A 50-acre farm on Terrapin Private Run in Gallatin is set to become Christmas at The Hideaway, an 18-night holiday festival scheduled to open Friday and run through December 20 across six weekends. Co-owners Chris and Liz Hieber, along with business partner Eleissa Brown, expect the cost of creating and operating the event to well exceed $100,000, and they are betting that a $40 car pass covering an entire vehicle will be enough to turn their property into a new Gallatin tradition.
“We expect the cost of creating and operating the festival to well exceed $100,000,” the organizers said, according to People, which first reported the scale of the investment. The outlet also confirmed the festival was scheduled to open November 13 and run for 18 nights across six weekends. As Hendersonville Standard reports, the festival has already confirmed more than 40 local vendors, with 60 expected to take part across the full season.
From Christmas Tree Idea to Full-Blown Festival
The Hideaway traces back to 2019, when the Hiebers won an auction for a 12-acre horse farm in Gallatin, a suburb northeast of Nashville, per People. Chris Hieber, Liz Hieber and Eleissa Brown had relocated to Tennessee between 2016 and 2017. The Hideaway Nashville operates as a wedding venue, corporate retreat destination and short-term rental property that opened as a business roughly two years before this story's publication. According to the Hendersonville Standard, the venue has hosted weddings, reunions and film shoots in the years since.
Christmas at The Hideaway itself began small. Chris Hieber said the initial idea was simply to provide a consistent source of Christmas trees, the Hendersonville Standard reports, before it grew into a full festival combining holiday entertainment, local vendors, family activities and charitable giving. Liz Hieber described the effort as one family with a farm, barnyard animals, hundreds of thousands of lights and a hope to build something that lasts.
Barnyard Animals and a Rescued Donkey Named Henry
Santa's Barnyard, one of the festival's centerpiece attractions, includes two sheep, a Highland cow and a miniature donkey named Henry, who Eleissa Brown adopted from Gallatin's Volunteer Equine Association, according to the Hendersonville Standard. Volunteer equine advocates are set to benefit from the festival's opening weekend. The event listing on Nashville Parent also describes a life-sized nativity scene, storytime with Mrs. Claus, a bounce house, letters to Santa, photo opportunities and a Christmas market as part of the lineup.
Beyond the barnyard, organizers say the festival offers carnival games, ornament decorating, food trucks, outdoor movies, live music, songwriter showcases, Santa visits, sing-alongs and story times, per the Hendersonville Standard. The Hideaway's website lists the festival address as 199 Terrapin Pvt Run in Gallatin, Tennessee, with hours running Friday through Sunday evenings from 4 to 9 p.m. The site also notes that the $40 car pass covers everyone riding in a single passenger vehicle, with no limit on occupants, and grants access to Santa's Barnyard, the nativity scene, storytime and the Christmas market.
Nonprofit Partners and Weekend Giveback Plans
Each weekend of the festival spotlights a different nonprofit organization, with the site stating that a portion of proceeds will go to partner groups. Confirmed partners include Live Love Nashville, Isaiah 117 House of Sumner County and Dreams and Wishes of Tennessee, according to the Hendersonville Standard. Organizers also plan toy drives, canned food collections, pet-supply donations and foster-family discounts throughout the run, along with complimentary admission for foster families and selected first responders.
The venue's own site projects 800 to 1,000 guests per weekend, though that figure is a forecast rather than a reported turnout. For comparison, Gallatin's long-running Square Fest drew an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 attendees in 2024 with 237 vendors and more than 20 food trucks, according to organizer Donna Belote as reported by Main Street Media of Tennessee; that spring event is sponsored annually by Historic Downtown Gallatin, Inc. Christmas at The Hideaway is a different kind of event entirely, built around a working farm rather than downtown blocks, so the two draws are not directly comparable.
Local Buzz Builds Ahead of Opening Weekend
Organizers say they reach roughly 250,000 followers combined through The Hideaway's social media accounts and Liz Hieber's @voiceoversandponies platform, and that festival-related content generated more than 750,000 organic views before opening day, per the Hendersonville Standard. People similarly reported that Liz Hieber said videos documenting the festival's preparations had already garnered more than half a million views on social media. Dozens of social media creators are expected to attend the festival in person, and People reportedly has a feature story about the event in development.
Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown weighed in on the festival's potential ripple effects for the city, telling People, “I believe it will have a positive impact on our local retailers and restaurants.” The Hideaway notes that car-pass purchases are nonrefundable but can be rescheduled through a link sent in the confirmation email, and that the festival will close only for severe weather, lightning, high wind, ice or unsafe ground conditions. Dogs are not permitted on site. Those with questions can reach the festival by phone at 615-913-4500.
