Cashiers fits four holiday events into Friday, November 27, 2026. They run in two locations between 10 a.m. and the moment the trees on The Village Green light up around 5:45 p.m. One of the four won't be back until 2028.
The 2026 Cashiers Festival of Trees, on Thanksgiving weekend at Summit Charter School, is the last one on a yearly schedule. Organizers are moving it to every other year. That means this Friday's lineup won't come around again next year: the festival at 370 Mitten Lane, the Mistletoe Market and Santa on the Green at Lewis Hall, and the free tree lighting at the Gazebo, all on the same day. If your family has made the Friday after Thanksgiving a Cashiers tradition, this is the year to plan it carefully.
Why the Festival Is Stepping Back
The festival started in 2021, and every year since, it has opened the local holiday season. Plateau Magazine's October–November 2026 issue reports that the November 27–28 event will be "the last annual Festival of Trees before organizers shift to a biennial schedule." The next one will be in 2028.
Festival Director Melissa Hudson told Plateau Magazine the change was always part of the plan. "We had a vision for the festival to go every other year once it met a level of growth, and we feel like we are in a position to do that," she said, and added that more planning time "will ensure we can continue to create a successful and meaningful event."
The festival has grown a lot. According to the same article, it has raised more than $2.3 million for Summit Charter School and other nonprofits since 2021, including more than $500,000 last year alone. Organizers hope to match or beat that in 2026. Toast to the Trees, the summer fundraiser, will stay on a yearly schedule. Only the Thanksgiving weekend festival is moving to every other year.
That makes 2026 the year a lot of money gets raised to carry the school through the gap year. Hudson told Plateau Magazine that organizers hope "the success of the festival will help sustain Summit in the year between festivals."
Friday, November 27, Hour by Hour
All of Cashiers' Thanksgiving weekend events land on Friday, with one before it and one after. Here's how the day lines up.
- 10 a.m. The Festival of Trees opens at Summit Charter School's Summit Center and High School, 370 Mitten Lane. Camp Candy Cane offers free childcare with crafts, storytime and holiday games from 10 a.m. to noon.
- Noon. The Mistletoe Market opens at Lewis Hall on The Village Green with local artisan gifts until 5 p.m.
- 1 p.m. Santa on the Green starts at Lewis Hall and runs until 4 p.m. Visits are by registration only, and a $5 donation per child is encouraged. Registration opened October 27.
- 5 p.m. The festival closes for the day, and Lights on The Green begins at the Gazebo and Lawn, 35 Highway 64 West. It's free, it runs until 7 p.m. rain or shine, and there's a S'mores Village for kids.
- About 5:45 p.m. The trees on The Green light up.
The schedule fits together neatly. The festival closes at 5 p.m., the same moment the tree lighting crowd starts gathering at the Gazebo. You can spend the morning on Mitten Lane, shop the Mistletoe Market after lunch and still be on the lawn when the lights come on.
Thursday has its own early start. Gobble on The Green, The Village Green's Thanksgiving 5K, runs 9 to 11 a.m. on November 26 on a new 3.2-mile course. Check-in is at Lewis Hall, 160 Frank Allen Road.
Where Things Are and What They Cost
The weekend splits between two locations, and they work differently. The festival charges admission, while most Village Green events are free or ask for a donation.
| Event | Where | Cost | Needs planning? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Festival of Trees, Nov. 27–28, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Summit Charter School, 370 Mitten Lane | $5 per adult, covers both days; free for 18 and under | No |
| Camp Candy Cane, both days, 10 a.m.–noon | Festival grounds | Free childcare | No registration method posted |
| Mistletoe Market, Nov. 27, noon–5 p.m. | Lewis Hall, The Village Green | Not listed | No |
| Santa on the Green, Nov. 27, 1–4 p.m. | Lewis Hall, The Village Green | $5 per child encouraged | Registration required |
| Lights on The Green, Nov. 27, 5–7 p.m. | Gazebo and Lawn, 35 Highway 64 West | Free | No |
One festival ticket covers both days, so you can tour the trees Friday and come back Saturday for the bidding. Laurel Magazine lists the festival's other draws, including the Gift Zone, the Vendor Village and a pop-up O.P. Taylor's Teddy Bear Workshop.
The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce listing adds the rest of the lineup. There will be glassblowing, blacksmithing and chainsaw woodworking demonstrations, a fresh wreath bar, and patch stations for customizing hats and bags. Food trucks include Chile Loco, Chick-fil-A and Grand Olde Station, and Summit's high school student government will sell dirty sodas. The rivalry-weekend football games will be on screens too, so the Saturday game doesn't have to keep anyone home.
Saturday's 4 O'Clock Deadline
Saturday, November 28, has one firm time to remember. The festival's silent auction of decorated trees, wreaths, gift baskets and auction experiences closes at 4 p.m. You can bid in person or online. Laurel Magazine says people who can't make it in person can bid virtually all weekend, and the festival's page at Summit Charter School has ticket and bidding details.
The auction also sends money well beyond the school. Laurel Magazine reports that when a Cashiers-Highlands nonprofit donates a decorated tree or wreath, it receives 80 percent of that item's sale price. A winning bid on a nonprofit's tree mostly goes back to that organization. And for those groups, 2027 won't have a Festival of Trees.
What Carries On Every Year
The rest of the holiday calendar picks up after Thanksgiving weekend.
- Lights on The Green keeps The Village Green lit from Thanksgiving weekend into early February. The Village Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit park, and donations pay for the display.
- The Twelve Days of Christmas, run by the Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce, brings live music to local businesses and venues in Cashiers, Glenville and Sapphire every day from December 1 through 12.
- The 52nd Cashiers Christmas Parade runs Saturday, December 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. It starts at Frank Allen Road and US 64 West, passes the Crossroads, turns south on Highway 107 and ends at Cashiers School Road.
- St. John's 4th Annual Community Christmas Carol Sing-a-Long is Wednesday, December 9, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the church sanctuary. It's free and open to everyone.
The parade is in its 52nd year, and the Festival of Trees is in its sixth. The festival grew quickly, and it's stepping back to every other year so it can keep going.
Two newer shops are worth adding to a December shopping list. Grey Fox Grocery, a specialty market owned by Erin Douglass, opened in late June 2026 at 356 Valley Road and plans to stay open year-round, according to Laurel Magazine. Indigenous Chocolate opened its downtown shop at 188 Burns Street. Plateau Magazine lists its hours as noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, and Sunday through Tuesday by appointment. It's closed Wednesdays, when it has a stall at the market on The Village Green.
Pencil in Thanksgiving weekend 2028 for the next Festival of Trees. The Village Green tree lighting, the parade and the Chamber's Twelve Days of Christmas fill the calendar in between.
If you're out at the festival this year and start wondering what your own place on the plateau is worth, the team at Great Smoky Mountain Homes is glad to talk it over before or after the holidays. Request your free home valuation, and we'll give you a clear, local read on your property.
