"For us to think about the best use of those dollars, we think we can have a bigger impact doing other things." That is how Minneapolis Downtown Council President and CEO Adam Duininck explained to MPR News in October 2025 why the council would stop producing Holidazzle.
This is the second holiday season since that decision, and the season has kept its size while losing its center. Holidazzle's final run was five days on Nicollet Mall, December 18 through 22, 2024. This year the busiest stretch on the Minneapolis market calendar comes two weeks earlier, December 4 through 6. That weekend, markets are running at the American Swedish Institute, Utepils, Nicollet Island, the Northrup King Building, North Loop Green and a former department store on Nicollet Mall, all at once.
From a 750,000-person parade to a map of neighborhoods
Holidazzle's decline happened slowly. MPR News reported that the event started as a parade in 1992 and drew 750,000 people in its first year. It moved to Loring Park in 2016, was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic and in 2023 for lack of funds, and came back to Nicollet Mall in 2024 as a five-day event that drew about 65,000. Duininck told the outlet that Holidazzle and Aquatennial together usually cost between $1 million and $2 million, and that city and corporate funding had dropped.
In 2025, Meet Minneapolis filled the gap with Winterapolis. WCCO called it a campaign spanning the whole city, from the Dayton's Holiday Market downtown to Holidays on Hennepin in Uptown. It kicked off with a free Light Up on November 28, 2025, when buildings and streetlights across downtown, including the IDS Crystal Court tree, were scheduled to light at 6:05 p.m.
That change in structure explains this year's calendar. A citywide campaign connects markets that other organizers run on their own schedules, and those markets are spread across Northeast, the North Loop, Uptown, North Minneapolis, South Minneapolis and Nicollet Island.
Downtown's anchor is the one market open on a Tuesday
The Departments at Dayton's Holiday Market opens today, November 12, at The Dayton's Project on Nicollet Mall. It runs through December 24, open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Meet Minneapolis calls it the third annual Winter Maker's Market, with more than 70 independent vendors featuring Minnesota heritage brands.
Those hours are what set it apart. Nearly every other major market on the list runs only on weekends or for a few days. Here are the multi-week anchors side by side:
| Market | Where | When it's open | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departments at Dayton's Holiday Market | The Dayton's Project, Nicollet Mall | Mon–Sat 10–6, Sun 11–5 | Nov. 12–Dec. 24 |
| Textile Center's Holiday Gallery Shop | Textile Center | Shop hours | Nov. 1–Dec. 24 |
| Minneapolis Christkindl Market | North Loop Green | Fri 4–9, Sat 11–9, Sun 11–7 | Nov. 20–Dec. 20 |
| Field & Festival Holiday Market | Wagner's Garden Center | Weekends, 10–2 | Nov. 1–Dec. 20 |
| A Handmade Holiday Market | Brühaven Craft Company | Select Sat & Sun, noon–5 | Nov. 7–Dec. 20 |
| Holiday Lane | Northrup King Building | Saturdays | Nov. 28–Dec. 19 |
| Holidays on Hennepin | Uptown | Events through the season | Nov. 27–Jan. 2 |
If you want to shop on a weekday evening, Dayton's is the anchor that's open. Textile Center's shop has been running since November 1, and each season it grows to three times its size, filling the gallery spaces with fiber art, ornaments and home goods. Everything else in the table rewards planning by weekend.
Weekend by weekend, the season builds toward December 4–6
November 14–15: Northeast warms up
The Old St. Anthony Holiday Bazaar fills two floors of the Machine Shop on Sunday, November 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Minneapolis Craft Market's Handmade Holiday Market at Brühaven Craft Company is already into its select-weekend run, open noon to 5. At Wagner's Garden Center, Field & Festival sets up local farmers, food makers and craft vendors inside the greenhouses on weekend mornings. Children's Theatre Company has offered free public ice skating since November 6. You don't need a show ticket, but you do reserve a skating slot ahead of time.
November 20–22: The North Loop opens bigger
The Minneapolis Christkindl Market opens Friday, November 20, at North Loop Green and runs five weekends through December 20. Bring Me The News reported that the market is adding 10 vendors this year, for 45 in total, and has doubled the size of its warming space. The outlet also listed roasted chestnuts, Germknödel dumplings, choirs, carolers, dance performances and free activities for kids. Meet Minneapolis adds Glühwein, spätzle and Swiss raclette to the menu, plus visits from Santa every Sunday.
The bigger warming space matters given the hours. Fridays run from 4 to 9 p.m., so most of a Friday visit happens after dark.
November 26–29: Thanksgiving spreads out across the city
The holiday weekend starts with a race. Twin Cities In Motion's Turkey Day 5K starts downtown at 8 a.m. on Thursday, November 26. This year it adds a dedicated walker wave, and participants 18 and under run free. Adults who register in the final tier, November 20 through 26, pay $65 plus fees, or $69.76 total.
After that, the weekend spreads across four parts of the city:
- North Minneapolis. The 10th annual Black Friday on Broadway takes over the Capri Theater on November 27 and 28, with local vendors and a fashion show. The West Broadway Business and Area Coalition and the Northside Economic Opportunity Network host it.
- Uptown. Holidays on Hennepin starts November 27 and runs through January 2, 2027. Its Uptown Winter Wonderland Holiday Market runs Saturday, November 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Hennepin Avenue between Lake and 31st, at Queermunity, True North Studio and Zoma House.
- South Minneapolis. The RedHot Art Market fills the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center on November 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Northeast. Holiday Lane opens at the Northrup King Building on Saturday, November 28, and returns every Saturday through December 19, with hot chocolate and work from hundreds of local artists.
December 4–6: The peak
This is the weekend Holidazzle's late-December slot has effectively moved to, and nobody organizes it as one event. Two Scandinavian markets open the same Friday:
- Julmarknad at the American Swedish Institute, December 4–6, with more than 60 regional artists selling inside and in the courtyard, along with ASI's own Jul Shop.
- The 10th annual Nordic Julemarket at Utepils Brewing, also December 4–6, hosted by Norway House, with 25 vendors and food trucks.
Saturday adds the Twin Cities Pride Holiday Artist Market at the Pride Cultural Arts Center, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more than 15 local LGBTQIA2S+ artists. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Nicollet Island Winter Market runs indoors at the Nicollet Island Pavilion on December 5 and 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christkindl, Holiday Lane, Dayton's, Brühaven and Field & Festival are all running that weekend too.
Christkindl, ASI and the Nicollet Island Pavilion each draw their own crowds, so plan your parking and timing around that. One way to split the weekend is ASI on Friday, Nicollet Island and the Pride market on Saturday, and the North Loop on Sunday, when Santa is at Christkindl.
December 11–13 and after: Tapering toward Christmas Eve
The fifth annual Minni Dazzle holiday market is at Fulton Taproom December 11–13, with pottery, vintage finds, pet accessories and specialty foods. Holiday Lane's last Saturday is December 19, and Christkindl, Brühaven and Field & Festival all wrap up on December 20.
After that, only a few stops remain. Diane's Place hosts a Holiday Food Market on December 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with vendors chosen by Chef Diane Moua. Dayton's and Textile Center both stay open through December 24, so the old department store on Nicollet Mall is still selling from local makers on Christmas Eve.
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