Christmas in Black Mountain, North Carolina
Holly Jolly, the Parade and a Holiday Weekend Guide
Black Mountain does Christmas the way small towns are supposed to. The season centers on Holly Jolly, a downtown celebration with a Christmas market, the town tree lighting and Santa on Friday, a parade and the Circle of Lights at Lake Tomahawk on Saturday, and Deck the Trees on Sunday. It is fifteen minutes from the Old Fort valley.
What is Holly Jolly Black Mountain?
Holly Jolly is the town’s holiday kickoff, a downtown evening of late shopping, live performances and community celebration that has grown into a full weekend of events across the Swannanoa Valley.
The shape of the weekend, as the town and the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce have run it:
Day What happens Where
Friday evening Holly Jolly kickoff. Downtown, Town Square, Sutton Avenue, the Depot
The Holly Jolly
Christmas Market,
late night shopping,
live performances,
Santa greeting visitors
downtown
Friday, around 6:30 The town Christmas Town Square
tree lighting, followed
by a reading of The Night
Before Christmas
Friday evening Traveling carolers, ukulele Throughout downtown
bands, pottery markets,
live music spread across
Cherry, State,
Broadway and Richardson
Saturday afternoon The Christmas parade. Downtown, stepping off in the afternoon
Floats, marching bands,
community groups
Saturday evening Circle of Lights, Lake Tomahawk
lights reflected
across the water
Sunday Deck the Trees. More than Downtown and the historic Monte Vista Hotel
forty trees decorated
by local businesses
and organizations
Dates change every year. Holly Jolly typically lands in early December. Confirm this year’s dates and the parade step off time with Visit Black Mountain or the Chamber before you plan around them.
Why is Black Mountain worth a holiday trip?
Because the scale is right.
Asheville at Christmas is a production, and a good one. Black Mountain is a few walkable blocks of independent shops with a tree in the middle of them, close enough together that you can park once and stay on foot all evening. The parade is the kind where people know the people on the floats.
It also holds up as a day trip rather than a whole vacation. Fifteen minutes from the Old Fort valley, twenty from Asheville, which means you can do the entire evening and be back at a fire by nine.
The town is a regular on lists of the prettiest small towns in America, and December is when that reputation earns itself.
How do you plan a Holly Jolly weekend?
Friday
Arrive before five if you want to park easily. The market opens in the late afternoon and downtown fills steadily through the evening. Eat early or eat late, because the middle of the evening is when every table in town is taken.
Stay through the tree lighting. It is the moment the whole thing is built around, and the reading of The Night Before Christmas after it is the part people remember.
Saturday
The parade is the anchor. Get there early enough for a spot on the route, bring a folding chair, and dress warmer than you think, because standing still in December in the mountains is a different proposition than walking around in it.
After dark, Lake Tomahawk for Circle of Lights. The reflection on the water is the reason to go.
Sunday
Deck the Trees is the low key one, and the best of the three if crowds are not your thing. More than forty trees decorated by local businesses, spread through downtown and around the historic Monte Vista Hotel. It is a walking tour that takes as long as you want it to.
What else is there to do in Black Mountain at Christmas?
Shop. This is the real draw and the reason the town leans into the season. Downtown is dense with independent shops and galleries, and Holly Jolly exists in part to point people at them.
Lake Tomahawk. A walking loop around the water, quiet in the morning and the site of Circle of Lights in the evening.
Montreat. A few minutes up the road, quieter still, and worth the short drive for the setting.
Eat. Downtown carries more restaurants than a town this size should, and they fill during Holly Jolly. Reserve if you can.
What should you know before you go?
Parking fills. Arrive early on Friday and Saturday, or park at the edge of downtown and walk in. Everything is within a few blocks anyway.
Dress for standing still. December averages a high near 51 and a low near 32 in this region. A parade route at four in the afternoon in December is colder than the number suggests. Hat, gloves, real coat, warm socks.
Check the dates. Every year they move. Confirm before you book.
Watch the weather. Winter weather in the mountains can change a schedule. Events are occasionally adjusted or moved.
What is happening in Old Fort and the valley at the holidays?
Fifteen minutes east, Old Fort has its own quieter version of the season. Downtown is a few blocks with a brewery, a bakery and a country store, and it is a calmer place to spend a December afternoon than anywhere closer to Asheville. Our Old Fort guide covers the town.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a different animal in winter. On the days the gates are open, the long views are the clearest of the year. On the days they are not, they close without much notice. Check status the morning of.
Frequently asked questions
When is Holly Jolly in Black Mountain?
Holly Jolly typically takes place in early December, with the kickoff and tree lighting on a Friday evening and the Christmas parade the following day. Dates change each year. Confirm with Visit Black Mountain.
Is the Black Mountain Christmas parade free?
The downtown holiday events, including the tree lighting and the parade, are community events open to the public.
How far is Black Mountain from Asheville?
About fifteen miles east, roughly twenty minutes on Interstate 40.
How far is Black Mountain from Old Fort?
About ten miles west, roughly fifteen minutes on Interstate 40.
Where should you park for Holly Jolly?
Downtown parking fills quickly on Friday and Saturday evenings. Arrive early or park at the edge of downtown and walk. The whole event area is a few blocks.
What is Deck the Trees?
A community tradition in which local businesses and organizations decorate more than forty Christmas trees around downtown and the historic Monte Vista Hotel. It is a self guided walk and the quietest of the weekend’s events.
Is Black Mountain worth visiting in winter?
Yes, and December is its best month. The town is compact, walkable and built for exactly this, and the surrounding valley is quieter and less expensive than it is in October.
Where to stay for a holiday weekend
Black Mountain fills during Holly Jolly. The valley fifteen minutes east does not.
Wunderland Resort sits on 35 acres at 448 Curtis Creek Road in Old Fort, close enough for the parade and far enough to feel like you left town. Winter is when the property is at its best: a sauna, a natural water cold plunge, fire pits and a valley with no cell service and very few people in it.
Coming back from a cold parade route to a hot sauna is a specific pleasure, and one that mostly does not exist in a hotel.
Check December availability · See accommodations · See amenities
Keep reading
Sources
- Holly Jolly Black Mountain, Visit Black Mountain
- Holly Jolly, Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce
- A Black Mountain Christmas guide, Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce
- Festivals and events, Visit Black Mountain
- Top events in Black Mountain, Explore Asheville
- Asheville average temperatures by month, Current Results
