In November 1989, Garry Schwab, now a retired plumber, and his wife, Janis, sent a handful of parade entries along two blocks of Comfort's historic district. The Boerne Star put the count at six. Janis is a Comfort native who owns the Kountry Kurl beauty salon. The two of them recruited entries, built floats and organized volunteers. Garry estimated he traveled to about 25 parades a year, from early March through the first weekend in November, to bring entries back to Comfort.
That parade is now the reason a whole day in Comfort runs late. The Comfort Area Chamber of Commerce bills this year's event as the 40th Annual Christmas in Comfort. It falls on Saturday, November 28, 2026, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as it does every year. The festival has more years on it than the parade does, but the parade sets the day's schedule. Every timeslot after 5 p.m. leads up to a 7 p.m. start on the street.
Six Entries, Then More Than a Hundred
According to a 2019 San Antonio Express-News story marking the parade's 30th anniversary, the Chamber gave the couple three years to make it succeed. By that 2019 anniversary, the parade had grown past 100 floats.
The Boerne Star gave the parade's German name, Weinachten Lichter, or Christmas Lights Parade. The paper described floats arriving "from throughout Texas." In the Schwabs' years the parade opened with Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving, played by Garry and Janis themselves, and closed with fireworks. The Star also reported that the couple had spent thousands of dollars of their own money on it, and that for Garry the parade was a way of saying "thank you" to the community.
That 2024 Star story ran under a headline calling the 35th parade the founder's finale, and reported that it was the Schwabs' last year leading it. The 2026 schedule still keeps the order they set: Santa arrives during the day, the lights come on at dusk, and fireworks follow the last float.
The Schedule Hands Off at Five
The Chamber's 2026 schedule shows a day that changes once the light goes.
- 10 a.m. The food courts and drink booths open at 7th & High. Vendors open along both High Street and 7th Street, and live entertainment starts at the 7th & High stage.
- 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Santa Claus is on hand for children.
- Noon Two more stages start, at Remedy Hall and in the Comfort Backyard.
- 5 p.m. The High Street vendors close for the day. The 7th Street vendors stay open.
- 6:30 p.m. The Christmas tree lighting. Music at Remedy Hall ends the same half hour.
- 7 p.m. The Lighted Night Parade starts. The 7th & High stage and the Comfort Backyard stage both wrap at 7.
- After the parade Fireworks.
- 9 p.m. The 7th Street vendors and the food and drink booths at 7th & High close.
The 5 p.m. line is the one to plan around. The Chamber lists more than 100 arts and crafts vendors, and the High Street portion of that market runs on daytime hours. Anyone shopping High Street for gifts should do it before the light goes. The 7th Street vendors and the food courts at 7th & High stay open four more hours, past the parade and the fireworks, so the evening crowd ends up around that corner.
For orientation, the Chamber posts an event map on its Christmas in Comfort page. It is the best reference for where the booths and stages sit this year.
Three Stages, Three Different Rooms
The music runs in three places, and they are three different kinds of room.
7th & High is the street stage, beside the food courts. It plays the longest, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., so it runs from the morning shopping right up to the parade.
Remedy Hall, at 804 High St., is a social lounge, live-music venue and sports bar. It hosts music from noon to 6:30 p.m., which ends just as the tree is lit.
The Comfort Backyard is the outdoor space behind the Newsom Vineyards tasting room. Newsom bills it as home to some of the area's best musicians, with the Norteno's food truck there daily. The Chamber lists Newsom Vineyards @ Comfort at 717 Front Street. Its Backyard stage runs from noon to 7 p.m. on festival day.
Because the stages end at staggered times, the afternoon can move around. A walk from Front Street up to High and over to 7th fits between sets, and all three stages have finished by the time the parade starts.
For a sit-down meal away from the booths, Fajita St. at 1004 Front St. serves fajitas, enchiladas and tacos. Its website lists Saturday hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., so it is still open after the fireworks.
The Old Ford Dealership on Eighth Street
One block off the main festival grounds, The 8th Street Market at 523 Eighth St. is holding its own Christmas Market the same Saturday, with handmade items and gifts from local artisans. The market occupies a former Ford dealership dating to about 1946. It covers 2 acres with more than 20 permanent dealers in several air-conditioned buildings, selling vintage, antique and architectural pieces.
The Christmas Market is a daytime event that closes before the tree lighting, so it belongs in the same part of the day as the High Street shopping. Confirm its exact hours with the market before heading over.
The Two Weeks After the Fireworks
Christmas in Comfort is the biggest night of Comfort's season, but the calendar stays busy after it. The Chamber's December listings are mostly weeknights, in smaller rooms, with many of the same businesses.
- Thursday, Dec. 3: A joint Comfort Chamber Mixer hosted by First Insurance and a fellow Chamber member at 616 Front St. B, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It costs $2, and the listing says it is open to members, future members, friends and neighbors.
- Thursday, Dec. 3: Bending Branch Winery hosts "Foods That Heal ThriveWell Dinner Series Vol. V," with food by Pharm Table.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Souper Bowl 2026, with soups from local venues.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: The 9th Annual CASI Chili Cookoff.
- Wednesday, Dec. 9: Wine Down Wednesday, with after-hours shopping and sipping at participating businesses around Downtown Comfort and at The 8th Street Market.
- Thursday, Dec. 10: Steak Night Social at Shopping With Siobhain, 205 Hwy 27.
Several of these listings are short, so check each organizer's page for times and venues the week of the event.
The order matches festival day. Shops that close early on November 28 open late on Wine Down Wednesday. The 8th Street Market appears on both calendars. A chili cookoff falls on the next Saturday, and Steak Night on Hwy 27 closes out the run on December 10.
Comfort's historic district has nearly 100 buildings that predate 1910, all within walking distance of the town center, and the Saturday after Thanksgiving is one of the best times to see them busy. If a Hill Country place in Kendall County or beyond is on your mind this season, whether that's a home near the district or acreage outside town, Fredericksburg Realty is happy to talk it over, from listings in town to ranch land.
