The clock tower at Veterans Park, 22 E. Division St., is where Mt. Juliet's two biggest city holiday events now happen. The Christmas tree lighting is there from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Twenty-five days later, on Saturday, Dec. 12, the last float in the Christmas parade comes up N. Mt. Juliet Road and stops a short walk from that same tree.
This layout is only a year old. Until 2025 the parade ran all the way to Charlie Daniels Park. Today the season has two hubs. The clock tower holds the tree lighting on a weeknight evening and the parade's finish at midday. Charlie Daniels Park and Breeden's Orchard on Beckwith Road hold almost everything else, beginning days before the tree is lit. If you plan around that split, you won't end up at the right event in the wrong part of town.
Why the parade stops at Division Street now
The parade still steps off at 11 a.m. from West Wilson Middle School. It runs about 1.4 miles north on N. Mt. Juliet Road and finishes on E. Division Street, near Veterans Park, the clock tower and the train depot. The rain date is 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13, and this year's theme is "A Holly Dolly Christmas." The city hasn't named a grand marshal yet.
The shorter route started in 2025. WKRN reported at the time that Parks and Recreation Director Ross Hudson changed it after people walking the parade said the old route was long and Charlie Daniels Park was too far to reach. The old route shut down 18 intersections. The new one closes five. In the same report, city officials said they hoped the change would ease traffic and lighten the load on the police department.
Last year's change also brought new float rules. WKRN reported that candy could no longer be thrown from floats, though walkers could still hand it out. Floats carrying children 13 or younger had to have a 36-inch rail. "Candy doesn't always make it to the edge of the road, which encourages kids to run out in the street," Hudson told the station. Those were the 2025 rules. The city's Christmas Parade page is the place to confirm whether they still apply this December.
So the parade no longer reaches the park. That is why the park's own holiday events now have dates of their own.
What Charlie Daniels Park still hosts
Charlie Daniels Park hosts more holiday dates than the clock tower does. Its events just don't involve a parade.
Home for the Holidays, Saturday, Nov. 14. This is the 14th year for the market, which runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1110 Charlie Daniels Parkway. Forty-eight vendors were confirmed as of mid-October, with more still signing on, most of them makers of handmade goods: bakers, crocheters, woodworkers, glass and bead artists, jewelry makers, candle makers, lavender growers and a floral designer, plus a few food vendors for lunch. Students from Amy Lechner's voice studio are scheduled to sing through the day. Santa photos are free, but you need to bring your own phone or camera. The announcement doesn't list admission or parking details, so check the event's Facebook page before you go.
The N.C. Hibbett Hall Train and History Museum. The free museum is at 1075 Charlie Daniels Parkway, inside the park, and opens 2 to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. In November, that means Nov. 14 and Nov. 28.
Christmas in the Park, Tuesday, Dec. 1. The city has it on the calendar at Charlie Daniels Park but hadn't posted a time as of mid-October. Watch the city's Christmas in the Park page for the schedule.
Questions about any of these go to Mt. Juliet Parks and Recreation at 615-758-6522. The department's office is also in the park, at 1075 Charlie Daniels Parkway.
Nov. 14 is the busiest Saturday of the season
On the second Saturday of November, the park's market and museum and the orchard's Pie Weekend all happen at once, three days before the tree lighting. Breeden's Orchard, 631 Beckwith Road, is a family-run orchard with a cidery, country store, bakery and activity yard. Its events calendar puts A Slice of Fall: Pie Weekend on Nov. 14 and 15, Story Time on Saturday morning, and a Fall Harvest Celebration with campfire drinks that evening.
Here is the day in order, using each organizer's posted hours:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. | Pie Weekend opens with bakery favorites, cider and Thanksgiving pie pre-orders | Breeden's Orchard, 631 Beckwith Road |
| 10 to 11 a.m. | Story Time for young children | Breeden's Orchard |
| 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Home for the Holidays artisan market | 1110 Charlie Daniels Parkway |
| 2 to 4 p.m. | Hibbett Hall train museum open, free | 1075 Charlie Daniels Parkway |
| 4 to 9 p.m. | Fall Harvest Celebration | Breeden's Orchard |
The hours line up well. You can do the market and the museum in the park, then drive to Beckwith Road for the evening celebration. If you'd rather avoid crowds, go to the orchard on Sunday, Nov. 15, when Pie Weekend is still running and nothing else is on.
The orchard's calendar runs on pie
Breeden's Orchard keeps the season going on the weekends when the city has nothing scheduled. Its November calendar, from the orchard's own listings:
- Sunday, Nov. 1: Thanksgiving pie pre-orders open.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 to 8: Cider & Sweets Weekend, with cider, donuts, cinnamon rolls and Breeden's Swirl.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 to 15: A Slice of Fall: Pie Weekend.
- Saturday, Nov. 21 to Wednesday, Nov. 25: Thanksgiving Pie Week, with scratch-baked pies.
- Monday, Nov. 23 to Wednesday, Nov. 25: pickup for pre-ordered pies, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This post goes up on Oct. 29, so pre-orders open three days from now. Story Time also runs on several other November mornings, including Nov. 7, 13, 20 and 21, from 10 to 11 a.m. The orchard's food and drink menu covers pies, fresh pizza, cider and food-truck fare.
Parade morning, planned around last year's closures
The 2026 parade traffic plan wasn't out as of mid-October. The Mt. Juliet Police Department's 2025 plan is the best guide until it is, because it was the first plan written for the current route. Last year:
- N. Mt. Juliet Road closed from Weston Drive to E. Division Street from 10:45 a.m. until about 12:30 p.m., and traffic was expected to clear around 1 p.m.
- Police suggested driving around the closure on the Golden Bear Gateway bypass or Curd Road, or taking S. Greenhill Road to Division Street, Pascal Drive, Page Drive, Old Lebanon Dirt Road, Chandler Road and Central Pike.
- The department advised arriving well before the road closed to find parking, and bringing a jacket and an umbrella.
WKRN reported that the parade usually draws around 40,000 people from surrounding cities and counties, on top of local families. A crowd that size helps explain why the city cut the closures to five intersections. For traffic questions on parade day, call the Mt. Juliet Police non-emergency line at 615-754-2550.
Lunch after the parade
Parade-goers hungry around 1 p.m. have two new options on this fall's chamber ribbon-cutting list. Casa Mezcal Mexican Grill, at 11804 Lebanon Road, cut its ribbon Oct. 5. Ugly Bagel, at 1913 N. Mt. Juliet Road, Suite 101, cut its ribbon Sept. 10, according to Mount Juliet Today's roundup of new businesses. Ugly Bagel is on the same road the parade uses, so check where it sits relative to the closure before you set out on foot.
Our team calls Middle Tennessee home, and in December we're out on Mt. Juliet Road with everyone else. If you're getting to know Mt. Juliet one holiday season at a time and want a local perspective on what it's like the rest of the year, Shawn Tate and the Tate Team would be glad to talk. Contact Us.
