On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, wooden huts go up across Riverside Crossing Park at the foot of the Dublin Link. They'll sell Glühwein imported from Germany, raclette scraped straight from the wheel, Black Forest cuckoo clocks and mouth-blown glass ornaments. Christkindlmarkt Dublin opens Saturday, Nov. 21, and runs through Thursday, Dec. 24, 2026. Admission is free.
The menu will get the most coverage over the next month. If you live a few minutes from the park, the hours matter more. The market is promoted to visitors from across Ohio and nearby states, and its busiest hours fall on weekends. The Wednesday and Thursday evenings run on a shorter schedule, and the special-hours dates fall around the holidays. Those are the windows that sit outside the weekend pitch.
A Market Designed to Bring People In From Out of Town
Dublin didn't stumble into this. The idea for a holiday market first came up in 2022. City officials visited similar events, including Carmel, Indiana's Christkindlmarkt, which has run every year since 2017. Dublin City Council approved the Holiday Market Feasibility Study Final Report in March 2025, and the city issued a Request for Proposals that April.
The company chosen to run it is led by Maria Adele Rosenfeld, former CEO of Carmel Christkindlmarkt Inc. The city's November 2025 announcement notes that USA TODAY readers have ranked the Carmel market the top holiday market in the country. So Dublin is bringing in a proven model and the person who built it.
The city says who the market is meant to draw. Its August 28, 2026 release describes the market as "a destination for daytrip and overnight visitors across Ohio and the surrounding region" and invites guests to pair it with dining, shopping and lodging around Dublin. In the same release, Leslie Rummel, Head of Marketing & Communications for Visit Dublin, calls it "an exciting new chapter for Dublin as a year-round destination."
Daytrippers and overnight guests plan around weekends. The schedule shows it.
Twenty-Five Days, Week by Week
Regular hours are Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. The market is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. A Friday or Saturday gets nine hours. A Wednesday or Thursday gets five, all of them after the typical workday. Add in the special hours and the season looks like this:
| Week | Days open | What's different |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 21–22 | Sat., Sun. | Opening weekend |
| Nov. 23–29 | Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. | Wed., Nov. 25 opens at noon; closed Thanksgiving, Thu., Nov. 26 |
| Nov. 30–Dec. 6 | Wed. through Sun. | Sankt Nikolaustag, Sun., Dec. 6, 6–8 p.m. |
| Dec. 7–13 | Wed. through Sun. | Regular hours |
| Dec. 14–20 | Wed. through Sun. | Regular hours |
| Dec. 21–24 | Mon. through Thu. | Noon–9 p.m. Mon., Tue. and Wed.; noon–4 p.m. Christmas Eve |
That comes to 25 open days. Six of them are the standard 4 p.m. weeknight openings: Dec. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17. Those six evenings plus the four special-hours days make up the part of the calendar that sits outside the regular weekend rhythm.
The Dates That Shift the Pattern
Wednesday, Nov. 25
This is the only day before Thanksgiving with an early opening. The market opens at noon instead of 4 p.m., then closes Thursday for the holiday. If you have relatives arriving midweek, it's an afternoon outing a few minutes from home.
Thursday, Dec. 3
This is the busiest weeknight of the season, spread across two parks. The city's Tree Lighting Ceremony runs 6 to 8 p.m. at Coffman Park, with Santa and Mrs. Claus lighting the tree at 6:15 p.m. The market is open that same evening on its regular Thursday schedule, 4 to 9 p.m. You could see the lighting at Coffman Park and still reach the huts at Riverside Crossing Park before they close.
Sunday, Dec. 6
Sankt Nikolaustag, the traditional St. Nicholas Day, runs 6 to 8 p.m. It's the market's only named program announced so far, and it fills the last two hours before the regular Sunday close.
Dec. 21 through 24
The usual Monday and Tuesday closures are lifted for the final week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each run noon to 9 p.m., and Christmas Eve runs noon to 4 p.m. These are the only weekday afternoons the market is open after Thanksgiving week, which helps with last-minute gift shopping.
Some of the Huts Are Run From Down the Street
The vendor announcement from Sept. 23, 2026 names Central Ohio businesses among the first vendors.
- Die Creperie, also known as Holy Crepes, from Dublin
- Der Französische Laden, or The French Store, from Dublin
- Say Yes Pretzels, from Columbus
- The Red Stable, from German Village
- BrewDog Brewing Company, pouring a private-label Christkindlmarkt Dublin Dunkel in cans, plus its Winter Staycation: Pecan and Toffee Stout and an Ohio Pilsner brewed with Midwest-grown hops
The rest of the lineup leans German and European. On the food side, the release lists raclette, German Döner Kebab, Schnitzel, Käsespätzle, Bratwurst, Bavarian pretzels, Kartoffelpuffer, Flammkuchen and Baumstriezel. Feuerzangenbowle gets top billing among the drinks. A rum-soaked sugar cone is set alight above warm spiced wine and caramelizes as it drips into the cup.
There's plenty for anyone not drinking alcohol: Kinderpunsch made with currant, orange, cherry and apple; Belgian hot chocolate in gingerbread, raspberry and merry mint; hot apple cider or a cider latte; and Santa Clausthaler, a zero-proof cranberry-cinnamon beer.
The retail huts carry beer steins, hand-painted Polish pottery, German nutcrackers, Erzgebirge folk art and paper star lanterns. There's also the limited-edition inaugural boot mug and ornament. The city's August release describes the mug as the first in a series of annual designs, each sold only during its own season. That makes the 2026 boot the first in what's meant to become a yearly collection.
Rosenfeld described her goal in the market's vendor release:
"I want guests to leave saying, 'Now I understand what the word Gemütlichkeit means,' and to want to come back and experience the market again."
What's Still Marked "Coming Soon"
A month before opening, a few practical details are still unannounced.
Ice skating. The city's Riverside Crossing Park Ice Rink is a 3,200-square-foot rink in the park's lower plaza, on the east side of the Dublin Link. It placed eighth in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. The city's page still describes the rink as closed for the 2026 season, which ended Tuesday, March 3, and no 2026–27 schedule has been posted. The market's own Plan Your Visit page lists "Ice Skating (Coming Soon)." Last season's hours and prices may not carry over, so check both pages before you bring skates.
Parking. The city's August release says parking will be available on the street and in all Downtown Dublin garages, including Bridge Park, Bridge Park West and the Rock Cress Parking Garage. As of its Oct. 14 update, the market's visitor page says parking locations, rideshare drop-off and wayfinding "will be listed here." It gives 6694 Riverside Drive as the address for directions.
Entertainment. The market's entertainment page still reads "Entertainment schedule coming soon." For now, Sankt Nikolaustag on Dec. 6 is the only program on the calendar.
All three should be posted before Nov. 21. Opening weekend is when the most out-of-town visitors are likely to try the market. If you live nearby, the six Wednesday and Thursday evenings and the late-December afternoons will still be there after opening weekend.
If the market has you thinking about life near downtown Dublin, whether that's moving closer to Riverside Crossing Park or downsizing somewhere walkable to Bridge Park, I'm happy to talk it through over a cup of Glühwein. I'm Megan, and I help families and downsizers across Central Ohio with these moves at Megan S Bell. Let's Connect.
