Union Parish Louisiana Christmas on the Square Festival
Each December, downtown Farmerville turns its courthouse square into a Christmas gathering place. Vendors set out tables of handmade goods along the sidewalks, children move between activities with parents close behind, and neighbours stop to talk in streets that usually carry ordinary weekday traffic. The event carries the published names Christmas on the Square and Old Fashion Christmas on the Square, while the sheet title above is the working title for this article rather than a name printed on a poster or programme. The Union Parish Chamber of Commerce arranges the gathering in the parish seat, around the courthouse square.
About
Christmas on the Square is a holiday festival in downtown Farmerville, Louisiana, held around the courthouse square in the seat of Union Parish. Its published forms are Christmas on the Square and Old Fashion Christmas on the Square, and this article uses the sheet title on its first line and in its closing outlook while using the published names in the body, because the sheet title itself never appears in the layers read. The Union Parish Chamber of Commerce organises the gathering, and the venue is the downtown area around the courthouse square rather than a fairground or a park. That setting shapes the day. Stalls stand within a short walk of one another, the parade route passes the courthouse, and the tree lighting takes place where townspeople already gather for civic occasions. The programme brings together local arts and craft vendors, activities for children, a pet parade, a Christmas tree lighting and the annual Christmas parade. The parade is the oldest thread in the celebration, having been part of community life since the early nineteen fifties.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
| Sheet title | Union Parish Louisiana Christmas on the Square Festival |
| Published names | Christmas on the Square and Old Fashion Christmas on the Square |
| Host town | Farmerville, the parish seat of Union Parish |
| Venue | Downtown Farmerville, around the courthouse square |
| Organiser | Union Parish Chamber of Commerce |
| Dated editions | Two December two thousand twenty three; seven December two thousand twenty four |
| Programme | Craft vendors, children’s activities, pet parade, tree lighting, parade |
| Christmas parade | With the community since the early nineteen fifties |
| Admission | Not stated in the layers read |
| Coordinated event | Christmas in the Park at Lake D’Arbonne State Park, a separate event |
History
The Christmas parade gives this festival its deepest roots. An event programme layer records that the parade has been with the community since the early nineteen fifties. The layers read attach no starting year to Christmas on the Square itself, and the festival’s own history is told instead through its documented editions and its partnership with the chamber’s park celebration. By December two thousand twenty three the format was fully recognisable. On two December two thousand twenty three, an edition billed Old Fashion Christmas on the Square filled the downtown area with local arts and craft vendors, activities for children and a pet parade. The following day, three December two thousand twenty three, the programme ran from two in the afternoon until eight in the evening, with the Christmas tree lighting at six in the evening and the annual Christmas parade at half past six. A year later, on seven December two thousand twenty four, a town news layer records Christmas on the Square and Parade, showing the pairing of the square gathering and the parade continuing into a second documented December. The chamber also runs Christmas in the Park at Lake D’Arbonne State Park, and that park event completed its third annual run in December two thousand twenty three. The two events are coordinated, sharing an organiser and a season, yet they remain distinct gatherings in distinct places, one around a courthouse square and one beside a lake in a state park.
What to Expect
A visit begins with the square itself, dressed for the season and ringed by vendor tables. Local makers sell arts and crafts, and browsing the stalls is the unhurried centre of the afternoon, with handmade goods that reflect the parish rather than a catalogue. Children have activities of their own, and the pet parade adds a light-hearted turn, with animals in seasonal dress walking a route watched by owners and onlookers alike. As the afternoon gives way to evening, the focus shifts to the tree. The lighting is a shared moment, the square going bright at once while the crowd watches, and it marks the turn from daytime browsing to the evening’s main event. The Christmas parade follows, carrying floats and marchers past the courthouse in a procession the community has kept alive since the early nineteen fifties. Because the whole gathering fits around one square, visitors can move between stalls, activities and viewing spots without a long walk or a timetable to chase.
Planning Your Visit
Farmerville is the parish seat, and the courthouse square sits at the heart of the downtown area, so finding the festival means finding the centre of town. Visitors driving in should allow time to park a short walk away, because streets around the square fill during the parade and the tree lighting. Arriving in the afternoon leaves room to browse the craft vendors before the evening crowds gather, while arriving later still catches the lighting and the parade. The programme described in the layers runs across an afternoon and into the evening, with daytime activities followed by a tree lighting at six in the evening and a parade at half past six. Comfortable shoes suit the day, since the ground is pavement and sidewalks and the stalls, the tree and the parade route are all reached on foot. A warm layer helps after sunset, when December air in northern Louisiana cools quickly. Admission arrangements are not stated in the layers read, so anyone travelling a distance should check current details with the Union Parish Chamber of Commerce before setting out.
For a useful comparison, see the Union Parish Louisiana Corney Creek Festival for another county festival.
A Sample Day in Downtown Farmerville
A good way to spend the day is to arrive in the early afternoon and walk the square slowly, taking in the craft stalls before the crowds build. Start with the vendor tables, where local makers display handmade goods, and allow time to talk with the people behind the stalls, since many of them are neighbours selling work they made themselves. Move on to the children’s activities, letting younger visitors try what is offered while the afternoon is still relaxed. The pet parade fits naturally into the middle of the day, a short and cheerful interlude that rewards an audience already gathered around the square. As the light begins to fade, find a spot near the tree and settle in for the lighting at six in the evening, when the square brightens and the mood of the gathering changes. Stay in place for the parade at half past six, watching floats and marchers pass the courthouse. The day needs no elaborate plan beyond that rhythm, an afternoon of browsing, a lighting, a parade and a final look around.
How It Compares With Other December Gatherings
Christmas on the Square belongs to a familiar kind of holiday celebration, the downtown festival built around a tree lighting and a parade, yet its scale and setting give it a character of its own. Larger city light festivals spread across districts and draw crowds from far away, while Farmerville’s gathering stays concentrated on a single square, with the courthouse as its anchor and the chamber as its organiser. Its pairing with Christmas in the Park at Lake D’Arbonne State Park is another distinction, giving Union Parish two coordinated December events in two very different settings, a town square and a lakeside park, rather than one celebration asked to serve every purpose. The parade’s longevity also marks it out. A procession kept alive since the early nineteen fifties carries a continuity that a newly invented festival cannot claim, and the square gathering honours that continuity by building around the parade instead of treating it as an afterthought. Compared with the Christmas on the Square events in Benton, Hammond and Live Oak in Florida, the Farmerville festival is a separate gathering in a separate town, sharing only a common name, and visitors should not confuse one for another.
Checklist
- Arrive in the afternoon to browse craft stalls before the evening crowds gather
- Wear comfortable shoes for walking pavement and sidewalks around the square
- Bring a warm layer for the hours after sunset in early December
- Find a viewing spot near the tree before the lighting at six in the evening
- Stay in place for the Christmas parade at half past six
- Keep children close during the parade, when the streets fill with spectators
- Check current admission and timing details with the chamber before travelling
- Allow extra time to park a short walk from the square
- Remember that Christmas in the Park at the state park is a separate event
- Take a final circuit of the square after the parade, when the lights are at their best
Beyond the Square
Farmerville rewards visitors who look past the festival itself. As the parish seat, the town holds the courthouse that gives the square its name, and the downtown streets around it carry the everyday life of Union Parish. Lake D’Arbonne lies nearby, and the state park on its shore hosts the chamber’s coordinated Christmas in the Park, a separate December event that pairs naturally with a square visit for anyone staying more than a day. The lake is one of the parish’s best-known features, and its shoreline and wooded setting offer a quieter contrast to the bustle of the square. Union Parish itself is a place of small towns and open country in northern Louisiana, and Farmerville’s role as its seat makes it the natural base for exploring the wider parish. Visitors who come for the festival can also take time to walk the downtown area in daylight, when the courthouse and its surroundings are at their most legible. The festival, in that sense, is not an event imposed on Farmerville but an expression of it, a December evening when the town’s centre does what it has always done, bringing people together.
Why It Matters
Christmas on the Square matters because it keeps a community tradition visible and alive. The parade has been with Farmerville since the early nineteen fifties, and each December it returns to streets where grandparents once watched the same kind of procession as children. The festival around it gives that tradition a present-day frame, with local makers selling their work, children taking part in activities made for them, and a pet parade that invites the whole household, animals included. The chamber’s role matters too. By organising the square gathering and coordinating it with the park event, the Union Parish Chamber of Commerce turns two separate occasions into a season, giving the parish a December identity that belongs to it rather than borrowed from elsewhere. For local vendors, the stalls offer a market at the busiest shopping time of the year, and for visitors, the festival offers a way into the parish that no advertisement could match, a direct experience of a small Louisiana town celebrating together. The courthouse square, as a venue, carries its own meaning. It is the civic heart of the parish seat, and holding a Christmas festival there says that the holiday belongs to the whole community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the Farmerville square gathering different from other events sharing its published name?
The Farmerville gathering is organised by the Union Parish Chamber of Commerce and held around the courthouse square in the parish seat, while similarly named events in Benton, Hammond and Live Oak in Florida are separate gatherings in other towns. The published name is common, but the organiser, the venue and the community are distinct, so the Farmerville edition should be judged on its own documented editions and programme.
Which parts of the day suit families with young children best?
The afternoon brings the easiest hours for families, with local arts and craft vendors to browse, activities made for children, and the pet parade to watch. The tree lighting at six in the evening and the parade at half past six are the evening highlights, and families who arrive early can enjoy the daytime activities at leisure before the streets fill for the parade.
How does the square festival relate to the chamber’s park celebration?
The Union Parish Chamber of Commerce organises both, and the two are coordinated across the same December season, but they remain separate events. Christmas on the Square takes place downtown around the courthouse square, while Christmas in the Park takes place at Lake D’Arbonne State Park, and the park event completed its third annual run in December two thousand twenty three.
What should a first-time visitor know before travelling to Farmerville for the festival?
Plan to arrive in the afternoon, allow time to park a short walk from the square, dress for cool evening air, and check current admission and timing details with the Union Parish Chamber of Commerce before setting out. The festival fits around one square, so comfortable shoes and a warm layer cover most needs, and the lighting and parade are the moments to be in place for.
What to Expect From the Next Union Parish Louisiana Christmas on the Square Festival
How often is Union Parish Louisiana Christmas on the Square Festival held?
The documented pattern is a December gathering, with dated editions in two thousand twenty three and two thousand twenty four, and the Christmas parade at its heart has been part of community life since the early nineteen fifties. Visitors should look for a December date each year and confirm the current year’s timing with the Union Parish Chamber of Commerce.
When is the next Union Parish Louisiana Christmas on the Square Festival?
The layers read document editions on two December two thousand twenty three and seven December two thousand twenty four, and they announce no date for a following edition. The next gathering should be expected in December, in line with the documented pattern, with the exact day confirmed by the chamber as the season approaches.
Will the dates change?
December is the season the layers document, and the two thousand twenty three editions fell on the second and third days of the month while the two thousand twenty four edition fell on the seventh day. A December date is the pattern to plan around, and the precise day may shift from year to year, so checking with the chamber before travelling is the sensible step.
The square will light up again, the stalls will return, and the parade will pass the courthouse as it has done for generations. Christmas on the Square is a small festival with a long memory, and its next December will offer the same simple pleasures the layers describe, handmade goods, children’s laughter, a pet parade, a tree bright against the night, and a community standing together in the heart of its parish seat.
