Pleasant View and Ashland City both chose Dolly Parton themes for their 2026 Christmas parades, and both parades fall on Saturday, Dec. 5. Pleasant View's starts at 10 a.m. Ashland City's starts at 5 p.m. That leaves seven hours between them, with a holiday market and a lit trail of Christmas trees in between.
The Cheatham County Exchange's events calendar lists them as the Pleasant View Dolly Jolly Christmas Parade and the Ashland City Holly Dolly Christmas Parade. Each town runs its own parade, and the shared theme is simply how the 2026 calendar came out. Most of the county's December falls before or after that Saturday, so planning Dec. 5 first makes the rest of the season easier to schedule.
Saturday, Dec. 5, From Morning to Night
The day begins before either parade. Ashland City's last Holiday Market of the season opens at 9 a.m. at the Riverbluff Park Market Pavilion, 175 Old Cumberland St. It's the third and final market in a series the town started on Halloween, as Cheatham County Source reported in October. Here's how the rest of the day lines up:
- 9 a.m. to noon: Holiday Market at Riverbluff Park, Ashland City. Local vendors are expected to bring crafts, handmade goods and gift options.
- 10 a.m.: Pleasant View Dolly Jolly Christmas Parade. Pleasant View City Hall, 615-746-0600, handles parade entries.
- 1 to 4 p.m.: Staging for Ashland City's parade. Any entry not in line by 4 p.m. won't be judged.
- 5 p.m.: Ashland City Holly Dolly Christmas Parade. Floats, marching bands, community groups and Santa travel from the north end of Main Street to the south end.
The 10 a.m. parade starts while the market is still open, and the market closes at noon. The real gap is between noon and 5 p.m. That's when Ashland City's floats line up for judging, and it's when Riverbluff Park sits between the morning crowd and the evening one.
Ashland City wrote Dolly into the rules
The Town of Ashland City organizes its parade, and its 2026 entry application makes the theme more than a name. The application lists the theme as "Holly Dolly Christmas" and asks each entry to name its song, either a Dolly Parton song or a Christmas song. Each driver also needs a separate application, so a group with two floats and two drivers files two entries. Entries and vendor booths both register through the town's website.
The Night Before Belongs to the Mistletoe Trail
Ashland City's parade comes right after its other big December event. The Mistletoe Trail tree lighting at Riverbluff Park is Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m., 23 hours before the parade steps off.
The trail runs longer than either parade. The town's Parks and Recreation schedule has it at Riverbluff Park from Nov. 28 through Dec. 31. Local businesses, families and organizations decorate live trees along the Cumberland River, and the trail is free to visit. According to the town's Mistletoe Trail application, the 2026 dates are:
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 9:30 a.m.: Decorators pick their trees
- Friday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m.: Tree lighting
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m.: Paws & Claus
It costs $100 to decorate a tree, and trees are assigned in the order payments arrive. The first payment received gets first pick of the available trees. Payments go to City Hall, 405 N. Main St. Sponsorships start at $250 and go up to a $1,500 Festivity Sponsor level for the lighting night or Paws & Claus. Sponsor checks are made out to Friends of Ashland City Parks.
The trail is fairly new. The Cheatham County Exchange covered it in December 2023, its second year, when it had more than 70 trees. That puts the 2026 trail in its fifth season.
From Dec. 1 to Dec. 12, Santa's Mailbox is set up at Riverbluff Park, City Hall and the Parks Building. With the trail lit, the mailbox out and the last market on Saturday morning, Riverbluff Park is the center of Ashland City's December.
Kingston Springs Started the Dolly Theme Weeks Earlier
The Town of Kingston Springs and the Kiwanis Club of Cheatham County scheduled the ribbon cutting for a new Storybook Trail at Burns Park, 501 Park St., for Saturday, Nov. 14. The first book on display is Dolly Parton's "I Am a Rainbow."
That makes three Dolly events in three towns across three weeks, from a picture book in a park to two parades in one day. Burns Park also hosts the season's final big event a month later.
The Weekend After Spreads Across the County
Once Dec. 5 is over, the events move out of Ashland City. The next weekend has something in Pegram, Ashland City and Kingston Springs, from Friday morning through Sunday night.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Discover Cheatham launch party | Economic Development and Tourism Office, 328 Frey St., Ashland City | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Cheatham County Museum Christmas Market | 835 South Main St., Ashland City | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Christmas in the Park | Pegram City Park, Thompson Road | Late afternoon into evening |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | A Kingston Springs Christmas | Burns Park, Kingston Springs | 5 to 8 p.m. |
Friday: the county's new event calendar
The Friday party celebrates Discover Cheatham, the county's new tourism website. According to the Cheatham County Exchange, the site went live in late October. It gathers countywide events, restaurant and attraction guides, lodging and community pages for Ashland City, Kingston Springs, Pegram and Pleasant View in one place. Most of the events in this post have listings there.
Saturday: Ashland City in the daytime, Pegram after
The Cheatham County Museum Christmas Market offers handmade goods, live Christmas music and free photos with Santa while supplies last. Admission is free. The museum is on South Main Street, so it's on the same street as the Dec. 5 parade route.
Pegram's Christmas in the Park gets going about the time the museum market wraps up. The Cheatham County Chamber of Commerce listing describes a free gathering at the park pavilion with a fire, cocoa, chili, music, and Santa and Mrs. Claus. The Town of Pegram's park page says the entrance is off Thompson Road, near the Community Club and the Little Red Caboose at Highway 70. Check the start time with the Town of Pegram before you head over.
Sunday: fireworks in Kingston Springs
A Kingston Springs Christmas is the last event on the county calendar. It runs 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, in Burns Park. The town's news and events page lists photos with Santa, music, Christmas decorations and a fireworks show to close the night. It also lists the annual lighted tractor showcase, which is open to businesses, local farms and anyone who owns a tractor.
Before Dec. 5, and a Few Practical Details
There's one smaller event before the parade weekend. The Cheatham County Historical & Genealogical Association holds its annual bake sale on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at Sycamore Square. The proceeds support the group's work preserving county history.
For anyone taking part instead of watching, these deadlines come first:
- Mistletoe Trail decorators: Payment order sets tree choice, and trees are picked on Nov. 28 at 9:30 a.m. Pay at City Hall or by phone at 615-792-4211, ext. 5232 or 5223.
- Ashland City parade entries: Each driver files one application on the town site, and entries must be in the staging line by 4 p.m. on Dec. 5 to be judged.
- Pleasant View parade entries: Call City Hall at 615-746-0600 to register.
- Kingston Springs lighted tractors: Sign up through the link on the town's news page before Dec. 13.
If you're figuring out how to fit the Dec. 5 parades, the Mistletoe Trail and the Dec. 12–13 weekend around your own plans, or you know a family moving to the area who'd like to know what December looks like here, Market Masters Group would be glad to help with town-by-town details from people who live and work in Cheatham County. Let's Connect.
