On a Friday night in late September, vendors set up along W. Houston Street. Line dancing lessons started in front of the Grayson County Courthouse at 6:30, a bounce house sat on the courthouse lawn, and musician David Whitfield played while shoppers walked the road with drinks in hand. That account comes from KXII's coverage of the Moonlight Market. On most days that road is State Highway 56.
That fact shapes downtown Sherman's calendar between now and Saturday, Dec. 5. The square's evening events are put together by the merchants who run its storefronts, and in at least one case those merchants had to get a state agency's approval before they could use their own front street.
The Street the City Couldn't Close
The Moonlight Market started this year with a spring run and a fall run. According to KXII, it was organized by three downtown business owners: Teresa Slaton of The Impeccable Poppy, May Gingras of Wildflowers on Sunday, and Lisa Rutledge, who owns Rutledge Ryan Ranch with her husband. Slaton explained the reason in that same KXII report: "People don't think to come downtown on Friday nights."
Crowds were bigger than the organizers expected, and Gingras told KXII that people crossing between booths and oncoming traffic had become the main safety concern. The obvious fix was to close the street. Because Houston Street is part of State Highway 56, the city couldn't do that by itself. Nate Strauch, Sherman's communications manager, described the situation to KXII:
"So they came to the city with a request to shut down Houston Street, which is unfortunately for all of us a state highway. So the city of Sherman does not have unilateral authority to shut that road down. But because this event was so successful, the city council said we do want you to go ahead and pursue that."
The city then spent about a month working with the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT approved closing Houston Street from Crockett Street to South Elm Street from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on market Fridays, and two police officers handle traffic control at each market. The Sept. 25 market was the first of four with full access to Houston Street.
In other words, the market started with three shop owners, got the city council's backing, and then needed a state agency's approval. The rest of downtown's season grows out of the same storefronts.
The Last Market Friday
You won't have long to see the closed-street version before it pauses for winter. The market's official 2026 calendar lists Friday, Nov. 13 as the final date. Markets run 6 to 9 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays across from 903 Brewers. KXII's September report described the season running through the first Friday in November, which would be Friday, Nov. 6. Check the market's site before you head out on either Friday.
Nov. 6 also starts with a downtown event. Downtown Sherman NOW lists Coffee With the Mayor that morning from 8 to 9. The October edition of Coffee With the Mayor was where Mayor Shawn Teamann announced a 40,000-square-foot convention center and a 100,000-square-foot hotel, as KXII reported from the mayor's roundtable. The next date on the calendar is Dec. 4, also 8 to 9 a.m.
If you make things to sell, Nov. 19 is the date to watch. That is the application and payment deadline for vendors at the city's 2026 Snowflake Festival. According to the city's vendor application, the festival is open to individuals, clubs, and groups selling original handcrafted items they made or assembled themselves. Applicants submit a photo of their merchandise and booth setup so the city can keep a mix of vendors. The form also says vendors are required to collect and remit state and local sales tax, and it tells vendors to check with tax authorities to find out whether that applies to their business. It adds that the State Comptroller's office sends a representative to spot-check permits during the festival. Vendors can confirm their own permit requirements with the Texas Comptroller.
Dec. 5, Hour by Hour
After the last market, downtown has no big public event for about three weeks. Then several events land within 36 hours of each other, with the busiest stretch on Saturday, Dec. 5.
- Friday, Dec. 4. Sherman Community Players opens It's a Wonderful Life, which runs Dec. 4 through 20. Sherman Arts lists it in the company's 78th consecutive season, 2026-2027. The Players perform at either the historic Finley Playhouse or the Honey McGee Playhouse. Tickets are sold through the Players' site.
- Saturday, 12:30 to 2 p.m. Snowflake Festival vendors set up around the courthouse square at 100 W. Houston St. Vendor vehicles have to be out of the festival area by 1:30.
- Saturday, 2 to 6 p.m. Festival sales run, and the city's form lists teardown starting no earlier than 5:30.
- Saturday, 6 p.m. The Sherman Christmas Parade steps off downtown. This year's theme is "Stars, Stripes, & Christmas Lights." The city's parade entry form says accepted entrants get detailed instructions by email and that entry points to the lineup area have changed, so plan your parking around whatever the city posts closer to the date.
- Saturday, 7:30 p.m. The Sherman Symphony plays Christmas Pops at the Sid Richardson Center at Austin College. A second performance is Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m.
The schedule is tight. Festival sales are listed to end at 6 p.m. at the earliest, and the parade starts at 6. Christmas Pops starts 90 minutes after that, across town on the Austin College campus. If you want to fit in both the parade and the 7:30 concert, the Sunday matinee takes some pressure off.
Who Keeps the Lights On Between Events
Festival days are the exception. On ordinary days, downtown runs on the businesses listed on the Downtown Sherman NOW member roster, including 903 Brewers, The White Rabbit Coffee House, The Milieu Wine Bar, Vitina's Deli & Boiler Room, The Post, Laurel E. Boutique, Proper Gifts & Decor, and Still Charming. The Impeccable Poppy and Wildflowers on Sunday, two of the three businesses behind the Moonlight Market, are also downtown storefronts.
The block has changed this year too. In July, KXII reported that a downtown pastry shop was moving to a new spot on Houston Street and relaunching as Sugarcito. That's one more business choosing to open on the same street where the market gathers.
Meanwhile, Out on U.S. 75
Sherman's other big change this year is happening along the highway corridor, and it's moving through a different process. At the October mayor's roundtable, Rob Rae, the city's director of development services, said Bubba's 33 is getting ready to open "prior to the Christmas season." LongHorn Steakhouse is expected to open before the end of the year, according to KXII. First Watch is going into the former Taco Cabana on the U.S. 75 frontage road near Sara Swamy Drive, according to the Herald Democrat. At the roundtable, KXII reported, the project was set to come through Rae's office for approval at its next meeting. KTEN reported that Braum's opened its second Sherman shop, at the southwest corner of U.S. 75 and FM 1417, and the store's address is 3120 South Highway 75. It opened at the end of August.
Those are the questions Rae said come up most. "That's what we hear on Facebook... is HEB actually gonna happen?" he said at the roundtable. City leaders confirmed that H-E-B has bought its land and finished site grading. No opening date has been given. The convention center and hotel announced at Coffee With the Mayor are part of "The Ridge at Stone Creek," a combined housing, commercial, and hospitality plan approved by Planning and Zoning in late September.
H-E-B shows how long the corridor's process can take. Its land is bought and graded, and it still has no opening date. The 75 corridor gets restaurants and grocers through site purchases, grading, and approvals at the development services office. Downtown got its Friday nights because three merchants asked for a street, the city council backed them, and TxDOT signed off within about a month. This holiday season you'll see both. Bubba's 33 is aiming to open before Christmas, and the Snowflake Festival vendors set up around the courthouse at 12:30 on Dec. 5.
If you're thinking about how Sherman's growth along 75 and its rebuilt downtown fit together, especially if a walk to the courthouse square on a Friday night matters to you, our team follows both closely. Lake & Country Realty is happy to talk through what's changing around the square and along the corridor. Talk to a Lake & Ranch Specialist.
