The Christkindl Market Moves In: Senoia's December, Night by Night
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
For years, December in downtown Senoia has meant a handful of single nights. There's the parade and tree lighting, then the candlelit home tour, then one last Alive After Five before Christmas. This year those nights are still on the calendar. The difference is that the Atlanta Christkindl Market will run its wooden stalls just off Main Street on 22 days between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, and Light Up Senoia, the Candlelight Tour of Homes and the December Alive After Five all fall on market days.
So for the first time, Senoia's holiday nights share the season with an event that is open on most days from Black Friday to Christmas Eve. Anyone planning December around downtown will be working with both.
The market has moved around metro Atlanta a few times. It started at Atlantic Station in 2016 with 12 booths, according to Global Atlanta. By its fourth year it was at Centennial Olympic Park, where it grew past 60 booths. It ran in Buckhead Village from 2021 through 2024, and in 2024 it added a second market at Galleria on the Park, the AJC reported. For the 2025 season it moved from Buckhead to Lawrenceville, with growth and the limited space at the Buckhead site given as the reasons.
Senoia is an added location this year, and Lawrenceville is still hosting. The Citizen broke the Senoia news on March 7 and corrected its story two days later to say Lawrenceville would return as well. Mayor Scott Tigchelaar told The Citizen that the organizers saw "our historic sense of place, welcoming community, and vibrant holiday spirit" as the right setting. He thanked the Downtown Development Authority's events coordinators, Ashley Wood and Stephanie Reeder, "who have worked hard to make the case for Senoia too compelling to pass up."
In 11Alive's coverage, market operator Marco Foelske said the strong Lawrenceville season led to the expansion, and he described Senoia as having a "Hallmark movie feel" near Main Street. The town's historic downtown is the reason the market came, and the market will now be part of that downtown for most of December.
Organizers told 11Alive the Senoia setup will be smaller than the main market, with about 50 booths, 35 vendors and a traditional German Christmas pyramid. That's about four times the 12 booths the market opened with at Atlantic Station in 2016, all set up in a small town's historic core. The food and drink list includes bratwurst, chimney cakes, roasted nuts, hot chocolate and Glühwein.
The basics, from the market's Senoia page:
The posted schedule has no hours for Mondays and Tuesdays outside Christmas week. Counting the days it does list gives 22 market days. The drop-off and main entrance is at 158 Seavy Street.
Some online event calendars show only part of the run. The Explore Newnan-Coweta listing for downtown Senoia currently has market dates for Nov. 27 through 29 and Dec. 2 through 6, and nothing after that. The operator's own schedule runs through Christmas Eve, so use that one when planning a later visit.
This is how the season lines up, based on the DDA's listings and the market's posted hours.
| Date | Downtown event | Market open? |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov. 20 | Alive After Five | Not yet; opens one week later |
| Fri, Nov. 27 | Market opening day | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec. 5 | Light Up Senoia, 4 to 10 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Sun, Dec. 13 | Candlelight Tour of Homes, 4 to 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Fri, Dec. 18 | Alive After Five | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Mon, Dec. 21 to Wed, Dec. 23 | Christmas week special hours | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Thu, Dec. 24 | Closing day | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
Nov. 20 is the last downtown event night before the stalls open. Every big December night after that falls on a market day, so the market is already open by the time each event starts.
Light Up Senoia runs from 4 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. The market is open until 9 that night, which leaves five hours when both are going at once. The DDA's Light Up Senoia parade page lists pre-parade entertainment on Main Street at 4:15 p.m., the parade at 6:30 p.m. and the tree lighting right after. Santa's Workshop is set up at the Farmers' Market at 40 Travis Street. That page has no year on it, so check it again closer to the date.
Mayor Tigchelaar told The Citizen the city would "work closely with organizers to ensure the event complements our existing Light Up Senoia festivities, parade, tour of homes and other traditions." No road closures, traffic plans or visitor parking instructions for Light Up Senoia had been posted as of this writing.
Parking is the open question for that Saturday. The market says downtown Senoia has street parking and several lots, but it doesn't name them. 11Alive reported that parking is free at both market locations. We found no shuttle in any source. The City of Senoia also posted a Sidewalks & Street Parking Construction notice on Oct. 2, 2026, with a notice and map attached. The attachments show which blocks are affected and when, and they're the city's own record to check before December.
The 2026 Candlelight Tour of Homes is listed for Sunday, Dec. 13, 4 to 9 p.m., organized by the Senoia DDA. Addresses of the homes on the tour will be announced closer to the date. The Senoia Area Historical Society says the Carmichael House at 6 Couch Street will be a stop, with hot chocolate for guests.
The tour's hours fall entirely within the market's Sunday hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. That gives tour guests something new to do that the event has never had before. They can spend the afternoon at the stalls and walk the tour after dark, or go the other way around. Anyone heading to the market that Sunday will also share downtown with tour traffic in the evening.
The DDA calendar lists Alive After Five on Friday, Dec. 18. The series usually brings music, food trucks and vendors downtown. This time the market will have been open since 11 that morning. After that, the market's last week is Christmas week, when it adds Monday and Tuesday hours it doesn't normally keep. That suits last-minute gift shopping, though the market hasn't published a vendor list yet. 11Alive reported that vendor announcements will come closer to opening.
The market's food is mostly bratwurst and chimney cakes. Main Street's restaurants and shops are a short walk away and open year-round. These are a few of the downtown businesses listed in the DDA's business directory:
The market entrance is on Seavy Street. The Veranda Historic Inn and The Peculiar Blooms share an address farther along that street, at 252 Seavy. We haven't seen hours for these businesses on market days, so call ahead before planning dinner around a busy Saturday.
October and early November still follow downtown's usual pace. Alive After Five runs Friday, Oct. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m. at 68 Main Street, with the DDA supporting it. The DDA's home-and-business decorating contest is judged Oct. 17, and properties within two miles of historic Senoia are eligible. Toddler trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses is Friday, Oct. 30, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., for ages 0 to 5. After the Nov. 20 Alive After Five, the next downtown event is the market's opening on Black Friday.
A new holiday event that runs most days for four weeks changes how downtown Senoia gets used. If you own a home near Main Street or Seavy Street and want to know how the area's draw shows up in your property's value, Pristine Realty Group can give you a clear read. Start with our Instant Home Valuation, and Leigh Ann can walk you through what the number means before the stalls open.
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