’Twas the night before the 29th annual Holiday Festival’s daylong celebration, which started with a dash of musical cheer. Filling the Edmond Town Hall Alexandria Room with seasonal songs and the plucky sound of banjo and guitar strings was the Goldrush band, playing a mix of bluegrass, folk, and holiday favorites.

The Jingle Bell Jam on Saturday night, December 6, was a new part of a traditional Holiday Festival to benefit Newtown Youth & Family Services (NYFS).

Lead vocalist Mary Beth Sippin spoke with the audience. “We thought it would be a good idea; we wanted to put a Christmas concert together,” she said. She also acknowledged the NYFS, which “does so much for the community.” Goldrush members Gary Sippin, Dick Neal, Chris Coogan, John Widgren, John Mobilio, and Gary Wikfors played a series of instruments from piano, upright bass, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, and banjo, adding their touch of Christmas Spirit to the Holiday Festival weekend.

By Sunday, the Edmond Town Hall Theatre filled with two performances of The Nutcracker Suite, put on by the Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet and Voice, and from balcony seats to the building’s basement were festive activities. Volunteers served a Holiday Tea with scones, accompanied by students caroling in the Alexandria Room. Either before or after the holiday play, guests could have stopped there for tea and a bite to eat. Pouring steaming water into the Edmond Town Hall’s signature china were mother and daughter Carla and Shaila Begglo.

A festival of trees occupied the lower level gymnasium alongside a Scholastic book sale, while in the center of the room Girl Scouts sold crafts. A Yankee Candle sale took place in the lobby, and crafts for children were in other smaller rooms.

Outside, the sidewalks filled with groups bustling to houses 30, 54, and 72 Main Street, with a short detour down East Street to the renovated barn at number 4, which were all part of the house tour this year. All addresses were adorned with evergreens, candles, red ribbons, and Christmas trees. Homeowners and volunteers led guests through the dressed-up rooms with stories of history and local lore.

At noon and 2 pm the theater filled with Nutcracker performances. Between curtain calls, Julia Finegan kept still as Kylee Raiano held a long brush, reapplying her friend’s makeup.

Downstairs with her red ticket in hand, Kaylin Brissette quickly cast her vote, dropping her ticket in a box for a favorite tree decorated with candy.

Sending a sweet peppermint scent into the air, Madison Foertsch nibbled a candy cane at the Scholastic Fair. One row away and reading a different tale was Camille Vail.

Selling crafts to support their Girl Scout troop were Rachel Drusilio and Arianna Dellacourte with Troop 51170. A floor above, the NYFS volunteers set up crafts where Tracy Gravius and her daughter Ally were making a snowman.

Near the town hall entrance, a trolley pulled to the curb, and guests disembarked after a tour along Main Street with Town Historian Dan Cruson, who wove tales of local legends and past town residents.

Unraveling yarns of their own were homeowners including Richard Mulligan, leading guests through his decorated and historic 74 Main Street home. From the placement of his silverware, based on advice from Martha Stewart, to pieces of furniture he made for his wife Dorothy, Mr Mulligan held guests’ attention, especially with the ghost story attached to his house, which is depicted in a mural in his stairwell.

At 54 Main Street, mother and son Sue and Brandon Giglio led groups through the recently renovated house, pointing to its new, refinished kitchen, floors, and woodwork.

At 4 East Street, student Ashley Mele showed off features at the former carriage house, which was converted to living space in 1947. She noted a mural of the house with an imaginary setting of a stream running through the backyard. At 30 Main Street, the Scudder Building — once used as a library and town clerk’s office — is now used as business space.

Also beckoning guests across its threshold was the Matthew Curtiss House, with its own historic version of Christmas and a tree decorated by docent Mairin Hayes. Branches were crowded with dried apples, strands of popcorn and cranberry, and other handmade flare. Docent Mairin Hayes wore her “perfectly authentic” period costume, which she completed with items from Williamsburg, Va., this year. She and her grandmother Carole Fekete and mother Elin Hayes annually make decorations for the tree.

By 4 pm Sunday as the last tea was served, and curtains closed on Nutcracker performances, the final visitors walked away from historic Main Street homes with lifted holiday spirits.