Downtown McKinney's Holidays Leave the Square This December. Here's Where They Went.

The historic courthouse at the center of the McKinney square has been closed since February 2. The city's renovation of the McKinney Performing Arts Center began that day. It restores original architectural details and adds a permanent stage, better acoustics and seating, and renovated public restrooms, all under Texas Historical Commission approval. The city's project page puts completion in December. Cultural District Director Andrew Jones told the McKinney Community Development Corporation board at its August 27 meeting that the building will reopen as the Courthouse Theater, with substantial completion expected in mid-to-late December.

That puts the building at the heart of downtown dark for nearly all of the 2026 holiday season. At the MCDC's October 22 meeting, Jones said construction pushed Oktoberfest into three separate sites. It still drew more than 79,000 people, a record. December follows the same pattern. One weekend stays on the square, and the rest of the season has moved a few blocks out.

The Square Keeps One Weekend

Home for the Holidays still centers on 111 N. Tennessee St. and runs November 27 through 29. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Select rides and attractions are the only paid extras. The Community Christmas Tree lights Friday at 6:15 p.m. It is paid for entirely by community donations, which cover the tree, the lights and the ceremony. Main Street staff scheduled the tree's arrival downtown for November 11.

Under all three days of live music, the program is much as you know it. There's a carousel, a Ferris wheel over the decorated square, Snow Hill, train rides, a petting zoo, Santa, and life-sized Holiday Post Cards set up as photo stops. Saturday is also Small Business Saturday, with more than 180 locally owned shops and restaurants taking part. Because downtown sits inside the Cultural District, you can carry a drink bought from a licensed downtown restaurant, winery or authorized festival vendor while you walk. That doesn't extend to city-owned garages or some parks and city facilities.

The logistics matter more this year because Tennessee Street parking has been limited throughout the theater construction. Two free shuttles run about every 15 minutes:

• First McKinney Baptist Church, 1615 W. Louisiana St., near Highway 75: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• City Hall, 401 E. Virginia St., round trip to Chestnut Street: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. This is the only shuttle running on Sunday.

Once that weekend ends, the square's own holiday program is finished for the year. The rest of December happens somewhere else.

Kentucky Street's Circus Moves to TUPPS

For the past several years, Lone Star Circus set up on Kentucky Street, steps from the courthouse. In October, the MCDC was told the circus would move this year because of the theater renovation. It is also staying longer than usual, setting up in November and performing through December.

The show is A Very Merry Circus at TUPPS Brewery, 402 E. Louisiana St. The ticket page lists performances December 3 through 6, December 11 through 13, and every day from December 18 through December 31, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Shows are 2 p.m. matinees and 6 p.m. evening performances. Some Saturdays and the December 21 and 31 dates carry both.

That's roughly three weeks of performances. A single block on Kentucky Street couldn't host a run that long. In a brewery venue a few blocks east of the square, the circus works as an ordinary weeknight outing in the last stretch of the year. During winter break, it may be the easiest thing downtown to fit around a family's schedule.

Scrooge Moves Up Central Expressway

The courthouse closure moved one tradition well beyond downtown. McKinney Repertory Theatre's 2026 A Christmas Carol plays at Covenant Church–North Campus, 975 S. Central Expressway, on December 11 and 12 and December 18 and 19. Details and tickets are on the McKinney Repertory Theatre site.

A dinner on the square followed by a short walk to the show won't work this year. A dinner near the highway will.

Hunt Street Gets Its Library Back

The season's newest downtown destination is a building that has been closed for 18 months. As Community Impact reported, the Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library at 101 E. Hunt St. closed in June 2025 for a $20 million renovation and reopens December 1. The new layout adds dedicated youth and teen spaces, a 2,500-square-foot exhibit hall and a planetarium that seats 55. According to the city's project page, the planetarium dome is 26 feet wide, and the exhibit hall is built to host traveling museum exhibits.

The McKinney Public Library Foundation's grand opening is Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It includes family activities and showings of "The Night Sky" in the planetarium throughout the day.

That means two December Saturdays now compete for the same family morning. One is Small Business Saturday on the square. The other, a week later, is a free planetarium show on Hunt Street. The library also brings a year-round reason to come downtown that has nothing to do with the courthouse, the festival calendar or the dining scene.

A New Light on Chestnut Street

The other new landmark is easiest to see after dark. The Chestnut Elevated Water Storage Tank stands at the northeast corner of South Chestnut Street and Davis Street. It held 500,000 gallons and served the city's water system from 1953 to 2003. As Community Impact reported in 2025, the city chose the full $4.5 million restoration option, which covers structural repairs, repainting, site improvements and programmable LED lighting.

At the MCDC's October 22 meeting, city staff said the lights were installed and waiting to be energized, and a masonry and wrought-iron fence was going in at the base. Staff said they expected the tower to be lit for Home for the Holidays. The City Hall shuttle runs to Chestnut Street on festival weekend, so the tower sits along the route between the parking and the tree.

Why Next December Will Look Different Too

The spread from the square has another cause, and it starts this month. On October 5, the City Council awarded DDM Construction a contract of up to $12.95 million to rebuild Tennessee, Lamar, Hunt and Kentucky streets. According to the city's project page, the work covers:

• Tennessee Street from Virginia Street to Lamar Street
• Lamar Street from Church Street to McDonald Street/S.H. 5
• Hunt Street from Kentucky Street to McDonald Street/S.H. 5
• Kentucky Street from Hunt Street to Lamar Street

The project replaces the pavement, water, wastewater and storm drainage lines, adds ADA-compliant sidewalks, street lighting and landscaping, and changes Tennessee and Kentucky from one-way to two-way between Hunt and Lamar. Construction is set to begin in November 2026 and take more than 24 months. The council agenda item allows 677 calendar days from the notice to proceed and forecasts completion by September 2028.

City Manager Paul Grimes told the MCDC that the street work comes ahead of the redevelopment of the old City Hall and the old Development Services building. He added that residents can still send comments through Engage McKinney.

The courthouse should come back as the Courthouse Theater around the end of this year. The streets around it will be under construction for the next two holiday seasons. The places that took on December this year are all a few blocks out: TUPPS on Louisiana Street, the library, and the water tower on Chestnut. Through 2028, the square is likely to stay the starting point for December rather than the place where it all happens.

The December Calendar, Off the Square

• November 11: The Community Christmas Tree is scheduled to arrive downtown.
• November 27 to 29: Home for the Holidays, with the tree lighting Friday at 6:15 p.m.
• December 1: The Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library reopens at 101 E. Hunt St.
• December 3: A Very Merry Circus opens at TUPPS Brewery.
• December 5: Library grand opening, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with planetarium showings of "The Night Sky."
• December 11 to 12 and 18 to 19: A Christmas Carol at Covenant Church–North Campus.
• December 18 to 31: The circus performs every day through New Year's Eve.

If watching downtown McKinney rebuild itself makes you wonder which streets will feel different when the work is done, the team at Identity House Real Estate follows that block by block and is glad to share what we see. Begin Your Lifestyle Search.