Marietta's Candlelight Tour Turns 60, and It's Still a Tour Neighbors Give Each Other

"We have a House Hunting Committee that asks Marietta residents to be on tour to open their home," Marietta Restoration Associates volunteer Joanne Dancause told TownLively before last year's tour. "Sometimes residents come to them to be on tour. Other times we go to them!"

That's how the whole event works. On Sunday, Dec. 6, the 60th Marietta Candlelight Tour runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eight private homes are on it, and each one belongs to someone in town who said yes. The tickets are sold at shops on Market Street. The money goes back into the historic buildings on the route. In 2026, the newest places to warm up between houses were also opened by people who live here. If you live in Marietta, you aren't just a guest at this event. You're part of what keeps it running.

How the Houses Get Chosen

Marietta Restoration Associates, or MRA, says local residents formed the group in 1965 to protect the town's history and architecture. The first Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes came out of that same effort. TownLively called last year's event the 59th tour. Organizer Rebecca Carroll Baltozer said, "This is our 59th tour, which makes us one of the oldest home tours!"

Every year the House Hunting Committee picks a new set of homes, and Dancause says they don't all have to look alike. "It's not about having a certain 'look' to be on tour," she told TownLively. "Everyone who comes to tour decorates differently." So the eight homes this year will be different from last year's eight, and the people hosting them could easily be your neighbors.

MRA's homepage says the 2026 tour is "back with opening 8 private homes, and various historic buildings." It also points to MRA's Facebook page for previews of homes on the tour. If you want to know which houses are opening before you buy, that's the place to check.

The Ticket Counter Is a Local Shop

You don't print a ticket for this tour. The tour booklet is your ticket. It has a map of the homes and other stops, and it covers the free shuttle, the eight homes, a Local Artist Showcase and the Old Town Hall Museum. MRA's online store lists general admission at $30, and the ticket page gives the day-of-event price as $30. The page also shows a $25 option marked unavailable, so check the store for the current presale price before you order. MRA says presale tickets bought online will ship in November.

From Nov. 1 to Dec. 4, you can buy booklets in person at these shops:

Three of the six are in Marietta, two of them on Market Street. Each booklet you buy there brings someone through the door of a borough business in the weeks before the tour. That's a good reason to pick yours up in town, along with your morning coffee.

The Money Goes Back Into the Route

MRA says tour proceeds pay for upkeep of two buildings it looks after. One is the Old Town Hall at 3 W. Walnut St., built in 1847. It's now a museum with early Marietta artifacts, a fire engine, locally made furniture, photographs, records and Civil War items. The other is the Union Meeting House at 80 North Waterford Ave., built in 1818. It's Marietta's oldest surviving public building. MRA has restored its exterior and worked on its vaulted ceiling and its balcony from the 1850s.

Both buildings have been part of recent tours. LancasterOnline's 2024 house tour roundup mentioned a gingerbread house contest at the Union Meeting House and listed the White Swan Hotel among the historic buildings. Its 2025 roundup described Elizabethtown College students sharing research on historic properties at the Union Meeting House, plus a horse-drawn carriage ride downtown. Those were last year's details and the year before. MRA hasn't promised the same extras for 2026.

The third building in this story is 100 W. Market St. MRA's history says the First National Bank built a new Market Street bank there in 1875. In 2001, a later bank donated the property to MRA, which moved its offices in and opened a gift shop. Discover Marietta now lists the address as First National Coworking. On tour day it's one of the places to buy tickets.

How Tour Day Works

MRA describes it as a walking tour, with a free shuttle from the main parking area that also runs between stops.

1. Park. Last year, free parking was at Donegal Intermediate School, 1177 River Road. Shuttles ran from there to each home and to a downtown stop. TownLively reported that three buses ran until 7:30 p.m. in 2025. MRA's 2026 ticket page also lists ticket sales at the Donegal Intermediate School lot on Route 441 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., by cash, check or credit card.
2. Buy in town if you still need a booklet. On the day, the Old Town Hall Museum, 3 W. Walnut St., sells tickets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and takes cash or check only. The First National Bank building at 100 W. Market St. sells from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and takes cash, check or credit card.
3. Stop by the market. The Marietta Community House lists its Christmas Market during the Candlelight Tour for Dec. 6. A public event listing gives the hours as 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 264 W. Market St. The Community House promises crafts and gifts from local vendors but hasn't named them yet.
4. Plan your last stop. The tour runs until 7 p.m. Last year's shuttles ran 30 minutes past that.

Baltozer also asked tour-goers last year to "be on the lookout for nearby businesses open to enjoy holiday shopping, a refreshment or to come inside for warmth," as TownLively reported. This year, the list of nearby places is longer.

East Front Street Has Changed Since Last December

The biggest change since the 59th tour is on East Front Street, and residents did most of it.

LancasterOnline reports that Jake and Jamie Sitler, who live in Marietta, bought a warehouse at 501 E. Front St. for $660,000 and turned it into Endo Collective. The building is a former lumber warehouse from around 1870, where the Northwest River Trail crosses the railroad tracks toward the Susquehanna. Inside are a cafe with coffee, tea and grab-and-go food, a market with eggs, meats, cheese and groceries, and the company's hemp-derived THC drinks and other products. A sign on the wall came from Barry's Country Food Market, the grocery near Wrightsville that Jake Sitler's family ran for 86 years before it closed in 2017. ABC27 reported a soft opening on May 30 and daily hours of 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. as of June. Call ahead to confirm December hours.

Right next door, the Borough of Marietta and the Susquehanna Area Mountain Bike Association opened the Marietta Woods Trail Project on Sept. 5. It has two trail loops for beginners, families and experienced riders, plus a bicycle playground at Front Street Park with rollers, bridges, berms and pump-track features. Riding is free, according to the Lancaster Ledger. If a house tour doesn't hold the kids' attention for long, this is an easy add on the same morning.

Farther up the street, Hell in a Bucket Brewing at 392 E. Front St. held its grand reopening on July 3, 2026, as ABC27 reported. LancasterOnline identifies the new owner as Ted Evgeniadis. In July, it reported that the restaurant was open for food and live music but was still waiting for approval of its brewery license transfer. The brewery's website lists live music Wednesday through Sunday and free poker every Sunday at 4 p.m. Since the tour is on a Sunday, check the current menu before you plan to stop in after the last house.

The Rest of December

Discover Marietta lists a Marietta Tree Lighting for December 2026, with carols and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. No day or time has been posted yet. For now, Dec. 6 is the one date to circle. On that Sunday, the homes, the ticket booklets, the market on West Market Street and the warm stops along East Front Street will mostly be run by people who live here.

If you want company on the tour, or if one of the homes gets you curious about the history of older Marietta houses, I'd love to talk it through with you. Cindy Folckemer is always glad to swap notes on a good house tour. Let's Connect.