(Photo from cityofhernando.org)
- If you are looking for a no-stress, family-friendly Christmas memory that will delight your multi-generational tribe, look no further than the storybook, quaint, and charming city of Hernando.
It’s so much better than a made-for-Hallmark-Channel production. Authentic small-town nostalgia is on full display.
Imagine this: a Christmas market, live performances from The Nutcracker, Memphis Opera, Mulberry Jam Band, The Paiges from Beale Street, ice skating for free, High Tea, folk artist demonstrations, interactive arts and crafts, horse drawn carriage tours, give aways, kiddie trains, Santa’s workshop, Tiny Tim’s Christmas village, and humanities speakers with compelling stories to share.
All of this and more is right around the corner here in Mississippi on November 21 and 22.
If you are looking for a no-stress, family-friendly Christmas memory that will delight your multi-generational tribe, look no further than the storybook, quaint, and charming city of Hernando. Their two-day annual Christmas kickoff celebration features a full menu of pure magic and memory-making, a wholesome, family-friendly event that merges art, culture, and entertainment with the very best Southern charm has to offer.
Hernando, incorporated in 1839, is the perfect natural backdrop for a Dickens-themed Christmas celebration. Only a movie set could rival the town square, the vintage Victorian homes and buildings surrounding the heart of the city. Period decor and citizens bedecked in authentic costumes get into the fun as the entire town welcomes the Christmas season.
Gia Matheny, Hernando’s Community and Economic Development Director, is an enthusiastic ambassador, saying, “There is nothing else like this in our region.” Attracting the local community and tourists from as far away as Indiana, California, and Franklin, Tennessee, the Dickens of a Christmas is in its fifth year and expects to host around 13,000 attendees over the weekend of November 21 and 22.
Presenting sponsor Farm Bureau Mississippi has gone to great lengths to ensure that no detail has been overlooked in creating a world-class event. Atmos Energy, another key sponsor, has created Tiny Tim’s Christmas Village, which will delight young and young-at-heart attendees alike. Many local businesses are sponsoring other individual activities and have made possible a splendid Friday evening on the square that begins at 4:30 p.m. with free ice skating and a Beer Garden and food court rink-side, the lighting of the community Christmas tree, and a story time with Mayor Johnson for the Littles. An outdoor Christmas movie on the Courthouse lawn will cap off the evening. Stroll the square and get into the spirit of Christmas shopping in the many one-of-a-kind boutiques. Everything is within easy walking distance, but if you would rather ride, the Jolly Trolley will offer free transport.
Saturday, beginning at 9:00 a.m., offers all-day back-to-back fun with hands-on children’s crafts, exhibits, a Farmer’s Market, Christmas market, ornament-making workshop, holiday photos, Trolley Tour of Homes, Gingerbread House opportunity, and an afternoon High Tea with a live performance by Opera Memphis. The tea, promising to be authentic in every way, is one of the few events requiring a ticket that can be purchased via the free City of Hernando app in the App Store. You can find the complete weekend schedule readily available there, too.
You will want to make a full day of it on Saturday. Live entertainment includes an afternoon concert by Mulberry Jam Band, bringing traditional string band music that filled the street and dance halls across Mississippi from the 1870s through the 1930s to the present. Later in the day, The Paiges, the dynamic musical duo of Beale Street fame, who are frequent members of the entertainment cast at Graceland’s Christmas Concert, will perform. Expect your favorite Christmas pop songs from the past, a little Elvis, and a lot of Christmas cheer. Live entertainment will take place at the portable Overton Park Shell on Wheels, the performance stage located on Hernando Square.
One final attraction not to be missed is a candlelight tour through Hernando’s historic Springhill Cemetery, complete with the friendly costumed spirits of outstanding historical figures of Hernando’s past — a most entertaining way to appreciate this Mississippi jewel while looking forward to Christmas 2025.
