{EDITOR NOTE: We will list a complete schedule of event closer to the date of the event.}

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — Santa and Christmas cookies and a holiday parade … oh my. If you’re are looking for a cool, small-town festival to kick off December, then look no further than Christmas in Lynchburg happening December 2 in historic Downtown Lynchburg.

The Lynchburg Chamber hosts Christmas in Lynchburg the first Saturday of every December in collaboration with the Jack Daniel’s Visitors Center. It combines a full day of small-town fun like shopping, memory-making, and traditional holiday activities. We’ve secured an advanced copy of the schedule of events and here are our staff’s top picks for this year’s Christmas in Lynchburg happening in and around the historic Lynchburg Square on Saturday.

1| The Oh What Fun It Is 5K • If you’re gonna spend all day eating Christmas cookies and drinking hot cocoa, why not work it off early at the inaugural Oh What Fun It Is 5K. It will be a fun run/walk around historic downtown Lynchburg. Registration begins at 7 a.m. at the Moorehead Pavilion in Wiseman Park and the 5K will start at 8 a.m. Registration costs $30 per person and all proceeds benefit the Moore County Resource Center, which sponsors programs like the Lynchburg Angel Trees Program. For more information, click here.

2| Breakfast with Santa • You can go anywhere and get a holiday photo op with Santa Claus but you can’t eat breakfast with him just anywhere. Each December, Project Graduation hosts Breakfast with Santa at the Masonic Lodge located just off the historic Lynchburg Square. Breakfast will be served from 8-11 a.m. and will include eggs, pancakes, sausage, as well as juice, milk, or coffee. The cost is $10 person and all proceeds go to the MCHS Class of 2024 Project Graduation. The program provides sober graduation night activities for MCHS seniors.

3 | Bottle Signing with Randall Fanning and Goose Baxter | As you may or may not know, longtime Jack Daniel’s Distillery brand ambassadors Randall Fanning and Goose Baxter retired last year. They will make a rare curtain-call appearance at this year’s Christmas in Lynchburg. On Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m., purchase any bottle at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop located inside the Jack Daniel’s Visitors Center and the duo will happily sign it. It would make a great gift for the collector in your life.

4| The FCE Homemade Cookie Sale • It’s no secret that the women of Moore County can bake y’all. Every year the Moore County Family and Community Education (FCE) ladies show up and show out during their annual Christmas Cookie Sale inside the IBIS Building. Let us give you a hint: Get there early because they will run out. The sale starts at 9 a.m.

5 | Lynchburg Christmas Parade • The annual Christmas Parade happens on Saturday. The parade line-up for decorating and judging begins at 12:30 p.m. in Wiseman Park. The parade begins at 2 p.m. Prize money and ribbons will be awarded.

6 | The Jack Daniel’s Barrel Tree Lighting • Each December folks from Lynchburg, Middle Tennessee, the state, and the globe will gather in tiny Lynchburg for the annual lighting of the Lynchburg Barrel Tree. Folks start gathering around 4:30 p.m. the Whiskey Garden located just outside the Jack Daniel’s Visitor Center at the distillery. They usually light the tree right around dusk.

You can also get your holiday cards hand-postmarked at the Lynchburg Post Office on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. It only happens once each year. There will also be a themed Christmas tree display, a reading of The Crippled Lamb by local author Meredith Burton, local handmade and craft vendors, Christmas-themed foods, live music, decorated Christmas storefronts, free horse and buggy rides, an “all critters” costume contest, cloggers, and shop local collectible ornament giveaway. For more information leading up to the day of the event, check out the Lynchburg Chamber’s Facebook page.

{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally-owned and locally-operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover local news and events as well as the tourism and whiskey industries in southern, middle Tennessee. Click here to subscribe.}