Ashland City's Holiday Season Starts on Halloween at Riverbluff Park
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Ashland City's first holiday event of 2026 is on October 31. On Halloween afternoon the city opens its Holiday Market at Riverbluff Park from 2 to 6 p.m. Howl-O-Ween, the trunk or treat, runs across town at John C. Poole Park that same afternoon. After that, the city calendar keeps the season going through December 31, and almost every event is at the same park on the Cumberland.
The town's whole holiday season fits along the river. Riverbluff Park hosts the market, the Mistletoe Trail, and Santa's Mailbox. Residents build much of the trail themselves, one $100 tree at a time. The new restaurant planned for the marina upstream may soon give the riverfront a place to eat between events.
According to the city's Holiday Market page, the market comes to Riverbluff Park at 175 Old Cumberland Street three times this season. Halloween is the only afternoon date. The other two are Saturday mornings:
If the 9-to-noon window sounds familiar, there's a reason. The Farmer's & Artisan's Market used it at Riverbluff Park every Saturday from May through August this year. In August alone that came to five Saturdays. The holiday version brings back the same morning in the same park, three times between Halloween and early December.
The Halloween date overlaps with Howl-O-Ween at John C. Poole Park. The city's main events table lists the trunk or treat from 3 to 5 p.m. The event's own page says 3 to 6 p.m. in its details. Ashland City Parks & Recreation can confirm the closing time. Since the market stays open until 6, families can do the trunk or treat first and still reach Riverbluff before the vendors pack up.
The biggest event of the season is the Mistletoe Trail, and the city doesn't decorate it. Residents and local organizations do. According to the 2026 Mistletoe Trail application, anyone can sign up to decorate a tree for $100. Tree spots are assigned in the order payments arrive. Sponsorships start at $250. The winning entry's chosen charity receives prize money, and when the season ends the city plants or recycles the trees.
Because spots go in payment order, the location of a family's or club's tree depends on how early they paid. Groups that want a particular spot along the path have a reason to get their application in early, well before Thanksgiving.
The trail runs at Riverbluff Park from November 28 through December 31. The application lists these dates:
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, November 28 | Tree selection | 9:30 a.m. |
| Friday, December 4 | Tree lighting | 6:00 p.m. |
| Thursday, December 10 | Paws & Claus | 6:00 p.m. |
Tree selection falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That leaves decorators six days before the December 4 lighting. The next morning, December 5, the Holiday Market returns to the same park for its last date of the year. That makes the first weekend of December the busiest stretch on the riverfront: trees lit Friday night and market stalls up Saturday morning, all in one park.
Santa's Mailbox runs December 1 through 12, with locations at Riverbluff Park, City Hall, and the Parks Building. The city hasn't posted public visiting hours for the trail itself, so call Parks & Recreation before planning an evening walk after the lighting.
The riverfront's other big story this fall is a restaurant that isn't open yet. In a July 21, 2026 report, the Cheatham County Exchange said Monell's founder and owner Michael King plans to open Monell's on the Cumberland in The Braxton on the marina. He told the paper he decided on a Cheatham County location after buying the marina.
The concept is more than one dining room. The report says the Ashland City location will serve many of the dishes Monell's is known for, including its iron skillet fried chicken. It will also have three micro-restaurants: a barbecue spot, a bakery, and Sarahsou, which will serve New England fish and chips, footlong hotdogs, and frozen custard. King, who is from Massachusetts, calls himself a "Yankee in a Southern kitchen." That explains the fish and chips.
The July report gave a projected opening of "September or October." The agenda for the city's August 11 Beer Board meeting included a Monell's beer permit application. As of early October, though, the Monell's website shows a "Coming soon!" banner and lists only its Germantown location, with no Ashland City hours yet. The Cheatham Chamber directory lists Monell's at 230 Warioto Way, the same address the marina uses.
The marina already gives the area some traffic. Ashland City Marina sits next to The Braxton at mile marker 157.8 on the Lower Cumberland. It lists 143 slips plus 12 transient slips for boats up to 80 feet. If Monell's opens during the holiday stretch, a night at the Mistletoe Trail could end with dinner on the same river. Until there's an opening date, plan around it as a maybe.
Here's the season in order, with one practical item first for anyone cleaning out the garage before the holidays:
The quiet weeks between these dates are a good time for the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail. The city lists four paved miles and 2.5 gravel miles, with directions to 177 Chapmansboro Road. A Saturday morning walk there fits before or after a market date at Riverbluff. The city's Parks & Recreation page currently lists the parks, restrooms, and Riverbluff Park boat ramps as open.
The Mistletoe Trail's payment-order rule makes the date that matters most for decorators the day the application goes in. Riverbluff's trail fills up one paid tree at a time.
If this season has you thinking about how close to the river you'd like to live by next December, Mary McCooley knows Ashland City's riverfront streets and can walk you through what's available near Riverbluff Park and Warioto Way. Start Your Property Search whenever you're ready, and Mary will help you plan it.
Whether you're buying your first home, relocating with the military, or preparing to sell your property, working with Mary McCooley means working with someone who is all in—for you.