{"id":379747,"date":"2025-11-15T02:49:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T02:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/379747\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T02:49:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T02:49:19","slug":"candlelight-christmas-in-ryan-place-41-years-of-holiday-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/379747\/","title":{"rendered":"Candlelight Christmas in Ryan Place: 41 Years of Holiday Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all have our own holiday traditions \u2014 some small, some grand \u2014 and for the team and homeowners behind the annual Candlelight Christmas Home Tour in\u00a0Ryan Place<\/a>, tradition comes wrapped in festive lights and historic charm. Fifty volunteers, docents, and house captains \u2014 it really does take an army of elves to bring the magic of Candlelight to life \u2014 stand ready for this year\u2019s tour, which promises to be a celebration of community, history, and holiday cheer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Candlelight Christmas in Ryan Place (CCRP) has been a Fort Worth fixture for 41 years, a time capsule of history and holiday spirit that transforms the neighborhood\u2019s streets into twinkling corridors of old-world charm. Held the first weekend of December, the tour\u00a0showcases\u00a0homes ranging from stately mansions to cozy bungalows, reflecting the architectural diversity of the historic Ryan Place neighborhood. Proceeds from the event support local historic preservation projects, neighborhood infrastructure, and community fellowship initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, the tour highlights five exceptional\u00a0historical\u00a0homes alongside Ryan Place\u2019s iconic Daggett Elementary, all dressed for the holidays. Adding to the festive atmosphere, attendees can enjoy Santa, a Polar Express-inspired train for kids, live music, and \u2014 back by popular demand \u2014 horse-drawn carriage rides.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The origins of CCRP date to 1984, when a group of committed residents launched what was then dubbed a \u201cKitchen Table Committee.\u201d Ryan Place had endured decades of decline, with many historic homes seen as outdated or impractical. The inaugural Candlelight Tour offered a new vision \u2014 presenting these so-called \u201cwhite elephants\u201d in all their restored holiday\u00a0splendor, catching locals and visitors alike by surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spirit of it was really to take back the neighborhood,\u201d Andrea Davis, co-chair of the tour, explains. \u201cWe wanted to preserve these homes before they were lost.\u201d Over the years, the tour has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, funding major projects such as the reconstruction of stone entrance portals on Elizabeth Boulevard and the installation of historically styled streetlights \u2014 small but meaningful efforts that reinforce the neighborhood\u2019s unique architectural identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colleen Shutt, home tour director and co-chair, beams about the 41st annual tour: \u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0got five phenomenal houses this year, plus Daggett Elementary. The school has been part of the tour for three years now, and they really go all out \u2014 furniture restored to a hundred years ago, classrooms decorated with wreaths, and even a working fireplace.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Visitors can enjoy a self-paced stroll through the homes and school, stopping at a central holiday hub that will feature live performances, food, and festive activities. Musical offerings include local favorites like Mollie Danel and her backing band, along with the banjo\u00a0group\u00a0the Holy Pickers, walking carolers, and acoustic sets that evoke the cozy ambiance of a traditional Christmas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those\u00a0seeking\u00a0a more immersive experience, horse-drawn carriage rides and a kid-friendly mini train provide an extra touch of nostalgia. The tour gives visitors a sense of stepping back in time, evoking a more wholesome, old-school Christmas \u2014 the kind of holiday scene that could have come straight out of “Little Women.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Homeowners\u00a0volunteer\u00a0their residences for the tour, many completing extensive restorations in anticipation of the event. \u201cOne home was taken down to the\u00a0bones,\u00a0every brick rinsed and reordered,\u201d Colleen notes. \u201cThe attention to detail is phenomenal.\u201d Visitors leave not just inspired by the decorations but with ideas for their own holiday displays \u2014 a unique blend of preservation, creativity, and community pride.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tickets for the 2025 tour are $30, with an early-bird price of $25 available through Cyber Monday. The tour runs Saturday, Dec.\u00a06, from 12\u00a0p.m.\u00a0to 9\u00a0p.m., and Sunday, Dec.\u00a07, from 12\u00a0p.m.\u00a0to 5\u00a0p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the neighborhood prepares for another year of sparkling lights and festive cheer, Colleen captures the feeling of the tour: \u201cYeah, it gives me tingles just talking about it.\u00a0There’s\u00a0a true\u00a0magic\u00a0that’s\u00a0in the\u00a0air, and you start to feel it. Now,\u00a0we’re\u00a0putting the signs up right now as we speak at the gates at Elizabeth\u00a0Boulevard\u00a0and\u00a0Eighth\u00a0Street.\u00a0And once everything just starts to take shape\u00a0more and more, you just feel it in the air.\u00a0It’s\u00a0really cool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all have our own holiday traditions \u2014 some small, some grand \u2014 and for the team and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":379748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,12043,2576,7371,7372,105381,182153,119539,421,20038,60646,10763,5921,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-379747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arts-and-culture","10":"tag-event","11":"tag-fort-worth","12":"tag-fortworth","13":"tag-holiday-event","14":"tag-holiday-decorating","15":"tag-holiday-lights","16":"tag-homes","17":"tag-neighborhood","18":"tag-ryan-place","19":"tag-stephen-montoya","20":"tag-style","21":"tag-texas","22":"tag-top-story","23":"tag-tx","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-united-states-of-america","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115551441015609782","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}