in person
- House Tours only: $32 online, $34 in person
A family of two adults and two children pays $110 with the online family pass. The same four tickets bought separately cost $134 online, or $146 at the door. Online sales end Saturday, December 5, at 3 p.m., according to CTvisit's event listing. After that, tickets go on sale at Edmond Town Hall and Trinity Episcopal Church at 10:30 a.m. on festival day. Elf Chats need separate registration. Festival of Trees raffle tickets cost extra.
Where the Money Goes
The higher price reflects a larger cause. NYFS calls the festival its largest annual fundraiser, and all proceeds go to its mental health, autism and community services. The organization describes itself as a nonprofit youth service bureau and mental health clinic for children, teens, adults and seniors. Before last year's 40th edition, NYFS Executive Director Candice Bohr told The Newtown Bee that the event "helps ensure that youth, adults, and families have access to the mental health and supportive programming they need."
A Sunday That Works With the Schedule
Based on the posted times, a full day could run like this:
- Before 11 a.m. Buy the family pass online by 3 p.m. Saturday. If you're buying in person, the counters open at 10:30.
- 11 a.m. Go to the Edmond Town Hall lobby first and pick up trolley tickets for one of the early departures.
- Noon. See the first Nutcracker Suite, then browse the indoor market in the gym on your way out.
- Early afternoon. Walk to Trinity Episcopal Church for the Festival of Trees, the gingerbread entries and Santa's vintage firetruck. Santa also wanders the festival during the day.
- After 12:30 p.m. Stop at the Matthew Curtiss House, then visit the four tour homes.
- Late afternoon. Finish at the outdoor market along Main Street before the 4 p.m. close.
For a sit-down meal, Newtown General Store at 43 Main Street is right in the middle of the route, but its posted hours run Monday through Saturday. Nostrano Italian Eatery at 274 South Main Street serves Tuesday through Sunday, according to a Bee profile from October 5. It's a short drive south once the market closes.
Main Street's historic homes are a big part of why the house tour has lasted all these years, and they're the part of Newtown we know best. If touring 54 Main or 63 Main gets you wondering what a home like that is worth today, or what it would take to own one, Stephen Mele and The TurnKey Team will give you a straight answer backed by local data. Book a Call and we'll walk through it with you.
