Starkey Ranch's Holiday Season Runs Through a Barn and a Library Lobby

A grass parking lot east of a barn on Starkey Boulevard will fill up twice this December. The first time is for a saxophone concert with Santa. The second is for a two-day market of local makers. The barn sits at 3460 Starkey Blvd. in Trinity, home of Starkey Market, and it hosts both of the big ticketed gatherings closest to Starkey Ranch this season.

The rest of the season sits at the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, where the lobby has turned into a gift shop and the program room into a pottery studio. Between those two addresses, the local holiday calendar is mostly weekday afternoons at the library and two December weekends at the barn. The bigger light shows are a short drive away. Only one evening, Saturday, Dec. 12, asks you to choose between events.

Below is the season in order, starting with Thanksgiving week.

Thanksgiving morning starts at Jay B. Starkey Park

The first holiday event outdoors happens before the turkey goes in. The Gobbler 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run, hosted by First Christian Academy, runs Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, at Jay B. Starkey Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd.

• 5K: starts between 7:30 and 7:40 a.m. and costs $40.
• 1-mile fun run: starts between 8:30 and 9 a.m. and costs $35.
• Registration deadline: online registration on the Gobbler 5K RunSignup page closes Monday, Nov. 23, at 8 a.m., so you have this weekend to sign up.

The hour between the two starts works well for a split household. One adult runs the 5K, the other walks the mile with the kids, and everyone is home in time for the oven.

The library lobby is open for gift shopping through Dec. 23

The quietest holiday event near Starkey Ranch is also the longest. The Friends of the Starkey Ranch Holiday Stroll Buy opened Saturday, Nov. 14, in the lobby of the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center and runs through Dec. 23. The Friends of the Starkey Ranch Library sell handmade crafts and discounted books, and they'll gift-wrap your purchases for an extra donation. All proceeds go toward family programs, classes and library supplies.

Because the sale stays in the lobby for more than five weeks, you can drop in on any library visit. You don't need to plan a separate shopping trip for it. A school-pickup detour or a Saturday book return can take care of a teacher gift.

The library's program room has a holiday run of its own this month in the ClayWorks Handmade Classics series:

An adult ornament session on Nov. 18 also filled up before it happened. Seats in this series go fast, so if a teen in your house wants to make an ornament, the Friday afternoon session is the one to book now.

Dec. 5: The barn becomes a concert hall

The first of the barn's two weekends is Saturday, Dec. 5. That night Kyle's Christmas on the Farm returns for its second year. The concert is led by saxophonist Kyle Schroeder and features JJ Sansaverino, and it pairs holiday classics with a smooth jazz sound.

The schedule runs about four hours:

1. 5 p.m.: Doors open.
2. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Santa Claus is on site, so bring a camera and the list.
3. 6 p.m.: Opening set by Nick Ewing and the Collective. The Market Coffee Bar opens with hot cocoa, ice cream and handcrafted drinks.
4. 7 p.m.: Kyle Schroeder headlines with JJ Sansaverino, Julia Fanning, Jean-Marc Alexander and Katie Lombardo.

The ticket you buy affects how much the night costs a family. There are three tiers: Blue lawn general admission, White open seating and Red VIP seating at the front. Children 10 and under get in free, but only in the lawn section. A family with young kids pays only for the adults if everyone sits on the lawn. If you go the lawn route, bring blankets or chairs. Tickets also cost $5 more each at the door than online.

The evening also includes a community toy drive for Youth and Family Advocates. Bring a toy or a small gift card. Food comes from The Trough, and several bars on the property will run drink specials.

Parking matters more than usual. Cars park on the grass lot east of the market and barn, and you enter through Starkey Market's main gates. There's no re-entry once your wristband goes on, so the blankets, the toy and the jackets all need to leave the car with you. After the show you can exit through the main entrance or the south exit onto Starkey Boulevard.

Dec. 12 and 13: The barn's market weekend, and Saturday's one conflict

A week later the same property hosts Starkey Market's 6th Annual Holiday Market, a curated collection of local artisans, makers and small businesses. Starkey Market calls it its biggest holiday market yet.

• Saturday, Dec. 12: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 13: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Starkey Market says the same vendors will be there both days. That makes Sunday a full second chance at the market, and it's what frees up Saturday evening.

Saturday evening is crowded. From 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 12, Center Stage Youth Theatre hosts Light Up Trinity at Generations Christian Church, 1514 Little Road, with caroling and costumed winter characters. The organizers are also looking for volunteers. Dec. 12 also falls on one of the weekend nights at Pasco's Celebration of Lights, covered in the next section.

Since the market has the same vendors both days, Dec. 12 and 13 can go like this:

1. Saturday daytime: Library errands and a pass through the Stroll Buy in the lobby.
2. Saturday, 5 to 7 p.m.: Light Up Trinity on Little Road.
3. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Holiday Market at the barn, with the whole afternoon to browse.

The order can flip if your family prefers the market on Saturday morning, since the market closes at 4 and Light Up Trinity starts at 5.

The lights are a drive away

Neither the barn nor the library runs a large light show, so the drive-to options fill in the season.

At The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, Symphony in Lights opened Saturday, Nov. 14, and runs nightly through Dec. 31. Shows with tree lights and snowfall run at 6, 7, 8 and 9 p.m., weather permitting. With four shows every night through New Year's Eve, it works for a weeknight dinner outing or for out-of-town guests who arrive after the barn events are over.

North of there, the Grand Concourse Railroad Christmas Train runs during Pasco Celebration of Lights at The Concourse in Shady Hills. The train runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 27 through Dec. 20, 6 to 9 p.m., and riders need to be in line by 8:45 p.m. Admission to the Celebration of Lights is $25 per carload. Train tickets are $4 per person and free for children under 24 months. At $25 a car, a full minivan pays the same admission as a couple, so this one is worth saving for a weekend when you're hosting relatives. Full event nights and tickets are on the Pasco Celebration of Lights site.

Dec. 23: The season closes where it opened

The local calendar ends back at the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center on Wednesday, Dec. 23. The library is showing The Muppet Christmas Carol on the big screen in the center's theatre from 2 to 5 p.m., with doors opening at 1:30. The screening is free.

Dec. 23 is also the last day of the Friends' Holiday Stroll Buy in the same lobby. One trip that afternoon covers a free movie for the kids and the last handmade gifts and wrapping for the season, five weeks after the sale opened.

If relatives in town this season start asking what a home on your street is worth, Anne Bromberg Luxury Group can give you a real number to share at the table. Get your home valuation whenever the calendar slows down, whether that's between the barn weekends or after Dec. 23.